Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(43)



“What if I told you it’s been a long time since . . .”

She raises her hand. “Seriously, it’s not my business.”

Oh, Brielle, if it weren’t a risk to the prosecution’s case, I’d tell you everything. I’d fall to my fucking knees, confess everything, and beg you to love me again. I’d cut my heart out of my chest and give it to her if it meant it would give her the memories back.

“All right then,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee. “Emmett asked me to take you to that MOTY ceremony in a few days.”

She blows out a long breath. “I hate that stupid thing.”

“We all do.”

“Isaac almost peed himself when he was nominated.”

I pause because he was nominated two years ago. “He was?”

She nods. “Yeah, he went on and on about it being an amazing honor and talking about what he was going to do if he won. Because that prime parking spot in front of the town hall is such a great prize.” Brie takes a drink and then looks at me. “What?”

I don’t want to point out that she just remembered something new because I don’t want her to start pushing for more. I want her to stay relaxed and maybe she’ll remember more. “Nothing. I have this for you.”

She takes the folder that contains the information she asked for on Rachelle Turner and the youth center. Brielle opens it and heads to the couch before thumbing through it. I dredged up some information that she wouldn’t find on her simple searches. Things like the financial records and public holdings.

“Wow,” she says as she reaches the page showing the profits. “They’re doing well.”

“They have two major benefactors.”

“But they’re recent,” she notes.

“They are. It looks like the second donor stepped in around a year ago.”

“Jenna mentioned when I interviewed that she was a benefactor.”

I figured that was her company on the statement here. “Anything with the orange is what I assumed was Jenna’s non-profit.”

We scour through the papers and make notes in the margins. It feels so fucking good doing this. For the first time in over three years, there’s a slight thrill to investigating. I used to love this part. Each detail can lead to something bigger, and I relish in the idea of finding it.

Brielle puts her coffee down and grabs a pen, circling two amounts. “These two are not donations and are almost identical amounts, off by just three pennies.”

“Both just under the amount you have to declare to the government as well.”

Her eyes find mine. “What do you mean?”

“Any deposit over ten thousand is reported, but these are eight days apart, so they weren’t likely flagged. But look at this.” I point to another line item on the statement. “There are six withdrawals in a forty-eight-hour period. All of them are small enough not to tip anyone off.”

“Is that important?” Brie asks.

“It could be.”

“Why would I be looking into the financial records of my job? How would I even have had access to that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is there anything in here that explains the withdrawals?”

“No, those kinds of records take a bit longer to get access to, but I’m working on it.”

I rifle through another pile and hand it to her. It’s an employee list compiled with dates of hire and any terminations. “Where did you get these?”

“I have sources, Brie, and I don’t divulge them.”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay, Mr. Mysterious. Can I assume these aren’t mine, though?”

“Yes, these came from somewhere else.”

“What’s your theory? That maybe I saw discrepancies and went to Rachelle about it?”

“It’s possible, but why wouldn’t you have gone to me or Emmett? Why would you have kept all this quiet?” While I understand it’s a work thing and coming to others wouldn’t be normal, we shared our days.

We talked about everything. She would tell me stories about her coworker who hit on her constantly or the kids when they did something fun. Her not telling me is what I am most concerned about.

She leans back on the couch, pulling her legs under her. “I don’t know. I would’ve told Isaac and he probably would’ve told you and Emmett. If that was what happened, then you would know all this and then I would’ve gone to my boss. So, that doesn’t really make sense.”

Her mind is a beautiful thing.

“I think you’re right. If you went to Isaac, he would’ve mentioned it. So, I have no idea what these deposits and withdrawals mean. We can’t jump to conclusions, just follow the facts. So far, we know that there were two deposits that seem off. Let’s keep looking through and see if there is anything else odd.”

She goes back to the papers, circling different things before handing it to me. Not for nothing, she would make an amazing journalist. She’s looking at everything critically and examining things most people would dismiss as inconsequential. It’s impressive.

“Look.” Brie’s gaze finds mine, and she extends the paper. “These deposits and withdrawals are smaller and there are more of them, but it’s the same pattern again.”

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