Page 47 of Intoxicating Pursuit

Betrayal

SAMMY

T he house lay under a sleeping spell the next morning as everyone recovered from two supernatural days and nights. While sunlight didn’t wake the masses, eventually the scent of freshly baked muffins and hot smoky bacon suffused the bedrooms, and people began to emerge.

I crept out of Gabe’s bed, sneaking back to my own room across the quiet hallway. Taking a few minutes to freshen up, I splashed my face with cool water and brushed the windblown tangles from my hair. I’d need to shower soon, but coffee and a quick call to Mom were more pressing.

Mom was in a hurry when I caught her, heading off to the tournament. She said she’d reached a peace with Oscar. He still followed her but was keeping some distance so she could pretend she was alone. She reassured me she was fine and hustled me off the phone.

Feeling more settled, I found my way to the kitchen, poured a tall cup of coffee, and was taking it to the porch when I spotted Meghan on the outdoor sofa, sharing a blanket with the good-looking, blond boy.

When she caught sight of me at the sliding glass door, her eyes begged me to leave her alone.

It cost me nothing to do so, and the situation seemed mild enough to be harmless.

So instead, I nursed my coffee from the living room sofa, enjoying the view of Mt.

Adams and making small talk with Gabe’s chef, who really was a miracle worker.

I didn’t know how long Gabe liked to sleep, but after a while, I decided to check on him.

I piled a few muffins on a plate, poured a second mug of coffee for him, and carried everything back to his bedroom.

When I nudged the door open, I found he wasn’t alone.

Gabe had thrown on a t-shirt and jeans and was sitting at his desk, wrapping up a phone call.

Lucy stood nearby, her arms crossed, already dressed and ready for the day.

I set his coffee on the desk and took a seat opposite, waiting patiently.

When he hung up and turned my way, the look on his face was inscrutable.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning.” I smiled.

“Thanks for the coffee.” He cautiously sampled it, must have found the temperature reasonable, and took a long swill. “That was the police in Creekside. Evidently, they’re making some progress, and Lucy just talked with everyone in Philly.”

“Good. That’s good.” I felt awake enough to hear it all. “What have they found?”

Lucy cleared her throat. “Well, the cops in Chestnut Hill think they spotted Claudia near your house a few times.”

“Who’s Claudia?” I asked.

Gabe looked my way, a pained expression on his face. “Do you remember that woman at the rooftop bar in Philadelphia? The one who caused a ruckus?”

“She was pretty hard to forget.” I could see her in my mind's eye, her flaxen hair and perfect features contorted in anger, raving like a lunatic by the rooftop elevators. Alarm jolted my nerves as I finally registered what he was telling me. “Wait. Are you telling me that woman was at my home ? ”

“No, we don’t actually think so,” said Gabe. “Oscar’s been watching things like a hawk, and he hasn’t spotted her. The police probably just saw a pretty blonde.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I trust Oscar. Don’t worry.”

“Right. We think it's a false alarm.” Lucy shifted her stance. “But the police are trying to get in touch with her anyway. Just to talk.”

“There’s more from Creekside, too.” Gabe said.

“The police have reviewed footage from the parking lot at La Fermata and from surrounding streets and doorbell cameras. They’ve logged all the license plates and have managed to interview almost everyone who was at or near the land that day.

There are still a couple rental cars and out-of-towners they haven’t chased down, but most folks have been cleared. ”

“Well, I guess that’s progress—getting things eliminated.”

“Yeah.” Gabe paused, giving me a long look again.

“But Sammy, one of the neighbors' cameras picked up something pretty curious. Evidently, a car registered to a Philly P.I. drove by La Fermata a couple times that day. Guy’s name is Ian Robinson. Any chance that’s your Ian? The P.I you’ve been working with?“

My world stopped. There was just no way. “That’s not possible.”

He stared at me a long while, waiting for me to say more. Eventually, he ran out of patience. “It’s actually much more than possible. It was his car and his plates. This Ian. . . he’s the guy engaged to Marco, right? The one you showed the pictures to?”

I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. “I’m telling you: Ian’s like a brother to me. He’d never do anything to hurt me.”

He was quiet for another long moment. “Sammy, taking pictures of people from far away is kind of what he does for a living, right? In fact—to be more precise—he takes intimate pictures of people from far away, doesn't he?”

“But these aren’t even professional photos, remember? They’re smartphone pictures.”

“Well, that’s what he told you, which would encourage the police to focus on folks on the grounds instead of people on the roads.

” Gabe paused again, got up, and walked a few paces to the balcony doors.

When he turned back to me, his face was world-weary.

“Sammy, if there’s one thing I’ve learned—very painfully—over the last couple decades, it’s that most people will do almost anything for money if enough is at stake. ”

I still shook my head, still couldn’t believe it.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I thought about everything that had happened recently, about Marco’s behavior and the cost of their wedding, about all of Ian and Marco’s underlying history. It seemed impossible they would do this, but maybe everything was related.

If that was the case, we were well past the point of friendly discretion.

“You know, if all this is true, there’s something I should tell you.

” I took a deep breath and let the words trickle out.

“Several years ago, Marco developed a drug habit. He was using cocaine, pills. . . any kind of stimulant he could get. He started stealing from the company, scrounging for cash.”

Gabe nodded knowingly, thoughts turning behind his eyes.

"He's a good person though. He was just acting like an addict.

" I got up and paced a little. “We finally did an intervention. I had our lawyer draw up paperwork, and he was going to lose so much: control of the company, his salary. All of his future dividends would have been net of the money he stole and the costs of hiring people to take over his work. He was going to be left with very little.”

I walked back over to Gabe and Lucy. “But he went to a program. Did everything he was supposed to. He’s been squeaky clean for at least five years.”

“Did Marco know you were headed to Creekside?”

“Yes, but I told him it was a scouting trip. He didn't know about you.”

“And you’re sure he didn’t recognize me? Are there cameras around the brewery that could have picked me up without my helmet and sunglasses? Maybe he put two and two together?”

It hadn’t occurred to me. We had security throughout the building and cameras on the patio.

“Shit. I think that’s actually possible.

” I was such an idiot. The more I considered it, the more foolish I felt.

“Marco did know about Creekside, and it’s always possible he recognized you.

Plus, Ian was the one who set up the brewery’s security system.

If Marco recognized you even vaguely, they could have logged in and taken a closer look at the morning’s footage. ”

“So, Marco could have had him check?”

“I hadn’t thought of it before, but it totally could have happened.”

Gabe squinted. “But why would Ian enable Marco? Seems like that's the only piece that doesn't track.”

I slumped into the chair and put my head in my hands. My voice got quiet. “Ian’s in recovery, too. . . and frankly, if he hasn’t come to me for help with Marco yet, maybe it’s because they’ve both fallen.”

Slowly, it dawned on me, like a cloud of disorganized pixels finally coming into focus, revealing a crisp, full picture.

“There’s more now that I think about it, too.

Marco’s been acting strange lately. He’s more irritable and ill-tempered than normal, and he’s been asking for advances on cash.

On top of that, suspicious things have been happening with the expenses at our newest breweries.

. . which he helped set up. My God , I’ve been so oblivious. ”

The door was ajar, but someone knocked anyway. Meghan leaned into the room. “Mom, when do we have to go? The kids say there’s a cool hike on the property. Some kind of waterfall. Do I have time to see it?”

I glanced at my watch and did the math. “As long as you don’t dawdle, it should be okay. Wear good shoes and be careful, though. There’s a big drop off. I don’t want you near it. Understood?”

“I’ll be careful.” She looked the three of us over, taking in the somber mood.

I got up and walked to the door. “Meghan, we’re having a private conversation, sweetheart. We need a couple more minutes.”

“But I heard you talking about the brewery. You don’t need to shut me out. In fact, I’ve been meaning to tell you—I got all those HopNBrew invoices databased.”

“Already?”

“Yup. And actually, Mom, I can’t figure out why you don’t just ask Uncle Marco about them.”

“We divide up the work, honey. Marco’s got nothing to do with ordering or vendor payments. That’s my responsibility.”

“But Marco’s the one who approved all those invoices. So, I bet if you asked him, he could help you figure it out.”

Her words echoed in my head like a death toll.

I managed to keep my face straight another moment. “That’s a great find, Meghan.” I gripped the door. “Can we review it on the plane, though? I really need to talk with Lucy and Gabe.”

“Sure.” Her brow crinkled in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Meghan."

She hesitated. "All right." Then she stepped back into the hall, retreating toward the floating stairs.

As soon as I closed the door, I buried my face in my hands, hot tears rushing down my cheeks. I walked over and collapsed on the bed, letting the grief and disappointment pour out.

Gabe sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulders.

“Sammy, I’m so sorry. My first band fell apart over this, and Trevor’s mom disappeared into addiction for a while, too.

I know what it does to the people who are left behind, to the ones who feel like they’ve come in second place to some stupid drug. ”

I squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry you went through that.”

I grabbed a tissue and tried to pull myself together.

Tried to think clearly. It was a lot to process—all the implications and next steps—but as I was wiping tears away, something occurred to me.

“You know, maybe this is actually a good thing.” I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

“Marco and Ian may have gotten back into drugs, and maybe they’re scrounging for money.

But I know for a fact they’d never lay a finger on me.

So the death threats are bunk. I’d bet my life on it. ”

I took a deep breath, glad I hadn’t lost all sense of logic.

“Plus, at least I know what I need to do now. I can call my attorney and have her get the paperwork ready.” I stood up.

“If Marco and Ian go so low as to release those pictures, then it is what it is. Meghan and my mom understand our relationship better now. It may not affect them the way I feared. And you can sue Marco and Ian to your heart’s content.

Maybe it’s time for all this drama to just end. ”

Gabe didn’t say anything for a while. “Do you still want me to send Lucy home with you? Do you want Oscar to stay in place?”

“I think we’ll be fine. . . I mean, please keep Oscar with Mom until I get home. It makes me feel better anyways. And Lucy, thank you for everything, but you can stand down. I know we’ll be safe.”

I thanked them both, then headed back to my room to pack up and finally put a stop to all the tears.

When I was ready, I sent an email to Debbie, asked her to dust off the documents we’d drafted years ago when Marco was using, and scheduled a quick meeting for tomorrow.

The last few days had been incredible, but it was time to get back to Philadelphia and clean up some very nasty messes.