Finding Amy (7 page)

“Maybe you better sit down. I
do need to tell you something that has been eating me up.” Jamie motioned the chair next to her and went to get the coffee pot.

Chapter 9

“When I knew I had to leave Martin, I started saving money. I needed money to get far enough away so he couldn’t find me. I started scrounging every dime I could with the meager allowance he gave me. But I couldn’t build it fast enough. Martin keeps a room in the house locked at all times and had told me never to go inside. I knew better than to cross him. He isn’t a pleasant person to be around when people don’t do what he says. One day, when only Trish and I were home, I found the door to that room unlocked. I shoved it open and nearly fainted.” Jamie widened her eyes and touched her sister’s arm. “There were stacks and stacks of cash everywhere, Amy. Floor to ceiling cash. I thought it had to be counterfeit, no one had that much money laying around. Each bundle contained hundred dollar bills.”

Jamie
stood and walked over to sink and rinsed her cup. Pressing her back to the counter, she continued. “I knew Martin wouldn’t be home until late so I started counting. Each bundle held a hundred thousand dollars.” Jamie tucked a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear that had come loose from its rubber band. “When I started to leave, I found a key on the floor. I checked and it fit the lock. I made an imprint and put it back in the same spot I found it. After I had a duplicate made, I started taking five, one hundred dollar bills out of different bundles at a time and stashing them in an old duffle bag I had in my closet. I checked on the internet and learned how to test for fake bills. All of the ones I checked were real. After a while, I had accumulated over a hundred and thirty thousand dollars. I didn’t think that would be enough for me and Trish so the night before I left for Galveston, I stuffed the bag as full as I could.”

Amy’s mouth went dry. “Oh my God,
Jamie. How much did you take?”

Jamie
hung her head. “About three million.”

Amy covered her neck
with her hand. “Didn’t you think he would miss it?”

“I
didn’t think, Amy. He has a man who comes in twice a week that goes into that room and stays for hours. He must be Martin’s accountant or something. I found a binder that resembled a ledger with names of people I’ve never heard of and numbers by their names.” She moved her sorrowful gaze to her sister. Amy recognized it as the same expression she had used in the past to get Amy to clean up her mess.

Carson ran his hand through his hair. “
Jamie, you didn’t by chance take that ledger did you?”

Amy st
ared at him as if she had forgotten he was there. Jamie shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”

“Damn,
” Carson mumbled.

“But I did make a copy,
” Jamie stated. “The papers are in the bag with the money.”

Carson
’s luminous eyes widened and he stood so fast, the chair tipped backwards. He caught it before it hit the tile floor. Standing behind the chair, his hands gripped the back and he leaned toward Jamie and asked, “Jamie, does anyone know you made a copy of that ledger?”

Jamie
’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think so. Oh, wait, I didn’t have time to copy the whole thing and put it back, so I asked the housekeeper to help me. I brought her the pages, she copied them, and I put them back in the ledger.”

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” Carson rushed out
, disappearing from the kitchen and the front door slammed.

Obviously, he didn’t need to
hear anymore. Right now Amy wanted to try and figure out how Jamie expected to get away with Martin’s money and not have him come after her.

“
Where do you think Martin got that kind of money?”

Jamie
closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her finger tips. “The ledger tells exactly where he got the money and when. They kept precise records.”

“Then h
ow did you expect to get away with it? If Martin didn’t come after you, there wouldn’t be any way you could deposit that kind of cash and not have the government start an investigation. People ask questions when you pay out large sums in cash.”

“I found that out when I tried to purchase this cabin. They wanted me to fill out all kinds of forms. I didn’t want that kind of paper trail
, that’s why I asked if I could rent the house. The owner of the cabin agreed to let me rent to own.”

She
removed the band and brushed her fingers through her auburn hair before replacing it. “I did set up a phony business in Trish’s name and got a tax number so I could put small amounts of cash into the account. If I have to buy something large, I deposit cash and write a check.”

Amy still didn’t like the idea of
Jamie stealing Martin’s money. Even if it’s drug money, it’s not right. “You could have found a job, Jamie. You didn’t have to steal.”

“It’s illegal money, Amy.
He’s laundering it from drug sales. If he’s caught, all that money goes to the government. I think Trish and I deserve something for putting up with him.”

Amy glared at her sister. She stood up so fast the chair
scrapped across the floor. “I cannot believe I’m hearing this from you. We weren’t raised to think we deserved something for nothing. Dad and Mom both instilled value in us. You’ve changed since you married Martin. You’re not the sister I grew up with.” Amy stormed out of the kitchen.

Amy had to cool off. She had never spoken to her twin like that but
Jamie had revealed a side of her Amy had never seen before. What’d happened to her? When did she start believing the world owed her a living? Either Martin had done a real number on her twin or Jamie hadn’t told the whole story. At the table, Jamie kept her eyes diverted and wouldn’t make eye contact with Amy. A sure sign she was withholding something. She chose her words too carefully.

Amy grabbed her coat off the hook on the
front door and stepped outside. Carson stood by his truck with his cell phone pressed against his ear. She sat on the top step and took deep breaths to steady her nerves. She vowed to apologize to Jamie as soon as she calmed down. Maybe, she would get Jamie to open up and tell her everything.

Carson finished his call
, walked over and sat down beside her. “Everything okay?”

Amy shook her head. “I don’t even know my sister anymore.”

Carson stretched out his long legs in front of him and turned his head toward the lake. “Do we ever really know our siblings? I learn something new about my brothers every day.”

“But you would think being identical twins; we would have the same thoughts and mannerisms. We
have finished sentences for each other, knew the other’s thoughts, have the same habits. I think Jamie is holding back and I don’t know why.” Amy rested her elbows on her knees and perched her chin in her palms.

Carson stood an
d stuck out his hand to help her up. “Why don’t we go ask her?”

They found
Jamie in the same spot Amy had left her. Her head rested in her arms on the table and her soft sobs broke Amy’s heart. She rushed to her sister and wrapped Jamie in her arms.

“
Jamie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say those things. I would never hurt you. Please forgive me.”

Jamie
raised her head. Her red-rimmed eyes were wet with unshed tears. “No, Amy, you’re right. I’m a selfish bitch. You’ve always been there for me and I’ve let you down.”

Amy held her at arm
’s length. “No you haven’t. But I don’t think you’ve told me everything. You’re holding back. You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

Jamie
wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Martin threatened to kill me and take Trish to live with him if I ever divorced him.”

Amy leaned forward. “He actually
told you that?”

Jamie
nodded. “About a year ago, Martin had one of his guys follow me. I went to see an attorney in Richardson. I thought that would be far enough away that Martin wouldn’t find out until the papers were served. When I got home that evening, Martin hit me several times and broke my arm. He took Trish somewhere and told me if I ever tried that again, I would never see her. He forced me to take money to different banks and set up accounts in people’s names I’d never heard of. I opened and closed accounts until he let Trish come home. That’s when I talked you into running.”

Amy clenched her fist so tight, her nails bit into her flesh.
If she had known Martin had harmed her sister and taken Trish away, she would have done something at the time. “Why didn’t you let me know?” she questioned.

Jamie
shook her head, “He had filled my head with so much fear of what he would and could do, I began to believe I would be tied to him the rest of my life. The only thing I knew had to be done was to get Trish back and I followed his every demand in order to do that.”

Amy hugged her, “I’m so sorry,
Jamie. You can file for divorce when we get back and I won’t let him touch you.”

Jamie
eased away and stared at Amy. “I filed for divorce the day we left Dallas. The sheriff’s office served him with papers two days later. When I tried to contact the attorney a few days later, his secretary told me he had died in a car wreck. I know Martin had him killed and he’ll kill me, too.” She covered her face with her hands.

****

Carson leaned over the table, slapping his palms flat on top, causing both women to flinch. “It’s never happened with anyone in my protective custody, Jamie. And it’s not going to happen this time either. The rangers will protect all of you.”

He didn’t want to think about his screw-up a few years ago. Actually, t
he witness hadn’t been in his custody yet. They had agreed to meet at the Double AA truck stop outside of Little Rock. However, due to a brake problem on Carson’s patrol car, he had been late arriving and couldn’t find his witness. His battered body had been found two days later in an abandoned school on the east side of Little Rock. When Carson’s car went in for repairs, the mechanic found the brake line had been cut. Even though the murder couldn’t have been prevented, it took Carson a long time to let go of the guilt he had for not checking his vehicle closer. The witness left a wife and three small children. All of whom now receive an anonymous check once a month.

Carson shook off the memory that still caused him grief and brought his attention back to the present. “The main reason we want you back in Texas in protective custody is so you can testify against Martin. We believe with your testimony he’ll go away for a very long time and you’ll never have to worry about him again.”

“When do we have to leave?” Jamie hugged her body and spoke softly.

Carson stood up straight. “As soon a
s you can pack, we need to get on the road. I’ve been watching the weather reports and there’s a blizzard coming in from the north and should arrive late this evening. After it hits, we may not be able to get out. So we need to out run it.”

Amy took
Jamie’s arm. “I’ll help you pack.”

“I’m going to check the perimeter and make sure everything is secure
. We need to leave as soon as we can.” Carson placed his hat on and grabbed his leather coat.

Jamie
hadn’t needed Amy’s help so she wandered out to the front porch just as a crane swooped down over the lake and came up with a trout in its beak. She and Jamie were in a fix and Amy didn’t know what to do except let Carson take control. A movement to her right caught her attention and she tensed until she spotted Carson coming around the side of the house.

“Are you through packing?” He stepped up on the porch and sat on the step next to her.

“Jamie said she could handle it so I wanted to take in the scenery before we leave. It is so beautiful here. The few times I’ve come up, I’ve seen all kinds of wild animals. They come here for water. I’ve never seen the lake frozen. I bet it’s beautiful with snow covering the top. I wish we didn’t have to go. It’s so peaceful.”

Carson broke off a tall weed and stuck it
his mouth, leaving half, out. “It is that. But how long will that last, Amy? I know someone followed me. I just hope I lost him. We might not be so lucky the next time.”

“Oh
, I understand, but I don’t have to like it.”

****

Snow peppered the air and fell at a slow rate. Carson stared up at the gray sky. “That storm is moving faster than the weather station expected. We need to get going.”

“I’ll check on
Jamie.” Amy entered the house, leaving Carson on the porch steps.

His ears tuned
in to the sound of a vehicle turning into the drive but because the thick growth of Aspens lining the curved driveway, Carson couldn’t see the road. By the time he reached the end of the driveway, the car had disappeared. Fresh tire tracks in the snow were the right size for an SUV. Someone could have gotten lost and turned around in the drive, but he couldn’t afford to take chances. They needed to leave soon. Turning, Carson jogged back to the cabin.

****

From his hiding spot in a thick grove of trees, Max watched Carson come to the end of the driveway and check the tracks in the snow. Max could wait until nightfall to sneak up on them. He would take the bag, kill them all and catch the first plane to Brazil. He grinned at his perfect plan. All the money he would ever need and no one would know who had killed the four people in Montana. He’d be out of the country before the bodies were found. His heart hammered against his chest. His excitement had been building and to think that in less than twenty-four hours he’d be sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun and drinking one of those fruity drinks with a little umbrella sticking out of the top. His mouth watered. He sure could use one now.