Chapter 28
Pulling up to the new bakery location, Monty saw the intricate window sign with pink, purple, and teal swirls creating the letters in Angel’s Cupcake Heaven. Smiling to himself, he headed inside. Struck by the completion of the bakery, his eyes immediately sought Angel, wanting to make sure she was happy. He saw her back with another man’s arms wrapped around her. The man moved slightly and Monty could see the Army uniform. Pushing back the unfamiliar jolt of jealousy, he walked toward the trio, assuming he knew the young man’s identity.
Angel heard the noise at the door and turned her head toward the sound. “Monty!” she called out, rushing over. He opened his arms and she ran into his embrace. “Isn’t it great?” she exuded, throwing her arm around, indicating the colorful bakery. “And you have to see who came!” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the soldier.
“Monty, this is my brother, Patrick, who came home just for the day to see me! Patrick, this is my boyfriend, Monty Lytton.”
The two men shook hands, Monty knowing the brother was sizing him up. Patrick’s demeanor stayed relaxed and smiling, so Monty assumed he met the brother’s approval. The tall, blond soldier with the muscular build had the same blue eyes as Angel, the familial bond easy to see.
“You’re only here for one night? Monty asked.
“Yes. Mom called and I was able to take a day of family emergency leave to check on sis.”
“Well, I’m sorry you had to burn up a day of leave for me, but I’m so glad to see you,” she said, before being called into the kitchen by Chad. Patrick followed her, leaving Monty alone with Jack. Filling him in quickly on their meeting, Jack nodded.
“So if someone else fucked with their investment accounts and Marcia got wind of it, took them over, and discovered something, then she could have been killed. And the other women as well.”
“Now, we need to find out who without spooking them into running…or trying to kill again,” Monty added, his eyes following Angel in the kitchen. “I was going to question her later, but with her brother here for only a night, I’ll wait and do it tomorrow.”
“I think they’re planning a family dinner tonight, but you could get the info from her after that,” Jack stated. “We can meet after we get the new info from the others. Tomorrow afternoon good for you?”
Monty agreed and Jack moved into the kitchen to say goodbye to Patrick and Angel. He noticed Jack taking Patrick to the side and speaking to him for just a moment before Jack kissed Angel’s cheek and headed back toward him.
“You offer him a job, boss?” Monty laughed.
“Hell, yeah,” Jack answered, grinning. “I told him if he ever got out of the Army and wanted a job to let me know.”
“And he said?”
Laughing, Jack answered, “Said he’d keep that in mind.” With that, Jack left and Monty headed into the kitchen.
Chad saw Monty and said, “Everything looks good. The ovens and stoves are fine. The gas and electric companies have been out to inspect and I’ve been here the whole time. Alvarez Security came by and have the place wired already.”
“That reminds me,” Angel said, turning to look at Monty with her hands on her hips. “Who was this Tony person and who the hell is paying for the system they put in?” she asked, pointing to the cameras in the corners of the kitchen and the security panel by the back door.
“That, my dear,” Monty said leaning in to quiet her with a chaste kiss, “is not for you to worry about. Anyway,” he added, “they’re friends of ours and we do some work for each other. They actually owed us, so we’re good.”
She sighed, hating the need for such security, but knowing she needed it. “Okay,” she smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “I admit I’m glad to have it.”
“So am I,” Patrick said. Looking directly at Monty, he added, “And if there’s any help needed with the cost, let me know.”
“No worries,” Monty said. “The Saints have her covered.”
*
Lying in bed that night with Angel in his arms, Monty thought back over the evening as sleep eluded him. The slight snores from her let him know that at least she was able to find rest in the midst of the investigation, for which he was grateful.
The evening began with the family dinner. At first, he tried to beg off, but Angel insisted. “It’s my family, honey, but we’re together now so that makes it your family too,” she argued.
In the end, he was happy to have participated. He discovered dinner with the Cartwrights was far different compared to a dinner with his parents. The conversation stayed lively, and it was evident Sylvie and Sam Cartwright were proud of their children. Patrick appeared to relish his home cooked meal and his sister’s cupcake dessert. Once more, Monty had to try to eat the moist, delectable treat piled high with Angel’s signature colors on the frosting without getting it all over his face. Unsuccessful. But with everyone else at the table emitting groans of delight with the icing on their lips as well, he fit right in.
At the end of the evening, Angel held on tearfully to Patrick as she said goodbye. He would be leaving in the early morning hours to fly back to his duty station. Monty watched as the two of them stood on the porch for several minutes, the long goodbye agony for his woman.
Sam walked up behind him, his typical gruffness tempered. “Sylvie gave me two good children,” he said. “Now one of them’s found a good man.”
Monty turned and looked into Sam’s eyes, seeing them shining with emotion. Shaking Sam’s hand, he listened as her father continued.
“Keep her safe for us, Monty.”
“Yes, sir. I intend to. For as long as she’ll have me.”
Sam smiled as Sylvie approached them and he pulled his wife in closely. “Then, from what I can see…welcome to the family.”
After Monty and Angel were back in his apartment, he told her they needed to talk.
“Oh, dear. This sounds ominous,” she said, looking as he pulled off his tie and loosened the top button of his shirt. “Do I need wine for this conversation?”
Chuckling, he said, “It might not be a bad idea. I’ll pour while you go change.”
She hurried into the bedroom, deciding after working all day she needed a quick shower. Stepping under the warm water, she quickly washed away the dirt and grime from the day before slipping into comfortable yoga pants and one of Monty’s large FBI t-shirts.
He looked up as she walked back into the living room, face and body glowing from the fresh scrub and looking as delectable as one of her cupcakes. Handing her a glass of wine, they settled together on the sofa, facing each other.
“Okay, hit me with it,” she tried to joke.
“It seems as though we may be getting closer to solving the case and from where we are now, it definitely appears as though Betty, Marcia, and Theresa’s deaths are linked, as well as your attempted murder. And the link is CFG.”
Angel took a large sip of the wine, finding swallowing difficult. “You want to know what’s crazy? Part of me really wanted Betty’s to just be natural causes, Theresa’s to just be a stupid accident on icy roads, and mine to be a gas leak. I know none of those things are true, but it was easier for me to think that way.”
Reaching out, Monty linked his fingers with hers. “I know, Angel, and I’m sorry.”
Taking another sip for fortification, she nodded. “So, what have you got?”
Monty stared at her for a silent moment, taking her emotional pulse. Seeing her steady, he began. “In a nutshell, it appears that somehow, even with Scott and another broker working on the investment accounts with the three of you, they set up something unusual. I won’t say illegal until we delve into it more, but definitely your accounts are almost identical and that shouldn’t be. We now surmise that perhaps Marcia noticed or since Theresa was killed first, she may have brought something to Marcia’s attention. But Marcia took over your accounts, which was actually against company policy of working with clients that you also had a social connection with. If she was digging, then that would explain why she was murdered, and then if Betty had already noticed a problem, she was silenced as well.”
“So it wasn’t Marcia doing something wrong, but trying to fix things for her friends?”
“We don’t know anything for sure yet, but that could be a real possibility.”
Angel’s eyes grew wide with each statement from Monty. She looked over his shoulder at the nighttime view outside his window for a moment. Licking the wine from her lips, she hastily took another sip. Swallowing hard, she looked back at him. “So in effect, even with my business degree, the fact that I never watched my investments too closely and prefer baking, may be what kept me alive so far.”
“I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but yes, I’d say that’s a good assumption.”
“Fuck,” she whispered, setting her now empty wine glass on the coffee table with shaking hands.
“Babe, I need to know in detail what your dealings with CFG looked like. Who you talked to, what you talked about, everything.”
She nodded, but her expression was dubious. “There’s not much to tell. Marcia had been after me to invest some money I got from my grandparents. I was nervous, but she convinced me to be kinda moderate in my portfolio.” She barked out a laugh. “Listen to me. I sound like I fucking know what I’m talking about. Honestly, I don’t have a clue how it all works. I wrote Colonial Financial Group a check and they took it and invested it. I got a quarterly statement and usually only glanced at it. I seemed to be making some money so I didn’t worry about it too much.”
“Who did you deal with?”
“Um, I guess Scott was the only person I dealt with. He was my broker and I only met with him about two times. I would email him if I had a question, but” she blushed, “I think that was only a couple of times.”
“Did you know Marcia took over your account about three months ago?”
She cocked her head to the side, a confused expression on her face. “No. Hmmm, I wonder why?”
“Who else did you talk to when you were at CFG?”
“Well, the receptionist when I came into the office. Um…Cindy would take me back to him. I know she was Marcia’s right-hand woman and I got the feeling she never liked Scott very much.”
“Yeah, well, she’s working for him now,” Monty commented.
She nodded, already knowing this tidbit of information. “And she hates that. She and Marcia were tight. I always thought that the two of them connected being in a male-dominated business.”
“What dealings did you have with Carlton Creston?”
Her brow creased as she considered his question. “Marcia’s cousin?” Seeing his nod, she answered, “I think I met him at a Christmas party at Marcia’s parent’s home. Um…I did see him once when I was at CFG. He was the next appointment after me. At least, he was going in to see Scott when I was coming out.”
Interesting, Monty thought, as he closed the space between his body and Angel’s. His arms snaked around her body as he pulled her in tightly. Kissing the top of her head, he held her for a long time, each quietly with their own thoughts.
“Monty?”
“Right here, Cupcake,” he murmured against her hair.
“What do you do when you can’t solve a case?”
Sucking in a deep breath, Monty pulled her tighter. “This case’ll be solved, baby. I promise.”
Twisting in his arms, she looked up into his face, seeing sincerity…mixed with anger. Lifting her hand, she cupped his stubbled jaw. Rubbing her thumb over his cheek, she smiled. “When I’m in your arms, I feel the safest.”
He bent his head over, pressing his lips against hers. “Then this is where you should stay,” he mumbled into her mouth.
Now, hours later, after making love long into the night, he lay awake turning the clues over and over in his mind. The fuckin’ answer is staring me straight in the eye and I can’t find the last piece of the goddamn puzzle!
*
Early the next morning, Luke stepped into his kitchen, firing up his expensive coffee machine. While it brewed, he moved to his window, overlooking the park beside his property. He loved the little house he found. The side bordered the park, the back was woods, and his closest neighbor was an acre to the side. The house was small, just the right size for him. He knew Bart and Cam had bought larger homes, Monty lived in a nice apartment, Jack built his large cabin, Blaise needed lots of room for his animals, and Marc had a cabin in the woods. Chad rented a small house in a family neighborhood, which always seemed strange to Luke, who preferred solitude. He had never been to Jude’s place, but assumed he and Sabrina rented a house as well.
His coffee ready, Luke moved away from his window and the musings of what people’s homes say about themselves. Chuckling as he sat down opening his laptop, he sat his large cup on the table and immediately pulled up his latest work.
Late last night he had spent time investigating the companies that were shared by the three women’s portfolios. Finding nothing, he finally went to bed and was now ready to resume his work. Within thirty minutes, he hit the jackpot. Corsten Defence Technology Industries. Betty, Theresa, and Angel were all heavily invested in the company…and it did not exist.
How the fuck did this happen? And who the hell is Corsten Defense Technology? Realizing he had found a dummy corporation, he began to dig, once more frustrated with the levels of protection hiding the data.
An incoming email pinged. I can tell you now see the light.
Sucking in a breath, he typed, Yes. Now to peel back the layers.
Keep at it. You will succeed.
Will we ever meet, Luke typed, knowing the answer, but hopeful all the same. No reply came and he stopped watching, focusing all of his efforts on Corsten Defense Technology. Peel back the layers, one at a time, he told himself. This has to be it—the key to the murders. With a call to Jack and Monty, he continued his work as his fingers flew over the keys.
The email alert came in, distracting him. Opening it, he smiled.
Maybe. One day, we’ll meet. Maybe.