Unspoken 3 (4 page)

Dunning, Durst and Chandler was a beehive of activity. Someone had the television screens on a low volume, trying to track the latest updates. While the story was big to us, it wasn’t national news. I was grateful Cain was still under the radar and the news hadn’t picked up on him being questioned. We had been hired to stop this from happening, now there was nothing to do but ride it out. The overarching question was, “Who killed Alice Bennett?”

I knew it wasn’t Cain—we’d been together since late yesterday afternoon until this morning. There was no way he had slipped out during the night to commit a crime and then slid back into bed without me knowing. Not a chance.

“Where have you been?” Reese asked, in his typical surly way. Before I could answer, he looked at me; I was wearing the same clothes I’d worn yesterday, minus the jacket. “Oh, never mind. Listen, I’ve got some information on that phone call and those messages.”

I followed him into the office we shared. “He messaged me again yesterday. Pictures of Mom and I, and one of Dad and I… but there was something else…he sent me a picture of me, in the lobby. He was here.”

“Jennifer, this is getting dangerous—too dangerous—and we have no idea what he’s going to do next. From now on you aren’t going anywhere alone. Understand?”

I nodded. “Okay. Now, what do you want to show me?” I stood behind his desk.

“I tracked those emails. They came from phones, dead phones, you know the disposable kind that you can’t trace. He loaded the pictures on the phone, along with the spyware, and sent them to your inbox. I can’t trace them at all.” I sat on the edge of the desk, dejected. “I do have some good news, though. We have someone who has asked to come in and talk to us about things at Vawter. They asked we not mention anything to anyone else at the company, including Cain.”

“Who is that?” I asked incredibly.

“That kid, Hunter from the IT department. He called me this morning when he saw the news—he’s totally freaked out. Hunter says he lied at our interview because Dylan threatened him. Kid says he has digital logs, video, all sorts of proof to show that the creep was accessing ports without permission and hanging out after hours. Hunter might be young, but he’s not so young that he didn’t know he needed to cover his own ass.”

“Really? How did he do that?” It was the best news I heard in a long time. It might be the proof we needed to get Cain off the hot seat. “Is he willing to come in?”

“Yeah, actually, he’s here.”

I sprang to my feet. “Where? Which meeting room?”

Reese smiled. “Room C. Have at it, I’ve got some digging to do here.”

I paused at the doorway. “Reese…thanks for everything.” He waved his hand at me, signaling me to leave, and I strutted down the hall.

Hunter was alone in the room, I paused at the glass window to take a peek at him. His leg was jiggling furiously; he leaned on his hands, talking to himself. I put on a pretty smile and walked in with my notebook and pen. “Hi, Hunter, I’m Jennifer. Nice to meet you.” I extended a hand to him. He shook it and gave me a nervous smile. “Are you okay? Need some water or something?”

“Sure, that would be nice.”

I walked to the door and called to the receptionist. “Could you bring us two waters please?” I returned with my best smile. “So, Hunter, thank you for coming in today. You aren’t in any trouble, at least not that I know of, but I’m glad you decided to talk with us. That might be in your best interest.”

The temp receptionist, the one who stared me down yesterday, brought us two waters and quickly departed. I pushed my notebook and cell phone to the side and pretended that I couldn’t open the water. I slid it to him. “Could you open this please? I can’t seem to get it.”

He gave me an awkward smile. “Sure.”
That’s it, Hunter. Relax and spill the beans.

“Reese tells me you conducted an audit recently? That sounds complicated—how did you do that?”

“It’s actually something I had been working on for a while. A little project I put together because I had hoped to impress Dylan and Mr. Parker. Then, with all of this data breach stuff going on—and with what Dylan had said to me—I was scared to say anything.” The nervousness caused Hunter’s voice to crack.

“What Dylan said? Reese mentioned he threatened you. Is that what happened?”

“Well, he told me that if I let people know about what was going on in corporate IT, it would look like I had something to do with it. He suggested I play dumb, and if I didn’t he would have to fire me so it looked like he was doing his job.”

“I see, and that’s why you lied. So why come forward now?” I was curious why he was so willing to put his neck on the line now. Hunter explained how had set a digital “tripwire,” which alerted him whenever someone accessed the system outside the normal methods. The skinny, blonde young man had managed to capture Dylan digitally, sending bogus emails, screwing with records and tapping into restricted data. It was proof. All the proof we needed to show that not only was Dylan in the office after hours, but he had been accessing the information remotely, too.

“When I saw that Dylan was likely behind this, and was kinda pinning it on me, I had to tell someone. I was scared to tell Mr. Parker, because I know him and Dylan are friends. I’m protected right? You know, like the client-lawyer thing?”

“Well, Hunter, it doesn’t exactly work like that. You see…”

Hunter started to get up. “Great, so I just spilled everything I know and now Dylan and Mr. Parker are going to know it’s me.”

“Hunter, It’s ok. Have a seat. Listen, I’m not an attorney, but we’re here to help. Cain, er, Mr. Parker will be happy to hear this information, and as far as Dylan is concerned, he won’t know you said a word until it’s absolutely necessary, and you’ll know way before that happens.”

A look of relief settled over his face and he eased himself back into the chair. “Thank you.”

“No, Thank you, Hunter. Your hard work might just help Mr. Parker. I know he will be grateful.” I rose to my feet. “I’ll be in touch if we need anything else.”

He stood to his feet and shook my hand. “I’m real sorry I lied before. I love my job and I was scared that I could be in trouble for something I didn’t do.”

“There seems to be a lot of that going around, Hunter. If I were you, I would write a detailed report about exactly what you found. What Dylan said to you, that sort of thing. You write it up and get it to me—here’s my card. Email me there, or fax it to me. I’ll make sure they know what happened. I’m on your side, Hunter.”

“Thanks, Jennifer. I appreciate it.” I led Hunter to the elevator and waved goodbye as he stepped inside.

My phone vibrated in my hand and I looked down. It was Cain. “Hey, are you done? Everything going Ok?”

“Well, yes, but I’m a person of interest now. They said they found papers in Alice’s house dealing with Vawter. Papers with my signature on them. They said it’s not enough to hold me, but advised me to not leave the area.”

“Cain, we were together, you have an alibi.”

“Jennifer, it’s not just about Alice Bennett. They are asking me all kinds of questions not even related to her. Listen, I need some time to decompress and think all of this over.”

“Ok, let me finished what I’m doing here and I’ll be right over. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

“No, Jen, I just need some time alone right now. I’ll give you a call later.”

The phone went silent and Cain was gone.

I realized my options were limited, and I needed to go to the only real resource I had. I tapped on Dad’s door, hoping that he would be willing to listen to me. “Got a few minutes?”

Dad took off his glasses and nodded. I closed the door behind me. Without asking, Dad picked up his phone. “Cynthia, keep working on that presentation and hold my calls. Thanks.” He turned to me and gave me a curious but guarded look. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s Cain.” I took a deep breath and tried to figure out exactly what I was going to say. “I just spoke with him. The police say he’s now a person of interest, they’ve asked him not to leave the area.”

“Lovely, just what he needs—what
we
need
—
right now, with all of this going on.” Dad’s harsh tone showed no empathy for Cain’s situation.

“Dad, there’s no way he was involved in Alice Bennett’s death. We need to help him through this, represent him and get him out of this mess.” I couldn’t believe I was on the verge of begging him for help.

“Jennifer, I—and the team here—will do what we can to help Mr. Parker when he needs us and asks us. I haven’t heard from him and we don’t have all the facts.” Dad continued his standoffish approach.

“I was with him last night! We were together. Cain and I.” The words fell out of my mouth and I waited for a response from Dad, but he said nothing. He simply stared at me. “I love him…” It felt good to admit it, I had been holding it inside, a secret from the world, from my father.

“Are you telling me that you’re
involved
with this Parker character, even after I asked you to use your head? Knowing full well that he’s a client—my client? Do you know how this looks for me?” Dad’s face reddened and he pushed away from his desk.

“For you? What it means for you? What about Cain? He could go to jail, Dad, for something he didn’t do!”

“So he sent you in here to beg me for help?” His sneer was apparent. “This guy is going to need a whole team of attorneys, if the evidence keeps stacking up against him.”

“No! Cain did not ask me to come in here. As a matter of fact, he’d be pissed if he knew I was in here asking for help.” I stood, ticked off, ready to storm out. “Never mind! I’ll figure it out myself. You know,” I paused at the door, “I know I’ve disappointed you in the past, maybe rightfully so. That hurt, not being close to you anymore, not spending time with you, but I always believed you wanted what was best for me, Dad, that you cared. I’m asking you for help because Cain is what is best for me. He is not Christopher. He is a good man. Someone you would like, if you just gave him a chance.” I sniffed and opened the door.

“Is that it? You come in here, shoot off at the mouth, turn on some waterworks and then leave? I never thought he killed Alice; do we even know she was murdered? I want you to prove to me—
give me proof
—that he’s not involved in this security crap.”

I closed the door again, ignoring Cynthia’s concerned countenance. “Fine. You want proof? I just left a one-on-one with Hunter Livingstone, an IT guy from Vawter. He recanted his earlier statement. He claims Dylan told him to keep his mouth shut or else. Hunter has all the records we need to prove Dylan was behind everything that was going on there.” I clutched my notebook to my chest defiantly.

“Why the hell didn’t you say this to begin with?” Dad was back in his chair, back in legal mode. “Don’t poke your chin out at me. Get Reese in here. Where’s this Hunter kid? I need to talk to him myself. Let’s make sure he’s legit. Where’s Parker now?”

“He just left the police station, he was headed home.” I thought about how badly I wanted to be there with him, helping him through this.

Dad reached for the phone. “Cynthia, send Thomas McAleer in here now.” He hung up the phone. “I’ll have Thomas contact Parker. Make sure he doesn’t do—or say—anything stupid. That’s is the last thing we need. Does he have any idea where Rogers is?”

“Not that I’m aware of. No one has heard from him since the other day.”

“Well, if you do, or anyone else does, let me know right away.”

I lingered in the doorway, unsure of what to do next. “Alright.” I paused, staring at Dad.
“Thank you.”

He fixed his blue-gray eyes on me. “You’re welcome, but I’m not promising anything. Now, get moving. I want to see you and Reese in here in five minutes, and find out where that kid is…and Jennifer…”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“Be careful, and remember what happened to his last girlfriend.”

For the rest of the day I waited to hear from Cain, but five o’clock came and went with no word—at all. I anxiously packed up and headed home, only to be stopped by Reese halfway across the office.

“Forgetting something?” I knew exactly what he was talking about and smiled.

“No, Ted, the intern, agreed to walk me to my car.” I continued to the lobby to meet my escort. As we approached my car, I checked around it and looked in the back seat. I’d seen the scenario play out on the movie screen before—crazy person pops up from the back during a routine car ride. Waving goodbye to Ted, I skittered out of the parking garage. I had sent Aimee a text message about fifteen minutes before, inviting her over for some girl time. I missed her company; a lot had happened in a short amount of time and I needed to fill her in and spill my guts to someone sympathetic.

Aimee finally texted back:
See you in 20! :)

I scrambled into my apartment, looking around nervously as I stood in front of my door. Everything appeared in order and I felt a sigh of relief leave my body. I ordered a pizza and raced to the shower. The hot water felt great but didn’t melt my worries away; I missed Cain. My phone sat close by, on the side of the sink, in case he decided to call. I wanted to give him the space he’d requested, but I wanted to call to see he was Ok. The only other person who might know something was Ashley, and there was no way I was calling her. Like a robot, I dried off, grabbed some shorts and a shirt and tentatively combed the tangles out of my hair.

I padded down the hall to the kitchen, phone still in hand, and half-heartedly opened a bottle of wine to calm my nerves further. I heard a light tap on the door and I checked the peephole before welcoming my friend inside.

“Aimee!” I hugged her, took the bag she held out to me, and led her to the kitchen. She’d picked up something that smelled deliciously garlic and buttery—probably Tarrant’s chicken wings. I unloaded the bag, opening the containers of wings and spicy meatballs, and put them on the table, along with some wine for her.

“How is the wonderful Tom?” It seemed only right to give her a chance to share, because I planned on pouring my heart out to her.

“Trust me, that’s on its way out, and right now it’s nothing I want to talk about.” Aimee didn’t appear as unhappy as the news sounded.

“I’m sorry to hear that, what happened?” It was good to focus on someone else’s problems, if only for a while; it was a selfish gesture, but I welcomed the distraction.

Aimee filled me in on the details and abruptly switched topics. “Alright, I want to hear all about you and that sexy millionaire you’re dating, but let me run to the ladies’ room for a second. Top me up, okay?” As I poured her chardonnay, I wondered where I should start; with the break-in, or our first night together, or maybe all of the other drama consuming my life? I heard a tap on the door and grabbed my wallet to pay the pizza guy
.

“Twenty-two fifty, right?”
I asked as I swung open the door and thumbed through my wallet.

“Hello, Jennifer.” Dylan looked unkempt, like he hadn’t shaved or showered in a few days.

I froze and stared at him, slowly backing into my apartment without saying a word.

Dylan walked past me like he owned the place. He had his hands in his pockets, and my first thought was that he was possibly hiding a weapon; I didn’t know what his intentions were. I glanced around the apartment and noticed Aimee hadn’t returned. I stood with my back to the front door, forcing Dylan to face me.

“Nothing to say to Cain’s best friend? I’ve been watching how cozy you two are getting, I must say, I’m a little embarrassed for you…I mean, right there on the balcony?” He chuckled in a low voice; I took a step back, feeling the blood drain from my face. “Now, now. This isn’t the time to play shy with me. I know very well what kind of wildcat you really are.”

I wanted to slap that smirk off his face but I was aware that I—and my friend—were in real danger. “What do you want, Dylan? Surely you didn’t come here to tell me you’re a peeping Tom?”
Easy, Jennifer. Don’t force him act even crazier.

“You know, despite your willingness to be used and abused by Cain Parker, I think you and I could have a future together…but I don’t do leftovers, at least not anymore.” He walked around my living room, staring at my pictures. “You know, Jennifer, you remind me a lot of Rachel. So trusting. So willing to be the great Cain Parker’s plaything. That didn’t work out too well for her though, did it? I tried to tell her.” The look he gave me reminded me of an interview I had to watch for psychology class; the subject had been a serial killer. “Cain was her undoing, really. I warned her to leave him alone. He wasn’t worthy of her love, but then Cain has a way of hurting the people he loves. I was with her the night she died; I bet you didn’t know that. She wasn’t supposed to be driving that car; it was Cain’s. But she did. I begged her to get out, but Rachel was a stubborn woman…” I felt my stomach twist.
Oh my God! Did he just admit that he had something to do with Rachel’s death?

My head spun at what I was hearing. The butterflies in my stomach churned as I realized I was potentially standing just feet away from a killer.

“Did he ever tell you how his father died?” An evil smirk crawled across Dylan’s face.

“No,” I answered, my mind racing.
I tried to slow my thoughts, to plan my side of the discussion.

“You should ask him. It’s quite an interesting story. He was like a father to me, old man Parker. Well, until he died and left everything to Cain. He got all the money, all the property and of course, all of Rachel…and now he has you.”

“That must have hurt you deeply,” I slowly moved to the sofa and sat, pretending to be interested in what Dylan had to say. I just wanted him to keep talking. I eyed the doorway to the bathroom and noticed it was open, the light off. “Tell me about that.”

He laughed a little. “Ah, I’m being profiled? Well, why not? I enjoyed all our previous conversations. Before I get started, I should mention I heard about what happened at Vawter—the break in. That’s a shame. I hope no one was hurt.”

“I’m surprised to hear that you care, Dylan. You scared Ashley half to death and left your friend to answer a lot of questions. Was it you that broke in here, too? Did you take my laptop?” I felt myself pushing the limit with Dylan, but the question made more sense now, given the side he was showing.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Dylan stepped towards me. “I never broke in here. I’ve had bigger fish to fry than some half-ass law school dropout who wants to be Cain’s whore! Just wait, the best is yet to come.”

I raised my arm to shield myself, suspecting that he would hit me, but the doorbell rang. He moved to the door and swung it open. A fresh-faced delivery boy stood there with a pizza box in his hand, smiling. Dylan swore under his breath and pushed past him. “And Jennifer, in case you need me, I won’t ever be too far away.” Dylan kept moving down the stairs and out of sight.

I sank into the couch as Aimee raced into the room.

“Oh my god! Are you okay? Who the hell was that lunatic? What is going on here?”

I waved at the door. “Here, give him this.”

She paid the pizza guy and set the boxes on the table.

“Let’s call the police!” Aimee was almost crying.

I put my emotions aside for a moment to take care of her. “It’s okay. He’s gone now. I don’t think he’ll be back.”

“Are you Ok, Jen? I heard the commotion from the bathroom, I just waited and listened. He sounded… angry, and I didn’t know what to do.”

“I’m fine, but I need to call Cain and work. I need to tell them what just happened. They are never going to believe me.”

“Yes they will.” Aimee held her phone out and Dylan’s voice started mid-sentence.

“…Now, now. This isn’t the time to play shy with me…”

Her dimples appeared as she gave me her kittenish smile. “I recorded your whole conversation.”