Amity Steffen - Reunion On The Run

Thinking of another man raising his daughter was like an emotional sucker punch to the heart. So much had changed in the past twenty-four hours. He was still trying to comprehend that he had a daughter. Not just the fact that he had a daughter but all the emotional turmoil that entailed, including having abandoned her. Having missed out on three entire years of her precious, young life.

“He treated her okay?”

“He never hurt her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

It was. He pushed ahead with the next question. “And you? Did he hurt you?”

“We weren’t married long before I realized he wasn’t the man I thought he was. I knew he was a man of power. I didn’t realize he was a man of unscrupulous morals. Looking back, I wonder if I missed the signs. Or maybe there were no signs. He hid his dark side from the world. When we met, he hid it from me. Once we were married, it emerged. It came out swinging, quite literally,” she murmured.

“Why didn’t you leave him?” Alex asked as he struggled to keep his voice even.

“I tried to leave him once. It didn’t end well,” she said quietly. “He threatened to take Mia from me if I filed for divorce. He had no claim to her, but I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk him winning even partial custody because he would’ve only done so out of spite. With high-powered lawyers and bottomless pockets, I was afraid he could pull it off. I wouldn’t have put it past him to pay off the judge. I knew if I was going to try to leave him again, I had to be able to remove myself from his reach.”

“How did you plan to do that?” Alex asked. “Get out of his reach, I mean.”

“Last spring we had Xavier over for dinner. I went upstairs to put Mia to bed. When I came back down the two of them were in Jared’s office arguing. Jared told Xavier he knew all about his ‘special endeavor.’ That’s what he called it. It piqued my interest and I couldn’t get my feet to move. I knew it was a conversation I shouldn’t overhear, but I couldn’t stop myself.”

Alex nodded, indicating he was following.

“At the time I didn’t realize they were talking about the black market. However, Jared made a comment that stuck with me. He said he had proof Xavier terminated those who got in his way.” She forced a bitter laugh. “I thought ‘terminated’ meant he fired them. I’m so naïve. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that there are people in the world evil enough to kill someone over a business deal.”

“Is that what happened with Jared? He got in Xavier’s way and was going to turn him in?”

“No,” Claire scoffed. “Oh, no. Jared didn’t have the moral aptitude for that. He used the information to threaten Xavier. He didn’t want to shut the operation down, he wanted in on the action. He was using what he knew to blackmail Xavier into cutting him in on the deals. Xavier didn’t want to share. That’s what got Jared killed.”

Claire’s words hung in the air as Alex took a moment to think over everything she’d told him.

“That night, Xavier agreed to Jared’s demands. I knew they were talking about some sort of illegal activity, I just didn’t know what . Jared was gone a lot, checking out potential locations for new hotels. He was careless with his files because as far as he knew, I had no reason to be digging. It didn’t take me long to realize they were fencing antiquities on the black market.

“I started making copies of everything I found. I had every intention of taking it to the police. I knew if I could get Jared locked up, it would provide me the chance to escape.” She shook her head. “I waited too long, wanting to be sure my proof was solid enough. I knew the two of them would hire the best lawyers. I wanted to be rid of Jared. I didn’t want to take the chance of them getting off. Xavier has less patience and isn’t the sort of man to tolerate being blackmailed. He took Jared down and set me up.”

Alex patted the black file. “This is the information Jared was using against Xavier?”

“Part of it. I think there has to be more, but I’ve been unable to find it. As soon as it was determined Jared was murdered, the police confiscated his computer.” She offered a small shrug. “I don’t think they’ll find much on it. I never did. I think he was afraid if he stored information on the hard drive, Xavier would find a way to hack into his system. The files in the binder are off a Jumpdrive.”

“Where is the Jumpdrive now?” Alex asked.

Claire shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. About a week before he was killed, it disappeared. He’d been keeping it in his desk drawer. Maybe he realized I was onto him.”

“You don’t think the information you have is enough to put Xavier away?”

“At this point, he could claim Jared was the front man. What if Xavier walks? It would be like kicking a hornets’ nest.”

“He’s already after you.”

“I thought he only wanted to frame me.” She pulled in a breath. “After your phone call with Beth, he knows I’m onto him. If her line really was tapped—and judging by the appearance of the men last night, it seems likely—he would’ve heard her say I knew I was framed, that I was searching for evidence. I don’t think framing me is enough anymore. I think he wants me dead. If he knows I’m looking for evidence, he’ll do anything in his power to stop me.”

Alex knew she wasn’t exaggerating. The gunmen at the cabin attested to that.

“What’s your game plan?” he asked. “You said you’ve been doing research the past few weeks. What are you looking into?”

“It goes back to that first conversation. I thought jobs were on the line. I didn’t realize lives were on the line.” Her fingers tapped listlessly against her thighs. “Jared said Xavier terminated someone who got in his way. Terminated . Past tense.”

“Meaning it wasn’t a threat, but something he’d already carried out.”

“Yes.” Claire frowned. “I’ve looked up every name in this file.”

“You only have a list of buyers.”

“Right.”

“Any of them dead?” The question was blunt but necessary.

“No.”

“So chances are,” Alex said as he thought it over, “if Xavier took someone else out, it was a middle man. Maybe someone in charge of sales.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Claire agreed. “Maybe even a competitor. He probably made it look like an accident.”

“Like he tried to do with Jared?”

A grim look settled on Claire’s face. “That was the initial report. Jared had a gash on the back of his head. I assumed he’d tripped and hit his head on the edge of the pool. When the emergency responders first arrived, they seemed to think so, too. However the autopsy showed there were flecks of paint in the gash. They matched the paint on a lawn statue in our backyard. Whoever killed Jared hit him with the statue before shoving him into the pool. His official cause of death was drowning.”

“But whoever hit him over the head wanted him dead,” Alex finished. “Did they find the statue?”

“The statue was in the garden where it had always been. There were still traces of blood when the investigators came back.”

“No fingerprints?”

She winced. “Only mine. It’s my flower garden.”

“How convenient,” Alex said sourly. “That’s when you became a suspect?”

She nodded. “I was brought in for questioning, but they let me go. I already had my suspicions by then. As soon as I knew Jared had been murdered, I knew Xavier was involved. They questioned him, as well. He told them Jared and I had a troubled marriage. Things went sideways pretty quickly from there.”

“You didn’t tell them you suspected Xavier?” Alex asked.