Hunting Truth (3 page)

“
Yes, of course.
If there’s anything I can do to help you relocate
your office, just let me know. It’s a terrible time for you to be
moving—mini-Dakota is going so well. I hope there’s no disruption.
Lucas is keen for it to be completed as soon as possible. He’s very
focused with all of his projects, but this one is something else.
I’ve never known him be so passionate about a redevelopment. You
would think it was his home!” He laughed but it quickly tailed off
when he saw my expression.

“
Daniel, I won’t be continuing to work on
mini-Dakota. Lucas has copies of all my designs that have been
completed so far. He’ll just have to hire another interior designer
to finish things off.”

He was frozen for a second, looking like
I
’d slapped him. He took
a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why do I get the feeling that
you haven’t told him about that yet either?”

I chewed on my bottom lip and looked
down.
“Because I haven’t
told him.” My voice was barely a whisper.

He ran his hands through his hair, his
agitation showing.
“Oh
man. Today is just the beginning of a fantastic week. I can feel
it,” he said sarcastically. “Issy, I think it’s best if we get your
office emptied today before he finds out that you’re not fulfilling
your contract with mini-Dakota. Lucas always pursues any breaches
relentlessly. In your case, it’s more complicated because of your .
. . well, you know. Even without the personal issues, he’s going to
be devastated that you won’t continue work on it. He says you’re
the best interior designer he’s ever worked with and he’s worked
with some big names.”

I tried to s
mile. The truth was that I’d miss working on
mini-Dakota too. I loved that old building and it was a privilege
to have been asked to work on its restoration. But I couldn’t work
with Lucas. A man who’d killed his own mother.

Chad spoke before I could reply.
“Do you know anything about a
photograph that Lucas asked someone in your security team to
investigate? It turned out to be faked.”

Daniel looked at him. “I heard about it. I
obviously didn’t see it.”

Chad and I exchanged an awkward
glance.

“
Do you know whether
there
’s any written
proof that it was faked? A report or an email or something?” Chad
asked.

Daniel shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’d have
to check with Carter. He’d know. Why do you ask?”

“
My best friend was Chad’s girlfriend. She
doesn’t know the image was faked. Now she’s disappeared and won’t
allow us to make contact,” I explained.

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Daniel
then said, “I
’ll see if
I can find anything but Carter plays his cards close to Lucas’
chest. What do I say if I’m asked why I want to know? What Carter
knows, Lucas knows.”

“
Don
’t ask then. Just have a discreet look to see if there’s
any proof. Don’t get yourself in trouble with Lucas though,” said
Chad. “We’d really appreciate any assistance.”

The sound of a cell ringing made Daniel
say, “Three guesses who that’ll be! I’d better get going. I’ll
contact you later, Issy. In the meantime, email me the address you
want your things sent to. I’ll get on to that as soon as I
can.”

We both thanked him and continued to the
bar. Daniel’s words about Lucas echoed in my head: ‘He sounded
murderous’. I shuddered slightly . . . if only he knew.

We spent a couple of hours in the bar.
I
’d intended to let Chad
win in an attempt to lift his mood but, as it turned out, my
concentration was so bad that he wiped the floor with me. We were
pleasantly under the influence of alcohol, walking back from the
bar, when my cell rang. It was Daniel.

“
Hi
, Daniel,” I said, trying not to giggle as Chad tripped
over his own feet. He must’ve been more wasted than I’d
thought.

“
Hi
, Issy. I need the address for your belongings to be sent
right now. Everything’s boxed up and waiting.”

I gave him Chad and
Scott
’s address and he
said my things would be delivered within the hour.

“
Thank you, Daniel.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate
your help.”

“
That’s not all, Issy. I searched Lucas’
emails and found proof that the photograph you mentioned was
definitely edited and faked. Shall I forward it to your
email?”

“
Oh that’s brilliant! Yes
please.

“
I’ll save it to my flash drive and send it
from my personal email at home. I can’t risk forwarding it from
here. I’m sure Carter’s team monitors them. Please make sure that
only your friend sees it.”

“
You are amazing and I truly appreciate the
risk you
’re taking. But
it is important, Daniel. A friendship and a relationship could be
saved thanks to you.”

I heard him draw breath as if he was going to
speak but then changed his mind.

“
Daniel?
What is it?”

“
Um . . . I’m not sure whether I should be
saying this . . . or whether you want to hear it.”

I could hear the indecision and discomfort
in his voice.
“Saying
what? Is it about the photograph?”

“
No. It’s about Lucas. He’s turned the
day-to-day affairs of his company over to me. He says he doesn’t
want me to bother him with anything, regardless of its importance
or urgency for the foreseeable future. That isn’t like him at all,
Issy. And . . .” His voice tailed off.

I stopped walking as I processed Daniel’s
words. Chad didn’t notice and kept walking. That company was Lucas’
life. His whole reason for being. Why would he turn his back on it?
It didn’t make any sense.

“
And what? Come on, Daniel. If there’s
something you think I should know, spit it out.”

I heard him blow out his breath.
“It’s Lucas. I’ve never seen
him like this. He hasn’t showered, shaved or changed clothes since
yesterday. He looks like hell. He reeks of alcohol and I’d imagine
his hangover must be a killer, although he looks like he’s been
drinking since yesterday. He was rambling about you and something
about his mother. But mostly he was talking about revenge. He said
he thought he’d done it but that he’d just hurt himself and you.
That this time he’d do it right—he’d sort them out once and for
all. I have no idea what he was talking about but I tell you one
thing, Issy. Whoever it is, I feel for them. He looks unhinged and
obsessed. Someone is going to pay dearly for crossing
him.”

My brain was trying to take in all of this
information.
I was
struggling to imagine Lucas in the state that Daniel had described,
never mind process all the things he was saying. “Did he say
anything else?”

Daniel’s voice was barely a whisper. “He
kept saying that the one person he’d let into his heart had gone
and left him. That he was broken. That he’d ruined the only thing
that was good in his life. That he loved her. That he’d never love
anyone else again.” He paused. “Issy, he was talking about
you.”

Cold fingers gripped my
hear
t and squeezed,
taking my breath away. The ache in my chest was so strong. I could
hear Daniel asking if I was okay. If I was still there. But it
sounded distant. I couldn’t respond. I was totally immobile.
Frozen.

Chad must
’ve realized that I wasn’t next to him and come
back because he was suddenly there in front of me. His lips were
moving but I heard no words. Blood roared in my ears and my vision
blurred.

The next thing I knew, I was opening my
eyes on Chad and Scott
’s
sofa. Chad was sitting opposite me, looking concerned. I smiled at
him and sat up slowly.

“
Sorry.
Did I fall asleep?” I asked as I stretched.

“
Only after I carried you home. I think you
fainted. God, I was really worried, Issy. I didn’t know whether
you’d drunk too much and were sleeping or whether you were
unconscious. Daniel said you’d just stopped talking and you looked
like you’d seen a ghost before your legs buckled.”

I tilted my head back so that it rested on
the back of the sofa. Slowly I recalled the conversation with
Daniel. I shared it with Chad. He was delighted that there was
proof that the photo of us having sex was faked. But then he looked
shocked when I told him about the state Lucas was in. I didn’t
mention the things he’d said about me. Just about him turning the
business over to Daniel and him not looking after
himself.

Chad thought for a moment then said, “I
really hope
this doesn’t
interfere with his support for the band.”

I gasped at his selfishness and was saved
from retorting by my cell ringing. I snatched it up and looked at
the display. It was Scott.

“
Hi, Scott,” I said, trying to sound
cheerful but giving Chad a cold, hard stare at the same
time.

“
Hi
, Issy. Just to let you know that I’ve tracked Angel down
and I’m on my way to talk to her because she wouldn’t speak with me
over the phone. I can’t talk for long as the plane’s about to take
off. But I’m going to try to persuade her to think logically about
that photograph and—”

Excitement surged through me as
I cut him off. “You’re what? Oh
my God. Well, there should be no worries on that score. I’m
awaiting an email that will prove the image was edited and faked.
As soon as I receive it, I’ll forward it to you.

“
Really?
Oh thank God. That should make my task a whole lot
easier.”

I felt a rush of affection for him and the
lengths he was going to for his friends.
“Thank you, Scott. You didn’t have to go to all
this trouble. But I’m glad that you have.”

“
Hey, no problem. Anything to avoid living
with Chad the Miserable.” Then his voice softened. “And anything
for the most important lady in my life.”

I grinned. “You big, soppy
idiot.”

“
I’ve got to go, babe. Send me that email.
I’ll call you when I’ve landed. Bye, Issy.”

“
Take care. Bye, Scott.”

I pressed the button to end the call and
told Chad what Scott was doing. In the excitement, I forgot I was
pissed at him for his selfish comments about Lucas and the band. I
realized I’d forgotten to ask Scott where Angel was so I had no
idea how long his flight would be.

The much anticipated email came in from
Daniel just as we were finishing a takeaway pizza.
I read it aloud from my phone.
Chad let out a deep breath and smiled. It was basically an email
from an expert in the field who’d removed the edits that had been
made, clearly proving the image was a fake. I quickly forwarded it
to Scott’s email address and hoped that Angel would at least hear
him out. Chad wanted me to forward it directly to Angel too, but I
wanted to wait until Scott had tried. It seemed only fair after
he’d gone to so much trouble and I wasn’t sure that Angel would
even open an email from me. I didn’t want to upset her right before
Scott made his attempt.

I had a text from Scott to say that
he
’d landed and had
received the email. He didn’t say where he was but he did say he
was going straight to see Angel. Scott and I flicked back and forth
across the television channels but as usual there was nothing worth
watching. Either that or we were too anxious for news to
concentrate.

By
11 p.m. we were having trouble keeping our eyes open, which
wasn’t helped by our afternoon drinking. Chad tried to call Scott
but his cell was switched off. At midnight we agreed to call it a
night but agreed we’d both keep our phones on our pillows and that
we’d wake the other if Scott called.

When I entered Scott
’s bedroom, there were several boxes piled
up underneath the window. I realized that my office contents had
been delivered whilst I’d slept on the sofa and Chad must have put
them there. My thoughts turned to Lucas and what Daniel had said
about him. It didn’t sound like Lucas at all. Obviously the demons
from his past had resurfaced and were haunting him.

As I lay in bed, I wondered how
I
’d managed to get him
so wrong. Okay, he hadn’t volunteered much information about
himself or his past, and I realized then that I didn’t know him at
all. Could I love him when I didn’t know him? Each time I thought
about him, I was sickened by the knowledge of his acts in the past
but, at the same time, I felt like my heart was breaking into tiny
pieces. I hadn’t ever allowed another man to get close to me so I
had no reference for emotional pain and relationship agony. I
couldn’t even compare it to the loss of my parents. I was too young
to remember the initial pain and surely you have a different love
for your parents anyway.

I slept fitfully and tried to call Scott
several times during the night.
I fired off messages asking how he’d got on and asking what
he was doing, but I didn’t get one reply. I met Chad in the kitchen
the next morning and over coffee we found that we’d both been
trying to contact Scott without success. Chad suggested that
perhaps his cell had died and he had no way of recharging it. I had
to admit that it seemed like a plausible option. It didn’t make
waiting any easier though.