Page 122 of See You Again
CHAPTER THIRTY
If he wasn’t doing his best to control his anger, James would have laughed at the astonished look on Cami’s face. When Vincent first joined her, he’d almost revealed himself. Only the fact that he had promised her not to interfere kept him back. Vincent wouldn’t hurt Cami, but James wanted to plant a fist in his face for frightening her.
"Back when Mr. Bloom was dating Courtney…" James noticed a slight sneer in his tone when Vincent said her name, but the former head of security was too well trained to reveal the depth of his true emotions. “Her son Trey was having trouble at school. I don’t know the nature of it. I only know that Courtney and Matt took one of the SUVs from the fleet and drove down to Stoverton, Georgia to get him. When they returned several days later, Courtney told me I needed to be sure to detail the vehicle personally. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Thought she was throwing her weight around as Mr. Bloom’s girlfriend. However, when I was cleaning it, I found a necklace wedged beneath the front passenger seat.”
“A necklace?” The arrested look on Cami’s face told James that Vincent’s information was significant.
Vincent nodded. “It was an inexpensive gold piece. Not the kind of thing Courtney would wear. But what caught my attention was that the chain was broken, and there was a chunk of blonde hair snagged in it. As if someone had it ripped off.”
“A signature necklace?” Cami leaned forward, excitement lighting her face.
“The name, Amy, in script,” he confirmed. “That’s why I wanted to see your file. To see if she was wearing it the night she went missing.”
Color rose on Cami’s cheekbones, and her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Her mother gave it to her for her birthday. When her body was found, her parents were upset that it wasn’t with her. She was definitely wearing it at the party that night. More than one person remembered seeing it. If you found it in the SUV, that means Matt gave her a ride that night and something happened!”
Vincent looked grim. “My thoughts exactly. I heard what you said on the last episode. They had gone on a date earlier in the week. I needed to make sure it wasn’t from then.”
James knew, as observant as Vincent was, he would be aware how Matt behaved with women. “That’s why you wanted to see if she still had it that night.”
Vincent nodded. “I didn’t know if it was important at the time. I didn’t know about the missing girl… but my gut told me to keep it. I put it in a plastic bag, and it’s been in my safe deposit box ever since.”
“Didn’t you think it was important when the police questioned Matt at the time?” Cami asked.
Vincent shot a guarded look at James. “I wasn’t aware of all that. Not long after, I was handling another delicate matter for Courtney, and then there was the wedding and honeymoon travel to coordinate security for.”
Understanding hit James like a lightning bolt.
“You’re talking about the car accident?” The man’s eyes flared, and James could feel Cami’s confusion beside him. “I know all about it.”
Vincent’s face became impassive. “Your brother told you what happened?”
“No.” James stared hard at Vincent. Dr. Keller's confession to Luke revealed that Vincent had covered up the fatal accident, believing that he was protecting the Bloom family, as he always had. “Declan only learned about it recently.”
A slight parting of his lips was the only sign that James had shocked the man. And then his expression became blank again. “If that’s his story.” Vincent shrugged.
“It’s not a story.” James lowered his voice to avoid anyone overhearing. “When my father went to Dublin just before he died, it was to get the pictures Courtney claimed proved Declan was responsible for the car accident. She blackmailed our father into marrying her.”
Vincent shook his head slowly. “I was there. I arranged for the car to be fixed, for the young woman to relocate, and…” He darted a look at Cami. “…disposed of the other… evidence. Dr. Keller treated Declan that night for a broken arm. I understand you don’t want to believe that your brother killed that woman, but?—”
“Dr. Keller admitted to Luke that he’d lied. He treated Declan for a broken arm. But Declan got it playing rugby. He wasn’t even in the country. It’s why Chris was driving Declan’s car. Declan needed a ride to the airport and couldn’t shift with a broken arm. We can prove that not only was Declan in Dublin the night of the accident, but Cara’s new husband has proved the pictures were fake.”
The tendons in Vincent’s neck stood out, the muscles in his face tensing.
“We know they deceived you, too, Vincent. We don’t blame you. You told our father what you believed to be true.”
Vincent abruptly came to his feet and paced away a few steps before realizing that he was drawing attention and dropped back on the bench.
James glanced at Cami, who sat pale and still next to him. “That’s not all.” He told Vincent how they suspected Courtney had murdered her husband.
“She killed him right under my nose.” Vincent exhaled a sharp breath, and if James didn’t know the man better, he would have thought the glisten in his eyes was tears. Vincent had served David Bloom for decades.
“Did you work for Courtney after?” Cami asked.
Vincent balled his hands into fists in front of him. His eyes were outlined in red when he looked up. “What? Yes, for about a month. She fired me and all the rest of the staff who had been loyal to Mr. Bloom.” He looked past James’s shoulder. “We were all noticing aberrations. She must have wanted us gone before we put it together.”
“What aberrations?” Cami asked.
“The Kellers were there all the time. I suspected before Mr. Bloom died she was having an affair, but I thought it was the older one. I heard later she was actually involved with Chris Keller. He must have been the one she was sleeping with.”