Whether he promised or not didn’t matter because Gary had no intention of letting that happen. Neither did his silent partner, since Sharon had most definitely seen his partner’s face when he grabbed her. That made her collateral damage.
Yes, the Beane family would not survive the night. They’d die and the attempted bank robbery would be linked back to Kent as an operation gone wrong. Sharon as the innocent victim unaware of her husband’s money issues and schemes. In Gary’s scenario, Sharon found out, a fight ensued and the resulting murder-suicide would stand as one more horrific tale of a marriage on the edge and a desperate man who took a terrible turn.
At least that was where the evidence Gary manufactured would lead the police to believe.
“I have a very small window in which to fix your mess,” he said to the man who would provide access then soon be dead.
“I didn’t—”
“Stop.” Baiting this man proved quite enjoyable. “For Sharon’s sake, you better hope I can do it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jocelyn drew the envelope out of her purse and put it on the Corcoran conference-room table on top of the files and papers and everything else they had thrown all over the place. She beat back the urge to organize it all. This wasn’t their first job and they knew how to do their work, but still.
Joel grabbed the envelope as soon as it hit the table. “You kept a receipt from more than a week ago?”
“I keep everything.” She snatched it back and waved it in front of him from across the table. “Sometimes being a woman on the edge helps.”
Joel frowned. “Excuse me?”
She turned to Ben at his position next to Connor at the end of the table. For some reason she wanted Ben to be the one to see it first. “Here.”
“In your purse.” Ben shook his head. “No wonder the guy couldn’t find it at the house. Also makes sense we missed it. I’d never think to tell a woman to dump her purse. Seems like a surefire way to get my butt kicked.”
“We will from now on,” Joel said.
Connor rested his hands on the back of her chair. “I’m not sure I knew she had it here.”
“I keep receipts in my purse and reconcile every Friday. I was attacked before I could.” It sounded crazy when she said it out loud.
Never mind how smooth and perfect they fit together and how she had them lined up inside the envelope with not one edge sticking out. Just when she thought she’d come so far, she ran smack into evidence she had some work to do.
Ben shot her one of his sexy smiles. “I love your need for order.”
One look at that mouth and her bones melted. After living with the anxiety as a curse for so long, she had her first moment of clarity. Maybe this one time he was right and it saved her. “Right now I do, too.”
She glanced down at the words on the paper. The last two stood out to her as if they were set off in flashing lights.
Worldwide Securities transfer. Sharon kidnapped.
He read the words and Jocelyn jumped in with the first question. “Who is Sharon?”
“Kent’s wife.” Joel sat down and started typing. “Let’s see where she is.”
Jocelyn glanced at Ben. “More kidnappings.”
“Yeah, I know.” The sadness in his eyes translated to a vibration of anger in his voice.
After a series of ultrafast clicking, Joel made a noise. “Hmm, not good.”
“What?” Connor asked.
“A teacher who, from what I can see here, is out on unexpected temporary leave. Kent said she’s very ill.”
“Funny how he forgot to mention that fact.” Ben blew out a long breath. “Guess her being gone explains his constant sweating.”
That made three women—Pamela, this Sharon and her. Jocelyn’s chest ached at the thought she might be the only safe one. “So, someone is planning to take money from the bank? I still don’t get it. They were in the bank and didn’t steal anything.”
“It all comes down to Gary Taub, owner of Worldwide and our sudden visitor this afternoon,” Ben said.
Joel kept typing. “Thought that seemed a bit too smooth.”
“So did he.”
Ben’s dislike for the guy had been immediate. He didn’t exactly hide his feelings, with all that grumbling at the bank. Jocelyn had chalked it up to his protective instincts and having someone break through their security barrier thanks to Ed. Now she wondered if Ben’s anger went deeper. The instant hate could have something to do with his innate ability to sense danger.