Page 19 of Claimed
Chapter Six
Inside the box, and among other things, were a Princess Leia action figure and a piece of denim with the name Doris embroidered on it in yellow yarn.
“How the hell did I miss this?” Jasper asked.
I rubbed his back consolingly. “None of this would’ve meantanything to you back then.”
He shook his hands in frustration. “But I could’ve checked. I could’ve taken her more seriously. My mother never did anything without it meaning something. You were right—I was so fucking emotional that I missed it.”
I shook my head emphatically. “No way, Jasper. You’re going to have to give yourself a break on this one. Sure, it all makes sense now, butcould you have ever guessed your mother was kidnapped?”
His eyebrows ruffled as he stared at the table. My heart was in my throat as I waited for his response.
“It’s not that far-fetched,” he finally said and then closed his eyes. “Deep down, I fucking knew.” He pounded the table. “I knew something was wrong, because if I did the computation, it made sense.”
My mouth fellopen, and I stared. “That your mother was abducted?”
“That Randolph was fucking capable of it. There was business he would never let me handle, but he would do it in my name. That’s why your friend hates me.”
My neck jutted forward. I only had one friend who hated him. “Kylie?”
“Yes.”
I squinted at Jasper’s fingers, which were unfolding a sheet of paper.
“Andwhat’s this?” he asked.
The note read “Benji Dow, not his real name.”
I gasped as I slapped a hand over my mouth.
“What?” Jasper seemed confused and eager for me to enlighten him.
I told him about a meaty email Kylie had sent me during my stay at the Christmas mansion. I was on my way to Sally Preacher’s house. Kylie had compiled a lot of bad acts against the Christmases.
“And she wrote details about a payoff from you to a man named Benjamin Dow.”
Jasper frowned at the name on the paper. “I’ve never heard of him.”
I opened my purse, took out my phone, and powered it on. “I have the email here.”
“I wonder what this opens.”
I glanced at Jasper’s hands. He was holding a single key. I raised my eyebrows at the object but kept on searchingfor the email. “Do you think it opens something at the Christmas mansion?” I asked, grimacing at the screen.
“Maybe,” he whispered, sounding absorbed by his thoughts.
I had one hundred sixty-seven unopened emails, a lot of them from Kylie but, oddly, none from Rachel. According to Kylie, Rachel wanted me back on the team. And when Rachel wanted a reporter in her camp, she didn’tstop pursuing that person until she had them on the payroll. After the abrupt way we’d changed the nature of our association, her lips would have been planted squarely on my ass until I accepted her apology and new offer of employment. For a moment, I wondered if she was truly working things out with David on my behalf. Truthfully, I didn’t want the job. I preferred sitting beside Jasper, searchingfor clues, discovering the truth, and taking my time to build an accurate story to digging up news for the six o’clock show on BCN. I was more convinced than ever that I loved my professional independence.
“Got it,” I said after finding the email Kylie had sent me three weeks earlier. I was ready to share it when I looked up at Jasper, who was still studying the key. Our eyes met. He lookedgreatly troubled.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“Go ahead?”
“Read the email.”
I shifted abruptly in my seat. “Oh, right. Yes.”
