Page 27 of Catch Me When I Fall

“Alright,” the Oasis leader muttered. “Thank you for the update.”

I hung up the phone because there was nothing more to say and got busy packing up the room. There wasn’t much, just two bags and my laptop. Once that was done, I set the bags by the door and folded back the sheets and comforter to the end of the bed, grabbed the room key, and headed out.

Once I was on the road, I sat back in the driver’s seat of the SUV I’d rented earlier this week and tried to ignore Hale’s file in the passenger seat.

When the sun finally rose, I pulled over for some food and a coffee. Inside the small gas station, there was an advertisement for a local Astoria restaurant called Margie’s. As I stared at the faded poster, my eyes on the smiling faces of the customers, I wondered if Hale had seen this same ad.

I wondered what made her pick Astoria.

That was just one of the many questions running through my mind about this woman.

Another question was she still non-verbal?

My gut twisted at the thought of not hearing her voice. “What the hell?” I muttered, looking away from the poster as my phone rang. I fished it from my pocket and put it to my ear as I headed back to the Tahoe.

“Grayson.”

“The money is from her father,” Hayes informed me without so much as a fucking hello.

My brows came together. “How do you know?”

“Jake has been monitoring her account, and I got curious.”

I grunted in agreement. That was a lot of money for someone to have, especially someone who’d never had a high paying job. “You trying to put Jake out of a job?” I asked.

“You trying to put Dominic out of a job by being a fucking jackass?” my right hand shot back.

My lips twitched, and for the first time in a fucking week, I felt normal. “What did you find?”

“Back in the early 2000s, before Mr. Gelling became mayor of St. Louis, he worked in finance,” he said, telling me something I already knew.

“Go on,” I said, getting into the vehicle and taking a sip of the black coffee. Tasted like shit, but I needed it if I was going to get through this day.

“We knew that, but what we didn’t know was the man invested into a lot of stock,” Hayes said. “He made millions, Gray.”

My jaw jumped as I pulled out of the gas station to get back on the road. In the distance, I could see dark, heavy storm clouds. Great. I hated driving in the fucking rain. “If he made millions, then why pursue a career in politics?” I asked.

“We can find out. That is, if you want me to.”

I knew what Hayes was offering. Of all the dark shit that came from Carrie Hale’s situation, this was the mystery on top. However, in a few days, it would no longer be our problem. “No, leave that to the FBI investigation.”

Hayes, being Hayes, thought nothing of it and moved on. “Anyways, he made a shit ton of money, invested it, and put some aside for Carrie. According to this court document, she didn’t have access to it until she was eighteen.”

That was interesting. An eighteen-year-old girl not touching her trust fund.

“What about her husband? Did he have access to this account?” I asked, curious.

“Negative. Once Carrie turned eighteen, she was the only one on the account. I doubt Robert even knew it existed.”

“What do we have on him?”

Hayes was quiet for a moment. “Not much. You want us to keep digging?”

Hale’s dead husband was none of my business. This was an extraction and drop off, nothing more. “No, don’t bother.” I changed the subject. “Jake tell you I’m on the move?” I asked.

“Yeah. You want us to move to Denver?” he asked.

“No, this will be over before you get your bags packed, fairy princess,” I said, reaching for my coffee again.

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