Chapter 5
Angela hopped up from the couch, wandered into the kitchen and said, “Are there any sandwiches left?” She turned back to Warrick. “I’m not sure why, but I’m still really hungry.”
“Have at it.” He pointed to the counter where he had dropped all the foodstuffs.
She grinned. “Did you guys expect me to be without food when you picked up so much?”
“We eat a lot too,” Corey said, absentmindedly studying the laptop in front of him. “It’s habit when we’re on the road to make sure there’s enough.”
She eyed the several different sandwiches still wrapped up individually, snagged a roast beef and some cold water and walked back out to the deck. It was still early, but there was a little heat to the sun now. She called over her shoulder, “I’m going to walk down to the lake.”
Neither man answered. Good, she could have a few minutes to herself.
It was a little upsetting to think she’d spent so much time with Greg, and yet she had not really understood who he was. She would never have said she was naive, but, after seven years, she hadn’t known her husband at all.
She hoped Joshua was doing okay. She missed him so. Of course one of the real reasons why she’d married so fast was because she’d been desperate for that family she’d always wanted. She’d always hoped for a big fancy wedding with all the pomp and ceremony, but Greg hadn’t wanted the publicity and had instead taken her to the minister’s office.
It had been a bit exciting because it had been so fast, as in being swept off her feet. But it had left an awful lot behind in terms of the romantic fairy-tale wedding she’d always dreamed of. Maybe she should have been suspicious of him then.
What she hadn’t considered was how possessive he was. If the baby was his, then he wanted to own it. She wasn’t sure he wanted to love Joshua as much as she did, but Greg wasn’t going to let Joshua go in terms of Greg’s legal rights. Joshua was too young to understand what was going on, even now, but he was certainly learning quickly.
She sat down on a big rock by the beach. There wasn’t any sand. It was a very rocky shoreline with various plants fighting for survival among them. She could relate.
When she finished the sandwich, she folded the wrapper and put it in her pocket, then stood with her cup of water in her hand. She wandered out onto the dock. She didn’t know where to go from here in her custody battle. Her only hope was those photos. But, if she turned those into the police, what was she to do then? Would that help her case or make her look worse in the eyes of the judge?
She’d have no leverage at all. And, if the police were bought off—because of course Greg dealt in information; and, therefore, that was a possibility—maybe the blackmail case would get closed without any justice being done. Of course she’d have the copies she had originally taken. She could always contact a newspaper or contact some of the people in the photos.
She winced at that idea. It just felt dirty and ugly to be part of that. And what good would it do her? It would only enrage Greg.
Just as she started to relax and enjoy the sparkling light of the sun across the water, she thought she heard an odd sound behind her. Maybe the crunch of a dead branch? She crouched and spun. Had the men heard anything? She peered through the trees, studying the shadows. That was a problem with the heavily treed area. It was great cover for somebody approaching, but she was standing in the open.
When she couldn’t see anything, she straightened and returned to the cabin. It no longer felt so nice or quiet to be here. Too many things were going on. And being exposed outdoors, … well, that just gave her a creepy feeling.
As she wandered up the path, she thought she heard the same sound again, off to the left. Maybe more like the crunch of dead leaves on the ground? Was she being followed? She turned to look but still couldn’t see anything. Rather than be afraid of every little thing, she was determined to take a look. Besides, if she screamed, the men would come to her aid. She took a deep breath and took several steps in that direction.
“What did you hear?” Corey asked.
She spun, looked up at the cabin and saw him on the deck. She rushed to stand underneath him. “Twice I heard a noise off to the side of the cabin.”
He gave her a hard glance. “And you thought you could check it out yourself?”
She shrugged. “You’re busy.”
He snorted and came down the stairs—was at her side almost instantly.
She hadn’t realized he could move like that.
“Somebody is after you. You’ve received death threats. You’re in possession of blackmail material a lot of people would go after you for, not just Greg but every person’s face in those photos. And you think, because I’m busy looking at the material, I want you wandering around on your own?”
Maybe it was something to do with his tone of voice, maybe it was his wording, she didn’t know, but she got her back up. She glared at him. “I’ve been on my own for a long time now, thank you,” she snapped. “I don’t need a bodyguard to look after me.”
Instead of being put off by her tone, he just stared at her quietly but didn’t back down.
Almost as instantly as her temper had flared, it just as quickly dropped off. “Okay, so I haven’t done all that well on my own,” she said in frustration. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t walk around a little.”
He held out an elbow. “Hook your arm through mine, and we’ll walk together.”
She did so, feeling strange. It was how they always used to walk together. During class, after class, the two of them, alone against the world. She shook her head, trying to shrug off the memories.
“You feel it too, don’t you?”
“I don’t feel anything,” she said quietly. “It was a long time ago.”
“It was. And we’ve both grown up. I’m delighted you’ve gone on to have a family. Never happened for me. And for that I was always very sad.”
“You’re still young. It’s not like you can’t have that family.”
“True enough. But I haven’t met the right woman yet.”
They wandered around the property as if searching for whatever she’d heard. But she’d long ago given up worrying about it. She could see his gaze going from tree to tree, searching, peering, looking for whatever it was that might have disturbed her. Finally she came to a stop, looked around and said, “It couldn’t have been this far away, I wouldn’t have heard it.”
“Maybe not.” He turned and led her back toward the cabin. “But I don’t want you going anywhere alone anymore.”
“And yet you let me go down to the dock on my own,”
“Not really. You went, but I was on the deck watching you.”
“You didn’t see anything?”
“No, I didn’t. I did hear a couple things, but one was a rabbit moving in the underbrush, and the other was a doe at the edge of the clearing.”
“As long as it’s not armed two-legged animals, I don’t care.”
He squeezed her arm a little closer against his body and nodded. “At least the four-legged ones have a reason for doing what they’re doing. The two-legged ones, sometimes they’re just hard to understand.”
Silence stood between them for a time.
Out of the blue he asked, “Were you at least happy for some of those years you were with him?”
“Yes. At the beginning. But apparently I didn’t really understand who I was back then. I would never have thought I was naive or ignorant. It’s almost like he took who and what I was and shaped me the way he wanted me to be.”
“Was he unhappy with the result?”
She winced. “Ouch.”
He glanced at her sideways. “It’s not a criticism of you. But if he made you the way he wanted you, and then was happy to discard you …”
“Still, it’s an ouch when you put it that way. Nobody wants to think of themselves as being discarded.”
“No. In this case, set free might be a better phrase. You’re obviously not living life to the fullest, so this is a perfect opportunity to make some major changes.”
She nodded. “Doesn’t mean I was ready for that change though.”
“See? That’s the thing. Changes like that, those we don’t have a choice about as to when or how, it’s all about adapting.”
Back at the cabin he took her into the living room. Warrick was on the phone. Too bad. They should have stayed out a little longer. She hated knowing everyone was making arrangements and gathering information but not necessarily sharing.
However, as soon as they stepped in, Warrick stopped the conversation. He smiled up at Angela and said, “Do you feel better now?” He studied her face. “You look better. A little calmer, a little more at ease.”
“Not sure why I should be. I kept hearing sounds outside. Every time I did, I was thinking there was an intruder following me.”
“And you should keep that thought foremost in your mind. It will help keep you safer.”
“How does that work? I was down there at the end of the dock. I don’t have any weapons or self-defense skills. I’m coming to realize I was more of a trophy wife than anything, I have few useful skills and even less life skills,” she said with the hint of bitterness entering her voice.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. You have the rest of your life to be whoever and whatever you want to be. Having made some decisions, you’re less unhappy with who you are now as you see yourself a little clearer. You’ll make better decisions from now on. But you still need to go easy on yourself. This transition will take time.”
“Are you always so optimistic?” she asked, sitting down beside Warrick.
“No, not always. But it’s part of my nature.”
“Did you find out anything else?” She pointed to the laptops. “Anything useful?”
“The spreadsheets do appear to be payouts. But it’s in some kind of code. We’ll need time to break it. And, yes, I phoned the cops. Yes, I’ve handed over a lot of the information.”
She stared at him. “Already? Without talking to me?” She bounded to her feet, outrage rippling through her.
Corey stepped in front of her. “Easy. Just because we’ve handed over the information doesn’t mean we don’t have copies of it ourselves.”
She looked at him, her expression a cross between anger and tearful sadness. He shook his head, reached out and tucked her into his arms. “You’re not alone anymore. Let somebody else help you.”
“Help me do what? There isn’t even a way forward from here.”
“No, there are several ways forward,” he corrected. “And the good thing is, you have other people to help you follow those trails.”
“But the police?” She pulled back so she could look into his face. “What if Greg owns them too? I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t have dozens of law enforcement officers, lawyers and even judges in his pocket.”
Corey looked down at her and frowned. “Do you have any reason to think he might?”
“I don’t have any proof of anything. But he’s that kind of a man.”
“But not all police are that kind of police. We have to trust most are honest and care about doing right and upholding the law.”
She groaned. “But if it comes back to Greg that I handed over this information …”
“He will try to get lawyers to say you concocted this stuff or stole it off the net and handed it over to make him look like the bad guy,” Warrick said.
“How is it you already think like that?” she asked in wonder. “And, if he does do that, how do I counter his words?”
“First things first. Let the police do their job. We will follow up on our side, keep track of the information, see if we can hunt down the faces in the pictures, follow the money trail in the spreadsheets.”
She shook her head. “But you’re navy? How does that have anything to do with this?”
Both men winced. “Hey now, that’s almost an insult. Sure, we’re part of the navy. In an elite group.” He gave her a crooked grin.
“But you’re not police. You’re not special investigators. You’re not detectives or private investigators or anybody along those lines.”
Warrick looked up. “You wound me. I’ve done plenty of this kind of work on missions.”
“What kind of work?” She stepped out of Corey’s arms and walked over to where Warrick sat. “Have you done any law enforcement work or investigative type of work?”
“It’s called gathering intel. And, yes, I’ve done lots of it. But just because we’ve spent most of our time doing covert operations doesn’t mean we don’t understand how your husband operates.”
“Ex-husband or will be as soon as I can process the paperwork,” she corrected softly. “And maybe not even that if he married the mother of his other son.” She spun toward Corey. “Any way to find out if our marriage is legal?”
He studied her for a long moment. “You think Greg might have married the other woman first?”
She nodded. “I can always hope.”
“You don’t want to be married to him?”
“It’s an expensive process to get unmarried,” she said. “I don’t have the money. I’d like to have as few ties as possible to Greg.”
Corey motioned to the couch. “Come and sit down beside me.” He brought up the registry on his laptop and typed in her name. Up came the marriage to Greg. “His last name is Buffalo?”
“Yes. I’m now Angela Buffalo.”
“Interesting.”
He typed in Buffalo’s name, and again her marriage came up. Then he started digging into divorces. “He could have married in another state. Were you always in California?”
“Yes, but he was originally from New York, I believe.”
She watched as he clicked through database after database.
“It does say your marriage license is registered in California though, so chances are it is legal. And, so far, a search isn’t showing up other marriages. But he probably used a different name if he did.”
She stared across the room. “Too bad I don’t have knowledge of any aliases Greg might have used. I was trying to figure out how to get a divorce without it killing me financially.”
“Make him pay for it. He has plans and lots of them. He won’t want to hang on to an ex-wife, not when he can take care of the financial issues very quickly.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean he plans to spend any money on me.”
Just then her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at it. She spun slowly. “It’s Greg.”
“Answer it, but put it on Speaker.”
She nodded, clicked Talk and said, “Hello, Greg. What do you want?”
“How are you? I hear you ran away. Stress too much for you?” His tone was mocking, brutal, degrading. “After all, you’re a fragile neurotic woman.”
She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, I haven’t run away. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be answering the phone. How is Joshua?”
“My son is fine,” he said smoothly. “He no longer even asks for you. At that age you forget very quickly.”
It was all she could do to not scream and stomp her foot. “I want to talk to him,” she said firmly.
“That’s nice, but you don’t get what you want.”
“So why did you call? Just to torment me?”
“You have something of mine, I believe.”
Her gaze flew to Corey and Warrick. “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything.”
“Oh, I believe you do. I believe you stole something that matters a great deal.”
“I don’t have anything, and I didn’t steal anything.” Her stomach started to churn. “Whoever said I did is a liar,” she bit off.
“Are you saying your son’s a liar?”
“So now he’s my son. When he’s a liar, he’s my son. But when he’s not, he’s your son?”
It was all she could do to hold back the cynicism in her tone, but she was afraid now she knew what this call was about.
“According to him, you took something from that envelope.”
“What envelope?” she asked.
“An envelope on my desk in my office. Enough of this. I want it back. And I want it back now.” He hung up with a sharp click.
*
Corey took the phone from her frozen fingers. “Did you take something from that envelope?”
She looked at him and nodded. “I did. I wasn’t thinking. Joshua was bored and started running around. I told him to leave Daddy’s things alone but he brought me these photos. I went to put them back and realized what they were. So I took a few photos, moving Greg’s photos around. While I wasn’t looking Joshua had picked up this piece of paper, but Greg was coming back, so I took it out of his hand and slipped it into my pocket.”
“What is it?”
She looked up at him, shamefaced. “I would have put it back if I had realized but I was trying to protect Joshua. Greg angers easily.”
“Tell me what it is.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then glanced at Warrick who stared at her intently. She walked over to her purse, pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him.
Without a word he opened it and stared. “These are bank account numbers.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t know if they are or aren’t. I was trying to take a picture of them. But, like I said, I had moved some of the photos around, and I could hear him coming, and I panicked. I just … I just stuck it in my pocket and raced over to pick up a pillow, like Joshua and I were playing. I was trying so hard not to let Greg know I’d seen anything.”
“So you actually took away this piece of paper with the account numbers on it?”
“I didn’t know they were account numbers. They were just numbers. And I was waiting for him to leave so I could put it back again. But he never did.”
The two men looked at each other. “Not only could these be account numbers he needed but they could be the numbers where the blackmail money was deposited.”
“Yes, but why would he have it with the photos? That should be something he kept separate.”
Corey glanced at the numbers again—nothing but two separate sets of digits. He held it up for Warrick to look at. Warrick studied them, opened up a document on his laptop and typed them in. Corey put the slip of paper on the table, took out his phone and took a picture of it. “Did you take anything else?”
“I didn’t, and, if I could have, I would have put that piece of paper back,” she said painfully. “I just don’t have any reason why I did that. I should have just put it back under the photos.” She reached up and rubbed her temple. “I’m in such shit.”
“This happened a few weeks ago?”
“Yes, two weeks ago.” She frowned. “So why would he worry about it now?” Then her face cleared. “Unless Joshua just spoke up. That’s the only connection there could be.”
“Greg also might not have needed those accounts all the time. Or those numbers could be somebody else’s accounts he tucked in there for safekeeping. Maybe he went to look for it, couldn’t find it and got angry, and your son mentioned it.”
She nodded and sat straight in the chair. “What am I going to do now?”
“I need to give this to the detective.” Warrick grabbed his phone and dialed. While Angela and Corey listened, he explained to the detective about the phone call from Greg and the paper Angela had. “I’m thinking they’re account numbers.”
He read off the numbers. A minute later he hung up and said, “The detective is looking into it. They’ll be able to track the bank accounts pretty easily. I’ll be checking as well, but it’ll take me a little bit.” He glanced at the sandwiches. “Corey, toss me one, will you?”
Corey pulled one out for Warrick and grabbed one for himself. He looked at Angela, asking silently if she wanted another one.
She shook her head. “I can’t eat anything. My stomach is sick right now.” She rubbed her face. “I hope he didn’t punish Joshua.”
“There’s no reason to. He’s a child. He wouldn’t know what he’d seen before was important. If he only just now told his father, it’s because his father only just now went looking for them.”
“The worst of the threats started right afterward.” She shook her head. “Maybe if I just lie low, the police can solve this, and I can get back to having a life.”
“You have clients, businesses you can focus on. You’ll need to make money one way or another.”
She held up her hands, and they were shaking. “How am I supposed to work like this?”
Corey grabbed her hands and rubbed them together. They were like ice cubes. “Look. Nobody’s saying exactly what those numbers are yet. Let’s just stay calm and see what turns up.”
They sat together on the couch while he ate his sandwich. When his phone rang, and he saw his sister’s ID, he smiled. “Hey, sis. What’s up?”
“Did you find her?”
Corey realized he hadn’t contacted Bridget to say all was well. “Yes, I did. She’s sitting right beside me.”
“Really? Oh, that’s great.” Then her voice changed. “The least you could have done was texted me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Bridget. But she is here. She is alive and well.”
“Can I talk to her?”
He handed the phone to Angela. “My sister wants to talk to you.”
He listened as the two women talked. Both sounded like they were in tears. Their conversation was half broken, which he didn’t even begin to understand.
When Angela handed the phone back, she was no longer crying. She still had tears in her eyes, but they were happy tears. “I really miss her. I just want my life back.”
“That’s the trouble with making left turns. It takes a while to straighten out and find the right path,” Warrick said.
She nodded, curled her legs up under her and leaned her head back on the chair. Corey studied her face and realized, if they kept talking, chances were good she’d fall asleep in no time. He looked at Warrick who was demolishing the last of his sandwich. “Any way to tell what country the bank accounts are from?”
“Each bank has its own numbering system. There’s nothing to identify transit numbers or even bank branches. They’re literally just the account number itself.”
“So not as helpful as we first thought?”
“They will be, once we find out who and where they are. What we should also do is check the photographs she took to see if this piece of paper can be traced back to a specific photo to prove it came from that same pile.”
Corey froze. “That’s a damn good thought.”
With her now snoozing gently, he turned on his laptop and went through the photos. At the corner of one was the folded ripped off pieces of the little note. He turned it so Warrick could take a look. “Do you think that can be identified?”
Warrick peered across the table at the image and smiled. “Now that’s good because that places the account numbers with all these images. We have to make sure we hang on to that.” In a casual side note, he asked, “Did you take time off work? I already had the holidays booked, only to have them blown back in my face. But what about you?”
“I’ve got two days off,” Corey answered. “I do have holidays coming if I need them. I was hoping to have this wrapped up before then. There’s talk of another overseas trip next week.”
“Yeah, I heard about that. Likely we’re both going. Depends on how quickly you guys leave and if I’m back on duty yet.”
Corey cleaned up the food wrappers and threw them away in the kitchen. As he stood staring out the window, he could feel the weird creepiness crawling over the back of his neck. In a low tone he said, “Watch your six.”
Warrick closed the laptop, stuffed it into the couch and slipped over to the living room windows. With weapons ready, they waited. It wasn’t long before there was a crunch and a crackle of branches being broken. Corey peered outside but saw no sign of anyone.
Between him and the living room windows was the front door and a side door. They were just around the corner from each other, but it wasn’t a very large corner. Yet there was a blind spot where he couldn’t see. With Warrick watching the other half of the house, Corey crouched below the window and then came up on the other side, trying to peer out. And saw a man’s back.
He held up a hand, snapped his fingers, and then held up one finger. What he didn’t know was whether this man was an intruder, a gunman or a curious neighbor. He waited and watched. The man stepped back away from the front door, looked at the house and then took several more steps back. Perfect, now Corey could see who it was, though he didn’t recognize the man. He was wearing a red plaid overshirt with a different plaid undershirt, a pair of old jeans and hiking boots. Corey frowned, wondering what the hell he was doing here.
And then he decided, since the man wasn’t armed, he’d go find out. He tucked his gun back in his waistband under his shirt, opened the door and stepped out. “Hello. Can I help you?”
He could hear footsteps inside the house, realized Warrick had shifted position to come over and guard his back. The man turned to look at Corey and frowned. “I was expecting to see a woman here. Bella’s niece.”
“If you mean Angela, she sleeping right now.”
“So she is here? Her aunt asked me to check on her to make sure she was okay.”
“She’s fine. But, like I said, she’s sleeping right now.” Corey gave the man the once-over. “Do you live around here?”
He pointed to the far side of the lake. “I live on the other side. Had a cabin there as long as Bella’s had one. It’s kind of lonely out here. We normally stick together. I didn’t recognize the vehicle when I came in. Last I heard, Angela just had a small car.”
“That’s my truck,” Corey said.
The man seemed hesitant to leave as if wanting confirmation that Angela was actually here.
In order to put the old man’s mind to rest and to stop any suspicious returns, Corey said, “You want to come in and make sure for yourself she’s okay?” He watched relief cross the man’s face.
“Yeah, I don’t mind if you don’t. I got to report back to Bella. I won’t feel good saying her niece is here if I haven’t actually seen her.”
Corey put a hand behind him, grabbed the door and pushed it open. “Angela, you’ve got company.” He motioned for the man to come in.
As he crossed the threshold, he said, “My name’s Bill, by the way.”
The two men shook hands as Corey introduced himself. As he walked in, he saw Warrick at the kitchen table. Corey introduced him to Bill, then Bill stopped at the entrance to the living room. Angela was curled up on the big chair, her breathing slow and even.
“She really is sleeping,” he said in surprise.
Corey chuckled. “Yes. She’s pretty tuckered out these days.”
“That girl has always been hell-fire. I haven’t seen her in years, but she still looks like she used to.”
“Older, a little more experienced in life now,” Warrick said. “Still, she wears the look well.”
Bill nodded. “Thanks for letting me see her,” he said to Corey. He turned and walked back to the front door. “I might come back in a day or two. At least I know she’s okay. Tired and worn out but she’s holding.” He walked out the front door without another word.
Corey walked out behind him, wanting to see what vehicle he drove. But instead of driving, the old coot had walked. He headed to the road and then headed back around the lake. It could easily have been a twenty-minute trip, and that was something else to consider. If there were a lot of people living on the other side, they weren’t very far away, and there were lots of options for hiding places.
After Bill disappeared from view, Corey took another quick look around the property and then stepped back into the kitchen. Angela was still sleeping. He sat down at the table beside Warrick. “Suggestion?”
“Lay low, stay out of sight and see if the police can solve some of this. And the minute anybody finds out where she is, we’ll have to move fast.”
There wasn’t a whole lot to add to that. Corey agreed. But it really sucked. He’d take action over inaction any time.
The two men continued to do research as Angela slept. But when a second knock on the door came, Corey was jolted out of his concentration. With a frown at Warrick, he got up, opened the front door to find no one there. Instantly he was on alert. He closed and locked the door and turned to find Warrick already standing guard over Angela. They watched and listened, but there was no sign of anyone. He glanced over at Warrick who shrugged.
But Corey refused to believe he had imagined it. Still, after a full search around the house, inside and out, finding nothing, he started to get angry. There had been a knock, and that meant somebody was here and playing games. If there was one thing he hated, it was games.