Page 80 of Building Courage

“What’s going on?” Denotti asked.

“Do you remember Ahmad, the young kid who was our interpreter on board the boat in Saudi Arabia?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s in America now and works for Bryant. Brynn did a photo shoot for this Bryant guy, and Ahmad saw her there and asked her to pass his info on to me. Ahmad came to me and told me there was a possibility that one of Bryant’s guys is running a side job every time they go to Mexico, bringing back something illegal. He wanted to know what he should do. I told him to hunker down, keep his eyes open, and document everything he saw.”

He weaved through traffic as quickly as he could.

“Brynn and I were doing our first dive at La Jolla, and she took a picture. A cabin cruiser owned by Bryant was in the background of the picture. She did her magic on the photo and saw two men aboard the boat and one was punching a woman. A couple of weeks ago, we did our dive. The next day a woman’s body was found on the beach. She’d drowned. Brynn thinks the two events are connected. So, she took the pictures to the cops.”

“So that’s not all, is it?” Denotti asked.

“No. She’s been working for Bryant all this time, updating his website, taking photos of his yacht, and every time, this same cabin cruiser has been there. The men aboard have seen her taking photos and possibly know who she is. They were there the day when we were getting ready to dive. I think they may have been following her. When the cops start asking questions, and bring up the pictures, they’re going to know who turned the cops onto them.”

“Shit! Do you need me to meet you there?”

“I need you on standby, just in case. I’ve got to go.” He thumped the steering wheel when the car in front of him slowed to a crawl. With every moment, his anxiety for her rose.

Why couldn’t she have waited so he could go with her?

Because she was independent as hell and motivated to do things for herself, otherwise, she’d have never left Saranac. For once, he wished she was a little clingier.

A car cut him off, and he laid down on the horn. “Get the fuck out of the way.”

*

“You’ve done an amazing job on the slide show, Brynn. But these photographs are outstanding. You’re a talented young woman,” Bryant said as he spread the photos on his desk.

“Thank you, and I’m glad you’re pleased with the work. I just wanted to make sure you were satisfied with them before I took off for my next shoot.”

“Yes, I’m very satisfied. I’ll have Mira cut you a check for the photos and the other work right now. Why don’t you have a seat while I deal with that?”

“Okay.” It was going to be okay. He didn’t know she had photos of the Titan. Or that she had given them to the police.

As he exited the room, she moved to the end of the office to the windows to look out at the traffic below. She should have never come here alone.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and realized she’d missed a call from Tucker. She hit his name to call him back.

“Are you still at Bryant’s office?” he asked.

The office door opened, and Bryant stepped back into the room.

“Yes, I’m just delivering some photos, and I’ll be leaving in just a few minutes.”

“Are you okay?” Tucker asked.

“Yes,” she said but sounded a little nervous even to her own ears.

“I’m almost to his office now. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

She smiled as she ended the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

“That’s my next appointment. They’re a little impatient.”

“I have your check right here,” Bryant said and held out an envelope.