Uncorked (43 page)

“What did she do to you?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing like
that.”

“Care to explain?”

“Mom, she just had to go away for
a while.”

“Is she cheating on you? Is she
seeing someone else?”

“No, Mom. It’s nothing like that.
She’s been through something really traumatic, and she needed to take a break.”

“More traumatic than Emily’s
accident?”

“In some ways, yes. Sometimes
it’s easier to deal with physical pain and injuries than emotional pain. You of
all people should know that.”

“What are you saying?”

“Mom, can I trust you? Are you
being honest with me right now about respecting Chella?”

“Yes. No more games. I swear on
Emily’s life.”

“She went through something very
similar to what you did.”

“Are you talking about what I
think you’re talking about?”

“Unfortunately, yes. She wasn’t
raped, but she was violated in the same way. I couldn’t be there for her. It
happened around the same time as the accident. She left and I have no clue
where she is.”

Liz went silent. She slid down
into a barstool, enclosed her face with both hands and took a deep breath.
“Mitch, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Not even my worst enemy.”

“They drugged her, took pictures
of her, unconscious and nude, then circulated the pictures at her job.”

“Oh, no. Mitch, I’m so sorry. I
can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel for her. Have you spoken to her at
all since she left?”

“I sent her an email earlier. She
hasn’t responded.”

“How is she?”

“She’s building a wall around
herself. Mom, there’s so much more I’m not willing to discuss. It’s just a
really difficult time right now.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes, when this is all over, and
I find her and get her back, you have to lay off.”

“I will. I’m not promising to
fall in love with her, but I will be cordial.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“So what are you going to do
next?”

“The police have some work to do.
I’m going to see if I can find her. I don’t want her to come back until the
perpetrators have been arrested, though.”

“Do you think she’ll come back?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have
to see how much damage is there when all is said and done. Her last memories of
her parents are in San Diego. Hopefully, that will be enough.”

“What are you going to do if she
doesn’t want to come back?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think about
that if or when the time comes.”

“Are you going to be here for
Christmas?”

“I doubt it. Charlotte and her
family are going to visit George’s parents in Vancouver. Why?”

“I’m going on a cruise with
Margery.”

“That’s great. I hope you have
fun. Maybe you’ll finally meet that someone special.”

“Ohhh, I don’t know about that.”

“Hopefully this will all be over
soon, and we can get together in the New Year.”

After spending the rest of the
weekend with his daughter, Mitch returned to San Diego late Sunday night. It
concerned him that he still had not heard from Chella. After showering, he
climbed into bed and called her. After the fifth ring, her voice mail came on.
He left a message.

“Hey, Chell. It’s me. Can you
call me back, please? Or at least drop me an email? I haven’t heard from you in
a few days, and I’m getting a little concerned. Please…call me…soon… Bye.”

The following day,
Chella awoke on the couch. The
night before, she was curious and checked her old email address. When she saw
the barrage of nasty emails to her from the perpetrator since she left, it
upset her. That, compounded by the fact that they sent her a copy of the email
they had sent to the staff of Sheyenne International, shook her to her core.

When she saw them, she forwarded
them to Detective Carter. Her leaving obviously pissed off the perpetrator. Due
to the content of the email, it was a good thing that she was out of the state.
Some of the threats were against Mitch and her friends. If Detective Carter’s
suspicions were accurate and Jade was the one responsible for this, she would
know who Chella’s friends were and who Chella cared about the most. Detective
Carter promised Chella he would increase the police presence, especially at the
office and Mitch and Craig’s house and do routine patrols at Vicky and Kacy’s
house. He also warned Chella not to be tempted to respond to the emails.

After making herself some coffee,
she looked at her phone and realized she had a voice message from Mitch. She
listened to it. She wasn’t in the mood to talk and didn’t want to be put in the
position where she would rely on him for support, so she decided she should
email him.

Mitch sat in
his study later that morning
checking his emails. He was relieved when he saw the email from Chella.

To:                   Mitch
Mariani

From:                Nicolette
Taylor

Date:                Monday
December 12, 2011

Hi Mitch,

Thanks for
your email. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner.

I’m fine.
Don’t worry about me. However, I need you to please be careful and watch your
back. Detective Carter will be calling you to update you sometime later today.

Take care
of you, and send my love to Emily.

He was happy to receive her
email. After retrieving her IP address, he did a search and found out she was
in Aspen, Colorado. He spent the rest of the morning researching private
investigators in the area. A few phone calls and many questions later, he was
happy with one company in particular and hired them to find out where she was.
He gave them specific instructions to be discreet and not to approach her. If
Chella suspected someone was watching her, she would pack up and leave in a hot
second.

When Detective Carter called,
Mitch realized why Chella asked him to be careful. After the weekend she had,
he was even more eager to see her. The police also had Jade under surveillance,
but since they weren’t one hundred percent certain she was the perpetrator,
they continued with the extra security for Chella’s friends.

Being the week
before Christmas and the
promotion, Chella spent lots of time on the phone with Officer Jamie Cooper,
a.k.a. Nicolette Taylor, to walk her through the promotion. So far she’d done a
great job following everything according to plan. She told Chella that Jade
hadn’t done anything overtly to make her suspicious, but Jade seemed very angry
about the fact that Chella hadn’t called her to personally say goodbye.

Later that afternoon, Detective
Carter called Chella.

“Ms. Noon, remember I told you
some time ago that I was waiting for a list of employees for a company where
Mr. Stewart worked?”

“The business that was no longer
operating?”

“Yes, that’s the one. You won’t
believe what I found out.”

“What is it?”

“Aaron Stewart and Jade used to
work there together.”

“Oh, God. So she’s been the one
helping him all this time?”

“It seems so, but that fact is
not enough to arrest her. It means I need to investigate some more. I’ve tried
reaching other employees who worked together with them at the time, but, as you
can imagine, this time of year people are out of town and a few have moved.
I’ll be speaking with two tomorrow. I’m hoping they will give me some insight
into the nature of their relationship, if one ever existed, between them.”

“I can’t believe this. Did you
find out any more about my parents case?”

“Not yet. I’m making your case a
priority for now.”

“Thanks, Detective. I appreciate
your hard work on my case. I know it must take you away from your family.”

“It does, but…”

“I know. You’re just doing your
job. Can I ask you a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Spend some time with your
family. It’s Christmas.”

“That’s nice of you, but I’m
scheduled to work.”

“From what time?”

“Nine to five.”

“Well, do me a favor. You have
been working on my case all day, every day, morning, noon and night. When five
o’clock comes, go home to your family.”

“I’ll do my best, Ms. Noon.”

Days later, Mitch
was boarding a flight to L.A.
when his phone rang.

“Mr. Mariani? Charles
Worthington.”

“How’s the investigation?”

“Good. I wanted you to know that
we’ve located Ms. Noon.”

“So soon?”

“It’s what we do. She’s smart.
She did a pretty good job of covering up her tracks. I ID-ed her in person
myself. I’ll be emailing you everything.”

 “I can’t thank you enough. I’m
getting on a plane now. I’ll call you when I land if I have any questions.”

During the flight, Mitch checked
his email. He smiled when he saw the investigator’s photos confirming it was
Chella. She wore dark sunglasses and her hair straight in every photo, despite
different clothing and different time-stamps. In all she was completely unaware
her picture was taken. A few were of her bundled up on a patio, some were in
town. Seeing her made him aware of how much he missed her, and how much he
wanted to see her, but he wasn’t sure how well she would receive him—especially
after she found out he hired an investigator to find her.

He spent the next few days with
his daughter before she and the rest of her family left for Vancouver. The
first day he took her to the doctor to ensure all was well before her
three-hour flight to Canada. When they returned to Charlotte’s house, her
mother told her she had a big surprise for her.

“You and Micky get to open one
Christmas present before our trip.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It just arrived in the
mail.”

“Go ahead, open it. It’s for both
of you,” Charlotte said as she looked at Mitch and smiled.

“Who is it from?” Mitch asked.

“It’s from Chella,” she
whispered.

He smiled at her response. It was
just like Chella to be thoughtful.

Emily tore away the wrapping on
the box, her little brother eagerly helping her so they could get to what was
inside. They pulled out a massive hardcover book with five containers of
frosted glass inside.

“Let me read you the card,”
Charlotte said. “To Emily and Micky. Over the Christmas holidays while you
recover from you injuries, I hope you have lots of fun together making all the
frosted glass crafts in this book. Do you know who it’s from?”

“Chella!” Emily shouted with
excitement. “Wow, look at all the pretty colors. Can we make something now?
Would you like to help, Daddy?”“

“Sure, Sweetie.”

A few days later,
Chella roamed the house, a
little bored. The days were becoming monotonous. She had finished one painting,
but she wasn’t sure she was ready to start another yet. Christmas was in three
days. She had already shopped online for all her friends using her anonymous
debit card. She had sent them all warm Christmas messages along with their
gifts. After a while, she realized what was missing: a Christmas tree. She
searched the internet and found a local company that would deliver the next
day. She placed an order.

The next morning, after the tree
had been delivered, she headed into town to get decorations and food for the
upcoming Christmas weekend.

Aspen was charming. Quaint shops
and old-fashioned street lamps adorned with Christmas décor in vivid greens and
reds lined the streets. In the distance was a huge, lit Christmas tree with
decorations in every imaginable color. The day was filled with sunny skies,
snow-filled slopes, below-freezing temperatures and locals draped in furs,
walking their diamond-leashed dogs through the shops. After shopping, she
stopped at a local café for a cup of hot cocoa and headed home.

While in town, she heard there
would be a major storm coming through that night. As much as two feet of snow
was expected, so she made sure to pick up enough supplies in case she was
snowed in for the entire Christmas weekend. She found salt for the stairs, and
brought firewood into the house. By the time she had finished baking cookies
and heated up a pot of cocoa, it was snowing.

Christmas had always been a
special time of the year for Chella. It reminded her of the happy times with
her parents. After they died, she continued with the usual family traditions.
She unwrapped her new crystal ornaments, remembering the last Christmas she and
her parents spent together. She thought about Mitch. She really thought this
would be a special Christmas, and she would be able to share some of her
traditions with him, but their relationship was over. She missed him and
couldn’t resist the temptation to pull his shirt from her bag. She wove the
fabric between her fingers and took in his scent.