Chapter Thirty-Three
“This…” Dylan picked up the recorder and spun it between his fingers. “Is dynamite. Good move.”
“Bad one on Vincent’s part,” Trey replied. “He was so pissed at me and at Ally for taking over the presentation, he didn’t think twice about coming to me and screaming his confession.”
“But it’s possibly inadmissible.”
Trey blinked, unsure he’d heard correctly.
Dylan shook his head. “The bastard was intoxicated when he said this. Hard to hold a drunk’s word against him. You can tell by the way he speaks—it’ll be the first thing his lawyer brings up. Including my reference to him bringing his own booze in to spike his coffee.”
Trey swallowed back a surge of nausea.
“But we’re going to try our hardest. I’ll get Mac on the line and tell him we’ve got something to add to what we already sent over. You get the data ready to fly.” Dylan glanced at the window looking out onto the club. “And Ally?”
“I don’t know how much she heard. But it was enough for her to cut and run.”
“Don’t be too tough on her,” Dylan warned. “It’s one thing to have an alcoholic, embezzling idiot adopted brother. Another to find out he’s a murderer with no remorse. Not to mention her feelings for you.” He waved Trey out. “Send me all you’ve got—shadows included. We’ll never have a better chance to make this happen. Let’s take the shot.”
“As soon as I get this done, I’m going to fly out and see Nick’s parents,” Trey said.
“Done. Take as long as you want,” Dylan said without hesitation. “Just stay in touch. I’ll call if Mac comes back with something.”
“Thanks.” Trey let out a sigh. “I figure they deserve as much closure as I can give them.”
“You’ve done all that you can. It’ll be more than enough.”
“No. Enough would be putting Vincent Sheldon behind bars for life.” Trey shook his head. “But this is better than nothing.”
…
She missed Edgar.
The strong, silent man had been in the background for so many years, she thought she wouldn’t notice him not being there.
She was wrong.
Vincent had gone on a bender not long after Edgar had left. He’d gone to the mini bar and pulled out all the bottles then dragged them back to his bedroom. Ally had ordered in dinner via room service, listening to him rant and rave behind closed doors.
She didn’t engage him. She had work to do.
The return phone calls came one after the other, checking and verifying her requests. The lawyers confirmed her actions were legitimate, her accountants double-checking the numbers and coming to the same conclusions she had.
During a lull in the calls, she turned her attention to the folder on her desktop and the data within. She needed a plan of action, a way to get it into the best hands possible.
Which, Ally noted with a sigh, might not be the police. At least, not directly. Her uncle had managed to keep Vincent out of jail once—she didn’t want to give him a second chance to keep her adopted brother from the punishment he deserved.
She dug a familiar number out of her files and dialed it, wincing when she heard the message. A brief voicemail, then she went back to dealing with Sheldon Construction.
A few hours after the confrontation at the club, the phone rang.
Ally winced, seeing the caller identification. But she couldn’t put this call off.
“What the hell is going on there?” Betty asked, skipping over the pleasantries. “Vincent’s hurt? He called us—he’s so upset.”
“Only a broken nose. He’s had it seen to—it’ll heal straight and won’t destroy his handsome appearance.” It was hard to keep her anger from filtering through. “He’ll survive.”
“That’s intolerable. From what we understand, he was attacked without a chance to defend himself. In a nightclub, of all places.” Her tone shifted. “I heard your hacker was involved. Is this true? Is that why no one called the police?”
“Yes, it was Trey. Vincent went to the nightclub to confront him and got exactly what he deserved, in my opinion. No, there won’t be any charges filed. They wouldn’t stick, and besides, Vincent was in the wrong.”
Her adopted mother stuttered for a second before interrupting. “And Edgar quit? What did you do?”
“I did nothing.” Ally snapped. “Vincent pushed him too far. This can’t be that much of a surprise to you—Vincent’s been treating him like trash for years.”
“You should have done something,” she whined.
“What did you want me to do?”
“Talk him into staying. Offer him a raise, more vacation days, whatever it took.” She paused. “Hold on.”
Henry came on the line. “Hello, Ally.”
The deep rumbling voice tapped into her memories, drew her back to a time when she looked up to him.
“Darling, we’re just worried about you and Vincent. The business, too, of course.”
Of course.
He cleared his throat, a sign the conversation was about to turn away from the personal. “We understand you took over the presentation.”
“I did,” Ally said. “Your son was too hungover. From the looks of it, he’d been drinking all night, right up until the damned meeting, I suspect.”
“But…”
“No.” She slashed at the air with her hand, finding strength in the action. “I’m done. Done with it all. You made me an unwilling accomplice to Vincent’s crimes. The hit-and-run in New York City—did you think I’d never find out? He remembers it all. Consider that for a second. He lied to you and to me, to the best friend of the man he hit.” She fought to keep her voice level. “Vincent taunted Trey with the information. He teased him with the fact that he knew he’d run the car up on the sidewalk and killed someone.” Her voice broke. “Henry… how could you keep this from me? How could the two of you help Vincent get away with it?”
Her uncle’s tone shifted. “Is this the man who broke his nose?”
“Yes. The same man I brought into the company to help me out when Vincent went missing. His name is Trey Pierce, and I want you to hear it, along with Nick Aisles, the man Vincent drove down and killed. I want you to know their names.”
“Listen,” Henry started, his voice softening. “Maybe when you marry, you’ll understand. You and Vincent have always been so special to us. He needed our help so much more than you did. You’re strong, you always have been. When your parents passed away, you recovered much faster than we thought. You’ve got your father’s eyes, and I love seeing him in you.”
“Yes,” Betty said, joining in on the conversation. “We love you both with every bit of our hearts.”
“I know,” Ally whispered. “But you can’t keep covering for him out of love.”
“You’re family,” he said. “How can you even consider hurting him?”
“It’s not hurting him when he needs help. Now he’s hurt others.” She paused, steeling herself. “He killed a man, and you helped hide it. I can’t deal with that. I won’t deal with it.”
His tone shifted, returning to the businessman she’d modeled her life after. “Look, Ally. Don’t make any rash decisions. We’ll grab the first flight out, be there as soon as we can. Just don’t do anything until we arrive.”
A beep on the line signaled an incoming call. “I’ve got to go.” She drew a deep breath. “I appreciate you taking me in when my parents died. I’ll always love you for raising me and sending me to the best schools, teaching me the craft.” She couldn’t hide the harshness creeping into her words. “But this time it’s too much to ask me to forgive, to forget. You aided a murderer, and I won’t be a part of that, not any longer. Consider this my resignation from this family and from Sheldon Construction. You’ll be hearing from my lawyers. Good-bye.”
She hung up on them, almost trembling with anticipation as she switched lines.
“Hello?”
“It’s Jessie Lyon. You left a message. What can I do for you?”
Ally drew a deep breath, readying herself. “I need your help.”
“Sure. For what?”
“To find justice.”
Jessie let out a laugh. “I can help in that area. But if you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you call Trey?”
“Because I don’t want him to think I’m doing this for him. I mean”—she caught herself—“I’m doing it for him, but for me, too. I don’t want him to believe I’m doing this because of him. But I am, because…” She fell silent, cursing silently.
“I get it.” Jessie’s calm voice helped settle her nerves. “I understand. Believe me, I do. Let’s start at the beginning and figure this out. I’m pretty sure I can find someone to help you.”