Arianna looked up to see Alex coming towards her. Relief flooded her body. She couldn’t explain the naked fear she felt when she saw Sophie lying in a heap on the floor. If Alex hadn’t been there to handle the EMTs on scene, she didn’t know what she would have done. The fog in her mind was slowly clearing but it still felt like she couldn’t think clearly.

“Let’s go,” Alex said, putting his hand out for her to take. Arianna leaned on him as she stood up. Her eyes looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head. Her father was not coming. She hung her head and slowly walked out.

They were sitting in the car when they heard loud barks. They looked at each other. Oreo! They rushed to where they heard the barks, hoping Oreo wouldn’t be hurt. Oreo wasn’t near the house but he was almost where the fields started. He was guarding something and barking loudly.

Alex was the first to reach him. It looked like Oreo was guarding a piece of cloth. He wagged his tail when he saw Alex but he didn’t move. Alex cautiously lifted the cloth using a twig. The cloth was bloody. This was probably why Sophie had scratches all over her; she must have fought back. Oreo growled when Alex inspected him, but it didn’t look like he had any injuries. It was worth checking out, just in case he had any internal injuries. He was sure Oreo would have fought for Sophie as well.

“We’ll have to call the police for this one, Arianna. This cloth has blood on it, and it could be vital evidence.” Arianna nodded. She had just caught up to him.

“Oreo seems okay, but we should get him checked out. First, let’s check on Sophie and report to the police. Though the EMTs would probably have reported it anyway.”

Alex looked at Oreo. He was sitting down beside the cloth as if he knew how important it was. Alex didn’t want the evidence to get lost but he had to speak to the police and update Buzz. This was now getting serious.

They made their way to the car and rushed to the hospital. The doctors had an update about Sophie.

“She has a concussion and that gash was deep, but it is nothing serious. You called the ambulance at the right time. They were able to staunch the blood loss and keep her vitals steady. She’s a fighter. She just needs a few days of rest in the hospital so we can monitor her, but otherwise, she’ll be fine.” The doctor smiled and left.

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. She put her head in her hands. If she hadn’t called Alex, he wouldn’t have called the ambulance, and then they would have lost Sophie. She looked at Alex, her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh god. If I hadn’t called you and you hadn’t come when you did, we would have lost Sophie. I was…” She looked at Alex with gratitude in her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do, but you came and handled everything. How can I ever repay you? Thank you so much. You saved Sophie.”

Alex shook his head. “No thanks needed, Arianna. I did what I had to. Sophie means a lot to me as well.” He put his arm around Arianna and held her tight. It felt so familiar and so comfortable when he held her in his arms. She fit in perfectly. If they weren’t in the hospital, he would have kissed her by now. But now wasn’t the time.

His phone vibrated and he looked at the screen. It was Buzz. He stood up to go. Arianna looked at him desperately.

“Give me some time, I’ve got to take this call.” She nodded and he walked towards the window where he could speak without being overheard.

“Hello Buzz, what’s the update?” He spoke in a hushed tone.

“It’s your friend, Brian. He’s skipped out. I called him because I wanted to ask him about the ‘investigation’ he was supposedly doing but he’s gone AWOL. Nobody knows where he is. Nobody from the office and nobody in his apartment building knows either. It doesn’t look good for him. But that’s not why I called.”

“What?” Alex was on guard now.

“I called to warn you. My team found documents on the Belmonte family in Brian’s apartment. It looks like he’s been tracking them for a while now. He may reach out and try to harm them in some way.”

Alex’s blood ran cold. Brian was the one who did this? He was the missing connection to the Moretti family? That would explain Brian’s enthusiasm to get another investigation started into Sadie, who was probably innocent. And he had given him the very information he needed to cover up his tracks. Alex groaned inwardly. He was the reason Sophie had been attacked.

“Buzz, you called me too late. Brian or his goons have already been here. They hurt Arianna’s sister. I’ve got to report to the police, but I think you should fly out here. Arianna’s father definitely has some connection to the Morettis which I can’t uncover. Perhaps you’ll be able to crack the case.”

“I’ll run it through the top brass. Having a live and unexplored Moretti connection means we have a real chance of nabbing them. You sit tight and take care. Tell the police to talk to Esposito from the Seattle PD White Collar unit and we’ll take it over.”

“Okay. Thanks, Buzz.” Alex hung up.

He gulped. He hadn’t mentioned the Moretti connection to Arianna, even after he spoke to Buzz and Brian.

She’s going to be so mad I didn’t tell her about this. But how could I? There wasn’t anything I knew for sure. I could have panicked for nothing.

He sighed. He’d made a mistake by not mentioning it to her. If only he had told her, she would have probably stayed back with Sophie and asked someone else to come so they would be protected. They could have gone to the police. But he had to play detective and now Sophie was hurt.

Arianna is never going to forgive me.

When he reached Arianna, she was talking to a police officer. Alex had expected that; the hospital was mandated to report assault cases. He knew he had to act fast. The officer taking down Arianna’s statement turned to look at him. Alex wasted no time with introductions.

“I need to talk to the officer in charge. This comes from Detective Esposito of Seattle PD.”

The officer’s face turned serious and he nodded. Alex had no doubt Buzz had gone ahead and spoken to his counterparts at the sheriff’s office. Arianna was confused.

“You, why did he look at you like that? Do you know something about what happened to Sophie?” she demanded.

Alex shot a look at the officer, whose face was completely blank. He put his hand on Arianna’s shoulder.

“Arianna, wait. Let me try to sort this out and then I’ll tell you everything.” Saying this, he turned and left. Arianna’s questioning eyes were burning holes at the back of his head. He turned to look at her once but she was looking somewhere else.

The officer taking down statements had gone to his vehicle and put in a call to the Sheriff’s office. After a few brief words, he passed the phone to Alex.

“This is the Sheriff,” a gruff voice said from the receiver.

“Sheriff, my name is Alex Garner. I’m a Seattle resident who was working with Seattle PD in the White Collar Division. I believe Detective Esposito or Inspector Malcolm Hughson have been in touch with you?”

“Yes, a Malcom Hughson did call in. What is it you’re saying about there being a criminal in my town that has Seattle PD in knots?”

“I’m afraid so. We’ve been working hard trying to nab two criminals by the name of Franco and Marco Moretti. Insider trading, money laundering, you name it, they’ve done it. Seattle PD will be wanting to set up base here to monitor the happenings. We believe Sophie Belmonte’s assault has something to do with our case.”

“You city slickers with your big words. Well, if the Seattle PD unit is doing my job, I don’t see why not. You tell Inspector Hughson I’ll be waiting for his call to brief me up.” Alex nodded. It was good to have the Sheriff cooperate, because they couldn’t do anything without the local police involved.

“Also, Sheriff, if you take a team down to the Belmonte Estate, you’ll find a dog by the name of Oreo guarding a cloth with bloodstains on it. Can you run that for tests?”

The Sheriff sighed. “Sophie’s dog get into a scuttle? Well, I’ll be...I’ll send a team out there once my officer there is done taking your statements. Good day to you.”

The phone disconnected. Alex’s lips thinned.

I hope this will end soon. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.

He nodded to the officer and gave him his statements. The officer took meticulous notes and then drove away.

Alex looked around the parking lot, just in case. The air felt charged and all his senses were heightened. Not noticing anyone, he turned and went back inside.

Arianna looked at him with fire in her eyes when he came. He was not looking forward to this conversation. Before he had a chance to say anything, Arianna hurled questions at him.

“You have some things to explain, Alex. Who is Detective Esposito from Seattle PD? Why did the officer seem to know him or you or whatever? Why did you leave me a message asking me to be careful? What do you know about this whole thing?”

Alex took a step back. He was not ready for the rapid onslaught of questions.

“Arianna, please sit. I’ll explain everything,” he said, waiting for her to sit down. When she did, he sat down beside her. Arianna crossed her arms and stared at him. She tapped her heels in anticipation of his answer. Taking a deep breath, Alex answered.

“I work at Schneider & Pratt in Seattle. Among other things, we consult with the Revenue Department and the Seattle PD on investigations and frauds. We have an investigation department that works on that.”

Arianna frowned. “What does that have to do with anything, Alex? Get to the point.”

“I am. Listen to me, please.” Arianna leaned in and relaxed her arms. Alex continued.

“One of the cases we were investigating, there was a criminal duo called the Morettis, Franco and Marco.” Arianna’s brows furrowed deeper. Then slowly, comprehension dawned on her face.

“Franco? Franco from that note that Papa received.” Her eyes narrowed. “You think my father is dealing with criminals?” she asked, her voice filled with suspicion.

“I’m not sure about that. When I saw Ezee Securities as one of the parties the winery paid to, something clicked at the back of my mind. When I spoke to another colleague, he thought it would be related to them too.”

“What do you mean? We’re paying some criminal organization?” Her arms were crossed again, disbelief across her face.

“No, no, I don’t mean that. The Morettis are into counterfeiting and money laundering, among other things. Marco is a Wall Street trader we’re suspecting of insider trading and securities fraud. The SEC is investigating him as well. We’re working at tracing overseas routing of money to tax havens and the like. It’s only right now that a local money laundering operation could be traced.”

“So you’re saying it’s these guys who are pressuring my father to sell the estate?”

“We’re not sure; my contacts in Seattle PD are investigating every angle. And there was one more complication. We suspect my colleague, the one who I passed info to is dirty. We’ve no proof yet, but that’s when I realized our lives could be in danger. By the time I called you, Sophie had already been…..you know.” Alex looked into her eyes, waiting for her reaction.

Arianna’s eyes were furious.

“You don’t get to decide when our lives would be in danger, Alex. How dare you decide that?”

“I didn’t; the minute I had any information about your safety, I called you.”

“No, you called me to save yourself. The minute you knew there was some connection to a case you were investigating, you should have told me. We could have gone to the police, we could have done something.”

She stood up. Her nostrils flared.

“The minute you decided you knew more about our safety, you put our lives in danger. I can’t believe I trusted you.”

“No, Arianna, you’re taking it the wrong way. I didn’t want you or Sophie to get hurt. Please. You have to believe me.” Alex was desperate. Arianna’s eyes narrowed.

“No. When you chose to investigate without telling us, you put yourself in front of us. I’m doing that now. I don’t want you around Sophie. You’re the reason she is in hospital now.” Arianna sat down, tears in her eyes. She had lost count of how many times she’d cried this evening. She wearily eyed Alex. He stared back at her, hesitantly waiting for her to say something.

“Please go, Alex. I’m not sure I can be around you without causing you pain. I’m just confused now.” She looked away so that he couldn’t see how it tore her to say this.

Alex swallowed, turned around, and left. Disappointment hit him squarely in the chest. He didn’t know why he had indulged himself and his feelings for this long. It wasn’t going to work out with Arianna; in fact, it never had. Shaking his head, he left the hospital.

He had thought after yesterday’s hike, they would have a lot of such moments together.

I guess it was simply not meant to be.