he’d enjoy firing the man’s ass.
“Good,” Deena said, standing. “In the meantime, I’m going to get a list of the dates and times that these Internet sales were made in Gills’s name. I’d hate to see the man doing federal time for something he didn’t have anything to do with.”
Branden nodded again and said, “And what about the other guy you were looking into? Turner? Did anything come of that?”
“Not yet, but we’re still looking.”
After Deena left, Branden let his thoughts drift back to the ones that she had interrupted. Cara. He hadn’t meant to come off the way he had when he’d asked her about lunch. He knew she thought he was being a possessive, controlling jerk. He was genuinely concerned for her, if not her physical safety, then her professional reputation. If his former stepfather Davies was involved in the online harassment, there was no telling how far the man would take things. He thought about the file that Alex had given him this morning. He was still dealing with Cara being Hank Finch’s daughter.
He picked up the phone and called Lee. He wasn’t as close to Lee as he was to Alex, but Alex’s brother had been there for him time and again, and was an excellent sleuth.
“Hey, I need you to find out where my beloved stepfather is, and what he’s been up to lately.”
“Sure,” Lee said. “But which one?”
“Number four. The only one who didn’t give me a sister.” And the one, unfortunately, who was partly responsible for Branden’s current financial success.
Davies had once been an integral part of his life, showing him the ropes of investment at an early age. Ropes that involved some kinky knots—not all Davies did was aboveboard—and once Branden had discovered that, he’d wanted nothing more to do with his stepfather. That had been well before Davies’s actions had ruined Cara’s father.
“Thinking of a family reunion?”
Tension whirled around his chest at the thought of seeing Davies again. Yeah, right. Some reunion that would be. “Depends on what you find. Either way, once you find him, I’d like you to pay him a little visit. Then we’ll decide.”
Chapter 13
Cara was wearing her red and blue U of P sweatpants, a white camisole with a red sports bra underneath, and a purple bandana over her blond hair while she dusted her bookshelves. She loved to clean; it was cathartic. It helped her clear the rest of the world out of her head, and sometimes after a stressful day at work she would clean into the wee hours of the morning. Iris thought she might need to see a therapist because of it.
Earlier, she’d finished the scarf for Socks. The cat and her soon-to-be-born kittens would never have to know how much swearing had gone into its completion. They wouldn’t mind the dropped stitches—besides, it was nice and soft. She shoved it into her tote bag, intending to give it to Iris the next time she saw her.
She had her music cranked up so loud that she almost didn’t hear the knocking on the door. She was a little hesitant to open it since the doorman hadn’t called up. Maybe she’d missed the call because of the music.
She turned it down and approached the door. “Who is it?”
“I have a package for Ms. Cara Michal.”
She looked through the peephole. A guy wearing a Yankees hat and a black jacket and jeans stood in front of the door, holding a medium-sized manila envelope.
“Why didn’t you leave it with the doorman?” she asked.
“There wasn’t a doorman down there, lady. You can call down and check if you like, I’ll wait. But not too long, this is my last delivery. I wanna go home sometime tonight.”
Cara looked at the time and realized that it was already after nine. That was why Joe, her doorman, hadn’t been there. He got off at nine and the building was locked up. But the management was strict about no one buzzing people in blindly.
“Just leave it,” she said.
“I had strict instructions not to do that. I was supposed to hand it to you.”
“Then you won’t make your delivery at all,” she told him. “Leave it and go away, or just go away. Your choice.” She wasn’t about to open the door to a stranger at nine fifteen at night when she was alone. She continued to watch him. He looked annoyed and kept glancing at his watch.
Finally, he said, “I’m setting it here at the door. If I get my