Unbridled and Unbroken (23 page)

Even
she
had wondered, at her very lowest, if she’d done this horrible thing in a drunken haze after too many apple martinis. Someday a long unused Swiss bank account would be discovered with the missing money. No one would be more surprised than Veronica to discover she’d embezzled company account funds while drinking too much after sending ill gotten funds to a private bank.

On the other hand, even sober she didn’t know the procedure for acquiring a Swiss bank account. And anyway wasn’t the new place to hide money in the Cayman Islands?
Whatever.
The headache from lack of sleep had crept back into her brain. Justin must have known how to do all those things. Her only question was, how could he have accomplished it alone? Had she unwittingly helped him?

Didn’t matter at this point. She would pay the ultimate price.

She pushed out a long sigh and waited for her journey in hell to come to its final conclusion. Life in prison.

“Veronica Harrington,” the jailer called. She stood, figuring they were taking her to a worse place than where she was now. Perhaps she was headed for permanent prison instead of just the local jail.

She looked around at the colorful and suggestive clothing of several other detainees, suspecting they were prostitutes. The remaining women looked like they’d been picked up for vagrancy or drug use. No one was talking. Veronica tried not to look anyone directly in the eyes as she passed quickly to the opening door of the large communal cell.

She stepped through to relative freedom and asked, “What time is it anyway?”

“Just after seven in the morning.” He clinked the door shut.

“Where are we going?”

“Your lawyer’s here.”

She stopped dead in her tracks. “What lawyer? I didn’t call a lawyer. I didn’t even get to use the phone yet.” Not that she had anyone to call. Tom was the only contact and since he likely was instrumental in putting her in jail and adding the crime of identity theft to her list of charges, she didn’t think he would have called a lawyer on her behalf.

The man didn’t answer. He just led her to a small room, pointed to the chair on one side and cuffed her to the center of the table once she was seated.

Minutes later Zachary Barrett walked in like the boogie man from her worst nightmare. “I believe we have a few things to discuss,” he began.

Veronica stood up and tried to pull the table with her as she attempted to run far away very fast.

She turned to the guard. “Help me.”

The guard didn’t budge to aid her. In fact, he looked puzzled. “He’s been assigned as your lawyer. Are you saying you want someone else?”

“Miss Harrington, please give me a chance. I’m here to help you.”

Her gaze shifted to Zachary. His expression was not one of anger but more conciliatory. “How can you be my lawyer? You probably helped put me here.”

He sighed. “At one time, yes, I might have been the one to put you here, but not right now. Not this time. I’m truly trying like hell to get you out of here.”

“Really? Why the sudden change of heart? Last I heard you wanted me slapped in jail and never heard from ever again.” She rattled her cuffs on the table. “Mission accomplished. Kudos to you for your efforts.”

“I swear, I’m not here to hurt you, Veronica. I agreed to represent you and I promise to do my very best.”

Veronica watched him carefully. The sincerity in his tone matched his expression of calm, but she wasn’t quite ready to trust him. “Why?”

“I made a grave mistake six months ago and because I regret some things I said about you before finding out what really happened.” He cleared his throat as if he had more to say but was somehow reluctant to express everything.

“Why else?”

“Well, because Johnny and Adam threatened to beat me senseless if I didn’t make this right with you. And I deserve it. I should have known something was fishy about the whole embezzlement disaster. I should have looked harder for the truth way back when.”

She shook her head and sat down. “And what is the truth?”

“Justin Smith instigated the whole embezzlement scheme, but Tom Callen also helped set you up. I believe they were partners, but it hasn't been proven yet. Justin likely drugged you and escorted you to the room. There are powerful drugs available that make the recipient very cooperative. You would have answered questions even if they were secret. He then stole the money from my client's account and made you the fall guy...so to speak. Tom made sure you remained the prime suspect long after the theft.”

“The DA showed me a picture of Justin Smith escorting me to my hotel room the night of the illegal transaction. I have no memory of it at all. I’ve come to believe Justin screwed me over but not Tom. He was my only friend. My only contact to that world for all this time. In fact, he helped me hide. He gave me his niece’s driver’s license and social security number to help me survive all this time.”

“Justin may have instigated things, but Tom hid you and remained your only friend because the two of them needed time to move the stolen money to a safe location, and that took months. He couldn’t do the transfer until the insurance investigators stopped their active pursuit of the case.”

“Why didn’t he want me to see you?”

“They kept me from doing an investigation by blaming you. I might have found about their part in the scheme. They needed time without me looking into the crime. I should have done it anyway. I’m sorry.”

“What were they waiting for?”

“Once they’d waited the allotted six months for the insurance to repay the company and stop looking for active leads, Justin cashed in and had you on the line as an available scapegoat to the crime. Tom, meanwhile, alienated you at work after you left and if you’d talked to any of your other former co-workers they would have confirmed it.”

“I’m sorry your company was the one he stole from. I hate that you and your club were involved.”

“Six months ago I would have agreed with you. At the time I wasn’t as conducive to it, but now I am delighted because we caught the real culprits and not the scapegoat. I never wanted anyone except the true embezzlers. Which isn’t you. I wish you hadn’t had to hide out for the past six months.”

“What will happen to me now?” Veronica couldn’t believe it was over. “Will I get bail?”

He shook his head. “No bail. We’re going to sit here until they process your release paperwork.”

“I’m being released? Even for the identity…I borrowed?”

He nodded. “I explained the extenuating circumstances. Tom and Justin were the true thieves. Justin likely found a way to slip a drug into your drink that night. My theory is that afterward, he escorted you to your room, duplicated your cards, acquired your password since you were plied with drugs, made the transfer and then disappeared. Tom remained behind to keep you dependent on him for your very existence by keeping you away from anyone else at your company. You were duped by both of them.”

“So did they already arrest Justin and Tom? ”

“Yes and no. Tom's in federal custody as of late last night and probably stumbling over himself to make a good deal while ratting out Justin. They haven't caught Justin yet, but hopefully it won't be too long before they get him.”

Veronica pushed out a long sigh and then asked, “Do Johnny and Adam hate me for lying to them about my real name?”

“No. Absolutely not. They didn’t ever believe you had done anything wrong and they completely understood why you were hiding.”

Veronica relaxed.

Zachary turned to the guard. “Think you could release her cuffs. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”

The guard looked over his shoulder and then walked over. “I can undo them from the table, but until she’s officially released, they have to stay on her wrists.” He unhooked her from the table and resumed his stance by the door.

Veronica put her hands in her lap. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem. One other thing. Next on my list of things to do as your new lawyer is strenuously fight on your behalf to get you your old job back. I’ll not only explain about your being framed, but also that you were innocent all along. I’ll settle for nothing less than your full reinstatement to the original salary you had then.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’ll also demand six months of back pay at the salary you had upon termination. Hopefully it will help you get a good start again. I know you suffered and gave up a lot. They should have done a better investigation initially. I regret my part in their overall fuck-up.”

A nervous giggle escaped at the unexpected vulgarity. Once more she said, “Thank you.”

“Did I mention that Johnny and Adam are waiting for you out in the police lobby?”

“No.” She laughed. “Why didn’t they just wait for me at the hotel?”

“Trust me, they probably won’t let you out of their sight ever again. As a matter of fact, I may be representing them for kidnapping charges when they abduct you and take you back to Colorado with them.”

“If I don’t get my job back, I might just let them.”

Zachary gave her an even stare. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you your job back.”

She shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to decide if I still want it or not.”

His eyebrows rose in question. “That’s entirely up to you. Don’t feel like you have to keep it on my account. But you deserve to make the decision and not be kicked to the curb without cause. I want you to have the option.”

Veronica nodded and started pondering the two equally satisfying choices. Her old job back along with all the elements she’d earned and missed all these months as she hid out or chucking it all to start a life in Colorado with Johnny and Adam.

* * * *

Johnny was never more relieved in his life than to see Veronica walk out of the police station next to Zachary. He and Adam raced up to her and crowded her on either side.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He studied her features carefully.

“I’m fine. Thanks to the two of you. I appreciate you sending Zachary.”

Adam grabbed her hand. “Next time tell us and we’ll help you. I hate that you had to spend even a minute in jail.”

She nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. But hopefully there won’t be a next time.”

Zachary came up behind them. “I just got a call from the investment firm where you used to work. They’ve agreed to discuss a settlement and reemployment. I’ve arranged a meeting for next Monday morning if that’s agreeable.”

Veronica nodded. “That is great. Thank you so much.”

Johnny turned to Zachary. "Any news on the whereabouts of Justin Smith?"

Zachary shook his head. "He's still in the wind."

Adam smiled. "But probably not for long."

Veronica turned to him. "How do you know?"

Zachary also looked up and parroted, "Yeah, how do you know?"

“I had a friend looking into the details of your particular incident. He discovered three other companies that had money embezzled in the same manner, but those thefts didn’t get discovered until over a year after those incidents.”

Veronica narrowed her eyes. “How did your friend discover the crimes were committed by Justin?”

“He used the same account number to transfer each of the initial theft of funds before having it distributed. Once they had his name and face, the video from the hotel surfaced. Plus, apparently Tom Callen tried to access the account the money was transferred to late last night after Veronica was arrested. It set off a flag. It's how he got caught. Justin was then tracked down when he tried to access the same account soon afterwards. I don't think it will be long before he's also in custody.”