Earthbound Angels Part 1 (11 page)

He was right.

Raven was thinking that her sister would be at Erick and Hollianne’s wedding, too. She had noticed lately that Simon had been looking at Dreama the way she had been hoping he would look at
her.
Aside from that, Raven had once been so sure that once she got Simon in a wedding environment, she could make him turn to her in a different way. Finding out that he would walk the isle with Dreama holding on to her arm had made her realized that her sister would be reaping what she had planned to reap for herself!

Dreama was not going to get Simon. Raven had decided that a long time ago. If Raven couldn’t have him, her sister certainly wasn’t going to walk off into the sunset with him.

It wasn’t as if Dreama had actually been looking at Simon that way, though. Raven had to admit that Dreama didn’t show any interest in Simon at all other than as maybe an older brother or something. But who knew what could happen at a wedding where they would both be looking gorgeous with so much romance around them?

Well, Raven might shut up for now, but she was more determined than ever to get into that wedding. She just had to figure out how.

“Fine, Simon, I said that you’re right. I over reacted and I apologize. Now, please, can we talk about something else?”

“I would love to talk about anything else,” Simon said. “But I need you to promise me that you’re not going to do anything stupid regarding this wedding.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I don’t want you to show up at that wedding and cause a scene. If you do anything to ruin Erick and Holli’s special day, believe me, you will be sorry. And this isn’t even about you anymore. Remember that your father had been working hard to get Erick to support a big event that will help a lot of people in grief-stricken areas for the Holidays?”

“He’s only doing this to promote the firm,” she said nonchalantly, and knew she had made a mistake because of the way Simon was looking at her. “I m-mean, it’s part of the promotional campaign for Christmas. Dad’s not really serious about it.”

Simon had been with Raven’s father when the project had been discussed. Raven didn’t know it, but a friend’s passing due to a storm while he was out of the country and into one that had been severely devastated had affected the older man so much that he’d decided to use his clout to raise funds for disaster stricken areas in the globe. Had Raven even known about the dead family friend? It just seemed that she didn’t.

“I’m just telling you – don’t cause trouble on Holli’s special day. Do you understand?”

“How can you choose her over me?”

“I’m not choosing anyone here, Raven. I’m just telling you that if you hurt Holli in any way, you’re going to have to contend with Erick Angell. I mean what I say. If you want us to remain friends, then you’ll stay away from that wedding. Promise me.”

“Okay, Simon, I promise,” Raven replied petulantly as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

She could see that she had a lot of work to do to get Simon to see her way – and a lot to make sure her sister would not be able to snatch him under her nose. She had to let things go for now to be able to start making plans about what to do in the next several days. She needed to ensure she would have her future with this man by her side.

She could not stand by if Dreama gets him! She absolutely could not!

She would kill before she would let that bitch get away with taking what’s rightfully hers again!

“THIS IS AMBER Barrows with Channel 13, and I’m standing in front of the courthouse where we’re told that Andrew Martin, just found not guilty of a near deadly assault on his ex-girlfriend, Pamela Stevens, will be coming out to talk to us. He’s coming out now with his attorney, Simon Draco, who seemed to dazzle the jury and the court with evidence that Andrew could not have possibly assaulted Pamela Stevens. Not only that, but he proved that another man had committed the crime even though that man had been questioned and crossed off the list of suspects. We’ve been instructed not to release the name of this man due to the arrest not having been made. Mr. Draco, how did you discover that your client wasn’t guilty?”

Simon smiled directly into the camera before he replied.

“Well, Amber, I make it a rule not to ever take on any clients that are not innocent.”

“So you’re saying that not one of your clients has ever been guilty?”

“Yes, Amber, that’s exactly what I am saying.”

“Are you saying that guilty people don’t deserve a good defense, Mr. Draco?”

“Certainly not. I believe that all suspects deserve a good defense. It’s just that I prefer to only represent innocent clients because I must believe in them if I’m to offer my very best defense.”

“How did you know that Andrew Martin wasn’t guilty?”

“Now, Amber, I can’t give away all of my secrets. Just suffice it to say that I knew from the moment I shook his hand.”

Amber then turned to Andrew Martin and asked him how he felt about being found not guilty.

“I can’t describe how it feels to know that the justice system worked and that my attorney was able to prove that I didn’t hurt Pam.”

“What are your plans now that you’re free?”

“I’m going to have a nice dinner and then I’m going to see about getting on with my life.”

“Will you be going to visit Pamela in the hospital?”

Simon suddenly stepped in and took control of the media once more.

“Mr. Martin has had a long day and is anxious to get home now. Thank you.”

With that, Simon used his body to shield Andrew from the ravenous press members and got into a waiting car.

Turning down the volume with the remote, Graeme smiled and shook his head. Yes, Simon had pulled another one out of his hat, it seemed. But he was right. Andrew Martin had been the scapegoat for this crime all along. Happily, now it was over and he could try to get on with his life. Graeme was glad that he could help Simon with what he needed even if was just through Erick.

Just then his phone rang.
Well, speak of the devil and all that.

“Hello, Erick,” Graeme said as he clicked the phone on.

“Did you see our boy on television just now?” Erick Angell asked.

“I was just watching it. Glad I could be of some assistance on this. I would hate to see that guy get away with what he did to Pamela Stevens. Now that the focus is off of Andrew Martin, they can reel in the actual attacker.”

“Very true,” Erick agreed. “Simon wanted me to thank you again for your help.”

“Tell him he’s welcome, and anytime,” Graeme said. “I’d love for us to get out and have fun again. Maybe a dinner will not be bad sometime next week?”

“We’ll arrange it then. Holli had been telling me we guys should go out more often than we do.”

“Your wife is a very wise woman, Erick. She’s very special,” Graeme said.

“Oh, that she is,” Erick agreed on the other end of the line with a tone in his voice that said more than the words ever could.

A noise was heard in the house and Graeme looked in the direction of the front door before going back to the conversation. “I hate to cut you short, Erick, but I’ve got an appointment and I think he’s just arrived. We’ll speak later.”

“Of course,” Erick replied.

After disconnecting the phone call, Graeme pushed the zoom button on his security camera at the gate entrance to his home which also served as his office. Graeme specialized in finding missing people but, since he had everything he needed here at his house, he saw no reason to pay rent on an office. His home wasn’t that far out of Moon Bay and it wasn’t that hard to find once you had the directions to it. However, since he did have his office in his home, he felt the need for a bit of extra security. He had installed several top of the line security cameras throughout his property as well as a very sophisticated alarm system. In addition to that, he employed four guards as well as kept four Dobermans to patrol the grounds.

His guards were ex-government employees and he didn’t care which branch they came from. They had clean backgrounds and were highly effective at what they did. That’s all Graeme needed to know. His Dobermans were true teddy bears—until they were given certain commands. They were perfect as well in sensing enemies on their own. On top of all that, Graeme was very self-sufficient when it came to taking care of himself.

Just now, he was observing the man at his gate who looked a bit as if he were somewhere between intimidated and annoyed. Graeme smiled slightly as he watched the man searching for the right button to push on the intercom system. For fun, Graeme allowed the alert on his end to sound a couple of times before answering.

Sometimes, he amused himself with pettiness like this—very human. But that’s it. In the years since he had become an Earthbound, he had learned how to be human, and these simple acts of being human could sometimes be refreshing.

Finally, he pushed the button on his end.

“May I help you?” Graeme said.

“Um yes, I’ve got an appointment with Graeme St. Paul. My name is Jefferson Graves.”

Without saying another word, Graeme pushed the button that opened the wrought iron gates that would allow Mr. Graves to enter his property and drive up to his house. He used this as a sort of test to see how “quick” someone was.

This man appeared to be quicker than most as he didn’t pause to try to ask more questions. He simply watched the gates open and drove through them. Graeme waited for the man to drive in sufficiently far enough before closing them again.

His cameras tracked the car as it traveled down the mile long drive to Graeme’s house as he watched. Jefferson Graves was certainly confident enough as he maneuvered his car, a black Lexus, down the road toward the house. Graeme was pretty sure that this man probably had a driver most of the time but he had given clear instructions that only Mr. Graves was to come to this appointment. His instructions had been followed.

When Mr. Graves had finally arrived in front of the house, he exited his car and stood taking in the vastness of Graeme’s home. This was something that typically surprised people seeing the property for the first time. Everyone nearly always expected to see some little building or something and they were nearly always amazed to see what could only mean some serious money. He waited until Mr. Graves had walked up the steps to the large wrap around porch and hit the doorbell.

Getting up from his chair, he wandered down the long wide hallway toward the door. When he opened the door, he found Mr. Graves in the act of getting ready to ring the doorbell again. He looked mildly surprised at being caught.

“Hello, Mr. Graves. I’m Graeme St. Paul. Won’t you come in?”

“Oh, hello, Mr. St. Paul! It’s so nice to meet you!”

The two men shook hands in a professional manner and Graeme stepped back to allow his potentially new client to enter his home.

Having come through the door, Jefferson Graves stood in the large foyer and took in his surroundings.

Graeme took his jacket and hung it from the coat rack by the door. He was just turning around to shake hands with Graeme while trying to arrange his face in a semblance of nonchalance.

Graeme had to hide a grin. Clearly, this man was used to being surrounded by money, yet here he was seemingly stunned at the opulence that belonged to a lowly private investigator. He almost wished that Simon could be here to shake hands with this man. In that way, he would know without a shadow of a doubt whether Jefferson Graves was someone he wanted to work with or not.

“Come on back to my office,” Graeme said as he led the way.

Jefferson Graves followed.

WHEN THEY REACHED the open double doors, Graeme stood aside and allowed his guest to enter first. Again, it seemed difficult for the other man to hide his amazement.

This was one of Graeme’s favorite rooms in the house and was the reason he chose it to be his office. Behind his massive antique desk was a wall of floor to ceiling windows that looked out over a very carefully cultivated and manicured garden. The various flowers and greenery were lush and in full bloom even during this time of the year. The wall at the far end of the room contained a large stone fireplace.

Facing it was a loveseat, which was flanked by a matching easy chair on either side. A coffee table sat in the middle. The other walls were made up of floor to ceiling bookcases that were filled with books. Sliding ladders were attached to all of the bookcases so the top shelves could be reached with ease.

Graeme indicated the two leather high-backed chairs that sat facing his desk and invited Jefferson Graves to have a seat. Then he sat down himself.

“Now, Mr. Graves, what can I do for you?” Graeme asked.

“This is rather complicated, but I’ll try to simplify it a bit in the interest of time. You may be familiar with Graves Enterprises. My two brothers and I have running the company along with our father, who died recently as a result of a terrible accident. Fortunately, he had left a will so we all know what his wishes were. There’s quite a bit of money involved in his estate as well as the business itself. Most of the money as well as an interest in the business have been left to my brothers and me. The remainder of the estate has been left to a younger sister that we had no idea even existed. The problem is that since we never knew of her, obviously we don’t have a recent address for her. We did try to do a little searching on our own but, so far, we haven’t had any success in locating her. That’s when my brothers and I decided we should involve a professional. And here I am.”

“I see,” Graeme said, nodding. “So you want to hire me to find this sister of yours. If I’m going to find her, I’ll need a bit of information in order to get started on a basic search and then go from there if needed. Whatever details you’ve managed to unearth will be helpful in getting started. Here’s a list of my fees and what they cover.”