Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Yeah… and he knew Cash. Maybe we need to find out more about Cash, and that will lead us to him. He must be a friend or a relative, right?”
“Looks that way.”
“Okay. Let’s dig into this. When I took my private investigator course, I signed up for a few websites that have information like that.” She turned to her computer and opened the sites.
Grabbing my chair, I pulled it around her desk and settled next to her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I had better resources at my office, mostly because I enjoyed being with her in the privacy of her house. Besides, the more I went back and forth to the office with her, the more likely it was for Johnny to find out where she lived. The thought sent shivers down my spine. I had to protect Serenity from him at all costs.
Watching her work, I liked how she chewed on her bottom lip, and how the angle of the sun hit her face just right, giving her an ethereal glow. She had one of the most expressive faces I’d ever seen.
Probably because she didn’t know how to be guarded. I knew instinctively that there wasn’t a devious bone in her body, and she was someone I could trust. That was rare. Most people I dealt with always had a hidden agenda.
“Okay. Here are my websites. Let’s put in Cash’s real name and see what the results are. What is it, anyway?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ll call Razor and see if he knows.” I pulled out my phone and put the call through. A few minutes later, I had a name. “It’s Steve Cashell.”
“Really? Okay.” She typed in the name, and several hits came up. We scrolled through the list before finally finding the right one. After perusing all the websites and records we could find, there wasn’t much to link him to Razor’s gang.
We cross-referenced him with the name Johnny, but didn’t find a lot there, either. Soon, it was time for her appointment, and Serenity shut off her computer.
“We can pick it up when we get back.” I assured her.
“I guess, but it feels like a dead-end. It’s so frustrating.” She pushed away from her desk. “I’ll get my things and we can go.”
It was a beautiful spring day, with the temperatures climbing into the lower seventies, and I hated being in a car. At least her lawyer’s office was closer to the south end of town, and nowhere near Vitality Ventures and my office.
We had to wait a few minutes before her lawyer was free. He came out to get Serenity, and I got up to go with her. She wasn’t expecting that, but I just shrugged. “Twenty-four-seven, remember?”
She shook her head before introducing me. “This is Nathan Stone. I’m working a sensitive PI case with him. He’s been there to witness Brandon’s behavior, so that’s why I want him here now.”
Ethan held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Come on back.”
The guy seemed nice enough, especially when Serenity showed him the photos of Brandon. “These are great. We can definitely use them if it goes to trial. Heck, we could even use them in mediation to avoid the trial completely. Even then, most judges can see through Brandon’s BS.”
Serenity glanced my way and took a breath. “Okay… but if it ends up going to trial, I want to counter-sue for mental cruelty against him. Let’s see how he likes that.”
Ethan pursed his lips and nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. “It might look better for you if you don’t. These photos might be enough to get him to back off and sign the papers without a trial.”
Her lips drew down, and she sighed. “I hope so. Is this ever going to end?”
“Yes.” Ethan leaned forward in his chair. “It will. I’ll reach out to his lawyer. If he’s still set on going to trial, it will take a few months to get a date, but if he’s with this other woman, he might not want to wait that long, and we can settle out of court. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
Serenity shook her head. “That much longer? What a joke.”
“I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but like I said. He might want to end it sooner.”
“Wait. I forgot to tell you that he stopped by my house last night. He said he didn’t want to go through with the divorce. Why would he say that and then go out with that woman later?”
Ethan’s brows rose. “I don’t know. Did he threaten you at all? We might be able to get a restraining order.”
“No. He might have, but Stone was there.” She motioned toward me.
Ethan’s brows rose and he nodded. “Makes sense.”