Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 136743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Shock rolls through me like thunder, and something else. Satisfaction? Pleasure? I’m pleased that she trusts me. I want to be worthy of it.
“No one knows this case better than you do,” she goes on. “You have the inside track with the Callahans, and you’ve been the liaison with the FBI. No one is positioned better to advocate for my family and me. I know it’s not your job, but for some reason, I believe you will. Please don’t make me regret this.”
She glances down and toys with the edge of the bandage. “It’s the proof you need, but it’s also the proof I needed that the man I’ve been with nearly half my life doesn’t exist.”
Her composure is vellum, so sheer it barely hides her devastation.
“I’m sorry, Soledad.”
“There’s something else you should know,” she goes on, not acknowledging my sympathy. “You said before that you thought Edward was working with someone. This could just be a woman scorned, but I think you should look at his assistant, Amber.”
“What do you mean, ‘a woman scorned’?” I ask, watching her closely.
“They’re having an affair.” She sniffs and swipes at a tear before it even falls.
“You’re sure?”
“Oh yeah.” Her smile is bitter, and she releases a harsh breath. “I’m very sure about that.”
A man would have to be a fool to cheat on a woman like her, but we’ve already established that’s exactly what Edward is.
“I’m sorry,” I say again, though I realize how empty it must sound to her.
“Don’t be.” She clears her throat and tucks a stray curl behind her ear. “I know the truth now. That’s all that matters.”
Her pain, though she is deliberately dismissive of it, is evident in the tightness around her mouth. The knotted hands in her lap and the dark circles under her eyes that she didn’t even try to conceal. It’s obvious she isn’t here to discuss her feelings but to handle her business. The least I can do is respect that and let her deal with the emotional toll later and in her own way.
“What makes you think Amber’s involved?” I ask.
“Edward used working late as an excuse all the time over the last two years, but they did have a lot of meetings, and I would see her calling him all the time. I saw something at the Christmas party that hasn’t added up, and it’s got me thinking.”
“What’s that?”
“Amber’s cousin Gerald works here in IT. I caught them in the hall at the Christmas party and they looked intimate. Not like relatives at all.”
“Okay. Go on.”
“If Gerald works in IT, he’d potentially have access to all kinds of data here at Callahan. Maybe Amber was fucking him too, and he was part of the scheme?”
My mind whirs with the information she just shared. Like one of Aaron’s Rubik’s Cubes, several possibilities start sliding and shifting until a scenario forms in my head that could actually make sense.
“This is fantastic.” I look at the screen again and grin at Soledad. “Truly. I need to get my team on all of this so we can—”
“I want my drive back.” She stretches her injured palm out, brows lifted, head cocked to the side. “You’ve seen what I have. Go to the board, the FBI, whoever, and get me what I need for my family. I’m not asking for much. Just that they leave us alone and confine their fight to Edward.”
She didn’t have to trust me with this, but she did. I’m not going to abuse that. Reluctantly, I remove the drive and place it back in her palm.
“I’ll talk to them.” I lean forward, catching and holding her eyes. “There is a lot of evidence there. I can’t emphasize enough that it could add time to Edward’s sentence.”
“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” Soledad says, her laugh short and sharp. “Edward has proven he doesn’t give a damn about me or his daughters’ well-being. I’m paying him the same courtesy.”
She stands, tucks the drive into a small purse, and heads for the door. Despite the worry and exhaustion on her face and in her eyes, she glows. Triumph, confidence, wisdom? I don’t know what added this layer to her beauty, but it’s new. There is a lot she has lost over the last few days, not the least of which is her marriage, but there is something that she’s found. Without even knowing exactly what it is, I can see she plans to hold on to it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SOLEDAD
How the hell do you make a charcuterie this good when your life is falling apart?” Hendrix asks, spearing an olive from the wooden board on my coffee table.
“First of all,” I reply, folding a slice of salami around a hunk of Gouda, “I could make this board in my sleep.”
“Please make this board for me in your sleep,” Yasmen mumbles around a mouthful of preserves. “My God, is this jelly stuff homemade?”