Chapter 51 Daisy Ann

After Daphne and the girls left with the marshals, Daisy Ann drove straight to Rosewood, eager to be a witness to the FBI parading Amber out of the hotel in handcuffs. Mason had several friends in the FBI field office and was told they would be there at five o'clock. There was no guarantee that Amber wasn't out shopping or doing whatever frivolous things Amber did, but eventually she'd have to come back, and Daisy Ann was prepared to wait there all night if necessary.

Daphne and the girls were headed back to Connecticut to get things straightened out with DCF before finally going back to California. They'd both promised to keep in touch. Daisy Ann felt an immediate kinship with Daphne from the first time she'd spoken to her. She thought back to that initial phone call from Jackson Parrish. Daisy Ann had been surprised to hear from him—her research into Amber had made her familiar with who he was. She had to admit, he was a smooth operator and if Daisy Ann didn't have better instincts, she may have fallen for his story. It was a little over a month ago when the call came.

"Daisy Ann Briscoe?" the smooth deep voice came over the line.

"Yes, who's this?"

"You don't know me, ma'am. I'm Jackson Parrish and I believe we have a common enemy."

She'd sat up straighter. "I know who you are. What do you want?"

"I want to help you, and I need you to help me."

"You're married to that con artist, and I don't want anything to do with you." She had been about to hang up, but his next words stopped her.

"I can help you prove she killed your father."

"Go on."

"She admitted it to me. I'll testify but first you have to help me."

"What did she tell you about my father?"

"That she shot him on purpose."

The old fury overtook her again. "Hold on." She'd put the phone down and gone into the next room and screamed. After a moment she returned to the call. "I need you to meet me in Colorado and tell the sheriff everything you know. Right away."

"Just a minute, Daisy Ann. Before I betray my wife in such a shameful manner, I need something from you."

That's when he told her the whole scenario. "Amber's stolen millions from me. She's the reason I went to prison and while I was there, she found a way to transfer everything into an offshore account. And it may interest you to know that she's trying to take over your company. Wade Ashford has already agreed to sell her his shares."

"Why would Wade do that?"

"She has something on him. A patent he stole. Point is, he's going to sell his shares and then before you find out, he'll try to convince you to sell your shares to a man named Hugo Bennett of Delancey-Flynn, who will take your designs to Europe. But Hugo Bennett and Delancey-Flynn are a front. When the deal is done, Amber will be the one who owns the majority voting stock, and then she'll turn around and sell all the shares to Valene Mart who will then have controlling interest in the company. They'll be able to do whatever they want with the designs."

It was a brilliant plan, and one that might have worked. "So what do you want?"

"Pretend to sell to Bennett. Delancey-Flynn is the LLC she and I set up together. I'll transfer the four and a half million to your company, and you'll issue fake certificates to us. Afterward, you'll return the money to me, and we'll both stick it to Amber. Then I'll testify."

When she'd pressed him further about her father's shooting, the details didn't add up. The time of day was wrong, the weapon, everything. That's when she'd known he was using her to get his money back from Amber.

"Give me a day to think about it."

When Meredith had called and told Daisy Ann all about Jackson Parrish and his history of abuse, her instincts where proven correct. She'd been appalled to learn how he had committed Daphne to a sanatorium against her will years ago and held the threat of taking her children away to keep her from leaving. So together she and Meredith had hatched their own plan. Daisy Ann pretended to work with Jackson because the idea of helping Daphne was irresistible. An added bonus was getting back at Amber. And that's when Daisy Ann decided both Amber and Jackson could kiss those millions goodbye.

She pulled up to the hotel and parked. Once inside she headed to the bar and took a seat at the table closest to the entrance and on the cushioned seat. After ordering a scotch, she leaned back and took a deep breath. Amber was finally going to pay. Daisy Ann had been carrying this burden for so long she didn't know how to lay it down. But this would be the start of the healing. With the evidence they had now, she was certain Amber would be convicted. There would be the wait for the trial and the emotional journey of walking through everything again, but Daisy Ann would be there in that courtroom every day until Amber was put away for good. She finished her drink and pulled out her phone. A text from Mason. She went cold as she readit.

Just heard from my friend. Amber checked out yesterday. They're checking the airlines. No update yet.

Daisy Ann threw a twenty on the table and left.