Independence: #2 Angel (19 page)

“He talked to Gabe,” Bailey lifted one arm free of the tight cross. “And by the way, Gabe is really,
really
pissed at me at the moment, so I hope you appreciate this.”

“I didn’t ask you to…”

“Friends don’t ask, they know and if you weren’t so stubborn…” Bailey put both hands on her face before pulling her jacket off and dropping it behind her. “No matter. So…maybe we need some serious baking…or not baking…I want fudge,” she went into the kitchen and began digging things out of the cabinets.

Angel just stared, her hands hanging at her sides. “You’re crazy.”

“Yeah, well…that’s not what Gabe called me,” she murmured from the kitchen. Cabinet doors clattered shut when she found what she was after.

Angel sighed and walked over the cool tiles, helping with opening the bags and cans. She found some nuts and raisins and met with a nod of approval when she upended some of them into a bowl while the chocolate chips were in the microwave, melting.

“Cops are here,” Bailey called out half an hour later from her perch on the window seat overlooking the main street.

“I suppose I was expecting them,” Angel nodded and pulled in a deep breath. She looked at Bailey, who held up a piece of nut and raisin filled fudge before taking a bite. It was still soft, but that did not detract from the taste, she noticed. Maybe friends…she sighed and went to the door when she heard the heavy foot steps outside. “Lieutenant…”

All words came to a stop. It wasn’t just the lieutenant.

Behind her stood Gabe and Colin.

“They aren’t my fault,” Natalie said quickly. “I found them loitering outside. I figured it would be easier to bring them here, than arrest them.”

“I appreciate it,” Angel said softly, stepping blindly back and letting everyone come inside. She heard Bailey gulp behind her and knew exactly how she was feeling. “I told her she didn’t have to stay here. But…”

“She’s patient while you learn how to cope with friends,” Colin said in the hesitation in her words.

“Uh-huh…” Natalie looked from one to the other before gesturing to the dining table. “Can we sit and talk? I’ll have my recorder on…I need to know what happened, Angel. And what is that smell?” Her nose twitched and she groaned softly at the large plate slid onto the table.

“Help yourself. Do you want something to drink?”

“Water. And this is…amazing…thank you,” Natalie nibbled the corner of a piece of crystal goodness and took a seat, her free hand up and reaching into her pocket for the recorder.

“I’ll get some…and I’ve been expecting you…” Angel skirted around the other side from both Gabe and Colin. And she definitely could not look either of the men in the eye at the moment. She was positive she’d self-combust.

She did a quick study of her table and took the seat furthest from the others, keeping her gaze on the lieutenant after she sat down.

“Okay…just start with this morning,” Natalie prompted patiently, watching the slim fingers twisting.

“I went for a run. Through the park and over the low tide at the beach. When I got back it was…almost ten, I think. The door was open…and I’ve never left my door open. Mrs. Langdon…and some of the neighbors know about my family. It’s a little hard to hide it from the world when it’s always in the paper,” she shook her head. “I should have…I went in and Michael and Jacob were here…waiting for me.” She closed her eyes. “Jacob was behind the door and grabbed me from the back, his hand was around my neck to stop me from moving much. I…I tried screaming…I told them I didn’t want to go with them…Michael…hit me…and they had a blindfold and I couldn’t see…and I was a little dazed from the backhand…” she paused, her head tipped slightly to the side.

“Do you remember the drive?”

“I…I suppose…they tied my hands together and then attached them to the seat belt,” she shrugged. “They gave me water, though…told me to drink it, and held the bottle for me. Then it was all…fuzzy…I heard familiar voices…people I know…my other brothers…Harold kept trying to…he’s the youngest and he doesn’t like what they do…when he tries to stop them, he’s struck, too. He just started college…he’s not as caught on the whole religion and money thing as the others. I’ve tried getting him to come stay with me…”

“It’s scary,” Natalie said with a compassionate nod.

“I helped him chose a college on the other side of the country on purpose,” she smiled a little. “We talk on the computer constantly and he makes excuses not to return home for things by taking extra courses. He’s going to be a vet, so I’m hoping…”

“By the time he finishes school, something will be resolved,” Natalie guessed with a nod.

“Things were so…unclear when we arrived. I remember Elizabeth and her sister, Marion, helping me into that…that dress…I should have shredded it…”

“We took it for evidence,” Natalie told her, watching relief flood Angel’s features. “Why the dress?”

Angel sighed and rested her elbows on the table. She opened her palms and put her head in them.

“He’s used this same theme as far back as I can remember. About how only my marriage to his God will absolve me of the evil that occupies…” she swallowed on the thickness forming in her words. “I’m sorry…”

“Only he’s taken things up a notch,” Bailey announced in the break. “He’s added Earl Leonard. I checked on him. He’s very wealthy and promising a great deal to the church for the merger. He has several media holdings and thinks her father’s church would make a long, long lasting reality show for one of his networks. They’ve been negotiating for over six months.”

“How do you know that?” Angel breathed, the color she’d gained back draining from her cheeks.

“I only just received the rest of the information I was waiting for yesterday,” Bailey told her, leaning into the man who’d come to stand beside her. “It’s taken a while to find the right people to get to talk in his company. I’m sorry. I was going to come see you after work tomorrow.”

“So he’s wanting Angel thrown into the package…” Natalie looked from one to the other. “No. Your father wants money and he wants Leopard to take you off his hands. Just a tad archaic,” Natalie said with a thick sigh. She stared at Bailey. “Should I ask what else you know about this Leonard?”

“He’s been married three times,” Bailey ran her tongue around her lips. “One…was like this. A deal…she was nineteen and a problem for her father. Leonard was thirty-two at the time. She died in a private plane accident when they’d been married three months.”

“Bailey, am I going to see a pattern?” Natalie asked cautiously. “The other two wives…”

“Deceased,” Bailey answered quietly.

“Anything else I should know?” Natalie stared at the redhead with one brow raised.

“What is he getting out of all this?” Colin asked, his curiosity up along with his anger.

“Sole beneficiary of the life insurance,” Bailey said with a shrug. “Which he took out upon their marriage. The thing is, I think he wants the church access to help…I’m not sure his business excursions are strictly in line with legal…stuff…” Bailey winced a little when a palm suddenly gripped the back of her neck.

“Keep talking, Bailey,” Gabe suggested firmly.

Bailey heaved a deep sigh, bright green eyes narrowed and a wince pinching her features at the same time a little squeak popped free.

“Give me a minute here…I have to remember the notes I made,” she grumbled. “Earl Leonard is half Mexican. His mother was from Mexico City. He grew up on both sides of the border where El Paso sits. He claims to have a manufacturing plant across the border and plays the big benefactor. But his business…he makes some kind of car parts,” her fingers waved dismissingly in the air. “Not sure on that part. But it’s not doing so well…but he always turns a nice profit, regardless of the actual numbers.”

“What do you think he’s doing, Bailey?” Natalie asked cautiously.

“He makes trips over the border. He flies out of here to El Paso. First class,” she said thoughtfully. “Then he has one of his trucks meet him there. He rides across the border with them. The inventory list is raw materials. But the weights don’t match. And when he returns, the truck is always riding lower than it should for an empty vehicle.”

“How did you find out all this?” Gabe asked very slowly.

Bailey looked nervously at Natalie Templeton. The lieutenant reached up to her collar and tapped a switch on the recorder. Bailey sighed thickly.

“When he first appeared on the scene, something felt wrong. So with the help of a few friends, I started doing some checking. There are cameras everywhere these days, did you know that? And with the right codes, you can access them, even when the people operating them try and erase certain portions of the video or the weight logs at crossing stations.” Bailey pulled in a long breath. “I
think
he wants to use the church to launder the money he’s making and funnel it back to his accounts. I
think
he’s bringing illegals over and using them in his factory here. I
think
he charges to make them nice neat papers. I
think
he approached her father about seven months ago, because before that, the reverend had mostly given up. Her brothers were only coming around every six months or so and it was more a token effort. At least that’s what Angel told us.”

“Yes. I’d hoped he was accepting that I didn’t want in his life,” Angel said, working to understand all of what Bailey was saying. “And my father would get a percentage of the take. But why me?”

“It follows his pattern,” Bailey said with a shrug. “And I think your father threw you in just because. If they both take life insurance policies out on you, him as your loving father and the other, a husband…I’m sorry.”

“No…no, it isn’t your fault. But it does make sense,” Angel slumped back in the chair, her head shaking. “Strange, strange sense…only a family could understand, I suppose.”

“You have no idea just how crazy families can get, Angel,” Natalie assured her with a smile. “Where are your notes, Bailey?”

“At the house…but I’ve been running the numbers and…the weight of the trucks…”

“It’s probably only partially people,” Colin said flatly. “While the long term would be labor and money, drugs would be more immediately profitable.”

“So why not combine it and bring both over?” Natalie said with a nod. “Yeah…nothing new on that line. Guess I need to find a friendly fed and see what we can cook up as far as an investigation is concerned.”

“So Leonard has no church? They told me he was part of another church…” Angel looked from one to the other. “All this is happening to me and I don’t even know why.”

“Does the why really matter?” Natalie shook her head. “You just want him to leave you alone.”

“I know why he hates me…or I thought I did. I thought…I believed it was because I lived and my mother died,” she whispered painfully. “I can’t believe he loved my mother at all,” Angel ground out angrily. “I thought…I don’t know how or why I allowed myself to be so stupid for so long. I thought he only turned mean because I killed the woman he loved, only I don’t think he ever really loved her.”

“Parents mess with a kids head, Angel,” Natalie stood up and went to the door. “Don’t stay by yourself until we can get this straightened out, okay?” She looked from one man to the other, settling on Colin. “I’m guessing you’d be more than willing to keep her with you.”

“I offered.”

Natalie laughed. “Yeah…and you accepted no for an answer. Please. Tre is a lot like you two,” she shook her head. “I know the breed. Keep her safe, gentlemen. I’ll be in touch. Bailey, I’ll send you an email for your information. And thanks for the entertainment.”

Colin had been watching Angel. He wanted her in his life. Period. Riding over the hurdles was just another part of life he knew how to deal with.

“Let’s go home, Nancy Drew,” Gabe pulled Bailey toward the door. “Where’s your pack?”

“I can’t leave her…” Bailey scowled at him, her gaze shifting to the pack that lay beside the sofa, untouched.

“I think Colin’s got things under control,” Gabe assured her, grabbing her pack with his free hand. “If you need anything, call.”

“Thanks,” Colin said without taking his gaze from Angel. “She won’t be alone, Bailey, but we appreciate your help.”

This seemed to wake Angel from her thoughts, dark lashes blinking as if she was returning from far away. She was up and around the table, hugging Bailey and unaware of the surprise on her friend’s face.

“I’m okay. I am,” she ignored the tear that slipped free. “Thank you for not letting me be an idiot.”

“Don’t make me cry,” Bailey’s growl came out just a little watery. “I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.” She cast a quick look at Colin before nodding and trailing behind a tugging Gabe.

“Oh, god, now she’s in trouble…” Angel glared at Colin. “You see why…why…” frustration set in and she stormed into her bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

Angel leaned against the door for a long couple minutes. She really hadn’t believed he’d stay out of her room or her life. And contrary as it was, she was glad he’d returned.

She hadn’t allowed herself to think about her friends. Her father always found some way to make her regret making friends. Usually, though, they disappeared on their own once they realized who her parent was.

She sighed thickly and walked to the covered bench seat that made up the bay window. That’s where Colin found her a few minutes later. Curled into the corner and staring into the darkness as it fell. Clouds, rain and night. A perfect ending to the weekend.

“I’m not feeling very social,” she told him without looking in his direction.

“And you don’t think I could change that?” Colin leaned against the bed, his arms over his chest.

“You aren’t very good at listening sometimes. You’re very good at…” she let her head fall to the knees she had her arms wrapped around. “That isn’t true. You do listen well. You simply chose to ignore what I say if you don’t think it’s fitting into what you believe I should think or feel.”

“I’d be willing to bet…” he kept his voice low, waiting until she looked over at him before continuing. “That the first time I came home from a really bad ending to a trial I worked hard at and was in a horrible mood…don’t smile, pet, it happens, believe me. But I’d bet you would do everything in your power to lift that mood, even be a brat so I could work my frustrations out on you.”