Page 59 of Knight's Desire

Brick finally nodded at Jay and took several steps back. Bexley eyed him warily as he shifted his gaze between Brick and Jay, who now stood in front of him with his arms at his side.

“When’s the last time you saw your ex-girlfriend, Mr. Bexley?”

“If you’re talking about Hope, it was a couple of weeks ago. I showed up at her house to check on her and found…” He jerked his arm up to point at Brick. “…him answering her door. It was obvious he’d spent the night there, so I demanded answers from her. I mean, any man would have. She decided to end things between us, and I left. Simple as that. I haven’t seen her since, and I haven’t wanted to see her. I’ve moved on.”

“Hope confided in you about the harassment she was receiving. Is that correct?”

“Who the hell are you to be questioning me? You’re not a cop. You sound like you suspect me of something, so I think we’re done here.” Bexley sat back behind his desk as if that would dismiss them.

“If you refuse to answer my questions, then I guess I should be on my way.” Jay crossed to the front of Bexley’s desk and waited for the realtor to meet his stare. “Just so you know, I’ll be leavingalone.”

Bexley’s gaze flicked up to Brick before fixing on Jay again. Finally, he sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Yes, I was aware of what was going on, but none of it seemed serious at the time. She never mentioned to me that she was afraid enough to hire a bodyguard. I would have done something. I just thought…well, you know how emotional women can be. They get worked up over the stupidest shit. I thought that was all this was.”

“So you weren’t at Hope’s Bridal Shoppe yesterday afternoon?”

“No, I was showing property to a client yesterday afternoon. Two locations. One at the Industrial Park and the other a good ten miles away from Hope’s store. We met at two thirty, and since we didn’t finish up until after five o’clock, I carried him and his wife to an early dinner. They were flying out first thing this morning and wanted to call it an early night. I dropped them at their hotel around seven-fifteen and met up with my co-worker at her apartment by seven-thirty. We were together all night. Happy?”

“You were the one who showed Hope the store front she purchased for her Shoppe. Weren’t you?”

“No.”

Brick saw red. He pushed Jay to the side and slammed his fists on top of the desk, scattering papers with the force of the blow. “You lying son of a bitch! She told me! She told me you were the one who sold her the Shoppe. Tell us the truth or I swear to God—”

“I closed the sale, but I wasn’t the one who showed her the property. My boss did that. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

Brick scowled. “Your boss?”

“He’s right.”

The men all turned their attention to a now fully dressed Naomi Brown standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive gesture. “David Leonard owns the company. When Hope first came in asking about commercial property, he insisted on taking the account himself.”

“Was that unusual?” Brick asked.

“Not exactly. He would take on new clients, but it was usually the high dollar accounts. Hope was on a limited budget. Her business loan wasn’t approved for a considerable amount, and she had startup costs that had to be covered as well. When David said he wanted to handle the account, I was happy to let him. I prefer the high-dollar ones, too,” Naomi explained.

“If he started the account, why did he pass it off before closing the sale?” Jay questioned.

“He had some family issues to come up around that time,” Bexley interjected.

“Did he tell you what those were?”

“No—”

Naomi interrupted Bexley, moving further into the office as she spoke. “David doesn’t talk about his private life, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t long after that when he and his wife divorced. I think she has relocated since then, but I don’t know where.”

“They have children?” At Naomi and Bexley’s puzzled expressions, Jay elaborated. “The company says Leonard and Son Realty. I’m just wondering about the son.”

“That would be David,” Bexley explained. “He shares controlling interest with his father, Amos, who started the company. Amos does very little. I can’t remember the last time he came into the office. David said as long as we’re turning a profit, his father was content.”

“Where is your boss now?”

“Chicago for a real estate conference. He left three days ago, and he’s not expected back until next week,” Naomi supplied.

Jay’s expression was unreadable as he turned to Brick, but Brick knew his friend well enough to know Jay had a hunch. He would want Brick to follow his lead. Brick wasn’t convinced Bexley wasn’t involved in Hope’s disappearance, and considering what he discovered walking into Bexley’s office, he hadn’t ruled out the possibility Naomi Brown was involved too.

“Your boss? What does he look like?” Brick thought back to the description Hope’s client gave of the man at the Shoppe that morning.

“I don’t know. Older guy, but not old. Tall, too skinny. Just a guy, I guess,” Bexley answered belligerently.

---