Chapter Twenty-Two
When Jake tapped lightly on the front door the following morning at eight o’clock sharp, Anya opened the door, motioning for him to come inside.
“Good morning, Anya.” He looked across the room at Eric, apparently not surprised. “It’s nice to see you again Eric. This is cozy. I was wondering how you were surviving here during the winter. I see you have everything closed off.”
“Good morning, Jake,” Eric said, turning to Anya. “That’s right. I forgot to mention something to you yesterday. Ashley wondered if you’d like for her to come over and take a look at the place to see if she can help you come up with some plans to eventually convert the entire cabin into a four-season home. She thinks you might be able to do it a little at a time, so it won’t be as costly.”
“I’d definitely like that,” Anya agreed. “Come on in, Jake, and sit down. Would you like some coffee?”
“That would be great,” he replied, smiling as he sat at the kitchen table with Eric. “Black is fine.”
Once Anya was sitting at the table too, Jake began talking.
“I’m thinking that we underestimated your mother, Anya,” Jake began. “And I’m so sorry about that.”
“No. I get it. Even I was getting impatient with her conspiracy theories,” Anya said softly. “I lost so much time with her when I went off to school, but it was funny, she was better when I returned to visit.”
“I’ve talked with Sam—Chief Danielson—and he agrees with me. It’s possible that your mother was unknowingly being drugged. She wasn’t home most of the time. It would have been easy to slip something into…maybe a favorite water bottle or coffee cup?”
“She did have some of those. She took a thermos along with her every day when she went out on her uh…investigations,” Anya agreed. “Our house was in walking distance of school and the flower shop. I always had a few friends who would give me rides when the weather was bad and I had to get to school or work, including Penny, Sam’s wife. I barely saw Mom, even in the evening when I was still living at home.”
“There was no autopsy done, was there?” Jake asked.
“No. It seemed reasonable when the doctor said she had another heart attack. No one, not even Sam, suspected foul play, but something about the way Shanna spoke in that message made me wonder.”
“But your mom wasn’t cremated?”
“No. Only my dad since I had to handle it. All of her burial expenses were already covered by my grandparents, who had a family plot in our local cemetery,” Anya replied.
Jake nodded. “Good. That will make having an autopsy done a little easier, even though it’s been a few years.”
Eric and Anya nodded their understanding.
“Okay, so let’s hear what you’ve been doing,” Jake said.
Anya explained that her mother had received a message from Shanna sometime before she died. “According to the time and date stamp on her phone, it was about two months earlier. I sent that message to you as well.”
Jake nodded.
“I wouldn’t have known what Mom had discovered if someone hadn’t called and warned me that Mom was in the hospital. Once I arrived at the hospital in Eau Claire, Mom told me about the call from Shanna and the research she’d accumulated through the years. Although she had loads of information plastered on the living room walls in our house, she’d actually hid everything important here at the cabin. Since then, I’ve made multiple copies of everything, but I still have all the originals hidden where I found them.”
“I heard that you hired Charlie Andrews,” Jake said. “Don’t worry—Sam was the one who told me—not Charlie. He’s an old friend of mine too. You’re the one Charlie’s working for so he won’t come to me about anything without talking to you first.”
“He’s only been working for me for about a month, but he hasn’t found much,” she replied.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what have you got him looking into?” Jake asked.
“I’ve got two notebooks. I have no idea where my mom found them. I suspect that my father might have been blackmailing someone and had them hidden and she discovered them when he died. But apparently, she thought they were names of traffickers,” Anya explained, suddenly noticing the look of apparent shock on Jake’s face. “What is it?”
Jake held up a staying hand. “Tell me a little more. What have you got Charlie specifically looking for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, the names have no addresses, so I’ve been going through them one by one, and searching online. Despite the fact that there are multiples of many of the names, if any of them come back with connections to Wisconsin, and recently I’ve included Michigan, I give those names to Charlie to investigate and follow.” She sighed. “I just took up where my mom left off.”
“I can’t believe it,” Jake muttered, looking dazed.
Although Anya was confused by what he meant.
Jake’s eyes met hers. “So, do you think your father might have had something to do with the trafficking, Anya?”
“All these years, I didn’t want to think back to the past, Jake.” Anya bit her lip. “But lately, I’ve been having flashbacks. When my mom was alive, there were a lot of arguments, and a lot of threats from my father. I hate to admit this, but he could have been involved. He’d do anything but work a real job to make money after he was fired from his county assessor’s position.”
Jake heaved a sigh, becoming thoughtful as he tapped his fingers restlessly on the table.
“Would anyone like more coffee?” Eric asked.
“Sure,” Jake and Anya answered in unison.
Eric nodded, looking grim as he reached for their cups, pouring them coffee and resting their cups back on the table.
Finally, Jake continued, “Okay, Anya. Would you have any objections to showing me the original notebooks?”
“You’re not going to try to stop me from investigating?” she asked, preparing to be defensive.
“To the contrary,” Jake replied. “You’re already into this too deeply, and a lot of people know it. I’d just like to see the notebooks, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to have copies of all of them.”
“Good. Although the copies I made don’t always show everything in the notebook, because some of the writing is pretty faded.” She stood, glancing at Eric. “I’ll be right back.”
“Anya, maybe you should at least let me know where they are, in case there’s trouble,” Eric suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea, Anya,” Jake admitted. “I’m also going to set this place up with some kind of security, including cameras, whether you like it or not.”
“I guess it’s pointless to argue,” she agreed, motioning for Eric to follow her as she unlocked the door that led into the other rooms of the cabin.
“You know, Anya,” Eric said, glancing around. “This place looks great.”
“I did a lot of decluttering this past summer. I really do want to turn this place into a home. I have a lot of great memories of visiting here with my grandparents. Shanna loved it here too.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate Christmas here someday with our kids?” he asked softly. “I can see the tree right there in front of the big window with a fire roaring in that monstrous stone fireplace.”
She smiled. “I can too.”
But heaving a sigh, she walked toward the wide-open staircase leading upstairs to the bedrooms. She tugged at the end of one of the footboards. Apparently, it was hinged because it popped open, revealing a deep storage space inside.
Anya stuck her arm into the hideaway, pulling out a worn leather bag.
“Here are all the originals. Let’s stop by the study and I’ll grab all my copies of the notebooks. I worked from there most of the summer since Mom had everything already set up. I miss the space.”
Anya walked into the study, suddenly frowning as she glanced around the room.
“What?” Eric asked.
“Maybe Jake is right to be worried. I think there might be a few things missing that were pinned to the wall.”
“Damn it. Maybe I should move you in with Ashley and Brian,” Eric growled.
She shook her head no. “Not with the baby, Eric. I might be putting them in danger.” She looked around again. “I don’t know. I don’t think anything major is missing. If someone was here, they obviously weren’t interested in harming me. Let’s just leave it and let Jake handle security. Okay?”
“I don’t like it,” Eric growled.
“Well, you’re not the one who has to. Right now, I’m the one who lives here.”
It was comical, the look of indignance on his face.
“Does anyone say no to you?” she asked, grinning.
“Not if they’re under my command,” he muttered, suddenly smiling as they walked back into the kitchen. “I guess I’d better not try and boss you around.”
“You’d guess right,” she muttered, walking over to Jake, who was looking back and forth at the two of them, smiling, despite the grim circumstances.
“Is something wrong?” Jake asked as Anya dug into the leather bag.
“Not really,” she answered, pulling out the two notebooks. “It looks like someone might have been in my office.”
Jake frowned, until he got a look at the notebooks in her hand before she handed them over and he began thumbing through them.
“Well, Anya. You’ve solved a big mystery that’s been on the books for the last few years,” Jake finally said. “I can hardly believe it, but these are the other two notebooks we’ve been trying to locate since Michelle and Jeff Barton found the first one about fourteen months ago in her father’s old office, hidden in the house she inherited.”
“Did that have something to do with the two trafficking arrests you made that I read about in the paper?” Anya asked.
“It did. They also tried to kidnap Ashley,” Eric replied.
Her eyes went wide. “Oh, no. I had no idea.”
“We purposely left out the names as well as the details in the paper,” Jake said. “This trafficking ring spreads far and wide. No sooner do we capture one or two people, but others fill their places.
Jake handed the notebooks back over. “I want you to put everything back where it was.”
She nodded. “Here are copies of everything in all three notebooks,” she said, handing over the sheets she had grouped together in a binder. “I still have another set. Keep in mind, all I’ve done is ruled out the names that don’t seem to have any association with Wisconsin or Michigan.”
“Which means that we’ll be looking into those while you continue your own research,” Jake cleared his throat, “with an updated data base that I’ll be providing for you after you receive clearance. If you’re willing, that is?”
“Of course,” she replied, her eyes going wide.
“With pay,” he added.
“Sure.” She grimaced. “As far as my office—only a few things appear to be missing from the wall. It could be someone I know.”
“I heard Eric chewing you out since you left the door open that led into the rest of the cabin,” Jake observed. “But I think you’re right. If anyone really wanted to hurt you, they would have done it by now. Not only will we add security to your property, but hidden surveillance too. Alright?”
“Alright,” she agreed.
Jake stood, reaching for the copies of the notebooks. “I’ll be in touch, Anya. Texting will probably be the best way to go. You might want to send me a list of the names you’ve narrowed down and the ones you’ve ruled out.”
“Okay. I’ve got everything on my computer on spreadsheets.”
He smiled, heading to the door. “I figured as much. Sounds good.”
Jake turned as he was ready to open the door. “How would you feel about sharing the information you receive from Charlie?”
“That would be fine. I wouldn’t mind the extra insight on whatever he discovers,” she replied.
“Good,” he answered. “Is tomorrow too soon to send in security?”
Her eyes went wide. “No.”
“I’ll let you know what time.” Jake opened the door. “See you soon.”
“Bye,” she answered, glancing at Eric, who appeared to be dazed.
“How about if I’m here for you tomorrow in case they need to be here after you go into work?” Eric asked.
“Would you mind?” she asked.
He kissed her. “Of course not. My parents are going to be here for another three or four days, so Ashley and Brian have help if they need it.” He sighed. “Speaking of which…”
“Yes, you’d better get moving,” she said, smiling. “I’m going to go into work a little earlier today anyway. Thanks for sending home all that food. I can have a quick lunch before I take off. It’ll be busy today because of our after Christmas discounts, along with a lot of people using gift cards and returning unwanted items.”
Standing, he reached for his coat. “I’ll give you a call tonight. Okay?”
“Don’t you want your bag?” she asked.
He winked. “I’ve got some extra t-shirts and underwear in there along with a pair of sweats. I was planning on leaving it here.”
She grinned. “Okay. I’ll leave it on top of the dryer in the bathroom so you know where it’s at.”
“Sounds good,” he said, zipping his coat before pulling her into his arms and kissing her very thoroughly. “Last night was incredible.” He sighed. “But then again, I have a feeling that it will always be like that.”
She smiled widely, still clinging. “Me too. See you later.”
He suddenly frowned as he let her go. “You be careful. I’m going to be more worried about you now, you know.”
She nodded, watching as he walked through the doorway and out to his truck.
Anya locked the door behind him, sighing heavily as he drove away.