Page 9

Mackenzie

This last week has been one of the hardest I’ve ever had. I keep discovering more and more logistics involved with getting Levi what he needs. And yes, logistics are my thing, but this has felt different somehow. In the end, though, I think I have a workable plan. My older neighbor has helped by staying with Levi in the mornings so I can go to work, as it was harder than I’d anticipated to find the right nanny and get Levi registered for school. But now, I’ve jumped through all those hoops, and I found a great college student from SFU, Georgia O’Connell, to hang out with Levi in the afternoons and evenings. She and Levi really hit it off.

I’ve sent messages to my dad, keeping him up to date on what’s happening, but he’s not responding. I’m annoyed, but not particularly shocked, because this is what he does. It’s his go-to move when one of his marriages is falling apart. He shuts down, goes totally silent. The only person who can get to him is his lawyer. Normally, that just means I don’t talk to him for a while, but this time, it means I’m dealing with everything myself.

Now, I stand at the school gate and watch Levi nearly disappear into a crowd of loud, happy kids—his first day at his new school. At the last minute, he turns and gives me a big, toothy smile and waves. Then he’s gone. My heart still feels a little nervous, but I remind myself that Georgia will be here to pick him up and bring him home safely at the end of the day.

I did it . I can feel myself smiling. Theo didn’t seem to think I could handle working and taking care of Levi, but in just a week, I’ve managed to lay the groundwork for a more stable life for him. I even ordered meal kits online, so we can have fresh, easy dinners—no more greasy takeout. I take a deep breath of cool morning air and feel proud. Levi is happy. I can do this. We’re going to be okay.

Not that Levi’s parents have in any way contributed to this success. My dad will be unreachable until he decides he doesn’t want to be, and no one seems to know how to reach out to Ellie. Levi got into school because my dad’s lawyer took care of getting us the paperwork we needed, but only after I told him about Ellie being missing and Dad hiding out in Kauai.

Once the bell rings and all the students enter the building, I drive to the office. I’ll arrive later than usual today, but I made sure to get everyone’s morning started from home. I’ll get better at this once I settle into my new routine.

As I walk into our building’s reception area, I smell glass cleaner and look around to see who’s polishing windows. Instead, I find Claude, one of the security guards, standing at attention, his gaze focused on the street outside. As I watch, lights from police cars flash through the front windows as they pull up and stop outside. Some are marked, some not. Just as I reach the front desk, a group of police officers walks in. I recognize the detective working on Justin’s case. My heart starts to race. Who knows what brings them here today.

“Inspector Harris, officers, how can I help?” I ask.

“Good morning, Ms. Davis,” he says. “We’re looking for Crystal Capriotti, Austin Sands, Theo Reed, and Rhys Smalls.” He scans the area as he speaks.

“Rhys is on his honeymoon and unreachable,” I inform them. “And Crystal… She’s gone into hiding. Things have been rough since the break-in at her home almost a year ago. I can take you upstairs to our offices. Theo should be here shortly, and Austin should be finishing his first meeting of the day.”

Harris says something I can’t hear to his gang of officers, their expressions grave. I lead them to the elevator, and Detective Harris ushers me in first. I’m stuck in the back looking at a wall of shoulders as the elevator takes us to the executive floor. I take a deep breath. I can handle whatever comes my way . That’s just a lot of things lately.

I escort them to the conference room. “I’ll check on Theo and Austin and get you some coffee for your wait.”

On the way down the hall, I dump my purse in my desk drawer and set my computer on my desk. The police showing up is never a good thing. I send Connie from accounting to the kitchen to get coffee for the group, and I call Grantham Wilks, our lawyer.

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he says after I explain what I’ve walked into. “Don’t let anyone talk to them until I’m there.”

When I get to Austin’s office, Theo is with him.

“Inspector Harris and some officers have arrived and need to speak with us,” I inform them when they look my way. “I’ve put in a call to Grantham, and Connie is getting coffee.”

Austin and Theo look at each other and then back at me.

“Did Grantham say when he’d be here?” Austin asks.

“Twenty minutes. Don’t say anything until then.”

With a nod, I step back out, and soon, Connie has the tray of coffee for me. “I’ll take this in,” I tell her. “When Grantham Wilks arrives, grab Theo and Austin and bring them into the conference room.”

“Sure. No problem,” she says. She rubs her hands over her skirt, seeming nervous.

“Don’t worry,” I assure her. “They’re only checking in.”

She nods as I pick up the heavy tray and head down the hall. I push open the door to the conference room, holding the tray like I’ve done a hundred times. In my mind, I still hear the zipper of Levi’s new lunchbox closing in the kitchen. I wonder how he’s doing. I try to hold on to that proud feeling I had this morning as I walk into this room filled with tension.

“Here we are,” I announce, setting the tray on the long, polished table.

“Thank you,” Inspector Harris says. “Are Austin and Theo on their way?”

I nod and look at my watch. “They should be here in about five minutes. Can I get you anything else while you wait?”

He shakes his head.

I return to my desk, and when Grantham exits the elevators, Austin and Theo join him. Together, they make their way to the conference room. I slip in after them and stand discreetly in the corner.

Inspector Harris introduces everyone. When he reaches Grantham, he shakes his head. “You weren’t needed for this.”

Grantham gives single-shoulder shrug. “No big deal. I was in the area.”

“Have you heard from Justin Capriotti?” Inspector Harris asks.

Theo and Austin both look at Grantham, who nods.

“No,” Theo says. “Have you?”

The inspector pulls a notepad from his chest pocket and flips it open. “Mr. Sands, you had an argument with Justin the last time you saw him.”

Austin nods. “I did. He wanted to slow down on our research and development of a new battery. I disagreed.”

“And how did that conversation end?”

“We agreed to discuss it as a group, and I then left for Washington, DC.”

Austin glances at Grantham, who gives him a subtle signal to stop talking.

Inspector Harris jots something down, then turns to Theo. “And you had dinner with Justin and Crystal the last time you saw him—with a date. That was the night before he went missing.”

Theo takes a breath, likely steeling himself against the assumption that he was with a prostitute. He wasn’t. Just one of his usual one-and-done dates. I remember her clearly. She left a message with me a few weeks later to say she wasn’t pregnant. Classy .

“Yes,” Theo says. “I had a date with me that night.”

“Do you remember what you discussed at dinner?” the detective asks.

“We talked about a lot of things,” Theo says. “Justin and Crystal mentioned buying property in Tuscany and starting IVF treatments. They were planning to have a baby.”

The inspector glances down and scribbles something, then shifts his attention to me.

“And you, Ms. Davis? I don’t believe I’ve heard about your last interaction with Mr. Capriotti.”

I nod. “It wasn’t anything unusual. I spoke to him at the office on Friday before I left for the weekend. I told him I was heading out and reminded him about our Monday-morning call with an automaker at seven a.m. He said he’d probably take it from home.”

“Did he do that often?” Harris asks.

“Sometimes. Not regularly, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary.”

Inspector Harris studies his notes. “When did you start to worry?”

I remember almost every minute of that day and the panic of not being able to find him. The same pit in my stomach returns. “I started to worry when I couldn’t reach him on Monday. There was a news report that morning about a car on fire on the freeway in Detroit.”

“What did you do? Did you try calling him?”

“Of course. I called his cell, and it went directly to voicemail. Then I called his home landline. I also reached out to Crystal.”

“Did anyone answer?”

I shake my head. “No, sir.”

Inspector Harris folds his hands on the table. “I need to speak with Crystal Capriotti and Rhys Sands as soon as possible.”

Grantham sighs. “As soon as they return, I’ll bring them in.”

Inspector Harris looks around at all of us and clears his throat. “I need to let you know that we’ve found Justin.”

I pull in a breath, feeling all my emotions at once—relief, anger, joy. Justin had better be ready for a piece of my mind. This game he’s been playing is selfish and reckless. I can’t imagine what he could say that would explain it all.

Austin and Theo wear matching grins. My shoulders drop as relief floods in. The nightmare is finally over. But then I look back at Inspector Harris. He doesn’t look like someone who’s delivering good news.

“Wait,” he says. “I need to be clearer. Unfortunately, what we found is Justin’s body. I’m sorry to have to tell you, he’s dead.”

The world around me goes cold. My tablet crashes to the ground. The sound is distant, muffled by the rush of blood in my ears. Justin is dead? No, it can’t be. He was just— He had to be out there, somewhere. We just didn’t understand why— My hands grope for something steady, finding only air.

“Mackenzie!” Theo’s voice cuts through the haze. His strong hands guide me into a chair, and he crouches beside me. “Take it easy. You’re in shock.”

I focus on his face, his words keeping me in the moment, even as memories try to pull me away. I remember the days of planning Justin’s schedule, answering his calls, and celebrating small wins with the electric car battery these guys were creating. I think about the last time I saw him. He looked frustrated, a deep worry in his eyes that I didn’t understand.

“Deep breaths,” Theo urges.

Connie rushes in with a bottle of water.

I grip it, but the room feels like it’s spinning, and the air is so heavy, I feel like I can taste it. The police officers are looking at me, likely waiting until they’re sure it’s safe to continue.

“What happened to him?” Theo eventually asks.

“That is still under investigation, but he was found in a freezer, in a storage unit here in town,” Inspector Harris explains.

With that, the room falls silent.

“Mackenzie,” Austin murmurs. “Why don’t you step out and take a minute? Maybe you can ask Jeannie to call Jim and Mason? We need them here.”

I nod. My legs are still shaky, but I steady them enough to make my way out of the conference room. The inspector asks me to return when I’m ready, his expression solemn.

With each step toward Rhys’s office, I focus on what I need to do. I can’t let myself panic. I close the door behind me and feel a little better, alone in the quiet. I’m not going to bother Jeannie. I can do this. I take out my phone and call Jim. He answers on the second ring.

“Jim, it’s Mackenzie Davis,” I say softly. “We’ve gotten some…news. The police— They found Justin.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. “What? Where?”

“His body was in a freezer, in a storage unit here in town.”

“Jesus…” His voice trails off.

“Can you and Mason come to the office? Now? They want to talk to us. Grantham is here.” I glance over my shoulder, though I know the door is closed.

“We’re with a client, but we’ll wrap it up. Give us twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.” I end the call, and the phone slips from my fingers onto Rhys’s immaculate desk. I lean against it, closing my eyes for a brief moment. The problem with glass walls is that everyone can see me. I let out a slow breath, trying to push away the pictures in my mind—the way Justin used to laugh, the light in his eyes that’s now gone.

My hands shake. In my mind, I’m back in that small interview room with sunlight sneaking through the blinds. Justin is there. His hair is messy, sticking up in every direction, like he’s been running his hands through it all day. Maybe it was from stress, maybe from thinking too hard. Maybe both.

“ How are you liking the marketing department ?” he had asked.

“ It’s good. I like it ,” I’d told him.

“ What are your goals? ”

“ Goals? ”

“ Yes. What do you want to be when you grow up? ” he’d said with a laugh.

I’d cleared my throat, steadying my voice. “ I have an MBA from USC. I have this drive, you see, to start at the bottom and work my way up. Earn every step. ”

He had nodded then, an encouraging gesture, inviting me to continue.

“ Electric vehicle batteries are the future. I’ve spent nights buried in research, understanding their potential, dreaming of their environmental impact. This isn’t just a job for me. It’s a chance to be part of something transformative .”

“ What if I could give you an opportunity to climb that ladder faster ?” he’d asked.

My eyes must have popped out of my head.

“ We’re a growing company. We’re so close to getting everything off the ground. There’s a lot of opportunity here. Would you be open to becoming my executive admin? I need someone to organize my life here at the office and help me run the company. It would give you access to every aspect of our business .”

I can still hear his soft laugh as I agreed so eagerly. But now, it doesn’t feel warm or full of hope. It’s just a sad reminder of what’s been lost—a smart, promising life cut short. I push the memory away and make myself focus on right now. Levi needs me to be strong. Theo needs me to stay sharp. I won’t let them down—not Levi, not Theo, and not the dreams Justin and I once shared.

Justin had been upset those last few days, nothing like the excited, driven person I used to know. I wondered if the business was wearing him down, and I’d thought maybe I was ready for something new. I wanted a challenge. That weekend, I’d searched job sites, feeling like I needed a change. And on that Monday, Justin hadn’t been there to welcome me or start the week full of energy. He hadn’t responded when the company was in crisis, taking the blame for failing batteries that weren’t ours but appeared to be.

What happened to Justin? Who could have hurt him? And why? Most of those questions still hang in the air, like ghosts in our once lively office. My own tears finally come.