AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shifted the car into gear and pulled onto the road, starting their journey toward The Marriage Institute retreat center. “Gabriela told me there’s a lot of group sessions. For most of them, the husband goes to one, while the wife goes to another.”
“They must separate the couples according to who they’ve rigged to ‘win,’” Ainsley said. “How do they decide that?”
“Bribery,” Santiago replied. “Has to be.”
“It’s always about money,” she muttered.
Santiago nodded. She’d apparently been thinking about what he’d said, and he appreciated she was taking this seriously. Though he wasn’t surprised—he knew from experience that Ainsley Colton was a woman of her word.
“Makes sense,” he said. “I have one of my research assistants digging into their financial records. It seems the Woods have some off-shore accounts, which in and of itself isn’t so suspicious. But it definitely raises questions.”
“You think they’ve got a tax shelter?”
“Probably,” he said. “Once we gather our evidence, I’m hoping the D.A. will be able to open a case and pry into those secrets.”
Ainsley was quiet a moment. “So what else should we expect from this thing?”
“Gabriela said there were some joint counseling sessions, but looking back on it, she sees now they were one-sided.”
“Like she was being manipulated?” Ainsley asked.
“Exactly,” Santiago confirmed. “She said it felt like the counselor and her husband were a team, and she was on the outside.”
“Oh, man.” From the edges of his vision, he saw Ainsley shake her head. “That’s terrible. I feel so bad for her. Not to mention the rest of the innocent people who went there looking for help. Do you think they took bribes from everybody?”
“Probably not,” Santiago said. “But I think they’re probably known in certain circles for helping people get the result they want.”
“Rich people, you mean,” she muttered.
“Yeah,” he said. Anger simmered on a low boil in his chest, a sensation he’d felt ever since
Gabriela had come to him in tears, confessing her worries and asking him for help. “It makes me sick to think of what these people have done.”
“They won’t get away with it for much longer,” Ainsley said quietly. “We’ll make sure of that.”
His spirits lifted at her use of the word we. It was good to know he wasn’t in this alone, despite the personal issues still lurking between them.
“I think the best way to do this is for both of us to offer them a bribe, separately. We’ll see if they accept the money.”
“Are we offering them the same amount?”
Santiago shook his head. “No. Your envelope has two thousand dollars, with the promise of three thousand more after the retreat is over, provided you get what you want. My bribe will be four thousand dollars, with the promise of six thousand more after the retreat is over.”
Ainsley whistled softly. “That’s a lot of cash.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Hopefully too much for them to pass up.”
“What about other evidence?” she asked. “Taking bribes is unethical, but it might not be enough to shut this place down.”
“That’s true,” he said. “Which is why we’re going to record everything.”
He glanced over in time to see her wrinkle her nose. “Is that legal?”
“Technically speaking, yes,” he said. “Arizona is a single-party consent state, so as long as you and I know the conversations are being recorded, we’re in the clear.”
“That’s true, so long as the other parties don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Ainsley pointed out. “I’m fine with recording our conversations with the Woodses, since they’re the ones running this thing and scamming people. But I’m not comfortable recording any of the group counseling sessions. Those other people don’t deserve to have their privacy violated like that.”
Santiago smiled, enjoying the display of both her intellect and her moral code. He’d definitely picked the right woman to help him bring these charlatans down.
