Page 72 of Once Upon a Beast

Chapter 37

Nicodemus

I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to handle all the information I had. The only thing I did know was that there was only one person I wanted to talk to about it with and that was Layla.

Garrett and I had spent over three hours going over all the information he had been able to find. With my father’s help and that of a private investigator they uncovered a lot of evidence against James. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the one who had embezzled the money and framed my father for it.

Even though he had been sitting on the information for a while, Garrett wanted to get it to the authorities as soon as possible. I had told him to wait. I knew what needed to be done, I just wasn’t sure the best way to handle it. I knew I wasn’t going to do anything until I talked to Layla and found out what she wanted to do.

I had gone home but Layla hadn’t been there. I thought about calling her, asking her to come home but I didn’t want to worry her. She would be there soon enough and the extra time gave me a chance to decide what I wanted to say. It didn’t help as I was still clueless when she walked into the penthouse.

She looked at me as I stood up. Her eyes took in me and I could tell she knew something was wrong. She knew me so well; she probably knew me better than I knew myself. I could see the worry on her face too. I had asked her to be patient with me while I figured all this out. I had hoped there wasn’t going to be anything to tell her but that wasn’t the case.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Good,” she replied and put down her purse and kicked off her shoes.

I didn’t say anything more as she walked into the living room and sat across from me on the couch. I wanted to go and sit next to her. I wanted to feel her hands in mine. I wanted to take some of her strength as I told her everything. Her sitting across from me told me she wasn’t ready for that and I couldn’t blame her. I had been distant and having me tell her I needed to talk as soon as she came in the door probably wasn’t the best way to reassure her everything was okay. But everything was not okay.

“Thank you for your patience. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to live with recently. I went and saw my father a few days ago-”

“You did what?” Layla asked. She sat up slightly and then sat back down. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I couldn’t. I wanted to protect you but if I had told you, it would have made it more real. I didn’t know how I was going to feel seeing him. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say. I thought I could go and see him, tell him off and then put him and everything he had done behind me once and for all.”

“How did that work for you?” Layla asked.

“Obviously, not so well,” I said and tried to give her a sheepish smile.

“How was he? How did it go? How are you doing?” Layla asked.

I could still see some of her anger but she was putting it aside as she was more worried about me and my needs than her own anger. It was so like her.

“He looked old. I mean it had been ten years since I had seen him but he had aged. More so than I thought he would. He looked frail, sad even.”

“That must have been hard.” Her eyes looked at me with concern.

“I guess. It was a jolt for sure,” I admitted. “He was happy to see me. He didn’t ask too many questions about me and my life. I was upset at first but I think it was because he didn’t think he had the right. I didn’t ask too much about him, it was plain to see it wasn’t going well.”

“So, what did you talk about? What did he want to tell you?”

“His innocence and his ability to prove it,” I said.

“What proof does he have?” Layla asked and leaned forward on the couch.

“You assume he has some?”

“I wondered if that was why he was calling you. It’s the only thing that makes sense. He had one chance to talk to you, he wasn’t going to waste it.”

“True, and he didn’t. He said he had been working with an amateur detective. A guy by the name of Garrett, who took an interest in my father’s case. Between the two of them they have found enough evidence to prove that my father is innocent.”

“And you believed him?” Layla asked.

“I didn’t at first. What he was saying was so outlandish, I couldn’t think it was true. Dad told me to go and talk to Garrett and see the evidence that he had.”

“Are you going to talk to him? Do you want me to go with you?” Layla sat up.

“No. I already went and saw him today. He told me a story that was just as outrageous as my father’s innocence but it was also just as true. He had proof that makes me think that my father was framed.”