The sheriff smiled. “I’m glad.”
Adam squeezed her hand. “We’re all glad.”
“Definitely.” Bane kissed her on the cheek.
She felt completely safe in their arms.
“Let’s get to it then.” Sheriff Champion looked down at some paperwork on his desk. “We have your statement, Emma, and I want to fill you in on everything the authorities found back in North Dakota.”
“I knew Larry wasn’t a good guy and completely self-centered. That’s why I left him all those years ago. But I never thought he would be capable of such horrible things.”
“Greed sent him over the edge, Emma. When he learned about the oil reserve that would net millions to your grandparents, he conspired to make the money his.” Caleb had a kind face. “After Jena had let us know that original call had come from Larry, I was able to get a warrant from the local authorities. The officers went to his house and found a woman who had been living with him for the past few months. Turns out that the woman is a performer whose specialty is imitating celebrities.”
“Oh my God. That’s why she sounded so much like my sisters.”
Adam and Bane’s boss nodded. “Apparently Larry had some videos of them that the woman had studied to get their voices right.”
“I remember he made copies of several birthday videos of Autumn and Andrea when they were very young.” She turned to Adam and Bane. “My sisters were in every single one of those videos. I thought Larry wanted the videos to remember the years he missed in the girls’ lives. Turns out he only wanted to use them against me and my family.”
Bane pulled her in tight. “He can’t hurt you or the girls ever again, baby.”
Adam asked Caleb and Sheriff Champion, “What happened to the mimic?”
“She’s in jail for the scam awaiting trial,” Caleb said.
“The officers who arrested her found more equipment in Larry’s house similar to what we retrieved from your place.” Sheriff Champion looked at the paperwork on his desk. “Our bet is your ex had planted the equipment originally in your apartment back in North Dakota. When you came to Wilde, you clearly messed up his plans. He had to resort to the cell phone to keep the voices coming at you until you got a place.”
“When did Larry put that crap in my vents?”
“Jena helped us figure that one out, too. She found his name on a couple of flight manifests,” Caleb said. “Larry flew to Wilde while you were headed with Bane and Adam to pack up your stuff. That way no one would know he had left the state. He arrived back in Minot and went straight to your daughter’s concert.”
She sighed, recalling him walking in as her girls were taking their bows. “That’s why he was late.”
“Exactly,” Caleb said. “I have confirmed with some of my sources that your grandparents’ land is rich with oil.”
She now had a clear picture of what Larry had been scheming and how he’d gone about trying to destroy her. “I must call my grandparents and fill them in. I’ve got to get to my girls.”
“Mackenzie already talked to the owners of the television station, Lance and Chuck.” Bane smiled. “They’ve got their pilot and jet on standby ready to take all three of us to North Dakota.”
“Wow. I haven’t even put in a full day of work for them. That’s so generous.”
Sheriff Champion nodded. “Wilde has the best billionaires in the entire country.”
“Not just billionaires, Sheriff.” She looked around the room. “Everyone in Wilde has been so good to me. There isn’t a better place for me to raise my girls than right here.”
Chapter Sixteen
Back in North Dakota, Emma sat with her grandmother on the porch, looking out at the stars. The girls were asleep in their beds. Bane, Adam, and her grandfather were in the kitchen finishing off the last of the apple pie that her grandmother had baked for them.
“Grandma, I’m still shocked that the girls didn’t have much of a reaction when I told them Larry was dead.”
“I’m not. They didn’t know him at all, thank God. He was a complete stranger. When he did come around, the girls felt awkward. Andrea’s instincts were right all along.”
“Yes, they were.” Emma remembered her daughter saying she didn’t like Larry when she was very young. “I can’t get over how she is around Bane and Adam.”
“I know. They sure do bring her out of her shell. She was laughing and carrying on during that card game they taught her and Autumn. Both your girls already adore your guys. I’m glad you told them you were dating. It’s good you and your mom told them how things worked in Wilde. It didn’t come as a shock. They are so thrilled you found love with Bane and Adam, and so are your grandpa and me. When do you three plan on heading back?”
“Tomorrow morning.” She still couldn’t believe there was a private jet waiting at the airport to zoom them all back to Wilde. “I’ll come back and get the girls in a few weeks.”