A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"It seems Brendon Fisher's been living in an apartment here in Seattle for the last six months.", Christian sighs after getting off the phone with Detective Hudson. "His apartment is located in the building which the mystery guy entered and left." He runs his hand along his jawline while I look on. Yesterday's revelation that the mysterious black Sedan was registered to Bob's nephew was a big break in the case, but it's also a break that's caused more questions.
"Even more proof Brendon is behind the break in. We still need to find out who the other guy is." Christian cocks his head. "I'm aware I said we because I'm in this just as much as you."
"It's no use for me to not let you in. You'll just find a way to get in on the investigation. So...I might as well keep you in the loop."
"You're making the right decision.", I say as I stand and kiss his cheek. My mind takes a turn to the person who we believe is the ultimate mastermind of the magazine's break in, Bob. "When my mom and Bob were married, I tried to get along with him for my mom's sake even though I didn't really like him. I suspected he wasn't fond of me either, but I had no idea he had so much hatred towards me and my family."
"Bob's certainly a piece of work who's proved he's untrustworthy. Even from jail, he's more than likely the puppet master behind all of this.", Christian says, glancing towards the front door where we hear three small knocks. "That's probably your parents." I called my mom earlier and asked if she could come over. Fortunately, my dad was with her and agreed to come as well so I can fill them in on what's happened since we last spoke. Christian lets go of me and opens the door. "Hey."
"Hi.", my dad says. "Ana told Carla earlier she was going to get Oliver down for a nap so we knocked instead of ringing the doorbell."
"Good thinking.", I smile. "He was a little fussy and didn't go to sleep until about thirty minutes ago. Why don't the two of you have a seat. You're going to want to be sitting down when I say what I need to say." My dad grabs my mom's hand which he continues holding after they've sat down. "We've found out more information about the break in. A black Sedan was spotted around the building at the time the break in occured, but not long before, what's probably the same car was caught on cameras a few streets over. The car was registered to Brendon Fisher." My mom gasps. "Yeah. Bob's nephew."
"He's the one who broke in at the magazine?", my dad asks.
"Unless his appearance has changed, we don't think he's the guy who did the actual breaking in, but he's connected."
"And if he's connected, Bob's connected.", my mom mutters. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?", I ask her.
"I'm the one who brought Bob into our lives, thus I'm the one responsible for him causing all of this chaos."
"Carla, just as you weren't respsonsible for what he did before, you're not to blame here.", Christian says. "Bob is the one who's accountable. I'm thinking he enlisted his nephew to do his dirty work."
"During my marriage to Bob, I didn't see Brendon much, but I recall Bob bragging how Brendon was computer savvy. You said he wasn't the guy driving that car so who's the other guy?"
"His accomplice.", I reply. "Maybe he's like his uncle in not wanting to get his hands dirty."
"Did he not think he'd end up getting caught?", my dad scoffs.
"The joke is on him.", Christian says.
"Ana, I'm glad you caved and came with me today. After all the chaos that's been going on, a day out will do us some good.", Olivia says as we walk through the entrance of the Northgate Mall. With it being Sawyer's day off, Ryan's following us on our shopping excursion.
"I'm not going to lie and say a part of me doesn't want to be home. Even though it's the weekend Christian's not relaxing. He's in his study where he's working on a proposal for work while waiting to see if more information comes in about the break in." With me shopping with Olivia and Christian working, Oliver is spending the day with Carrick and Grace. We move through the crowd and come to a stop at Auntie Ann's Pretzels. The aroma of freshly baked pretzels is enticing. "Those smell so good."
"I'm in complete agreement. My nausea has eased and been replaced with craving after craving. I told Luke I wasn't going to have weird cravings."
"How weird are they?", I giggle while looking over the menu.
"If you call putting salsa on everything weird, then my cravings are pretty weird. I had a hot dog yesterday and had to have salsa on it." I catch Ryan scrunch his nose up in disgust.
"Hmm. That could be a good combo."
"Yep. It was a good breakfast.", she says.
Once we've got our pretzels, we start back walking, doing mostly window shopping until we stop at Bath and Body Works. Both Olivia and I grab a shopping basket and look over the lotions.
"How's everyone at the magazine dealing with the break in?", I ask her.
"They've been going about with work as usual although everyone's wondering who's behind what happened." She picks up a bottle of honeysuckle body mist. "I like this.", she says as she holds it up to my nose.
"It does have a nice scent." Olivia places the body mist and a coordinating bottle of lotion in her basket while I pick up a bottle of lavender lotion.
"Daniel, I told you it wouldn't be so bad shopping with me." I spin around and see Audrey and Daniel standing behind me. "Hi.", Audrey says.
"Hey.", a less enthusiastic Daniel murmurs. "Audrey, if you had known Ana and Olivia were going to be here you could have came with them. I wouldn't have minded one bit."
"Aww. I know you wouldn't have especially since I had to practically force you to come with me. Ana, I'm sure Christian doesn't like shopping with you either."
"You couldn't be further from the truth. Christian loves it.", I shrug.
"Luke enjoys shopping with me.", Olivia chimes in as Audrey appears more pleased with herself. "Audrey, are you shopping for anything in particular?"
"I'm going to look for some new running shoes and also do some browsing at Victoria's Secret." Daniel's ears perk up at the last part. "I knew that would get your attention."
"Excuse me a second.", I say after hearing the beep of a text message from Christian. I open my phone and see a photo of Oliver grinning. It appears to have been taken in our living room. I press one for Christian's number and hear him pick up on the second ring. "I just got the photo. Is it one you already had in your phone?"
"It's one I took a few minutes ago.", Christian answers. "I got my work done and called my mom to see if she could bring Oliver back home."
"I can come back home too.", I tell him.
"I want you to stay out with Olivia. Do your shopping and have fun. Oliver and I are going to lounge around the house." He gets silent for a second. "Detective Hudson is beeping in."
"Ok. Well, I'll let you answer it, and I'll see you later." I hang up the phone and see Audrey and Daniel in a passionate embrace. "Maybe the two of you should skip the shopping and get a room."
"That's not such a bad idea.", Audrey laughs. "Although I really want to get something from Victoria's Secret."
"Woman, you're killing me here.", Daniel groans. "Come on. Let's go there." He takes Audrey's hand and starts leading her to the exit. "See you guys around."
"Bye.", Olivia giggles.
"Hey baby. Let me help you with your bags." Christian takes the three shopping bags from my hands and sets them down on the table by the front door. I quickly give him a small kiss on the cheek which I'd love to deepen, but the sight of Detective Hudson sitting in the living room dampens things.
"Detective Hudson, hi.", I say as I pick Oliver up from his bouncy seat.
"Hello Mrs. Grey. I assure you I'm not trying to make showing up here a habit, but we've got the break we've been needing in the case." I look at Christian who nods for me to sit down. "I was at the department when the clerk at the front desk told me someone wanted to speak with me. I immediately recognized the guy as the same one in footage taken outside the magazine. He introduced himself as Joseph Lewis. He's an unemployeed video game developer who up until a few months ago was living off his parents. They got tired of supporting him and cut him off. It was a few weeks ago when his friend offered to help him get back on his feet."
"I get the feeling the friend was Brendon Fisher."
"It was.", Christian replies. "They live in the same apartment building and have been friends for a while. Brendon told Joseph he needed him to go into a building and do some damage, but Joseph was scared. Brendon assured him things would be ok. He would remotely access the security system, turning off the alarms and cameras. Joseph said Brendon told him the guy who ran the magazine was someone who had caused his family trouble."
"Joseph eventually agreed and did the deed. Yesterday, Brendon said he might want Joseph to do some more work for him. Joseph said he needed more details before even considering it. That's when Joseph mentioned the name Christian Grey.", Detective Hudson says.
"Joseph claims hearing my name changed things. He said he's read enough about me to know that I'm a force to be reckoned with in the business world and probably outside the office as well.", Christian adds as Oliver whimpers, only to stop when I place him in my other arm. "He knows I support many charities and give back to the community, things that make it difficult to believe I could be a bad person. Basically, he realized Brendon was playing him. So, he went to the police."
"The guy might have fed me a bunch of crap, but I didn't get that vibe from him. I sensed he truly wanted to help right a wrong."
"What now?", I ask.
"Brendon Fisher is going to be picked up this afternoon. I'm going to question him and ask for answers."
"How about a glass of wine?", I ask Christian. He turns from the window and shakes his head. "I'm sure the phone is going to ring any minute."
"You said that an hour ago and then an hour before that.", he murmurs.
"I'm sure the detective will call as soon as he can." Christian's phone buzzes from the coffee table, and I step aside so he can answer it. While he's on the phone, I lean against the wall and wait. Minutes later, he sets the phone down and groans. "Not good news?" His face slowly eases into a smile.
"Not good news. Great news. Brendon was brought in for questioning. After a long interrogation, he confessed to hiring Joseph Lewis to break in at the magazine. It was a favor for Bob who he met with several weeks ago. He said he couldn't stand seeing his uncle in prison so he agreed to help get revenge."
"The only thing he's done is help make him similiar to his uncle by ending up in prison himself."