Thirty-Eight
The next twenty-four hours went by in a blur. Mo’s mom and dad went with him and Bronwyn to the hospital while Cal stayed in Gossamer Falls to support Gray. Meredith stayed at The Haven with Landry and Cassie to keep the guests as much in the dark as possible.
Bronwyn had eight stitches in her arm, and her shoulder had already turned a nice shade of “oh my word, what happened to you.” Aunt Carol assured her it would get worse before it got better, but that it would get better.
Mo had just had the breath knocked out of him. No concussion or head injury. And nothing to keep him from digging into every piece of evidence he could get his hands on.
But he wasn’t touching it. Sabrina was all over it and had decided to make the blackmail/money laundering hunt a “fun” project for her students at UNC–Carrington. She was grudgingly impressed by the way the Carlsmans had managed to hide their connection to Corbin and Glen Masters. She’d found the smoking gun they needed to prove everything in court. But she was upset that it had taken so long to find and that she hadn’t been able to prevent the deaths of Bronwyn’s grandmother and uncle. She’d becoming to The Haven in a few weeks to oversee the installation of new systems that would be secure and cutting edge.
A tiny part of Mo wanted to see the job through to the end, but Bronwyn didn’t need him to be a forensic accountant. She needed him to be ... hers. And while he was gutted that she was hurting the way she was, he was ecstatic to be with her.
Tonight, they’d gathered in his parents’ living room. He and Bronwyn were in an oversized chair. Gray and Meredith were in the love seat. Landry was in his dad’s recliner with her feet up. Cassie had moved dinner reservations around and then left her kitchen in the hands of her sous chef. She’d brought food for everyone and now she and Donovan sat in chairs they’d dragged from the dining room.
His mom was in her recliner, while his dad and Cal sat on the hearth of the fireplace.
The room was filled with people he loved. And filled with people who loved Bronwyn. And that’s what she needed, because tonight’s conversation was going to hurt.
Gray leaned forward. “I’ve already spoken to Bronwyn, and she agreed that it would be good for all of us to be on the same page so we can move forward without any confusion.”
Meredith rolled her eyes. “What he means is he wants us all to know the facts so we can shut down the gossip.”
Gray grinned at his fiancée. “That too.” He turned to Bronwyn, and Mo felt more than saw her nod her head at him.
“It’s okay, Gray. I want it all out. No secrets.”
Gray rubbed his forehead. “Short and to the point, then.”
Meredith squeezed his hand and Gray began. “When Corbin groomed and seduced Bronwyn years ago, no one here knew that he was the younger brother of an up-and-coming then-congressman from Illinois. Now senator, then-congressman Clayton Carlsman had distanced himself from his brother Corbin, but he kept tabs on him. When Corbin pulled that stunt with Bronwyn, the Pierce familydid some digging, and as far as we can tell, Ronald Pierce made the connection to Carlsman. Ronald told William, but they agreed not to tell Bronwyn’s father, Darrell.” Gray glanced around the room. “It’s too soon yet to say for sure, but there’s no evidence at the moment that Bronwyn’s parents knew about any of the blackmail.”
“So, they’re horrible people, but they didn’t profit from what happened to Bronwyn. Does that sum it up?” Cal asked.
“Pretty much.” Gray nodded. “As far as I can tell, Darrell and Lacey have always been about social climbing, status, and influence. They left Bronwyn on her own because it worked for their purposes. But Ronald and William kept them out of the blackmail scheme. From what we’ve been able to piece together, they didn’t think Darrell and Lacey would be okay with taking blackmail money.”
“I interviewed William,” Donovan said, lacing his fingers through Cassie’s. “That man is a piece of work. He claimed that Ronald was the one behind taking the blackmail to a new level. I’m not sure if I believe him. It’s too soon to say. Either way, Corbin was a thorn in Clayton’s side and his death was not an accident. Peter Brown killed him.”
Bronwyn cuddled into Mo’s side as the others in the room reacted to Donovan’s revelation.
“Allegedly.” Gray held up a hand. “He didn’t confess to it.”
“You didn’t expect him to, did you?” Bronwyn asked.
“No. But it would have made things a lot easier. Anyway, now we’re veering into a bit of speculation, but we think William took the news of Corbin’s death, put two and two together, and came up with a way to make even more money. The blackmail cranked up after Corbin’s death, and as far as we can tell, Nathan was brought into the scheme shortly after he returned from Europe. He’s the one who started laundering the funds through The Haven’s books, which is why there was no money trail until five years ago.”
“Then Steven happened last year.” Cassie’s usually bubbly voicewas sharp. “I hope this means he’s going to serve the jail time he deserves.”
Donovan pressed a kiss to his wife’s head. “We would have made sure of that regardless, but yeah, baby. He’s going down.”
Gray pointed to Cassie. “When Steven was arrested, Steven and his mother pushed William and Ronald to use their influence with the senator. And yes, that means judicial tampering. But no, we don’t have proof, and we might not ever have it. But the judicial tampering is over, and the money is no longer flowing, and I anticipate that Steven will be going to trial sooner rather than later.”
“But what drove these men to come to The Haven and attack Bronwyn and the family?” Mo’s mom asked.
“That’s where it gets ... extra interesting. Glen Masters, aka Peter Brown, aka a bunch of other names, has proven to be a wealth of information. He knows the Carlsmans will throw him under the bus, and he has information that he’s convinced will help him cut a deal.”
“Is he right? Will they cut him a deal?” Cassie asked.
“Probably.” Gray sighed. “That man is so dirty, it’s hard to be in the same room with him without feeling like you’re being slimed. But, thanks to the involvement of a US Senator from a different state, the Feds have already taken over the entire case. I could have fought to keep it here,” Gray said, giving Bronwyn an apologetic look, “but our force is small. We don’t have the investigative power needed for a major case. And my entire department has a conflict of interest. We have friends and family who work at The Haven. And a bunch of us are related to you by marriage, or, well, we will be.”
Cal and Donovan both let out whoops. “That’s what I’m talking about.” Meredith gave Gray a fist bump.
