“Eighty grand? He took a lot more than that.”
Ellie nodded. “I know. They may have spent some of it or invested it or have it in an account I haven’t uncovered yet. There are many possibilities, but I’ll keep looking.”
“So we’re a little bit closer to finding him, then?” Gina asked. Anxiety was gnawing at her, and she wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do when they did locate him or how she was going to get her money. She knew he wouldn’t just hand it over. Luckily, she had some leverage that she could use to force him if she had to.
“Yes, we are closer, and also, I’ve learned something from a source I have in law enforcement. The FBI is looking for Hugh.”
Gina’s heart lurched. The FBI? If they found him, would they take all the money? She supposed the money he’d embezzled from their clients would be confiscated, but surely not what he’d taken out of their personal account.
“The FBI? Sounds serious.” Gina wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Hugh had stolen money from her and their clients, and he should be punished. At one time, she would have been devastated at the thought of him going to jail, but now all she could muster was a tiny bit of sympathy. That was a good sign. The old Gina would always take Hugh back after he screwed up. Hopefully now, she would be immune to those puppy-dog eyes he turned on her when begging for forgiveness. She needed to stay strong if she wanted her money back.
“Embezzling is a crime. I assume one of your clients has contacted the FBI since Hugh is a fugitive.”
“Of course.” After Hugh had left, Gina was questioned by local police over and over, but she hadn’t realized the case had been escalated to the FBI. “I hope to get to him first. He’s not going to be able to transfer money from a jail cell.”
“I’m preparing a written report for you, but it won’t be ready until later today.” Ellie put the paperwork down, her smile faltering as she looked up at Gina. “There’s another thing.”
“What?”
“Someone is putting out feelers, looking for you.”
“Me? Why? Do you think our old clients think I’m involved in whatever Hugh was up to?” After Hugh’s disappearance, she’d met with the clients. They’d all seemed convinced she was innocent.
“It could be. They’re looking for you under your married name, though. I don’t want to scare you, but you might want to be careful.”
Another reason it had been a smart move to go back to her maiden name after Hugh disappeared. Even though she’d told her cousins they were divorced, they weren’t because she’d never been able to find Hugh to serve him papers.
Gina couldn’t help but look over her shoulder as she left Ellie’s office. Was someone watching her right now? Who was looking for her? And, more importantly, what would they do if they found her?
CHAPTER3
Cole parked his rental car across from The Boathouse restaurant. The old building was clad in worn cedar shakes, but the white trim was crisp and fresh, and the window boxes overflowed with red and white flowers. It had a pleasant view of a small cove complete with lobster boats and dinghies and then the ocean beyond. It looked upscale but not too fancy.
He took a sip of the café Americano he’d purchased at Ocean Brew, the coffee shop in Shell Cove, on his way out of town. He needed something strong to fortify himself for this lunch. Cole loved his coffee, but the stuff that came out of the ancient Mr. Coffee machine at the Beachcomber motel tasted like old canal water.
He supposed the Beachcomber was a decent hotel. The room was kind of kitschy with a shell theme, but it was spotless. The location was certainly nice, right on a little cliff overlooking the ocean. Had he read something about steps to the beach? He’d have to check that out later.
He’d been surprised to strike up a conversation with the girl in the next room. At first, he’d been just trying to be gentlemanly. He’d seen her struggling with the luggage and didn’t think twice about offering help. She seemed nice, her smile was friendly, and she had a carefree laugh. When she’d looked at him with those innocentcornflower-blue eyes, he couldn’t help but linger.
He wasn’t in town for a romance, though, so he wouldn’t take it any further. He had bigger fish to fry, like the woman his father had taken up with. Cole had become very close with his father over the past five years since his mother died, and maybe he was being a little overprotective. But the way his father gushed about this Deena Walters person pinged his radar, and his instincts told him something wasn’t right. His father was a wealthy man, and Cole knew that he was lonely, but he was also generous and easily taken advantage of. Cole had no intention of letting some gold digger take his dad for everything he was worth.
Besides, he needed a distraction after the catastrophe that had happened at work. Being on a forced vacation was torture, but Cole hadn’t handled his last assignment well. Now, the higher-ups were probably mulling over what to do with him. Heck, after what had happened, Cole was mulling over what to do with himself. He’d put his all into that job, was practically married to it, something his ex-wife and subsequent girlfriends always complained about.
Cole finished his coffee and ventured in. He paused just inside the door and scanned the restaurant. The scanning was mostly out of habit, checking out the situation for threats. Of course he didn’t need to do that here, but old habits died hard.
He spotted his father at a round table in the corner and headed over, taking his time so that he could assess the woman seated next to him. He supposed shelookednice. She was attractive for her age—short blond hair, slim, youthful looking but had probably had some work done—the typical gold-digger type.
Wait, was there a third person at the table? The person was seated with their back to him, but that blond hair… was that the girl from the motel? What wasshedoing here?
His dad glanced over, and his face split into a smile that warmed Cole’s heart. His dad jumped up, and Cole rushed over to hug him.
“Son, it’s so good to see you!”
“You, too, Dad.” Cole held his father’s gaze, genuine warmth passing between them, and for just a second, it was just the two of them as it had been these past five years. Then Chuck turned his attention to the table.
“Deena, Sam, I’d like you to meet my son, Cole.” Chuck practically glowed with pride. “Sam is Deena’s daughter. She’s also visiting in town.”
Cole turned to face the enemy. He’d been expecting just one, but now there were two. That was okay. He could handle them.
