“Okay, so Richard or someone else from the company is behind this.I think we need to connect with some of the other employees at the company.Maybe one of them knows something that will help us.”
Micah frowned.“I don’t know about that.It’s hard to know who we can trust.”
He was right.The truth was that she didn’t really trust anyone.Except for Micah.Yet hiding out in a cabin wasn’t going to clear her name.
They needed to do something.Figure out what was really going on.
The other option was to stop fighting and turn herself in.Her shoulders slumped as she thought about sitting in jail for weeks on end.
“No, Bryn.”Micah seemed to read her mind.“We’re not going to the police until we know more about what’s going on.”
Despite being grateful for his support, she couldn’t deny that she was dragging him down with her.“What if you get arrested for helping me?”
“Don’t worry about me.”He offered a crooked smile.“We’ll get through this.”
Would they?She wasn’t so sure about that.But she knew she hadn’t done this, and there had to be some way to prove it.
She turned and eyed the computer.Then she crossed to the kitchen table.As she sat in front of the laptop and entered her personal email password, Micah crossed over to join her.
“I still don’t like this,” he muttered as her personal email bloomed on the screen revealing several unread messages along with those that she’d kept in her inbox for future reference.“It’s risky to contact your former work colleagues.”
“They can’t all believe I’m guilty.”At least, she hoped not.She took a moment to scan the work emails she’d forwarded to her account.Several had the recipients’ emails and phone numbers listed in their signature line.She was glad to have the information, although she suspected Micah had a way of identifying personal phone numbers as well.
After a brief hesitation, she decided to reach out to her closest friends.Gwen first, despite how her friend had eyed her with suspicion when Richard had fired her.Then Tabitha and Sam.
She kept the emails brief, asking if they could please talk privately about what was going on.She didn’t give out her new disposable cell number, figuring she should wait until she received an affirmative response.
After reaching out to Gwen, Tabitha, and Sam, she sat back in her chair.The seconds ticked by slowly.If she’d thought she’d receive a quick response from at least one of them, she was sorely disappointed.
“Maybe I should call rather than wait for an email response.”She glanced at Micah.“Or text.It’s a Saturday, they could be busy doing routine weekend chores or running errands.”
“I’d rather not use our new phones in case one of them is involved,” Micah said.“Let’s hold off for a few minutes to see if one of them will respond.”
She nodded, staring at the screen.No messages popped up.The silence was louder than any scream.In that moment, Bryn had never felt so alone.Obviously, she was persona non grata with everyone at the company.
It seemed as if her so-called friends were eager to think the worst about her.
She was about to turn away when her gaze landed on one message related to the data center project.Their newest client was the main subject of her recent work messages.“Maybe we need to look at this Wild Prairie Data Center project more closely.”
“You mentioned it was a big account.”Micah looked thoughtful.“Aside from the financial aspect of the deal, what makes you think the project is a part of this?”
“I could be grasping at straws,” she admitted.“It’s just that Damien worked for weeks to get the company on board.Looking back, it just seems odd that things happened so quickly after signing the contract.It was only a week later that Damien disappeared.”She wondered if Damien had disappeared the same day the deposit from the data center had landed in the company’s account.
“Okay, let me do some research on them.”Micah reached over to snag the computer.“I know they’re controversial, but there could be more behind the resistance to having a data center built than we realize.”
“You mean other than the fear of wasting local resources like water and electricity?”She frowned, wishing she’d paid closer attention to the media hype about the project.“Those were the main sticking points from what I remember.Well, that and the noise issue.Apparently, the generators humming can be heard up to two miles away.Honestly, that would drive me bonkers if I lived in the area.Still, it’s difficult to imagine any of that would result in murder.”
“I agree, unless there’s more to this than we know.”Micah spoke absently, his gaze focused on the computer.“And really, embezzling funds from a company is probably the main motive for Damien’s murder.”
Funds that had been tracked through her personal bank account.Bryn turned away, her previous desire to find the person responsible fading beneath a wave of exhaustion.Proving her innocence would be difficult if they didn’t find something to go on soon.
She forced herself to face facts.They weren’t the police, and thinking they could investigate Damien’s murder was almost laughable.Especially if Richard had planned everything down to the last detail so that they might never figure out the truth.
Looking around the cozy cabin, Bryn realized this might be her last weekend of freedom.If they didn’t have something tangible to use in her defense by Monday, there probably wouldn’t be a way out of this mess.
It was only a matter of time until she was found and arrested.Her life would be over as she sat in jail and waited for her trial.
Worst of all, there was nothing Micah, Rex, or anyone else could do to save her.
