Page 58 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"Just call him," Felicity said softly, her hand warm on my shoulder. "I'll be here with you, every step of the way. We need to know what we're dealing with, though, so we need to call him—ASAP."
I pressed call and put it on speaker.
"This is Detective Morrison."
"Detective, this is Caden Barrett from B&R Consulting. Lauren Chase called me to let me know you wanted to speak with me about some irregularities we discovered."
"Mr. Barrett, yes. Thank you for calling. I understand this involves your ex-wife and potential theft from your business?"
"That's right. But Detective, there's something else. She's preventing me from speaking to my daughter, and we just received a text from my daughter's phone—but the way it was written, it didn't sound like her at all."
There was a pause. "What kind of text?"
I read him the message, explaining how it wasn't Macy's usual style. "My ex-wife has been acting erratically, and now I can't reach my eleven-year-old daughter."
Another pause, longer this time. "And you believe your ex-wife sent the text from your daughter's phone?"
"I'm certain of it."
"What does your custodial agreement say?"
I explained to him that I get access to her at any time, that she stays with me on weekends and some days after school. I also explained that she can, and has, come over to stay outside of just the minimal agreement we have.
"Okay, thank you. That's helpful. Have you spoken to your attorney yet? I mean about the current issue—given what's going on?"
"Not yet. You were my first call after Lauren let me know how far this issue had progressed."
"Okay, well I think you should start there. Get his perspective on the custodial issue. There's no current evidence of her taking your daughter—right now it seems like she is holing up with her. Furthermore, she doesn't yet know she is being investigated so I'm thinking she isn't going to present much of a flight risk right this second."
I felt some relief at his measured tone, but also frustration. "So, what do I do? I can't just sit here."
"Call your attorney. Have him reach out to her attorney about normal visitation—he can mention the call you had with him. You can share concerns, just make sure that your lawyer knows not to discuss the financial crimes issue since we are still investigating. If she cooperates, you see your daughter and wecontinue building our fraud case separately. If she doesn't..." He paused. "Then we reassess."
"And if she refuses?"
"Your attorney handles it as a custody matter first. We don't want to spook her about the financial investigation. But Mr. Barrett, if she starts acting more erratically or if there are signs that she's planning to leave the area, call me immediately."
After we hung up, I immediately called my divorce attorney while Felicity gathered the financial documents.
"David? It's Caden Barrett. I need to tell you something confidential, and then I need your help with a custody matter..." I explained the investigation, the issues with trying to contact Macy, my concerns, and my discussion with the detective.
There was a pause. "Jesus, Caden. How much money are we talking about?"
"I don't have exact numbers but it's a lot—Lauren said it's in the six-figure range. And, like I said, she's keeping me from talking to Macy today, which is concerning behavior to say the least."
"Okay, I understand the situation. Let me call her attorney and discuss your call with her and that you just want to see her so Felicity can thank her. We'll keep it simple and like it's a completely normal thing."
"She's been stealing from your company for years," Felicity said quietly as I hung up. "And now she has Macy, and she might know we're getting close to the truth."
Twenty minutes went by. They felt like an eternity. I knocked back a double shot of espresso—thinking I was going to need it to keep my wits about me. Looking over at Felicity, thequintessential stress eater, I saw she was almost at the bottom of the bag of caramel corn.
Lifting my eyebrow at her, I couldn't help but smile— "really?"
"Ugh—you know I eat when I'm stressed!"
"Fuck, I missed you so much. Know that, while all this is going down, I have not and will not forget you. I know we're in a shit place right now, but hear me when I say this—I love you and I will always love you," I reached for her and engulfed her in my arms—burying my face in her hair. I felt her arms reach around me to hold me back. Then I heard crunching—pulling back, I saw she had stuffed another handful of caramel corn in her mouth.
Looking up at me innocently, "I know! And I know we will get to our stuff sooner rather than later. But for right now, I'm worried! You know how I am—sugar will calm my nerves so just get back to holding me and shut your face on the way there!" the last part she said through a mouthful of sticky and sweet popcorn.
