Stephan
I woke up early. It was a rough night—for me anyway. Brianna had slept soundly even though she’d had a good two-hour nap on the flight back to Minneapolis. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that she was keeping something from me. I had no idea what it was, however. Then again, I could have been imagining things. My guilt over what had happened on Saturday hadn’t faded. Perhaps it was clouding my judgment.
Careful not to wake her, I tiptoed out of the bedroom to go get her gifts. I’d hidden the laptop in my briefcase and then secured it in one of the locked drawers upstairs. With it, I’d purchased a first edition of Jane Eyre for her. I’d been surfing online at the office for something else to get her, and an ad had come up for rare books. Once the idea had taken hold, I hadn’t been able to shake it. Jane Eyre was one of her favorites, and I knew she would love it.
Brianna was still asleep when I returned. After carefully setting her presents on the floor on the other side of the nightstand, I slipped back in bed and began my efforts to wake her.
I started by barely touching her pale skin with my fingers. Soon after, I added my mouth, placing featherlight kisses along her neck and jaw. She stirred, and I increased my efforts. Before long, she opened her eyes. “Good morning, Brianna. Happy birthday.”
She blinked. “Good morning.”
I leaned down and gave her a gentle but thorough kiss, tangling my tongue with hers. When I pulled away, I didn’t go far. “I’m taking you out to dinner tonight, but I wanted to go ahead and give you your presents.”
“You got me presents?”
I looked at her, a bit dumbfounded. “Of course I got you something. It’s your birthday.”
Moisture welled in her eyes, and I quickly pulled her into my arms. “Shh. Why are you crying?”
She shook her head, but I wouldn’t let her dismiss this. I needed to know the reason behind her tears.
“Tell me, sweetheart.”
“You took me to see my mom.”
“And you thought that was your present?”
She nodded.
“Brianna, I would give you the world if I could. I’d take you to see your mom every weekend if that’s what you wanted. This is your birthday, though, and birthdays mean presents.”
I smiled at her, hoping to lighten the mood, and it worked. She glanced up at me through wet lashes and smiled.
After a quick peck on the lips, I went to retrieve her presents. Both were wrapped, and I sat patiently as she tore the paper off her book. As soon as she saw it, her eyes lit up.
“It’s a first edition. I know how much you love the story. Now you don’t have to borrow my copy. You have one of your own.”
She cradled the book to her chest. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Brianna removed the wrapping paper from the laptop. It was still in the box, but it didn’t take her long to open that, too. “This is mine?” she asked reverently.
“It’s yours. I figured you’d need a computer if you’re going back to school. Besides, computers can be loads of fun. You can play games and look up all sorts of information. Talk to people halfway around the world . . .”
She was still looking at the computer in awe.
“I’m going to go make us breakfast. Come out when you’re ready.”
As I turned to leave, I heard movement behind me and knew she was already getting out of bed. She reached for the robe Lily had gotten her, and followed me out into the main room and then into the kitchen, where I began digging out the pots and pans I would need. “Can I help?”
I smiled and pointed to one of the stools. “Sit. It’s your birthday. I’m cooking. You can keep me company.”
“Okay.” She looked disappointed, but she sat down.
As I worked to make our breakfast, we talked more about the books we were both reading. I also told her about the restaurant I was taking her to later that evening. It was a pleasant start to the day. Much better than the one previous. With any luck, that meant we could put what had happened on Saturday at Logan and Lily’s behind us and move forward. That was what I was hoping anyway.
I gave her a long kiss good-bye before I left for work, promising to be home by four so we could head to the restaurant. Brianna appeared as reluctant to see me go as I was to leave. Leaving her was not something I wanted to do. If Michael hadn’t promised to have something for me today, I would probably have taken the day off, or at the very least, worked from home. As it was, I needed to be there.
Jamie greeted me as I stepped off the elevator. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”
“Morning, Jamie. How was your weekend?”
“Good. How was your flight?”
“It was fine. I’m glad to be back in Minneapolis.”
I said hello to a few of the other executives as I grabbed something to drink before going to my office. The day was going to drag until Michael sought me out. The key was to keep busy, so that was exactly what I did. There was plenty of work on my desk. It was all about concentrating.
Thankfully he didn’t make me wait all day. At ten, Jamie buzzed to let me know Michael wanted to see me in his office if I was available. There was no question of that. Although I was eager, I didn’t want to appear too eager. Taking my time, I went into my bathroom, splashed some cold water on my face, and adjusted my already-straight tie.
Deciding I needed a little more encouragement, I sent Brianna a text. Love you.
In less than a minute, my phone dinged with a response. Love you, too.
Most people would have viewed Brianna as a burden, but I didn’t. She was a phenomenal woman, and I was lucky to have her in my life.
At eight minutes, I couldn’t hold off any longer and made my way down the hall to Michael’s office. I knocked, even though he was expecting me, and he quickly waved me inside. Without prompting, I closed the door behind me and locked it. I didn’t want anyone accidentally walking in on our conversation.
“First, let me say that this needs to be turned over to the FBI. After what I’ve seen, this Ian Pierce has his hand in more things than I could track. There’s evidence of money laundering, as well as some extremely questionable transactions with a handful of men who are known fencers of stolen goods, especially rare artifacts and paintings.”
I loved what I was hearing so far. “How did you find all this out?”
“I’ve been in the finance world for a long time, Mr. Coleman. It’s been my job to go in and clean up companies whose books have been . . . less than honest. I know what I’m looking for, and I’ve made some contacts of my own in law enforcement.”
Did that mean he’d already talked to the police? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Yes, I wanted to get the law involved, but not yet. Not until I knew what I was dealing with.
“I noticed something extremely disturbing while I was digging.”
He placed the stack of papers in front of me and flipped to the page he wanted. These weren’t the same bank statements I’d given him. What I was looking at had details one would never find on a simple bank statement, including handwritten notes regarding individual transactions.
“There’s a name here. Juliet Mullins. I searched every financial database I could to no avail. So then I tried the FBI’s criminal database. Still nothing. Given what I’d already found, that surprised me. I knew there had to be something out there somewhere, so I did a general search of the Internet and found this.”
The paper he handed me next wasn’t a bank statement or any other financial document. It was a missing person flyer. My heart felt like it had descended into my stomach. He’d taken someone else.
“Was she ever found?” The words sounded foreign to my own ears.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“She was found about fifty miles south of here. A construction crew was breaking ground on a new house and uncovered a body. It was her.”
I stood, unable to sit any longer, and put my hand over my mouth. He’d killed her. I turned to look back down at the paper in my hands, at the picture of a young girl, aged eighteen, with long brown hair, and a face that spoke of innocence.
I had to know. “When . . . do they know when she was killed?”
“Her body was found about six months ago, and it was estimated she’d been dead about a year.”
Tears clouded my vision as the reality of the situation sank in for the first time. If I’d not bought Brianna from Ian, she would have most likely suffered the same fate.
“Mr. Coleman?”
Looking up at the ceiling, I tried to get a grip on myself. I had to hear what else he had to say. “Go on. What else did you find?”
“Well, sir, I found your name, along with another woman’s name. Brianna Reeves.”
I nodded.
“I have to ask. Are you involved in something illegal? I know you said this man hurt someone you love, but . . . this looks bad from where I’m sitting.”
Before I could answer him, my phone rang. It was Tom, so I knew I had to take it. “Excuse me for a moment. What is it, Tom?”
“Mr. Coleman, there is a delivery here for Miss Reeves that requires a signature.”
That was strange. Although, Ross had said he was going to bring her birthday present over. Maybe he’d gotten busy or something. “What is it?”
“Flowers.”
Ross was sending her flowers? I supposed it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “Go ahead and sign for them, and I’ll swing by the desk when I get home to pick them up.”
“I was going to do that, sir, but the man says he was told that only Miss Reeves was allowed to sign for them.”
I could turn the deliveryman away and tell him to come back later, or get his information and go to the shop and pick them up myself, but . . . “You’re sure it’s just flowers, Tom?”
“Yep. Just flowers.”
“Is there a card? Does he know who they’re from?”
I heard him talking to the other man before returning to the phone. “All he knows is that a guy came in early this morning and placed the order.”
Looking over at Michael, I noticed he was watching me a lot closer than he had been. “Tell the man to wait there. I’ll call Brianna. She can come down and sign for the flowers, but Tom . . .”
“I’ll watch over her, Mr. Coleman. You have my word.”
Quickly disconnecting from Tom, I called Brianna.
“Hi.”
I could tell she was smiling. “Hello, sweetheart. I’m in a meeting, so I can’t talk long, but I received a phone call from Tom downstairs. It seems you have a delivery that needs to be signed for.”
“A delivery?”
“Yes. Flowers. The man won’t let Tom sign for them, for some reason.”
“Okay.”
“You stay close to Tom, all right? And I want you to call me as soon as you get back upstairs, do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Call me before then if you need to, Brianna.”
Putting my cell phone back in my pocket, I turned to face Michael again. The look on his face had changed. “I guess I need to rephrase my last question. Did you buy Brianna Reeves from Ian Pierce, Mr. Coleman?”
I supposed there was no denying it. The evidence was right there, staring him in the face. “Yes. I did.”