The Cottage Next Door by Georgia Bockoven Read Free Book Online Page B

snooping around last week and discovered that neither the doctor nor the hospital where David was treated were legit. You needed a magnifying glass to read the disclaimer, but it was there.”
    Peter groaned. “And that’s where the money went? To some scam artist?”
    “I don’t know that for a fact, but I think it’s a damn good guess.”
    “So how do I clean up this mess? Where do we stand with West Bay Images?”
    Michael sat on the edge of the sofa and leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees. “I apologized about the bill, paid it with the business credit card, and spent the next twenty minutes reassuring him that it was a fluke that would never happen again. Even after all of that, he still switched us to a pay-­as-­you-­go account for the rest of the year.”
    “That son of a bitch—­half his business has come from ­people I sent to him, and he has the balls to do something like this.” Realizing he was shouting, he lowered his voice. “And then as soon as you hung up, you tried to reach Hester.”
    “Several times. I called and texted and sent emails. Nothing. The only time I hear from her is when she leaves a message on the phone at the gallery saying she isn’t feeling well and won’t be in.”
    “You’ve gone to her house?”
    “Three times,” Michael said patiently. “She’s not there.”
    “Could she be hiding?”
    “Are you listening to how bizarre this sounds? Why would she be hiding in her own house?”
    “Why won’t she answer her goddamned phone?” Peter shouted.
    Michael didn’t bother answering the rhetorical question. “What made you decide to go through the files rather than wait to ask her what was going on?”
    “The guy at West Bay was such a jerk, I wanted to find something that would prove he’d been paid and that the error was on his end. All I needed was a bank statement showing—­”
    Peter let out a heavy sigh. “You don’t have to go on. When was the last time you tried calling Hester?”
    Michael glanced at his watch. “Twenty-­five minutes ago.” Consumed with frustration over not being able to do anything to help, Michael said, “I’m going to make an appointment with your attorney tomorrow.”
    “You’re wasting your time, Michael. She’s going to tell you she’s not a criminal attorney, and that you’re going to have to find someone else to represent the galleries in this.”
    “We don’t need her to represent us,” Michael said, struggling for patience. “We need advice. If she doesn’t have the answers, she has to know someone who would.”
    “All right, say she does. And let’s say you make an appointment with him or her and they tell you that you have to turn everything over to the police. What then? If you don’t, you become complicit. If you do, Hester winds up in jail.”
    “We’re right back where we started. Without talking to Hester or getting someone to go over the books, we’re only guessing at what’s going on.”
    “It can’t be Diana,” Peter insisted. “I will not let her become involved in this.”
    “Then who?”
    “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I get there.”
    “And in the meantime? What do I tell Diana? What possible excuse can I give her to keep her from showing up for work on Monday?”
    “Once this is settled and she knows that asking her to wait a ­couple of weeks had nothing to do with her, that we were only trying to protect her, she’ll understand.”
    “By the time that happens, she’s going to be long gone,” Michael said.
    “Do you have a better suggestion?”
    An idea hit with surprising clarity. “Up her stake in staying. Offer her the apartment.”
    Several seconds passed before Peter replied. “What makes you think that will work?”
    “She’s seen it and she loves it. And she’ll know you would never make that kind of offer if you wanted to get rid of her.”
    “I hope you’re right. Do you want me to handle it when I get there?” Peter said.
    “I think