Chapter 46 The Decent lie
COLLIN'S POV
There were no saved messages or contacts but there was a call log with one number that appeared multiple times.
I called one of my tech guys. "I need you to trace a phone number for me. Find out who it belongs to."
"Give me ten minutes," he said.
While I waited I went back to the living room where Caitlyn was still sitting. She looked up when I walked in, and I could see fear in her eyes. She should be afraid.
"We need to talk," I said.
"About what?" she asked.
"About your secret phone," I said and held it up. "The one you have been using to communicate with someone behind my back."
Her face went completely white. "I can explain."
"I am sure you can," I said. "But I am going to wait until my tech guy tells me who you have been calling. Then we can have a nice long conversation about what you have been doing."
I sat down in the chair across from her and just stared. I wanted her to squirm and feel the pressure building. She was trying to keep her face calm but I could see her hands shaking in her lap.
"Collin please," she started.
"Quiet," I said. "I did not say you could speak yet."
She closed her mouth and looked down at her hands. The silence stretched out between us. I counted the seconds in my head. The longer I made her wait, the more scared she would get.
My phone rang. It was the tech guy. "The number belongs to a burner phone. But based on cell tower data it is in the same area as the city police station. Whoever owns it works there or visits there regularly."
"Can you get more specific?" I asked. "Can you tell me exactly who owns it?"
"Burner phones are hard to trace to individuals," the tech guy said. "But I can tell you it has been used to call and text other phones registered to city employees. Police officers specifically."
"Thank you," I said and hung up.
I looked at Caitlyn and saw her trying not to cry. "Want to tell me why you have been calling someone at the police station?"
"It is not what you think," she whispered.
"Then what is it?" I demanded. "Because from where I am sitting it looks like you have been talking to the cops behind my back. Talking to them while I was out of town. Talking to them right around the time someone gave them information about my properties."
"I was scared," she said and her voice broke. "After those gang members threatened me I called the police for advice. They gave me a number to call if I ever felt unsafe. That is all it was."
"That is all it was," I repeated slowly. "So you were not feeding them information about my business? You were not the reason they raided my property today?"
"No," she said. "I swear I was not."
I leaned forward in my chair. "Then explain to me why you were in my study four different times while I was gone. Explain to me why you were in there for hours in the middle of the night. What were you doing Caitlyn?"
She opened her mouth but no words came out. I could see her trying to think of a lie. Trying to come up with some excuse that would make sense.
"I was looking for something," she finally said.
"Looking for what?" I pressed.
"Information about my parents," she said. "You told me once that you had files about them. I wanted to see what you knew about their deaths."
That was actually a decent lie but it was still a lie. I could tell by the way she would not look at me directly.
"And did you find what you were looking for?" I asked.
"No," she said. "There was nothing about their deaths. Just business files and legal documents I did not understand."
"So you went through my files," I said. "Private files, Confidential files. Files that contain information about my business dealings."
"I was not trying to spy on you," Caitlyn said desperately. "I just wanted to know the truth about my parents. You can understand that right?"
"What I understand is that you went behind my back," I said. "You lied to me. You snuck around my house like a thief and now one of my properties gets raided right after you were going through my files. That seems like quite a coincidence."
"It was a coincidence," she insisted. "I did not tell anyone anything. I do not even know what half of those files meant. How could I give information to the police when I do not understand it myself?"
I stood up and walked over to where she was sitting. She shrank back into the couch like she thought I was going to hit her. Maybe I should, maybe that would teach her not to lie to me.
"Here is what I think happened," I said slowly. "I think you have been talking to the police. I think they convinced you to spy on me. I think you went through my files and took photos or copied documents and I think you gave that information to whoever owns this phone."
"No," Caitlyn said and tears started running down her face. "That is not what happened."
"Then tell me what did happen," I demanded. "Tell me the truth right now, or I swear to god,, Caitly,n, I will make you regret it."
"I already told you the truth," she sobbed. "I was looking for information about my parents. That is all, I did not take anything. I did not tell anyone anything. Please you have to believe me."
I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She gasped in pain but I did not let go. "Stop lying to me. I know you are lying, I can see it on your face."
"I am not lying," she cried. "Please, Collin, you are hurting me."
"I will do more than hurt you if I find out you betrayed me," I said. "Do you understand? Pregnant or not. Wife or not. If you are working against me I will destroy you."
"I am not working against you," she said. "I promise. Please just let me go."
I held her arm for another few seconds just to make sure she understood how serious I was. Then I released her and she stumbled backward.
"Go to your room," I said. "And do not come out until I tell you to."
She stood up slowly and walked toward the stairs. I watched her go and thought about what I was going to do. If she really was working with the police then she knew too much. She could testify against me, she could destroy everything I had built.
I could not let that happen. Even if she was pregnant. Even if killing her would raise suspicions. I could not let her destroy me.
I went back to my study and called Dimitri. "We have a problem. I think my wife has been feeding information to the cops."
"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked.
"Not completely," I admitted. "But all the evidence points to her. What should I do?"
"Get rid of her," Dimitri said without hesitation. "If she knows enough to cause problems then she i
s a liability and we do not keep liabilities around. I've said this before.” He said and hung up the call.