Page 12 of Rescuing Carolyn

“Thank you,” I replied, “for listening. For trying.”

His smile turned playful. “If this is what I get for listening, you better believe I’m going to hang on your every word from now on.”

I laughed. “Well, we’ll see how that goes.” I searched for something for us—something lighter and less emotionally charged. My eyes landed on my iPad, giving me an idea. It might get a little emotional, but it should also be fun.

“Would you like to look at some pictures and video from Austin’s first year?” I took hold of my iPad and tapped a folder open. Inside it, I’d stored everything from images of his birth to video of his first birthday party.

“That’d be great.” Zach scooted closer to me so that we could go through the pictures together. We spent the next hour going through them, with me giving the story behind every image. Zach had been absolutely enthralled, eager to hear every detail. Once I’d gone through them all, I handed him the iPad, sensing that he wanted to look at them a while longer. While he did that, I slipped back into the kitchen to give him some privacy. What would it be like to know you’d missed more than a year of your child’s life? I couldn’t help the smidgen of guilt I felt. If only I had tried to reach him some other way than through his phone…

But what was done was done, and I couldn’t change the past. Needing something to occupy myself, I focused on my laptop screen, forcing myself to return to business. A reminder popped up that a shipment of gemstones was due next week. With the store still a mess and the investigation ongoing, I was in no position to receive the delivery. I called the distributor to have them hold the shipment.

After verifying my identity through the secure system, I reached a customer service representative.

“I can see the shipment on my screen,” the woman explained over the phone, “but it was canceled five days ago.”

“It was canceled? By whom?” I asked, immediately concerned. I’d personally placed the order.

“Give me a minute to look in the records, and I’ll get back to you.” After a short wait on hold, the representative returned. “The order was canceled via email from the account we have on file for you. Has your email address for purchasing changed?”

“No, it hasn’t. That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Would you mind forwarding that cancelation email to me? For my records.”

“No problem.” Buttons clicked on the representative’s end. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“I’ll need to reinstate that order with delivery in two weeks.” I finished the transaction and hung up.

When the forwarded email came into my inbox, I reviewed it carefully. From the look of it, it had come from our purchasing account and appeared legitimate. But I hadn’t sent it. I picked up my phone, dialing Charlotte first to verify that my sister hadn’t canceled the order. Next, I checked with Jenna, the only other person at the store with access to the account. Neither had sent the email.

Something was off, way off. Could someone have hacked our email account? Such things weren’t unheard of. I called my IT company next, to get their perspective.

“Accounts get hacked,” the representative told me after I explained my concern, “but there’s no sign of a problem with yours. We ran diagnostics this morning.”

“I’d like you to dig into my account deeper and do a full security scan,” I said, my concern about sabotage returning.

“No problem. Someone will get back to you.” He clicked off, leaving me puzzled over the seemingly unconnected incidents that might very well be part of a larger plan to destroy my business.

“What’s going on?” Zach’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts. He leaned against the doorway from the living room to the kitchen, looking way too good.

“How long have you been standing there?” I’d forgotten how silently he could move. I supposed it was his training that made him so stealthy—along with giving him that impressive physique.

“Long enough to know you’ve got a problem. Or, at least, it sounds like you do.”

I debated. The detective hadn’t thought much of my theory, and Zach might not either. But he was someone I could trust. And he had just said he would listen to me, no matter what I had to say. It would be nice to get a fresh perspective. I told him my ideas about the robbery and the other odd occurrences. He listened attentively until I’d finished the list that, to me, suggested something wasn’t right.

“It could be coincidence,” he said, “but with these many separate incidents piling up, it’s starting to look to me like there’s something more going on.”

It was amazing how good it felt just to have someone validate my opinion. But right after the rush of pleasure came a sinking feeling of dread.

“So you think there really could be someone after me, wanting to hurt my business?” I asked.

“I certainly think it’s possible,” he said. “But…” His voice turned steely. “If they think they can attack you without consequences, they’ve got another think coming.”

I still felt uneasy at the thought of danger heading my way, but I liked the thought that with Zach by my side, I wouldn’t have to face it alone.

7

ZACH

“Peek-a-boo,” I said for the umpteenth time, sending Austin into peals of laughter.

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