Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Epilogue
Jared
September was a busy month for the farm. Georgie and I had to cultivate the fields, so they were ready for barley. On top of that, the glamping pods were constructed, but we had a ton of interior design decisions to make. Allegra had already created a social media presence and website for the business, and we had followers watching the progress of the build. She was doing all this on top of her plans to open an art gallery in the village. There was an empty building up for sale just off Castle Street. She’d already ordered signage and was creating social media for that too. She was calling the gallery Skies Over Caledonia in ode to the farm and our field, Caledonia Sky.
Between all of that and the farm, we grabbed what time we could together in the late evenings. Hopefully things would quieten down a bit for us, but I realized that we’d also just have to bloody make time.
And I had grand plans to make time for my wife.
The last thing, however, I ever wanted to hear again was Allegra upset on the phone. But that morning as I drove my tractor and combine through the fields, my phone rang.
“There are police officers here,” Allegra had told me as I stopped the growl of the tractor to answer her call. Usually my phone was switched off when I was at work, but ever since the accident, I’d attached my phone to a holder on the cab so I could see it if it rang.
At her frantic tone, I’d left the tractor in the middle of the field and ran to the Defender.
By the time I pulled up to the farmhouse, I was out of breath and my gut knotted.
The car parked next to my wife’s new Wrangler was unmarked.
I marched into the farmhouse, coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of the two individuals who rose from the couch. Allegra stood up from the armchair and immediately crossed the room to press her body into my side. Seeking comfort.
“These officers are from the NCA. The National Crime Agency.” Allegra looked up at me, dark eyes filled with concern. “I wanted to wait for you before they told me why they’re here.”
Nodding grimly, I reached out to shake the officers’ hands. “Jared McCulloch, Allegra’s husband.”
“I’m Banes. This is my partner, Dobbs.” The female officer gestured to the tall male at her side.
“How can we help you?”
Banes turned her attention to Allegra. “Are you aware of the arrest of an American attorney general, Andrew Gray? He’s a US politician.”
My wife stiffened against me, and I slid my arm around her waist.
“I heard.”
“Do you know Andrew Gray?”
“What is this about?”
Dobbs spoke now. “We’re working in conjunction with the FBI and Europol in the child sex trafficking case against Gray.”
“Okay …”
“We believe you were in a car accident a few weeks ago, Mrs. McCulloch.”
What the fuck? “What does that have to do with anything?”
“In the raid against Gray, we found correspondence and transactions to a contact that was involved in the trafficking ring. Gray paid this man to kill you.” Banes pulled out her phone and held up the screen. “Do you recognize this man?”
Allegra turned chalk white. “That’s the guy who followed me in Inverness.”
Shit. My blood turned cold.
“You were followed?” The officer frowned.
“We thought it was just paparazzi at the time.”
“No. This is Simon Sutcliffe. A known London-based criminal and contact of Gray’s.”
At my wife’s shudder, I tightened my embrace. The thought of someone targeting her like this … Why?
I must have said the word out loud because Banes continued, “We discovered a laptop in the floorboards of one of Gray’s bedrooms. It belonged to Gray’s deceased stepson Ashton. On that laptop were saved emails between you and Ashton, where Ashton confided that Gray was sexually abusing him.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fury and concern and more fury coursed through me as I pressed a hard kiss to Allegra’s temple.
“Yes, Ashton confided that to me when we were kids.” Tears brightened Allegra’s eyes. “Are you saying that Andrew Gray discovered this recently and tried to kill me?”
“The circumstances of Gray discovering this is supposition without a confession from Gray. We do know his home was under renovation this year, and it could be he discovered the laptop during the reno. But we have solid evidence that he put a hit out on you, yes. There’s correspondence and transactions between him and Sutcliffe regarding the contract. His last correspondence was regarding the car accident you were in. Sutcliffe was behind it, had realized you were still alive, and was asking Gray for more money to try again. It seemed they were being cautious about making sure your death looked like an accident.”
Was this even real bloody life? My heart thudded in fear. “Is my wife safe now?”