The front door opens, and I startle.
Clint walks in and sets the lock before turning toward me. The tension has melted from his shoulders, signaling we’re safe for now. And yet I still feel the deadly squeeze. Should I make some excuse to scoop up the puzzle pieces? But Clint was the one to bring it.
Clint joins me in the kids’ room and whispers in my ear, “They’re good. We should talk.”
I nod my head and allow him to tug me away from the view of all I could lose.
“How was your time with Erika? Anything I need to know?” The pained expression on his face juxtaposes itself against the lingering image of his ruined face that Christmas two years ago as his daughter, leaning over the puzzle, interrogated him about his age and mine.
Was the puzzle the beginning of Clint’s insecurity with his age? How had I never seen the connection?
I look away and give him the basic outline of what she shared with me. “She’s hurting, Clint. But the best we can do for her is to try to figure out who is terrorizing our family and why, because I’m convinced it’s all related.”
“I agree. Thoughts on how to start?”
We settle at the island with files and both computers at the ready. “As an analyst, I’d start by asking and answering as many questions as I could and see where it led us.”
“Solid plan. That guy at the SEC said he doesn’t know where Betsey is. Is it time to unblock her and give her a call?”
“Probably, if I had my phone.”
“Right.” Clint sighs. “An email maybe?”
Not a bad idea, but I still don’t trust her. “Not sure I love the papertrail. I think we should figure out more first. I’m not sure who she knows. The SEC could be a setup.”
“Maybe.” Clint shrugs.
“Probably not, but they’ve got to have people looking for her if she’s truly missing. Perhaps she’s just off the grid like us.” I never imagined anyone at work sending us into hiding like this. Inconceivable.
Clint squints at me like he wants to believe the best about Betsey’s safety but needs to ready himself for the worst. His lifesaving skills are showing themselves.
“Let’s look at what she gave me.” I open the Excel spreadsheet I’d started at the office. “A thumb drive of data that I copied before handing it over.”
“Why is it significant? Why would she give it to you?”
“Good questions. It’s data we shouldn’t have. We’ve elected not to pay for any data, and even if we did, we’d never be supplied with all this. So much of this is confidential.”
“Are you sure it’s authentic?”
“No, but I also don’t necessarily think it’s fake, as I’ve been told to believe.” Dave theorized Betsey created it just to spook me. Had he seen the hard evidence that the data was bogus? Hardwin was right: I hadn’t asked one question. Certainly a sign of my own self-delusion or, worse, incompetence.
“Don’t do it.” Clint takes my hands and holds them in both of his.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You are. You’re second-guessing. I see it all over your beautiful face.” He brushes my unruly hair from my forehead. “I love every brain cell. And stick with me. I’m going to continue to say dumb things likeUse your phonewhen you’ve left it behind. We’re going to stumble through this, but together we’re going to figure it out.”
“Yes. We will.” I love this man.
“Let’s move on to what Betsey wants.”
“She said she wants the securities lending agreement for the funds.” I pick through a folder containing a printout of the documents Phil had sent to me as well as the stand-alone agreement Alyssa and Temor found.
“Do we need to get into the nitty-gritty? Would that help?”
“No. Basically there’s a standard agreement that all the fundsshouldshare. What’s crazy is that my name is on the master agreement and in the board minutes when it was discussed, but the ETFs are missing.” I hand him the printouts I haven’t had time yet to scrutinize. “I think Betsey knew, or suspected, and wanted me to find it.”
“Your name? Because you presented this agreement to the board?” He looks down briefly at the papers and then up at me.
