“Maybe you need something stronger than caffeine,” Mia said, placing several files on Damon’s desk.
“I need my headache to go away,” Damon said, flashing Mia a scowl.
Monday morning brought about Damon’s severe mood, all because of running into Lila yesterday. Her apology had touched him. The sincerity in her voice had caught him off-guard. The kissing hadn’t helped clear the air between them. He’d been close to lifting her up, carrying her home, and spending the day in her bed. That thought alone made him hard. Not helping the situation was what to do with his feelings towards her. If only they could get through this without him falling harder for her.
Damon scooted his chair closer to the desk, hiding his reaction. Of all the women he’d been with, she was the first one Damon couldn’t get out of his mind. He’d just have to get over his problem. Somehow.
“Bad weekend?” Mia asked, lingering.
Damon ignored her question and asked one of his own. “Have you found anything out about Lila Kent or Christopher Barrett and their connection to Golden Gate Park?”
“I made a few calls and left a few messages. I’m looking into a few leads. Turns out this whole snooping into people’s lives isn’t easy if they keep their private life off the Internet.”
“Keep trying. Continue looking. Drop everything until you can bring me something substantial.”
“You’re asking me to put off my job to go after some clue. I don’t need to remind you how busy your schedule is today.”
Damon finally looked up at her. “Do you have a problem doing your job?”
The outburst faded from her expression. “Not at all.”
A frazzled looking assistant for another lawyer knocked on his door. “Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Harrison is here to see you. I told him you’re busy, but he didn’t listen.”
“I’m not expecting Brent,” he said, exchanging glances with Mia.
Kathy stepped to the side as a tall figure entered the room. “Brent’s not stopping by,” Luke said. “I am.”
Damon looked to Mia as if to say leave us alone.
“Fine,” Mia said, glaring at Luke and back to Damon. “I’ll drop everything as you requested and continue the research.”
Luke stepped into Damon’s office as Kathy and Mia exited, closing the door behind them.
“Nice office,” Luke said, crossing the room and stopping in front of the window. “We have the same taste. Clean lines. Great view.”
“What are you doing here?” Damon said, pushing back the chair and getting to his feet. He too, went to stand in front of the window. They always gravitated to looking outward instead of at each other.
“I was watching the news this morning. The media is going nuts with the story about a vandalized section at Coit Tower. The detective in charge of the investigation issued a ten-thousand-dollar reward for the name of the person who did the crime.”
“Are you in need of money?”
“No.” The first sign of a grin formed on Luke’s face. “I’m not here to turn you in, either. I want to know what you found. There was something in that brick, wasn’t there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Luke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Another ring?”
“Do you know something you aren’t telling me?”
“No, it’s just unlikely a bulky bag of diamonds would fit in such a small space.”
“Who says I haven’t already turned in Lila?”
Luke laughed sharply. “You wouldn’t get her in trouble.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“The police would have her in custody if you did.” The laugh sounded misplaced with Luke’s haggard appearance, right down to the wrinkled shirt and jeans with a hole at the knee.
“The coordinates belong to a spot in Golden Gate Park,” Damon said, taking a small step to trust his brother. After all, he’d given him information leading to the second ring.
“You can’t get Lila to narrow those numbers down?”
An image of Lila kissing him flashed through Damon’s mind. His stomach hardened at the memory of her touch. “No.”
Luke cracked a half smile. “You’re defensive whenever I say her name.”
“I am not,” he said, annoyed.
“I’m seeing a therapist,” Luke casually admitted, changing the subject. “She’s a couple of blocks over. That’s why I’m here.”
“About time,” Damon knew how big a step this must be for Luke, so he wouldn’t ruin his brother’s progress by saying anything stupid like that’s great or good for you. The less he made this a big deal, the better for his brother.
“I’m working on restoring my relationships,” Luke said, keeping his gaze on the skyline. “I’m told that I push people away when I need them the most.”
“If you need a shoulder to cry on, you should have gone to Brent.”
The mention of Brent gave Luke pause. Thoughtfully, he said, “I came because you need my help.”
Damon looked at his brother. He didn’t want to fight. Luke needed his support, he could see that. He also needed his brother to know a little piece of his own grief. “I don’t know why it was me,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know why I got to say goodbye to Kendra. You were right, it should have been you or Brent. She shouldn’t have died, but she did, and I held her. I want you to know I stayed with her until she stopped breathing.”
Luke swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
“If there’s anything else you want to know, just ask.”
“The robbery and murder that took place at Trace Elements goes much deeper than what it seems to be on the surface. Barrett Financial is in trouble. Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing from his clients’ personal accounts. The feds are opening an investigation into his company. We’re talking a decade worth of money is gone. Every client he screwed over is going to be coming at Barrett Financial looking for retribution.”
A sinking feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. He thought of Lila. “How do you know this?”
“I used to golf with one of Barrett’s lawyers. After I saw you last, I gave him a call. The clients, the employees—they’re angry and they’ll talk to anyone who will listen.”
Damon’s mouth went dry. Something clicked. Damon had a pretty good idea where the money had ended up. “Don’t people who steal money funnel the cash into other accounts, usually offshore? Perhaps it’s not missing.”
“My contact told me Barrett had no offshore or other private accounts.” Not good, Damon thought.
“The problem is going to get bigger for Lila. Someone posted online that the brick belonged to Lila Kent and everyone is jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon. The media is fueling the problem, reporting that a hole existed in the brick big enough to hide something.”
The bad news kept piling up at Damon’s feet. More people looking for the clues meant Damon had less time.
“You and I both know if there’s not money on the other end of this equation, then that leaves the question of what is there. What did he hide? I don’t know how any of this will go. The story could go away, but you have to get Lila on your side,” Luke continued. “This isn’t going to end well for her if she’s not able to prove her innocence either with the brick or the tie to her uncle’s company.”
“That’s what concerns me,” Damon said. “I’m not sure whatever is at the end of all this is supposed to exonerate her or anyone else in that family.” Damon closed his eyes and swore. “I also don’t think she’ll tell me.”
“You’re charming. Do something to change her mind.”
A laugh escaped Damon’s mouth. “There’s my biggest problem. She’s immune to my charms.”
A knock at the door caused both men to turn. “Come in,” Damon said.
The door opened, and Mia stepped in. “You need to see this,” she said, going straight to Damon’s laptop. She clicked on the keyboard and then turned the computer around.
A news reporter stood outside of Coit Tower, the microphone too close to her lips. Her eyes hungry with a story. “What’s not clear,” the reporter said, “is how this fits together.”
A photo of Lila appeared on the screen. Sunglasses over her eyes. Her mouth closed. Her hair lighter. Damon held his breath, listening.
“The brick belongs to the niece of the late investment tycoon Christopher Barrett. It is believed something was hidden inside and stolen. In the past few days, we’re learning there might be a darker side to this well-known and generous contributor to our community. The financial sector has been unsettled by allegations of theft by prominent investors from around the world. The burden of an investigation is further complicated because he died so recently.” Lila’s picture disappeared, leaving the reporter speaking directly to the camera. “Police say this is an ongoing investigation and anyone who has information is encouraged to come forward.”
“Let’s see what else they’re saying.” Damon pulled the keyboard closer and began to type. Mounting dread filled him with each headline he scrolled through:
Lila Kent Fakes Blindness to Get Inheritance
Police Find Lila Drunk Near Coit Tower
Niece of Christopher Barrett Squandered Millions in Stolen Money
Cops Arrest Lila Kent in Connection with Coit Tower Vandalism
Between a Brick and a Landmark: Detectives Investigate Lila Kent
Is Lila Kent Hiding Millions in Embezzled Money?
Lila Kent Suspect in Murder of Kendra Wright
The last headline undid Damon’s composure. “Mia,” he said with calculated rage, get out!”
“Of course,” she said, leaving quickly.
“You need to go see her,” Luke said. “She’s in trouble and she’s your only hope of finding the next clue.”
Damon considered Luke’s calm approach to all of this. “Why did you really come here? What’s in this for you anyway?”
“I want my life back,” Luke said with such humility that it erased every retort Damon had planned.
“Melanie’s dead. You can’t get her back.”
“I know I can’t have that life back, but I don’t want to sit around wasting away either. I have daughters.”
“Are you talking about coming back to the company?”
“Not a chance. Not with how things stand with Brent. I was caught up in my personal agenda and I lost Melanie forever because of it. I was too late to help her, which is why I came to tell you to get Lila on the phone while you still have a chance to help her.”
Damon considered Luke’s plea. “Alright,” Damon said, reaching for the phone on his desk.
He looked up Lila’s number in the client directory and dialed. A computerized voice indicated for him to leave a message, which he did.
“Where does she go during the day?” Luke said.
“She works at a school.” Damon picked up the phone again and called Mia. “Get me Lila’s employer on the phone.”
Same as the first call, he wasn’t able to get in touch with her. The school personnel told him she wasn’t in today.
“I’ll see if I can go find her,” Damon said, grabbing his suit jacket. “What are you going to do? Stay here and take up space in my office?”
“It’s good to see you again,” Luke said, grinning. “I’ll see what else I can find out and I’ll call you if I learn anything.”
“Okay,” Damon said, preoccupied with how he was going to get Lila to talk to him.
Damon sent Mia a concise message to let her know he’d taken off the rest of the day and to cancel his appointments. Luke was right. Lila did need his help. If she wasn’t already in the custody of the police for questioning. They both had gone to Coit Tower and Arianna was right, he shouldn’t have let her go with him.
Now he had to rectify the damage he’d done.