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Dry toast. That was what I needed. I piled a few slices up on a plate and put them on a tray along with the teapot and two cups. I managed to get them all the way into the living room and set it down on the coffee table with slightly shaking hands.
Curling up on the couch, I sipped a cup of my favorite peppermint tea. It went down smooth and settled my stomach. Partway through my second cup, I picked up a slice of toast and started nibbling. I was gradually working my way around the crust when I heard a knock on the front door. I tossed my partial piece of toast onto the plate, set my cup down, and reluctantly went to the front door.
Fortunately, I got to the door without any more uprisings from my stomach. I unlocked it and looked out at Nick. His expression didn’t seem particularly happy. That didn’t make me feel too optimistic. I gestured for him to follow me inside and made my way back to the couch.
“Hold on,” I said. “I want to be sitting for this.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, closing the door behind him and following me into the living room.
I got to the couch and curled back up into my favorite corner. Tugging the blanket folded across the back and down over me, I reached for my toast and tea.
“You don’t look like you come bearing good news. I’m already feeling pretty terrible. I’d rather get let down while I’m sitting,” I said. “Tea?”
“Sure. That sounds good,” he said.
I gestured to the pot and cup on the tray. “Help yourself. It’s peppermint. There’s some honey if you want it sweeter.”
“Thanks,” he said, pouring himself a cup and sitting down on the other end of the couch. He took a sip of the tea, then stared down into the cup and nodded like it was a completely new experience for him and he was trying to decide if he liked it or not. “Well, I wish I could tell you that you were wrong.”
I let out a sigh and dropped my head back against the couch.
I took down the last of my tea like a shot and looked squarely into his face. “Alright. Go ahead.”
“I met with Clint, who is Gabe’s friend,” Nick said.
“The police officer,” I said, nodding.
“Yes. He talked over the whole situation with some of the guys at the station. It turns out, the investor didn’t actually do anything illegal as far as they can tell. He’s really bad at his job, but not a criminal. So, that angle isn’t going to work for you. What he did say is that Justin did still steal from you. He took that money out of your account without your permission, which means he committed larceny. If you have any way you can prove that he took that money, then they’re able to arrest him and you can go through the legal channels,” Nick said.
“And if I can’t prove it?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I don’t think there’s any way I can prove it. The records show the money was taken out. But it doesn’t show who did it. And even if it did show that Justin took it out, obviously he had something that convinced the bank he had the right to do it. I can’t prove he actually stole the money from me. I really wish I could, but I can’t think of anything.”
I wasn’t surprised by the news. From the very beginning, I knew it was a long shot to actually have anything happen to Justin. But I had gotten hopeful. I was expecting Nick to apologize for not being able to help me anymore and leave. Instead, he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a file. He held it out to me.
“Here,” he said.
“What’s that?” I asked without taking the file.
“Since I couldn’t get your money back for you, I wanted to try something else. I plotted out how long it would take me to help you get it back for yourself. It’s essentially the same thing Justin was trying to do, just I’m actually going to do it correctly. This file has my predictions and my plan. Go over it. If you think you want to do this, let me know. I won’t charge you. Not a cent,” he said.
I took the file from him, stunned. I was still staring at it when he got up, told me he hoped I felt better, and left. The file stayed sitting on the table for another few hours, untouched as I tried to process what was happening. Right before bedtime, I opened it and looked through the papers inside. As soon as I did, I knew I would be working with him.
