Page 40 of The Husband's Secret
Bowden squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “He came to my house for dinner last night. I live in the Green Mountain community, and I didn’t want him to drive home afterward. It was dark and the road is full of sharp curves.” Her voice trembled on the last word. “But he insisted. At this point, all we know is that he missed a curve. But the police assured me they are conducting a thorough investigation. They’re doing an autopsy to see if a medical event caused the accident. Whatever caused it, I want to know.”
“No other vehicles were involved?” Ben asked.
“If anyone else was involved, they drove on without stopping or calling for help.”
The idea that the accident was possibly no accident had dread creeping up Brenda’s spine, twisting at the base of her skull. The thought might not have occurred to her except for what Ben had warned this cartel was capable of.
What the hell had Scott been thinking?
“Do you know if your father’s funds remained where they should be?”
Brenda couldn’t help holding her breath while waiting for the answer to Ben’s question. If Scott had cheated this family…
“Oh yes. My father moved them to a new firm immediately.”
Ben took a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Bowden. “If you recall anything else your father might have said or if you have any problems related to this situation, don’t hesitate to call.”
She stared for a long moment at the card, then looked from Brenda to Ben. “Why would you help me?”
“Because the people Scott Devers was involved with are very dangerous,” Ben explained. “Detective Shelton should have told you this. There is a Special Agent Cummings from the FBI working on the case as well. You should be very careful, Ms. Bowden.”
She thanked them and closed the door as they walked away.
Brenda waited, her nerves jittery, while Ben checked his car before they could get inside. Then she dared to utter the question throbbing in her skull. “There are two more names on that list… Do you think we’re going to find the same pattern with them as well?”
Ben checked the street and pulled away from the curb. “Unfortunately, I suspect so.” He glanced at Brenda. “The real question in my mind is, why hasn’t Shelton or Cummings done a deeper dig? Why hasn’t one or both followed up with this woman?”
And that reality had only been the beginning, Brenda soon learned. The second name on the list was indeed a client of Scott’s firm and he too was deceased. The truly bizarre part was that he had been dead for more than a year.
None of the neighbors at his address had any idea about surviving family or even friends. The home was empty, the maintenance taken care of by a local company called Home Corp. A trip to the office proved futile. The employee at the desk wouldn’t discuss the specifics about who paid for the service. No matter that more than one neighbor insisted the owner whose name went with the address was deceased. One neighbor had even been home the evening the owner was taken away by the coroner—after a fall down the stairs.
A stop at county records downtown showed that the property was still owned by the name on the list Brenda had found. Taxes were paid promptly by the same maintenance company.
When they drove away from the courthouse, Brenda couldn’t hold in the frustration any longer. “This is getting stranger and stranger. I’m a writer, and I can’t even imagine what could happen next.”
“Since we can’t access the client records from J&D Investments,” Ben said with a glance in her direction, “we can’t confirm what we believe we’ve found with these two clients.”
“Had they been killing people no one would miss so they could keep using their money?” Brenda blurted.
“That’s a valid scenario,” Ben agreed. “There’s also the possibility the one death—from a year ago—was an accident and the firm took advantage of the situation. My colleague in Chicago is working on finding answers as well.”
“What should we do with what we’ve uncovered?” Brenda wasn’t sure what to do with the little bit that may or may not be evidence. Sadly, it didn’t feel complete or concrete.
Ben made a turn based on the navigation app’s directions to the home of the next and final name on the list. “I don’t believe we can trust Shelton or Cummings with this information. For now, I think we wait and see what else we find.”
“It’s so strange not to be able to trust the people who are supposed to protect you.” She’d had that feeling since this thing started.
“I’m not suggesting—” Ben glanced at her as he slowed for a traffic signal “—that the local police or the Bureau isn’t doing its job or that either man is not a good cop. But I am suggesting that something is off in this investigation, and we need to proceed with caution.”
“Maybe we’ll have better luck with this last one.” It would be nice if Luther Holland was alive…unlike the others. They needed to find something soon.
“If not,” Ben reminded her, “we’ll just keep digging.”
A few more minutes and they arrived at the stately home on Alexander Drive. Brenda decided not to get her hopes up considering they’d gotten nothing that explained why these three names in particular had been hidden. Though Scott had obviously written the names and hidden that paper for a reason, they were no closer now than they were twenty-four hours ago to knowing what the bad guys wanted. It was like swimming in a circle. No matter how fast you swam, you never really went anywhere.
Like the others’ addresses, the house looked well-kept. The neighborhood was high-end with homes in the seven-figure price range. Homes with residents who likely had the big bucks, as Mallory would say.
Brenda had dreamed of Janey last night. She’d been playing in the woods in the park on Monte Sano Mountain. Brenda had been trying to catch up with her to warn that she was veering too close to the edge of the cliff, but she could never catch her. Her heart hurt even now with the memory.
