Page 21 of The Husband's Secret
“Agent Cummings has an agenda—find the facts at any cost. Today that cost was an attempt at unsettling you,” Ben started to explain, but she cut him off.
“No,” she argued. “He was trying to warn me. Why would he do that?”
“I’ll tell you everything,” he assured her. “I have no reason to keep anything from you…now.”
“Now?” She stood, took a step away from the sofa and him, arms folded protectively over her chest. “I want to know everything now.” Fury tightened the features of her face. “Right now.”
She was worried and she had every right to be. This business her—Scott had allowed himself to fall into was deadly. As much as Ben wanted to stand and reach out to her, he knew better. So, he remained seated. Whatever necessary to make her feel comfortable and hopefully safe in his presence.
“My name is Ben Clark, and I’m from Illinois.” He studied her expression as he spoke. Hoping to see something besides the anger and disappointment. “I grew up on a farm, just as I toldyou, and the focus of my work is people—sometimes observing them, other times working with them to sort out a situation. Sometimes protecting them. I am employed by the Colby Agency, a private investigations firm in Chicago. I assure you I am not here to cause trouble or to harm you or your daughter in any way. I’m here to help.”
Her eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “If you work for a private investigations firm then someone hired you. It wasn’t me. Who was it?”
“Would you sit down with me, please?” He didn’t want to answer her with her standing there looking ready to run…or to crumble.
She sidestepped to the chair vacated by the agent who’d offhandedly outed him. When she’d eased down onto the cushion, he braced his forearms on his knees and allowed his hands to hang, unmoving in clear view. He needed her calm and rational. With her and her child’s safety hanging in the balance, he recognized that it was difficult for her to be either one.
“Tell me,” she demanded, “who hired you? The cartel? Lena Jenner?” Outrage had chased away some of her uncertainty and propped up her bravado. “Oh my God, it was Lena, wasn’t it? She’s trying to make sure she and her family are in the clear.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this. She and I have known each other for years. How could she do this? How could she believe I would be involved in this in any way?”
“Ms. Jenner did not hire me,” he said. “I’ve never met her or spoken with her.”
“Well, then who? Obviously it wasn’t the other victim. The…” She shook her head in frustration. “The FBI handler, Pratt. Who does that leave?” Her face paled. “The cartel hired you. Oh my God.” She shot to her feet once more.
He stood then, held up his hands surrender-style.
“Brenda,” he said, wishing she would just sit back down and take a moment, “yourhusbandhired me.”
Her breath caught, the sound tearing at him. He hadn’t wanted this moment to happen this way. “I don’t believe you,” she argued.
The shine of emotion in her eyes tightened his chest. Brenda was a good person. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her and her daughter, but it was done. The only thing Ben could do at this point was attempt to protect her from what was transpiring and what without doubt was coming next.
“It’s difficult to believe,” he admitted. “But if you’ll hear me out, I think you’ll understand.”
One shoulder moved up and then fell as if she couldn’t care less. “Keep talking.”
“Two months ago, Scott recognized he was in over his head. He set up a secret meeting with my employer and presented his case. According to him, his partner, Tate Jenner, had lured him into a deal with the devil—those were his words.”
Brenda shook her head. “Of course, he would blame someone else. Scott never took responsibility for his own actions.”
Ben acknowledged her conclusion with a nod. He’d gathered as much about Scott Devers over the past few weeks. “From what we’ve been able to ascertain, he was likely telling the truth in this instance. Jenner appeared to have made the first move with the Jalisco cartel. Since their firm, J&D Investments, was failing, it was only a matter of time before they lost everything. The last couple of years were difficult on everyone. The smaller firms like theirs have repeatedly been the first to fall.”
She sucked in a breath, then moistened her lips. “Okay, let’s say you’re right so far. I’m still not convinced he did this for me or for Janey. But I’m prepared to keep listening.”
That was all he could ask for.
“Tate convinced Scott they never had to get their hands dirty,” Ben went on. “Just take the cartel’s money and invest it. Return the proceeds, keeping a share for their trouble. It was a win-win situation, and no one was going to be hurt by it. To his way of thinking they weren’t selling drugs or trafficking people…they were simply serving as a bank. Banks set up accounts for bad people all the time. If they didn’t do it, someone else would. This was how Jenner justified what they were doing. Eventually Scott bought into it.”
“Except banks,” she argued, “don’t recognize the serial killers and criminals from the other people who walk through their doors wanting to set up an account. Scott and Tate knew these were bad people when they agreed to take them on.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
“I’m not justifying the decision,” Ben said, in hopes of somehow regaining her confidence despite the sticky situation. “But the decision he made to come to the Colby Agency was a good one. It was a good choice made by a man who, despite his past bad choices, cared about his family.”
She laughed out loud then. “Please. I’ve told you all about him. How can you say anything even remotely nice about him?”
He got it. He really did. “I’m not saying he was a good husband, Brenda. I’m saying when the chips were down, he did the right thing as a human.”
“Like being in the Los Angeles area with some blonde and pretending he didn’t see me.” She sent Ben a look that saidtop that one.
“The agency has confirmed that Scott did board a plane in Los Angeles. His destination was Nashville, about two hours or so north of here.”
