That evening,Jake sat beside Emily once again as Robert filled them in on everything the Spokane Police Department had learned.
“Maxwell Garrison has been embezzling from Andertech Solutions for the last ten years, hiding the money in a shell corporation. A corporation that coincidentally owns a property by the lake. That’s where Barnes was taking you, Emily. Not only has Garrison purchased multiple vacation homes and lived a lavish lifestyle, he’s also racked up some massive gambling debts.”
Emily’s body stiffened next to Jake. She groaned and leaned her face against her hand. She kept her elbow propped on her cast and her face hidden while Robert told them about Maxwell Garrison’s arrest.
Jake worried about Emily. She’d been quiet all evening. He knew she was upset, but she refused to show it. There had been no tears, no shouting, nothing. She'd hardly touched her dinner, even though she knew Jake watched her. He didn’t have the heart to insist she eat more since he hadn’t had much of an appetite himself.
“We also brought Max’s son, Jeffery, in for questioning.” Emily’s head came up at this. “But we determined he had no knowledge of his father’s illegal dealings. Garrison admitted to hiring Vince and Frankie Cooper—a.k.a. Brian Barnes—to kill your father and Cameron. Since Frankie is dead and Vince—who also has multiple aliases—is in custody, you’re no longer in danger. You’re free to make funeral arrangements for your brother.”
“Thank you, Robert.” Scooting to the edge of the couch, Emily grabbed her crutches. “If you’ll all excuse me, I’d like to go to bed now.”
Jake helped her to her feet. “Would you like to call Joe?”
She shook her head and walked out of the room.
His mother followed her but came back almost immediately, her face etched with worry. “She doesn’t want help tonight.”
Did she seek the privacy of her room to cry? Not wanting to do it in front of him, knowing he would want to comfort her? Or was she in some sort of denial?
Either way, she’d shut Jake out. A deep-seated ache settled in his chest.
At least he wasn’t the only one. She hadn’t even called Joe tonight. The thought wasn’t comforting because it meant Emily was shutting down. She needed Joe. As much as Jake didn’t want to accept that, it was true.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Robert asked, looking at Jake.
“I don’t know. This is not how I expected her to react. Finding out Maxwell Garrison was behind this must be devastating. The man had been her father’s best friend since college. He was like an uncle to Emily.”
“Emily must feel so betrayed,” his mom said. “I can only imagine how bad she must be hurting.”
Robert shook his head. “Looking at those financial records, the man was taking home a substantial six-figure income. How did he get himself in a position of needing to embezzle millions?”
Jake rubbed his bruised jaw. “Gambling can be very addictive. And desperate people do desperate things.”
Robert and his mom both nodded in agreement. Then Robert stood, yawning as he did so. “I’m going to head home. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for Emily.”
After Robert walked out the front door, Jake’s mom gave him a quick hug. “I’m going to turn in too.”
Finding himself alone and much too concerned about Emily to sleep, Jake went to his office and picked up the phone. He deliberated for a full minute before searching the call history for a regularly-occurring unfamiliar number. Determining he had the right number by the frequency of the calls, he pushed the talk button.
He glanced at the clock as he listened to the line ring. It wasn’t extremely late, but it was later than was considered polite to call a stranger.
“Emily, how are you doing?” The voice on the other end of the line did not sound like someone Jake should be jealous of. It reminded him of his grandfather.
“I’m sorry, Joe, this isn’t Emily. This is Jake Winters, and Emily is not doing well.”
Chapter 30
Jake came in the next morning for breakfast to find Emily had already eaten and was now in his office making arrangements for Cameron’s burial.
“Did she eat much?” he asked.
His mom shook her head and Lottie frowned.
He didn’t want to bother Emily while she made her phone calls, so he ate and went back out to work with one of the young colts. He itched to go for a ride, and he wanted to work hard and get dirty. But he needed to stay close to the house. In case Emily needed him.
Would she ever turn to him again?
He replayed his conversation with Joe last night in his head while he circled the colt on his lead rope.
