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“No!” I exclaim to myself. My mind scrambles to remember what Tripp said about Carmichael and his police record in the car that day. Sexual harassment and—“Oh my god!” I suddenly feel sick again.
I switch out of messages and open recent calls, finding Tripp’s number at the top and hit call.
“Come on, come on, pick up,” I mutter, pacing the floor.
“Kennedy, everything okay?”
“Yes, but how’d you know it was me? Never mind. I need you to tell me more about Calvin Carmichael’s police record, specifically the stuff you told Ash about the sexual harassment and grooming.”
“Hold on,” he says, then I hear the sound of a door opening and closing. “What do you want to know exactly?”
“Does it give you names, dates, where, when. Just anything you can tell me.”
“Okay, how about you start with why this is so important.”
I sigh, then take a moment before speaking again. “The picture you sent Ash of Aria and Carmichael, I think they know each other in a more intimate way.”
“Ahh, you got that vibe too, huh? I don’t have names, and I’m not sure it would help you even if I did. The dates are wrong for it to have been Aria, too early.”
“Yeah, doesn’t mean he didn’t do it to her though, does it?” My thoughts drift off for a moment. I’ve no idea why this is important, but I feel it is. “Lily alright?” I ask.
“None too pleased about being here with me, but she’s okay. Look, give me an hour, and I’ll see what else I can find.”
“Thanks, Tripp.” I end the call feeling a little deflated. I drop Ash’s phone to the counter and instead pick up mine. I enter Calvin Carmichael’s name into the search bar and wait for the results. I could be completely wrong about Aria and Carmichael, but I don’t think I am. I’m sure it would be of great interest to Preston Thomas, but one picture and locked pinkie fingers isn’t enough.
The screen fills with images of Carmichael, and as I scroll through, I realize that in many of them he is alone. No woman on his arm, even at top events. I continue scrolling, becoming increasingly blasé until another picture catches my eye. This one again is of him and Aria, only it’s a little grainy and doesn’t look to be professional. Zooming in, I can clearly make out Aria’s features. Carmichael has a hand to the side of her face and is leaning down as though about to kiss her.
I quickly save the picture to my phone. There’s no attribution, and when you click on the link attached, an error message appears. I send the link to Ash’s phone, then forward it to Tripp and ask him to see if he can find out more. I scroll through Tripp and Ash’s messages from this morning, only intending to read them and no more, but when I reach the first message Ash sent Tripp last night, the previous one has me scrolling even further up.
Several pictures of documents with the name of Titan Industries’ owner and screenshots of conversations between them and Preston Thomas.
Calvin Carmichael is the owner of Titan Industries.
As I read over the information, I realize the only way to catch a fish is to bait your hook with something so enticing that they simply won’t be able to resist.
I switch out to Ash’s message thread with Drake and scan over the messages. Drake mentions a contact at the FBI, and he also confirms that the guy Stu is working with is legit. Although, he’s concerned that Stu might be compromised. Ash never got to reply to the last message, but I know he at least read it before it went to shit this morning.
I call Stu first. But it just rings off. He wasn’t at the house when I went there earlier either, so where the fuck is he?
Next, I call Drake, but he doesn’t answer either. Fantastic! Where the hell is everyone? I try to ignore the worry gnawing away at me and focus on my plan. It’s flimsy and has the potential to go very wrong, but I refuse to sit here and do nothing.
I finish putting together the Titan file I started building before and send to Tripp as Ash requested. I send a copy to Drake as well with a message for him to forward to his contact at the FBI.
Now comes the tricky part. Opening my Instagram app, I search Preston Thomas. He’s top of the results, which isn’t a surprise, and I click on his name. Clicking the message button, I type out my message and attach a photo before hitting send. I then send the same message and picture to the email address in his bio. Nervous flutters go crazy in my stomach knowing that I’m playing with fire right now, but something tells me Aria is a lot more involved than any of us have even considered. If Carmichael has groomed her, manipulated her into a relationship with him, what else has he managed to convince her to do for him?
While I wait for a response to my message, I decide to stop by Mom’s and see if Stu is there. I’m not looking forward to the looks that will no doubt come my way, but the whispers and gossiping might be beneficial.
When I open the front door to leave, I come face to face with Everly.
“Jesus, Everly, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“No, but I am wondering why I have to hear about Ash’s arrest from half the town and not you?” She crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at me. Her foot even taps the floor.
I close the door behind me, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry,” I say, moving around her to walk down the drive.
“Okay, your sorry, but you’re also not telling me everything either. We’ve been friends a long time, Kenzie. I know when you’re keeping things from me. Just like you still think I didn’t know about you and Ash before you left, but I did. And I’m not the only one.”
I turn to look at her with a raised brow. “You knew?”
