Panic had quickly spread to terror as Kate raced down the stairs to the guest bedroom. Clutching her phone in one hand and the note in the other she opened the door to find Stacy and Ellen still asleep, "wake up," she yelled.
Groggily Stacy said, "what's wrong?"
"It's Bryce. Look at this note," Kate shoved the note in her hands.
"What? What's he talking about? What does this mean?"
"I don't know and his phone isn't turned on."
"Calm down," Ellen, always the reasonable one and last to panic, took the note and read it. "You haven't heard anything from him?"
"Not since yesterday morning. He didn't even answer my dirty text from last night, but he must have been here. He wrote the note." Her words were punctuated by the sounds of the doorbell. Kate ran to it, still dressed in last nights dress. She quickly checked the mirror in the foyer. Her mascara was everywhere, but she didn't have it in her to care. Opening the front door she was greeted by two people she could only assume to be cops.
"Good morning," the tall female one said. "I'm agent Sparrow and this is my partner, agent Green. We're with the FBI. Sorry for the intrusion but is Bryce Davidson you're husband."
"Yes, I'm Kate Davidson, what's this about?" Kate asked, the panic in her voice clear.
"We have a warrant to search your house and seize all electronic equipment," this time it was Green who did the talking, the shorter, older, male agent.
"Where is my husband," Kate asked heatedly.
"We don't know ma'am. That's why were here," agent Sparrow answered.
"But is he okay?"
"We believe he is unharmed."
"I'm calling my lawyer."
"That's probably for the best." Kate examined the warrant and let the two agents in. They were accompanied by no less than ten other agents. Stacy and Ellen appeared in the living room looking perplexed.
Kate held her finger up to them as she spoke into the phone, "Andrew, it's Kate. Is Bryce with you? The FBI is here. They have a warrant. What is going on?" Kate listened to his response and hung up. "Andrew is on his way," she said to her friends. "He says he doesn't know where Bryce is or what this is about."
"Come with me," Stacy said, dragging the two of them into the kitchen. She turned on the coffee pot and turned to Kate, "do you really have no idea what this is about?"
"None. Not a clue. Bryce closed a deal yesterday and was supposed to be back this morning, more the middle of the night really. He and Andrew always fly back together." The women watched as the FBI searched through Kate's home. They took two old cell phones, the desktop and hard drive, Kate's iPad, Bryce's Samsung tablet and old laptop.
Agent Green interrupted her panicked thoughts, "is there a safe in the house ma'am?"
"No, we don't need one."
"Any firearms?"
"A shotgun, in the bedroom under the bed. Bryce didn't like me home alone without one." Kate's thoughts quickly turned to how they would need a gun safe when they had a baby. She smiled briefly thinking about a little boy with Bryce's dark skin and hair. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Andrew.
He walked up to her quickly with a caution, "only whisper, and I might not be able to answer everything at this moment."
"Okay," Kate replied warily. "What time did you get home?"
"Our plane landed at PHL this morning around 02:30. Bryce should have been home by 3:30."
"He was here," she said handing him the note. Andrew glanced at it and quickly and quietly put it in his pocket.
"We got home at 2:00," Ellen chimed in. "We made a pizza from the freezer and were passed out before 2:30." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "nobody heard him come in."
Looking at Kate, Andrew said, "I'm going to see if I can find out what this is about. I've also called a colleague. This is not my area of expertise." Andrew turned away from them as he asked a nearby officer for the agent in charge.
"This is insane," Ellen exclaimed.
"I'm too hungover for this," replied Stacy, pouring three cups of coffee, one black for Ellen, one with cream for Kate and one with cream and sugar for herself.
Kate held back tears as she checked her phone again. Still no messages. She texted Bryce, "Come home. Whatever this is we'll figure it out, together. I love you." She hit send and the floodgates opened. Tears streamed down her face and if she didn't get it together she would be full on ugly crying. Wrapping her in a hug, Ellen whispered softly, "shhh. I know this is hard. I can't imagine what you must be going through."
Stacy grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Kate so she could wipe her tears. Kate muttered a thank you and was blotting when Andrew came back into the kitchen, "this is Kyle, one of the partners at the firm. His expertise is in, well, the corporate field." He was being intentionally vague and Kate didn't want to press the issue.
She stuck her hand out, "Kate Davidson." Kyle took her hand and shook it quickly.
Rushing to Kate's side Stacy quickly introduced herself to Kyle, "I'm Stacy." She was not discreet in how she checked him out while she said it and on another day Kate wouldn't have blamed her. Kyle was tall-ish, built well and his eyes were the greenest of any Kate had ever seen.
Kyle blushed slightly as he realised that Stacy was checking him out. He recovered quickly, gave her an appreciative once over and turned his attention back to Kate, "Andrew has caught me up to speed about what's going on here,"
"What's going on?" Kate asked, interrupting him. "I don't even know."
Kyle and Andrew exchanged a glance before Kyle answered her, "it's important for you to remember that we have no reason to believe that Bryce is hurt." Kate eyed him dangerously. She wished he'd just say it. Kyle continued, "the FBI believes they have evidence suggesting that Bryce has embezzled nearly 500 million dollars."
"That's ridiculous," Ellen interjected. "Bryce is worth at least that."
"Which is why this has all got to be some huge misunderstanding, but because we can't find Bryce, we can't clear any of this up," Andrew said
"The last time anyone saw him was when he and Andrew parted ways at the airport around 2am. Unless one of you saw him here?" Kyle asked.
"No," Kate said, "but he was here. He left me a note. He says he's innocent."
"And I believe him, but we need to get him here so we can prove that."
"He's not answered his phone or replied to any of my messages."
"Okay. This is what's going to happen. They'll need to question Andrew because he was the last person with Bryce. You will be questioned because he's your husband and your friends will be questioned because they were here last night. Do you two have lawyers?" Kyle asked. "I can't represent all three of you."
"I do," Ellen said. "My step-father is Daniel MacKenzie." Kyle's eyes widened a little at the name, but he moved on without a word and looked at Stacy.
"No," she said, "I've never needed one."
"We'll get you one. Andrew, can you take care of that?"
"I'll call James," Andrew replied. Kate wasn't sure if that was a first or last name.
"I've informed them that we will meet them at the station at 1pm to answer their questions. None of you are to say anything without a lawyer present."
It was nearly noon. They'd have to leave soon to make it to the station by 1. "We'll meet you two at the station," Kate said, dismissing them. Grab bing Ellen and Stacy, she went with them to her bedroom. There was still an agent inside and seeing him go through her drawers with gloves on made her nauseous.
"I'm almost done ma'am," he said to her. Kate sat down on the bed. The officer finished, exited quietly and closed the door behind him. Stacy and Ellen sat on either side of her, rubbing her back and whispering assurances that it would be okay. Standing Kate walked to the bathroom. She stripped down and climbed into the shower. All she wanted to do was stand there and cry as the warm water sprayed over her, but she had to be at the station in an hour. As she was drying off Stacy came in and turned the shower back on.
"Ellen ordered Jimmy John's, it'll be here in plenty of time."
"Thanks," Kate said. "I'm starving, although if I'll actually have an appetite to eat," she let her sentence trail off. Stacy nodded at her and stripped down to enter the shower. Kate threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater, put her hair up in a lose knot and waited for Stacy and Ellen to finish getting ready. They were done quickly and Kate wanted to make a joke about how they should always be able to get ready this fast, but in that moment, the humor was lost on her.
The three of them headed down the stairs just as the doorbell was ringing. Ellen answered it, paying the delivery man. Eating quickly they finished in record time before walking out of the house and heading to the station.
Kate stepped into the driver's side of her Mercedes G-Class, Stacy rode shotgun beside her and Ellen climbed into the rear, sitting in the middle. None of them knew what to say. "Thank you," Kate said to them. "For being here. I wouldn't be able to do this without you."
"Of course," Ellen said, rubbing Kate's shoulder. She had no idea how to act in this situation. None of them did. What do you do when your best friend's husband is a fugitive?
The women arrived at the station right on time and were immediately separated. Kyle appeared by Kate's side at the same time Agents Green and Sparrow appeared.
"This way," Sparrow said. Kate had taken an immediate disliking to the other woman. Kate didn't trust her. It was irrational at best, juvenile at worst, but Kate envied her. Sparrow was tall and thin. Kate assumed Sparrow was one of those woman blessed with good genes, no need for working out or passing on an extra beer with dinner. Wether that was true or not was unimportant, it was how Kate felt.
Green entered the room first, followed by Kyle and Kate with Sparrow bringing up the rear. The two agents sat across from Kate and her lawyer. "Our questions are pretty standard, Mrs. Davidson," Green said. Kate didn't trust him either, but she liked him more than Sparrow. Kate nodded and Green continued, "Can you tell us, in as much detail as you can remember, about your day yesterday?"
Before answering Kate looked to Kyle, he nodded at her, so Kate told her story. "It was my birthday. Bryce wasn't home. He had gone to Atlanta, the day before, on business. Ellen and Stacy were in the house when I woke up. They made me breakfast, then we got in the hot tub. Bryce texted me happy birthday and I didn't hear from him again for the rest of the day. Alex, our massage therapist, came to the house at 11 and gave me a 90 minute massage." Kate didn't miss the way Sparrow's eyebrows went up at her mention of a masseuse. "Alex has been Bryce's massage therapist since before I knew him. He's wonderful and skilled and very gay. Bryce set it up for my birthday. After my massage I got ready with my friends, we took a car service downtown, had manicures and pedicures, went to dinner, had drinks at Fleur. We were drunk when we took the car service home. We got home around 2, if the billing time on the car service is accurate, made frozen pizza, and passed out before 2:30." Kate was out of breath by the time she finished answering the question, having rushed through her story. How long was this going to last? She was nauseated and sweaty; they probably thought she was lying.
"Where did you have your manicure," Sparrow asked?
"Jasmine's, at Liberty Place."
"And where did you have dinner?"
"Davio's." Kate replied, curtly.
"How has your husband's mood been recently?" Green asked.
Kate didn't really know how to answer, so she answers as simply as she could, "he was happy. We had just decided to try for a baby. Which is why none of this can be true." She wanted to go further. Tell them all the reasons why these accusations were insane. How Bryce was the most honest and genuine man she'd ever known. She was stopped by Kyle's hand on her arm, a silent warning.
"Ma'am, we have evidence that your husband embezzled over 500 million dollars in the last two years," Green said as tactfully as possible given the circumstances. "The forensic accountant has followed the digital paper trail all the way back to the first few months of Davidson Developments. Your husband is the only one who had access to those accounts. Furthermore we have traced the missing money to several offshore accounts. Unfortunately the laws prevent us from taking any action, but there are accounts spread across three countries in your husbands name with upwards of 100 million dollars in them. We have also traced BitCoin payments to known money launderers. This is serious. All your husbands employees, more than 10,000 people have no pensions as they were promised, no health care, no benefits. This pyramid scheme has been going on for years. He's been using one investor to pay off another and shuttling the profits into private accounts. If you know where your husband is, you need to tell us."
Kate's head hurt. She was hung over, but more than that she was angry. She knew Bryce. Knew him to her core. This had to be a mistake. He would never do something like this. He loved her. He cared about people, especially his middle class employees. He would never take their life's savings and retirement dreams from them. "You're wrong," was the only thing Kate could manage to say.
"We've frozen your accounts and will be seizing all property believed to have been paid for with illegally attained funds."
Kate didn't have to answer this time, Kyle answered for her, "You will unfreeze all of my clients personal accounts at once. She and Mr. Davidson have a prenuptial agreement and have never shared a bank account. My client has two accounts plus her trust fund. The trust fund is funded from her late parents estate and life insurance policies. Her savings account, which only she has ever deposited money into and her checking account which only receives funds from my client's employer. None of the money in those accounts is ill gained. Her vehicle was paid for in cash, nearly 5 years ago."
Kyle must have gotten his information from Andrew, because she hadn't had time to tell him any of that, but it was all true. Almost instantly she started to have doubts. Why had Bryce been so insistent on separate accounts?
"You bought your house 18 months into your marriage, correct?" Sparrow asked.
"Yes," Kate replied tentatively.
"And is it in just your name or also your husband's?"
"If you didn't know the answer you wouldn't be asking," Kate replied. Her answer dripping with distain. They couldn't actually take her house, could they?
"We do not believe you have any knowledge of your husband's dealings. We do however believe that you know where he is or where he may be going. We have reason to believe he piloted a small aircraft out of Northampton County."
Kate interrupted before Green could go on, "What? No. Bryce doesn't have his pilot's license. He wanted to learn, but I always told him it was too dangerous." Sparrow and Green exchanged a look before Sparrow opened the file in front of her and took out a piece of paper, sliding it across the metal table. Kate took picked it up and examined it. It was a copy of a pilot's licence. Bryce's pilot license. "That's impossible," she said handing the copy to Kyle.
"What else do you think your husband has been lying to you about?" Sparrow asked.
"I can assure you my client has no idea where her husband is. She has not heard from him since yesterday morning." He took Bryce's note out and set it down on the table. "We know he was in the house last night, but my client had no contact with him. She had too much to drink and slept too soundly to even know he had entered the house. If you have more questions you may contact me. Do not contact my client directly," Kyle said sternly. "Let's go Kate."
Kate stood, her legs shaky, and followed Kyle out of the interview room. She needed a glass of whiskey. And a Xanax. Sparrow stood and followed them out. "One last thing," she began, "a uniformed officer will escort you home. You may pack some clothes, but after that we have a court order taking the property." Kate didn't have the strength in her voice to answer her, so she just nodded. Making her way to the front of the station, Kate did her best to keep her head held high and not fall apart. Her husband was missing. To make matters worse, her husband was a missing fugitive.
Stacy and Ellen were sitting on a bench waiting for her. Their interviews had clearly been shorter and less intense. Kate was distractedly checking her phone, hoping for something from Bryce, when she tripped on a poorly placed trashcan and stumbled forward. Her pride was saved at the last minute by long arms being wrapped around her waist, helping her upright. Kate looked up at her friendly rescuer and found herself looking into the same piercing blue eyes that had filled multiple orgasmic fantasies years ago. Connor held her gently in place, his hands on the back of her arms as he looked down at her. Much to her dislike it was still there. The warm tingly feeling she got whenever she stood too close to him, a man who was not her husband.
***
Author's Note:
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