Page 10

Chapter Ten

S eth liked working in the quiet of a usually busy newsroom. While The Herald’s staff of eight was small, the crowded office space meant a louder work environment as the trio of advertising and classified ads reps made calls and the two other reporters spoke with sources. He’d awakened early, and, after a run through the pre-dawn air, had gone to Burke Lake to photograph the fishermen attempting to land the record catfish at dawn. Unfortunately, the fish they’d caught wasn’t the prizewinner, but he’d gotten some decent pics of their valiant effort. Then he headed to the office to research Jay Ainsley. As the sun rose higher, he read through the numerous articles centering around Jay’s death after being charged with embezzling nearly $10 million from Topher Robotics. He printed a few stories for background, then switched to investigating Topher Robotics.

The top search returns focused on Maxwell Technology’s bid for a hostile takeover of the family-run firm. Interesting. He hit print for the most comprehensive article, then delved deeper, going back more than fifteen years to see what the company’s status was prior to Jay’s embezzlement charge. Most of the stories centered around Topher Robotics’ new products, such as innovative prosthetics and automated robots for cleaning and delivery. Then one piece snagged his attention.

Founder of Topher Robotics Refuses to Step Down

Board insisting Peter Topher hand over the reins to his eldest son

STERLING, Va.—Peter Topher, who founded Topher Robotics in 1970 at a time when few were investing in robots, has said he will not relinquish his position as chairman of the board to his eldest son, Ryan Topher. Ryan has been tapped as the heir apparent to the company and had long been rumored to want to take the company public in order to expand its R&D department. This puts him at odds with his father, who has stated emphatically he does not want the family to give up its majority stake in the company.

The article quoted numerous sources, some named and some anonymous, adding credence to the growing rift between father and son. Seth thought he’d seen the company listed as one publicly traded, and when he checked, found that Ryan had won that round with the board. Digging deeper revealed the Topher family collectively held forty percent of the company’s stock and was still among the largest shareholders. The current list of executives on the Topher Robotics website showed Peter as emeritus chairman of the board with Ryan as CEO and his two siblings filling out the rest of the C-suite executive positions. Other Tophers, presumably the grandchildren of Peter, held middle management positions, while Avery Lassiter had been chairwoman of the board for the past decade.

Seth made notes about his findings, his mind spinning with possibilities. When he spotted Brogan, he hailed the reporter. “Got a sec?”

“Let me finish this text.” Brogan bent over his phone while Seth curbed his impatience. “Okay, what’s up?”

As succinctly as possible, Seth outlined the embezzlement case.

Brogan frowned. “Doesn’t seem like there’s a story if the accused is dead and the company isn’t pursuing it.”

“On the surface, yes, but then Jay Ainsley’s widow received this in the mail.” Seth handed photocopies of the envelope’s documents to Brogan. “Along with this note.” He slid over the note on top.

Brogan scanned it, then tapped the page. “But why send this to a dead man?”

“They didn’t.” Seth explained about the postmark on the envelope. “Must have gotten lost in the mail for fifteen years.”

As he’d hoped, that nugget of information snagged Brogan’s attention. “Interesting, but I’m not sure there’s much here beyond a quirky human-interest story about lost mail being delivered years later.”

“There’s more.” Seth mentioned the poisoning of Bingley and the death of the raccoon. “Jetta will let me know what animal control finds when they search her yard, but it appears someone tried to kill her dog.”

“There’s no direct connection between what happened to her dog and a case that doesn’t need solving.”

“Then there’s the note I found.” He showed his colleague a photo of the threatening words. “Plus, someone tried to run Jetta off the road yesterday.”

“Do the police have this info?”

“Yes.” Even as he relayed the info, Seth could see how flimsy it was.

“I get you’re concerned about Jetta’s safety, but we need something new to start an investigation.”

He blew out a breath in an attempt to tamp down his growing frustration. “You didn’t have anything new when you agreed to help Melender re-investigate the disappearance of her cousin—and she had been convicted of the crime.”

Brogan sighed. “That was different because we had a story angle about a convicted murderer trying to clear her name.”

“While I only have a daughter trying to clear her father’s name of a crime in which he was never tried or convicted.” He fisted his hands on his hips, irritation radiating throughout his body. “So when it’s a woman you’re interested in, you’ll go the extra mile, but not when it’s me?”

“If you’re asking if this merits an investigative story, then the answer is no. You need more than some bank statements and a spreadsheet.” Brogan gave the papers back. “But good to know you find Jetta interesting.”

Seth ignored the teasing note in his friend’s tone as the reporter hustled to his cubicle to pick up his ringing desk phone. He wouldn’t tell Jetta that Brogan passed on opening an investigation. He’d look into himself. After all, he majored in journalism and photography, and wrote short pieces for The Herald all the time. Granted, he’d never tackled a story this complex, but he knew how to research.

First, he had to check the rest of his assignments for the day. Fallon would not be happy if he dropped the ball on his work. Two popped up in his inbox—one at noon to snap a pic of the Rotary Club’s handing out its fall scholarship to a local student and the other right afterward to photograph the City of Fairfax mayor as she read to a group of kids for the elementary school’s fall fundraiser read-a-thon.

His cell buzzed and his heart twisted when he saw Jetta’s name as the sender. Settle down. She’s probably only telling you the results of the animal control sweep of her backyard. But his sensible admonition did little to slow his heart rate.

Do you have time to talk?

He frowned. That didn’t sound good. Maybe she would tell him to forget the whole investigation thing and to never darken her doorway again. In his experience, answering that question only led to disappointment. But putting her off wouldn’t change the outcome of the conversation, so instead of replying, he hit the call button.

“Seth? Oh, thank God.”

The tears in her voice coupled with what sounded like relief made him forget his fears about what topic she wanted to discuss. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m with my mom.” She sucked in air, then blew it out in a whoosh. “Someone tried to kill her last night.”

“What?” He was on his feet and heading toward the exit, every instinct driving him to get to Jetta as quickly as possible. “How?”

“We’re still getting the information. I’ve called the police, but could you come?” Her voice hitched. “I can’t think straight, I’m so scared.”

“I’m on my way. Text me the address.”

“Will do. See you soon.” She ended the call, and Seth’s phone buzzed a few seconds later with the rehab facility’s address.

A quick check of the time showed he had a little under two hours before he had to be at the Rotary Club in Falls Church. Once in his vehicle, he cross-checked the drive time from the rehab center to the Rotary Club. Fifteen minutes. Good, that gave him a bit of a cushion. He prayed he would be able to support Jetta and not have to rush off to snap the photo. He couldn’t afford to lose this job, not if he wanted to pay his rent. His side hustle photography business had been growing, but it still wasn’t steady enough to pay his bills.

After arriving at the center, he jogged toward the rehab facility entrance. What Jetta said reverberated in his mind—someone had tried to kill her mother. Surely that was tied to Emily’s desire to prove her husband’s innocence. Because if Jay Ainsley was not the embezzler, that meant someone had gotten away with millions fifteen years ago—and had even more to lose now because of the potential acquisition.

* * *

Jetta held Mom’s hand as she recounted what happened with the male nurse the night before. The rehab facility’s in-house lab had discovered a lethal dose of fentanyl in the purple capsules they’d examined first thing this morning. The daytime manager had immediately phoned the police, and now Detective Patrick Brady questioned her mother while two Fairfax County police officers talked to the staff. Jetta had texted Seth as soon as her mother had called with the news. She’d already been on her way to visit her mother when the call had come in, so she had arrived within minutes.

“Mrs. Ainsley, do you know of any reason why someone would attempt to kill you?” Detective Brady had kind eyes bracketed by lines, as if the man smiled more than he frowned. His salt-and-pepper hair reassured Jetta he had the experience to thoroughly investigate the attempted murder, and she’d hoped it meant he might have been on the force fifteen years ago.

Mom squeezed Jetta’s hand. “Yes, I do.”

Her answer must have startled the detective because his eyes widened slightly. “What reason would that be?”

His tone, although cordial, held a hint of skepticism. On the surface, Mom appeared to be a widow in her early sixties, someone whom no one would give a second look, and with whom no one would hold such a grudge as to warrant murder.

“Because I want justice for my husband.”

Detective Brady didn’t jot that down. “Why is that?”

“He died fifteen years ago after being accused of embezzling millions from Topher Robotics.” Mom withdrew her hand from Jetta’s to point a finger at the detective. “I think they killed him to stop any further investigation into the theft and now they want to silence me because I’m looking into it again.”

“I think you’d better start at the beginning, Mrs. Ainsley.” He leaned back in the chair positioned next to Mom’s bed, his posture relaxed and interested.

“Certainly.” Her mother recounted the events leading up to Dad’s arrest and heart attack, the aftermath with the Topher family lobbing accusations about Dad, then her email and phone call to the company requesting an investigation to clear his name. She ended with the arrival of the envelope two days ago. “My daughter,” she indicated Jetta, “is looking into it for me, to see if there’s anything we can do to exonerate Jay’s name.”

“I remember the case. Hard to forget hearing about a suspect who died upon arrest.” Detective Brady tapped the screen of his iPad, where he’d been writing notes with a stylus pen. “Wasn’t my department, but I think one of the original investigators is now the head of fraud. I’ll get in touch with her and see what she remembers about the case.”

“Thank you.” Mom’s quiet words reminded Jetta how much her mother still missed her father.

“Did you tell him about Bingley?” Seth stepped into the room, his large presence filling Jetta with relief. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been longing for him to arrive until he was here.

“Bingley?” The detective stood as Seth approached Jetta, who introduced him to the detective.

“My dog.” Mom’s close call had shoved Bingley’s incident to the back of Jetta’s mind. “He ate some raw meat mixed with smashed ibuprofen tablets and nearly died two days ago. A raccoon ate some of the same meat and did die.”

“What did animal control find?” Seth moved to stand beside Jetta’s chair as Detective Brady retook his seat.

Jetta explained about the morning’s sweep of her backyard. “The remnants of ground beef with traces of ibuprofen on the left corner of the fence facing the sidewalk—the opposite side where you also found a few bits of meat. They think someone shoved it under the wooden fence planks.”

“That’s dreadful! Bingley’s okay?” Mom grasped Jetta’s hand again, concern etched on the lines of her face.

“Yes, he’s fully recovered.” She glanced at Seth. “The animal control officer took the raccoon to see if it had ingested the same thing as Bingley.”

“Plus, someone tried to run her off the road yesterday,” Seth added. “And left the note on your front porch.” He showed the detective the photo of those awful words.

Jetta shifted in her chair as her mother gasped.

“You didn’t tell me any of this.”

Jetta hastened to reassure Mom. “I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, there didn’t seem to be a connection. The truck had been stolen, and I just got in the way.” Based on the determined looks in her mother and Seth’s eyes, her attempt to downplay the incidents fell flat.

“I don’t like this.” Detective Brady met Jetta’s gaze. “This smacks of escalation from leaving notes to harming and potentially killing a dog to attempted murder.”

“Do you think everything that’s happened so far are connected?” Seth asked.

“The stolen truck is the only outlier, in my opinion, as, like Ms. Ainsley said, it could have been she was in the way of a car thief. But the dog poisoning and note are directly tied to Ms. Ainsley,” Detective Brady said. “Would you have the vet send me a copy of his findings about Bingley?”

Jetta agreed, making a note on her phone to do so.

“I’ll follow up with Animal Control and get the report from their sweep of your yard.” The detective eyed Jetta and her mother. “In the meantime, be careful. Someone appears to be targeting you two, and until we know why, be on your guard.”

“What happens next?” Seth laid a hand on Jetta’s shoulder, as if he’d known she needed comfort.

She leaned into his side, wanting closer contact and hoping his strength would rub off onto her. Her mind overflowed like a fast-moving stream with too many disconnected thoughts.

“We’re finished here for now and will return later to talk to the night shift,” the detective said. “In the meantime, I’ve alerted security to be extra vigilant.”

“What about the embezzlement?” Mom asked.

“I’ll check with my colleague and see what I can find out about the original investigation.” He stood. “If we find a connection between the embezzlement and the attempt on your life, we’ll reopen your husband’s case. Until then, I’ll treat it as background.”

Mom’s lips tightened in the way that indicated she wasn’t pleased with that answer, but she didn’t contradict the detective and thanked him again.

After the detective left, Mom sighed. “At least he didn’t laugh at me for suggesting Jay’s case had something to do with these attempts.”

“I think he will look into it.” Jetta thought the detective had been sincere. “In the meantime, we’ll keep digging and see what we can come up with. What did your colleague say?”

Seth ran a hand along the back of his neck, a gesture Jetta noted he did whenever he was nervous or embarrassed. “Brogan said there wasn’t enough new evidence to warrant opening an investigation. But I did find out something interesting about Topher Robotics. Maxwell Technology is trying for a hostile takeover.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Jetta voiced the question she’d seen on her mother’s face as well.

“It means Maxwell Technology will try to convince the majority of the shareholders to vote for their offer to acquire Topher Robotics without the board’s approval,” Seth explained. “I don’t know all the ins and outs myself, but I do know since Topher Robotics went public a few months after your father’s death, the Topher family has had less control over the company. They’re still the largest shareholders with forty percent of the stock, but they no longer hold the majority position.”

Jetta rubbed her temples as a headache inched its way into her skull. “All this financial mumbo-jumbo is confusing. I didn’t get Dad’s affinity for numbers and spreadsheets.”

“You have a good head on your shoulders.” Mom patted her hand. “Now you two run along and start sleuthing.”

Jetta frowned. “You heard what the detective said—we need to be extra careful. I’m staying here with you until that man is caught.”

“Absolutely not.” Mom shot Jetta The Look, the one that said I will not be gainsaid about this . “That detective will do his best, I’m sure, but the poor man is overworked, and since I didn’t die, this isn’t going to be at the top of his list. He will ask questions and do a thorough job, but he will not delve too deep into the embezzlement. That’s up to you two. I’ve waited fifteen years to prove Jay’s innocence. There’s no more time to waste.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Seth gave her mother a salute, then winked at Jetta. “Shall we grab a cup of coffee in the cafeteria and plot our next move?”

Mom made a shooing motion with her hand. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

Jetta kissed her mother on the cheek. “I’ll stop by before I leave.”

An orderly, one Jetta had seen several times before, came into the room as Jetta and Seth left. “Time for your PT, Mrs. Ainsley.”

“She’ll be in good hands, now that the staff is alerted,” Seth said as they made their way to the cafeteria. “The best thing we can do is figure out the truth about who stole that money.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I’m worried.” Jetta paused outside the bustling café. “First Bingley and now my mom. This is serious. Maybe we shouldn’t…”

Seth gently turned her to face him, his light grip on her upper arms sending tingles throughout her body. “If we don’t, someone will get away with not only embezzling millions but also the attempt on your mother’s life.”

He guided her into the cafeteria. “The best way we can keep your mom safe is to find out who’s behind the embezzlement.”

Jetta wished she had confidence they would uncover the culprit after all these years, but as she’d painfully learned with Kyle, people were very good at hiding their true colors. And when faced with exposure, they could react in very unexpected ways. With the attempt on her mother’s life, Jetta had no doubt whoever was behind the events was playing for keeps.

And would stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.