Читать книгу Colton's Christmas Cop - Karen Whiddon - Страница 12
ОглавлениеOnce upon a time, Layla Colton had believed in fairy tales. She’d thought if she worked hard enough she could make her father notice her, something he never seemed to do. Though it felt disloyal, she’d long suspected he was skimming money off the top of the company’s profits, but until Hunter Black had mentioned the accounting department, it hadn’t occurred to her to take a look at the books.
Now she had. In her office since the crack of dawn, she’d taken a good, hard look at the bookkeeping files. Saving the file to her Dropbox, she clicked out of it, feeling queasy. And disappointed. No wonder Colton Energy was in trouble. As she’d thought, the sales department was rocking and rolling, getting lots of new contracts and extending old ones. With numbers like the ones she’d seen, they should have been expanding. But instead, Fenwick Colton dipped into and spent the profits like there was no tomorrow.
Of course, this wasn’t illegal. He owned the company and could do whatever he wished with the profits, as long as he met all his corporate obligations. The vendors were still being paid, payroll still met and all the taxes were handled on time, so technically he was meeting them. But the advertising budget had been sliced in half, and lately whenever an employee quit, they were not replaced. Other employees were asked to tighten their belts and double down to help the company get through this crisis.
Crisis. The word sent a knife edge of worry through those who depended on their jobs to provide for their family. After all, Red Ridge wasn’t exactly a mecca of jobs. So, of course, everyone pitched in, worked longer hours and did what they had to do in order to help Colton Energy survive. She’d done the same thing herself, determined to do her part to keep the company afloat.
Except after reading these reports, she could clearly see there would be no problem if her father weren’t running through money like crazy. He’d always liked five-star restaurants, expensive cars and high-maintenance women. She’d assumed his salary was adequate to cover that lifestyle, since he made almost twice as much as she did, but apparently it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
Damn.
How many people were aware of what her father was doing to the company, she wondered. Surely the VP of accounting knew, and probably Fenwick’s assistant, at the very least.
Her phone pinged. Another text. Her siblings had all made contact, via text or phone messages, offering their support.
As she stood up and stretched, another realization struck her. Not only had her father lied to his employees, but he’d lied to her. He’d actually convinced her of the necessity of her marrying Hamlin Harrington, a man she didn’t love—or even like, for that matter. He’d claimed this would be the only way to save Colton Energy, as Hamlin had promised a fresh influx of cash. Millions, to be specific.
But would the money even go to the company, or would it end up in Fenwick’s personal accounts? Would he then spend it all on lavish vacations, exotic cars and his model girlfriends?
Except...even a lifestyle as lavish as her father’s couldn’t burn through this much money so fast, could it? There had to be something else, something she’d missed.
No matter what the truth was, Layla had been played for a fool. Closing the file, she sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. While she prided herself on being a team player, on giving her job her all, the time had come to speak to her father. She needed answers, and most of all, she needed his assurances that he’d stop hurting his own company. Too many employees, herself included, would be destroyed if Colton Energy went under.
Pacing the confines of her corner office, she eyed the windy outdoors. Not in the mood to walk outside in the chilly air, she decided to go for a walk around the office to clear her head. Since her third-floor office was right next to her father’s executive suite, she elected to head down to the second floor, where the bulk of the sales force worked. Privately, she often thought the busy sales department was the hub of the company. Noisy and boisterous, with constantly ringing phones, salespeople pitching their product, she always felt upbeat whenever she visited. The positive energy simply hummed from every desk. Corny, but true.
In contrast, the executive floor—her floor—felt somber and too quiet. As if the weight of the company sat like a heavy quilt over everything.
Striding toward the elevators, she pressed the button for the lobby. The doors opened almost immediately and she stepped inside, please to see she had this elevator alone. Perfect, since she wasn’t in the mood for speaking with anyone after the startling revelations of a moment ago. She’d come in super early, as was her normal habit, though this time doing so also helped her avoid anyone staring, whispering or sharing gossip about her.
The elevator stopped on the second floor. As the doors opened, she was surprised to see Hunter Black heading toward her. She frowned, guessing he’d come from the Mark Hatton’s office. But then she caught sight of the adorable little dog padding alongside him, and all apprehension vanished.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, dropping to her knees on the elevator floor, heedless of her expensive suit. “What a cutie. Who is this? What’s her name?”
Hunter grinned, startling her with how devastatingly handsome he was. “This is Goose. She’s my little partner.”
“Goose?” she asked, startled. “I bet there’s an interesting story behind that name.”
Clearly pleased by the question, Hunter shrugged. “She was a silly puppy when she was young. A silly goose. So the name stuck.”
“Too cute.” Charmed, Layla held the doors open while Hunter and the dog settled into the back. With her brown, tan and white coloring, Goose looked like a cross between a beagle and a basset hound. A mutt, as one of her uncles used to like to say, even though Goose was purebred.
Goose, apparently knowing an adoring fan when she saw one, wiggled her entire long body and worked her way as close to Layla as she could get.
“Hey, there,” Layla crooned, leaning in and scratching behind the floppiest set of dog ears she’d ever seen. They felt like velvet and smelled like corn chips, oddly enough. While she’d never had a dog of her own, she’d always wanted one. Only the long hours her job required kept her from getting her own.
That might soon change.
Goose woofed, a low sound of pleasure as she closed her ridiculously cute brown eyes and leaned into Layla’s hand, clearly enjoying the petting.
“She likes you,” Hunter said, his husky voice radiating approval.
“I like her, too.” Layla grinned up at him. “I didn’t know you had a dog.” The instant she’d finished speaking, she blushed. “Sorry. I know I don’t know you all that well. I didn’t mean...”
“It’s all right,” he said, still grinning as he waved away any awkwardness. “Goose is my K9 partner.”
“Really?” Rocking back on her heels, Layla looked from him to the odd-looking Goose and back again. “I thought all police dogs were shepherds or labs.”
“Most are. Goose is a unique dog.”
“Yes, she is. If I had to guess her breed, I’d say a cross between—”
“She’s a purebred basset hound.”
“No.” The denial slipped out before she had time to think. While she might not own a dog, she’d spent countless hours learning about each breed so that when she was finally ready, she’d know which one was for her. “Goose looks like a cross between a basset hound and a—”
“Beagle,” he finished for her. “Yes, I know.”
Belatedly, she realized she might have just offended him. “I’m sorry.” She kissed the top of his dog’s head before climbing to her feet and dusting off her slacks. “Whatever she is, she’s adorable.”
He frowned, letting her know she had inadvertently said the wrong thing. “Again, she’s purebred. I bought her from a breeder. I have papers. I chose this particular breeder because they don’t breed to AKC standards.”
Nodding, she smiled at the cute little dog. “Is she good at her job?”
“Yes. She’s the best.” He pointed. “The elevator is on hold. We’re not moving.”
Blushing, she released the doors and again pressed the button for the lobby. “Sorry, sometimes it sticks.”
He nodded, but didn’t reply.
“Were you here to talk to Mark?” she asked, unable to help herself.
“Yes.” His cool blue gaze slid over her. “I’ve been assigned to the case.”
Relief flooded her, though she made sure to keep that from showing. “I’m glad,” she said softly.
“Why?” The elevator reached the ground floor and he exited, bending down to clip a leash on his dog. Even though she’d meant to go up, toward her own floor, she followed.
“Because you at least see me as a person,” she said softly. “Those other two officers didn’t. To them, I was just another rich person.”
“I’m going to be fair,” he told her, his gaze locking with hers. “And I’ll do my job and uphold the law. But...”
She tensed. These days, it seemed there always was a but.
“To be honest, I don’t believe you did it.”
Gratefulness flooded her, so strongly she almost reached out and grabbed his arm. But that would have seemed weird or pushy or something, so she didn’t. “Thank you,” she said, her voice quiet. “I appreciate that.”
They’d walked past the reception desk and were nearly at the front door. Instead of heading out, Hunter went to one of the ornate benches situated around the lobby and gestured, indicating she should sit.
Glad she didn’t have to follow him outside since she didn’t have her coat with her, she took a seat on the edge of the bench. The instant she did, Goose trotted over and rested her head on Layla’s knee.
Hunter watched his dog with an indulgent smile before turning his attention back to Layla. “Do you have any idea why Mark Hatton would make these claims against you? I can’t figure out his motive.”
She shrugged. “I hired him and his performance has been...subpar. I’ve been doing quite a bit of documentation. As a matter of fact, next week I’d planned to place him on warning.”
“Would that affect his bonus?”
“Yes.” She frowned. “Do you think that’s why he’s doing this?”
“Anything is possible.” Again he studied her. Though she couldn’t read his expression, she thought she saw compassion in his gaze.
“It just seems a bit...excessive. This is business, nothing more. It’s not personal, but he’s making it that way.” She swallowed hard. “To be honest, I don’t think he has the technical skills to pull off something like this. Fake texts, an old video that he would have had to hack and doctor... There’s no way.”
“Interesting. Maybe he had a partner. Who else would have reason to want to ruin your life besides him?”
At first, the turn of phrase stunned her. But then she realized Hunter was right. This did feel like an attempt to absolutely ruin her life. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “I’m pretty focused on my job. I don’t have much of a social life.”
“What about enemies inside the company? Surely someone in your position has to have made a few.”
She shrugged, refusing to allow herself to feel embarrassed. “If I have enemies, I don’t know about them. Again, I tend to concentrate on work. I deal with the employees in a professional, businesslike manner. No one should have any reason at all to be antagonistic toward me.”
“Unless they’re wanting warm and fuzzy,” he said with a wry smile.
Straightening her spine, she eyed him. “I’m their employer, not their mother or friend. I learned the hard way there are some lines that should never be crossed.”
“Intriguing.” Clearly, he was waiting to hear more.
But she’d already said more than enough.
When it became apparent she wasn’t going to elaborate, he sighed. “What about your upcoming wedding? Is there anyone who might want to stop you from marrying Hamlin Harrington?”
His question made her laugh, though quietly. “Well, I did once overhear Hamlin’s son Devlin arguing with his father about marrying me. He seemed to think I wanted to wrest control of Harrington Inc., and destroy his entire future.”
Hunter didn’t blink. “And would you?”
“Of course not. I have enough responsibilities with my own company. Why on earth anyone would think I’d want to take on another is beyond me.”
“I see.” Still, he watched her closely. “How did Hamlin respond to his son’s accusations?”
“He brushed them aside, exactly as I would have done.” She allowed herself a slight smile. “He said I was gold.”
“Gold,” Hunter repeated. “As in a commodity rather than a person.”
“Or,” she interjected, refusing to frown, “something precious. I prefer to think of it that way.”
One corner of his sensual mouth quirked. “All right. I’ll keep looking into this.”
“Thank you.” As he turned to go, she grabbed his arm. “I really appreciate your help. This came out of left field and I’m still a bit shell-shocked.”
He looked from her to her hand on his arm. “No promises, Layla Colton. I’m not on anyone’s side. All I care about is finding out the truth. Here.” He dug in his pocket and extracted a business card, which he handed her. “If you think of anything else that might help, give me a call.”
Accepting, she slipped the card into her purse and thanked him.
Once more, he flashed a quick smile. “You’re welcome.” With that, he whistled to his dog. Ears cocked, Goose immediately went to Hunter’s left side. Even though he held the leash loosely, the basset stayed smartly in the heeling position as they went through the door and out into the parking lot.
Once they’d disappeared from view, Layla turned to head back upstairs. Right now, she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone. She wasn’t even sure she trusted Hunter. When he’d quit Colton Energy, he’d made no secret of how he felt about the company and what he’d called their greedy ways. He’d claimed the demands they placed on their staff came with a high emotional cost.
Interesting that Hunter had asked her if she had any enemies. It wasn’t until he’d gone that she’d realized she might actually consider him one.
Driving back to the station after leaving Colton Energy, Hunter considered the new information Layla had given him. While her wedding to Hamlin Harrington might be on hold—along with everyone else’s in town—the fact that a large sum of cash was involved was definitely news. If Fenwick Colton needed the money as badly as Layla claimed, he must be extremely riled up that this Groom Killer had halted the wedding.
Everyone on the police force, as well as most of the citizens of Red Ridge, had their own opinions about who might be the Groom Killer. Hunter also had his personal number one suspect, though he’d yet to voice his suspicions out loud. Maybe the time had come to do exactly that. What Layla had revealed provided yet another possible motive for Devlin Harrington to want all weddings stopped. Even if Devlin didn’t fit the profile 100 percent, Hunter still felt certain he had a strong motive.
Unfortunately, Hunter knew he might be the only one who suspected Devlin. Most cops instinctively trusted the criminal profile they’d been given by the professionals.
As well they should. Last month, RRPD officer West Brand had finished working on the profile of the killer. A ex-FBI agent who’d been undercover on the force until recently, West, along with his former colleagues at the bureau, had developed the profile, which indicated that the Groom Killer was male, white and single. Probably middle to upper class. Stocky build, not particularly attractive and a loner.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of men in Red Ridge who fit that profile. Devlin Harrington wasn’t one of them. Sure, he was male, white and single, and definitely upper class. And yes, he still lived in one of his father’s mansions. But there the similarities ended. Tall, muscular and golden, Devlin surrounded himself with his admirers. Everyone wanted to be with him, probably due to his money and his good looks, as Hunter knew without a doubt it wasn’t his personality.
Pompous, arrogant and sneering, Devlin looked down his aristocratic nose at those he considered beneath him. Which seemed to be just about everyone who wasn’t in his inner circle. Hunter himself had had several run-ins with the guy and personally couldn’t stand him. Which was yet another reason he’d kept his suspicions about Devlin to himself.
After all, there already was an official suspect—Demi Colton’s name had been spelled out in blood next to the first victim. That man, Bo Gage, had been her fiancé before he’d broken up with her in order to propose to another woman. It hadn’t helped that Bo and the Gage family had long been feuding with the Coltons. But the investigation had had unexpected results: Gages and Coltons falling in love. Bo Gage’s brother Detective Carson Gage had fallen for Serena Colton, whom he’d suspected of harboring Demi early on in the case. Now, a few other Coltons and Gages were keeping their romances on the down low until it was safe to announce their engagements. But some on the force still believed Demi could be the guilty party. She’d fled town. There was circumstantial evidence. There were witnesses.
And Layla’s father, Mayor Fenwick Colton, wanted Demi Colton brought to swift and immediate justice, maybe more than anyone—so that Layla could marry Hamlin for his money.
Hunter had long doubted Demi’s guilt, and he didn’t blame her for going on the run. His gut told him she was being framed.
Much of the town remained convinced she was the murderer, but the majority of the police force didn’t believe it. Yes, she was a rough-around-the-edges bounty hunter with a temper. But the witness who claimed to have seen her running away from the crime scene at the time of Bo Gage’s murder was a drug dealer with a rap sheet. Demi wasn’t a killer. Even if she had up and disappeared.
Several of the other guys in the K9 unit had set up a betting pool. Pay twenty bucks, write down your best guess and put it into the pot. When the Groom Killer was finally apprehended—and no one doubted he or she would be—whoever had guessed correctly would get the cash. If no one even came close, the money would be donated to the Red Ridge animal shelter. So far as he could tell, Hunter was the only one in the unit who hadn’t participated.
Today he planned to pony up his Andrew Jackson and put his own guess in the pool. After he talked to the chief, that was.
Once he’d parked in the lot between the police station and training center, Hunter helped Goose down from the vehicle and they headed inside. Goose could scarcely contain her excitement. Her cute little tail twirled circles as she bounced up the sidewalk. This was her favorite place next to home. She’d trained here since she was three months old and knew all the other K9 officers and their dogs.
Before heading to the squad room, Hunter dropped Goose off with one of the assistant trainers, a young woman named Callie who lit up when she caught sight of the basset. Hunter left them to their mutual admiration lovefest and headed back to his desk.
Once there, he glanced toward Chief Finn Colton’s office. Now would be as good a time as any. The chief’s secretary, Lorelei Wong, was in charge of the betting pool. Hunter jotted Devlin Harrington’s name on a slip of paper, folded it in half and slipped it into an envelope, which he sealed. He dug a twenty from his wallet, put it with the envelope and passed both to Lorelei with a wink before proceeding around the corner.
Since Chief Colton kept an open-door policy, Hunter simply knocked on the door frame twice before poking his head in. “You got a minute?”
Finn glanced up from the report he’d been reading. “Of course,” he said, gesturing to one of the chairs across from his desk. “Have a seat.”
“Mind if I close the door?” Without waiting for an answer, Hunter did. “I wanted to talk to you about the Groom Killer case.”
Finn’s brows rose. “Do you have a new lead?”
“Not exactly. But I’d like to investigate Devlin Harrington’s tech—his phone, laptop, work computer, etc.” Hunter sat, leaning forward earnestly. “I got some information today that gives him a motive. Sort of,” he amended. He filled the chief in on what Layla Colton had told him.
“So you think Devlin has a problem with his father getting married? To the point that he’d go around killing grooms?”
Put that way, Hunter had to admit it did sound far-fetched. “It’s possible. Maybe he hates that Hamlin has found a younger, beautiful woman to marry him. Or maybe he’s against Dad putting a huge amount of money into Colton Energy and squandering his inheritance. We also know that Nash was suspicious of Devlin when he discovered Devlin asked out Hayley Patton and she rejected him.”
Last month, Nash, one of the K9 officers, had spotted Devlin ogling a photo of Hayley on his laptop. Hayley had been engaged to the first victim of the Groom Killer—Bo Gage—after Bo broke his engagement to Demi Colton.
Coincidence? Not likely.
“That’s still not enough evidence to justify a warrant,” Chief Colton said, his tone a bit chiding.
“Well, if you also consider that Layla Colton feels someone’s framing her with the sexual harassment charge against her, that would be two attempts to stop the marriage. And who would want to stop the marriage more than anyone? Devlin Harrington.”
“Again, only speculation. You know better than that, Hunter.”
Maybe he did, but Hunter was prepared to continue with speculation that might stick.
The chief shook his head before Hunter got a chance to speak. “Look, I want to exonerate Demi as much as anyone. While having another viable suspect would certainly go a long way toward doing that, you know as well as I do that’s nothing. Haley’s photo on Devlin’s laptop could simply mean he likes looking at her, as do a lot of guys.”
“But—”
The chief held up his hand. “Enough. Devlin’s being watched. If you truly believe he’s behind anything, you’ll have to find more evidence, legally.”
Hunter nodded, careful to mask his disappointment. “Then that’s what I’ll do,” he said. “Thank you for your time.”
Back at his desk, he took a seat and began making notes on a pad. Writing things out always helped him clear his head.
But all he could think of was Layla Colton and the hurt and pain he’d seen in her beautiful blue eyes. When he’d worked at Colton Energy, he’d actively avoided her since he’d figured she was tied—at the deepest levels—to the corporate greed and indifference perpetrated by her father.
He should have known it wasn’t so simple. There were always two sides to everything. And after talking with Layla, he had the distinct possibility that she might be less involved than he’d believed. And a hell of a lot more naive. He still struggled with the concept of her agreeing to allow her father to marry her off to a man she didn’t love, just for an infusion of money.
That situation wasn’t his problem, he reminded himself. He had two active cases—more than enough to consume his time. Arresting the Groom Killer remained his number one priority. Second would be finding out the truth about the charges Mark Hatton had filed against Layla. He’d do his job there, too, whether she turned out to be innocent or guilty.
And he’d do his damnedest to ensure her sky-blue eyes didn’t make frequent appearances in his dreams at night.
