The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(168)

“No, Lins, it isn’t surprising,” Mick said to her and then looked back at Kami. “Though Shauna doesn’t have a deposit of twenty-five thousand in her account.”

We all straightened and Linda and Kami grew pale.

“What?” Kami asked.

Mick pressed his lips together then he went on, “Your bank reports that you made a check to a Robert Winston for twenty-five thousand dollars, your check was cashed the day you wrote it but not deposited in his account, nor was any money deposited in Shauna’s that day or since, except for a monthly deposit we’ve tracked to Dodd’s business account.”

“Holy crap,” Linda muttered.

“Wh… what?” Kami stammered, her hand flat on the table, her face bleached white.

I kept quiet as I processed the news that Curtis was giving Shauna money through his business account. Not good.

“You know Robert Winston?” Mick asked.

“He… he’s a… a friend of Shauna’s,” Kami answered instantly if stiltedly. “He lives in Chantelle, moved there, I don’t know, not long ago. He has a house in one of Curt’s developments. I think he’s been around three months, maybe four. Shauna knew him from Aspen. She didn’t want anyone to know about the money, you know, even the tellers talk, so she asked me to make it out to him, he was going to give it to her.”

“Unless she’s sittin’ on the cash or she blew it as cash, she never got it,” Mick told her, “least, not in a way that leaves a trail.”

Kami shook her head, visibly stunned at this news then she asked, “What about her bills?”

“Ain’t my place to tell you but I’m doin’ it all the same,” Mick said to Kami. “Shauna’s fully current on all her bills, never been in arrears. Far’s we can tell, for at least seven months, Harry’s been payin’ ‘em.”

“Holy crap,” Linda snapped on a near shout.

“He’s also been payin’ her doctor bills,” Mick went on.

She had Curt giving her money and Harry paying her bills. She was being kept by two men. Now she had none, except, perhaps, this Robert character.

I looked at Max and resisted the urge to run to him, tackle him to the ground and sit on him. He looked ready to explode.

“It’s worse,” Mick announced and the room, already tense, became suffocating.

“What?” Kami whispered.

“Not too long ago, Shauna sold her house. She closed about a month ago, paid rent to the new owners to stick around.”

“I don’t believe it,” Kami was still whispering.

“She’s closed her accounts,” Mick finished. “Closed ‘em yesterday. She’s also put orders in to shut down gas, water, electricity, phone and cable, startin’ first of May.”

Kami wasn’t letting this information sink in. “But, if she sold her house, she’d have hundreds of thousands of dollars. She owned it outright. Why would she ask me for money?”

“Maybe because she hired a contract killer?” Linda screeched and I changed my mind and decided I should probably tackle Linda first before she continued, “With my daughter’s money!”

“That’s… that’s crazy, Mom!” Kami shot back, deep in the pit of denial. “She’d never hurt Curt. He told her he loved her, he wanted to marry her, he was gonna leave Bitsy for her.”

“Yeah, she told you that like she told you I took her ring shoppin’,” Max clipped.

“But –” Kami said.

“I never took her ring shoppin’, Kami,” Max went on.

“But –” Kami repeated.

“Never f**kin’ entered my mind,” Max carried on.

“She said –”

“She lied, Kams, Jesus!” Max exploded. “We weren’t even exclusive, I made it clear she could go her own way when I was gone and I’d go my own. I had a woman on the job I was on and she knew it.”

My eyes got wide and my body grew still. That was news. Linda’s gaze slid to me and I tried to act casual but I found it extremely difficult.

Kami was shaking her head and Mick entered the conversation. “Sorry, Kami, but thought you should know.”

Kami just tipped her head back to stare at him and my heart went out to her. She looked beaten down by the betrayal. She might act like a bitch a lot of the time but, bottom line, she was a good friend.

Mick went on, “You’re free to go but I might need to ask you more questions so I want you to stick close to town.”

“Why?” Linda was back to snapping at Mick.

“Because we need to talk to this Robert Winston guy and we need to ask Shauna a few questions and we can’t find her. And, seein’ as this has all come to light, we might have a few more things to get clear with Kami,” Mick answered.

“What things?” I asked.

“Don’t know yet, just don’t want her leavin’ town,” Mick told me.

“You can see that Kami had nothing to do with this, her statement checks out,” I said to Mick.

“Yeah, but –”

“Did you find anything to place her at the construction site? Dirt on her shoes? Rocks?” I pushed.

“No, but –”