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“I’m not saying anything until I have an attorney present,” she insisted.
“Fine.” Derrick hauled her through the double doors to an interrogation room and Ellie followed. The woman might be pretty on the outside, but the inside was clearly like sour candy.
“I have her computer and phone,” he told Ellie as he locked Autumn inside the room to wait on her lawyer. “I convinced her to hand over her computer and phone passwords.”
“That’s a start,” Elie said. “What did she have to say?”
“She claims she was at the spa and the employees there confirmed it.” He set her laptop on the table in the corner. “But she’s hiding something. Whether it’s about Ava or she’s into something illegal, I don’t know.”
“Let’s look at her correspondence,” Ellie said.
He passed her Autumn’s phone, and he opened the laptop, booted it up and began to search.
Ellie entered Autumn’s passcode and clicked on her text messages. She scrolled through, noting several to a man named Walton.
“Looks like she was doing private parties on the side,” Ellie said. “Exotic dancing. I wonder if Jasper knew it.”
“Hell, that may be how he got involved with her,” Derrick replied. “It explains the extra cash at her disposal, anyway.”
Ellie gave a little nod, then skimmed more texts. Some to the owner of Haints; a few, judging from the context and wording, to other dancers.
“This is odd,” she murmured. “There are no texts to Jasper.”
Interest sparked in Derrick’s eyes. “Check for deleted messages.”
Ellie’s own suspicions mounted. The only reason to delete them was if they held something incriminating.
It took a few minutes for her to figure out how to reclaim the deleted texts, but eventually she found several to Jasper over the last couple of months. The first few were flirtatious, suggesting they’d just started seeing each other, times they were going to hook up, and phone sex.
She rolled her eyes and skated past them, then saw that the tune of their exchange began to become more terse.
Jasper:Can’t meet today. Supposed to see Ava.
Autumn:Ditch the kid, lover boy.
Jasper:Not again. Lara is already up my butt for money and threatening to not let me see her at all.
Autumn:Come or it’s over.
The texts picked up a couple of days later.
Autumn:Will be waiting at our place. Midnight.
Jasper:Can’t come. Have to make it up to Ava for missing last time.
Autumn:You want to fix your money problems and get your freedom. I have an idea.
Jasper:What are you talking about?
Autumn:Meet me and I’ll tell you.
Ellie’s pulse jumped, and she read the text aloud. “We need to find out what that plan was.” She scrolled for more messages.
Autumn:Did you think about my idea? If you let me take Ava off her hands, you can solve your money problems and be single again.
It seemed Jasper hadn’t responded.
Ellie stood, appalled at Autumn’s suggestion. “I’m going to have a talk with Autumn.” If she had to, she’d ring the truth out of the conniving woman.
