I Married a Billionaire: Lost and Found(52)

"I don’t know why I sat on my hands," he said. "I kept telling myself, for some reason, that just being innocent is enough to avoid being convicted of a crime. But I know that’s not true."

I shrugged. "I just figured I could do something about it, so I might as well. I was tired of just sitting around and waiting."

He blinked a few times, rapidly. He still looked slightly lost. "I don’t know what I would have done without you." He took his hand out from under mine and laid it on top.

This wasn’t the sort of complement I’d ever felt comfortable responding to, especially not from him. Now, I was the one staring at the counter.

"You don’t think I…overstepped, a little?" I said, finally, because dredging up something negative was easier than accepting something positive.

He shrugged. "Maybe when you took the money," he said, smiling faintly. "But I suppose that’s my fault too, isn’t it?"

My heart constricted. "I didn’t…I didn’t think you’d notice," I said finally, lamely. "Anyway, it’s my money too."

He didn’t say anything for a long while. "Kelly would have done pro bono work for you," he said. "Most people like that will. They know you have no choice but to pay up when the bill comes, because they know too much."

"Maybe," I said. "But I doubt Ryan Brewer works pro bono."

His smile twitched.

I stood up, sliding my hands out from under his and walking over to the fridge. The atmosphere in the room was suddenly, stiflingly uncomfortable - as if he he’d only stated the conversation as an excuse to scold me for what I’d done. But that was stupid. I was the one who’d brought negativity into this, not him. Still, I felt there was a lot he still wasn’t saying, and I didn’t like it.

We didn’t talk again until the afternoon, when my phone started ringing. It was one of the numbers I’d come to recognize as Kelly’s.

"You’re not going to believe this," she said, as soon as I picked up.

"Is that good, or bad?"

"The broker," she said, sounding incredibly pleased with herself. "He’s just been at home. Holed up in his own apartment. The stupid bastard."

"Wow." My brain was racing to process this new development. "So what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I sent the cops there as soon as I realized it, and he folded like a cheap napkin as soon as they knocked on his door."

"Cheap suit," I heard myself say. "I think it’s ‘folded like a cheap suit.’"

"Not anymore, it’s not. Anyway, they’re taking him in for questioning. He’ll probably spill everything he knows. The downside is that he probably doesn’t know much of anything. But, you’ll probably be getting another call from the station soon. Just be prepared to be underwhelmed."

"Thanks, Kelly." I sat down on the sofa, letting my head drop back on the cushions. "I appreciate the heads up."

"Well?" Daniel cut in, after I hung up. I wasn’t sure where he’d popped out from.

"The broker," I said, craning my neck to look at him. "She found him, they’re taking him in. But she doesn’t think he knows anything, really."

"Still, a confession is enough to get my case started." Daniel sat down next to me, the line of his body sagging from exhaustion, still, after all this time. "I expect to be tied up in litigations for the next ten years at least."

"Hey," I said, patting his arm. "That’s all well and good, but don’t let it age you by another ten."

"Right," he said, his eyes tightly shut. "Wouldn’t want to lose my good looks on account of all this."

I chuckled. "You know, when you actually say nice things about yourself, I can never tell if you’re being sarcastic."

"I usually am," he said. "But I’m starting to believe I’m at least good-looking enough to draw you into my web."





***

Ms. Greenlee didn’t look pleased.

"You’re familiar with the term ‘circumstantial evidence,’ yes?"

Daniel and I both nodded.

Her lips were pursed. "Without testimony from the broker, I don’t see how we can pin down Paulson. Unless he just…confesses, of course."

"But the broker doesn’t know where the money came from," said Daniel. "They didn’t tell him, of course they didn’t."

"Good for them, bad for you." Ms. Greenlee frowned. "Then again, Florence is still out there somewhere. If it’s presented to him that she’ll be found, and will testify against him anyway, which is almost certain given what she said to you, he might agree to a plea bargain. Which might be the best we can hope for."

"You don’t think they’ll find her?"

"Oh, they will. Eventually. But unless Paulson confesses to something quickly, they won’t even have precedence to hold onto him for twenty-four hours, let alone the amount of time it’s going to take them to track her down. You might think securities fraud, obstruction of justice, assault with a deadly weapon, and unauthorized flight is quite the laundry list of charges, but as far as INTERPOL is concerned, if she doesn’t have a bomb strapped to her chest, she’s not going to be their first priority."