Page 87 of Byte

“That’s Chad,” she said and showed me a picture posted on one of Todd’s social media pages. According to the caption, the photo was of Todd and his brother Brett.

I returned to my computer and typed Brett Orson into the search bar. Plenty of information came up immediately. Then I went back to the prison records and looked at the visitation log for Todd. I opened another tab and pulled up Lawrence’s visitors. “I think we might have some answers. Look at this. Brett was visiting his brother when Lauren went to see Lawrence for the first time.”

“That must be how they met,” Keegan observed. “Oh, and look at that. ‘Michael Fuller’ also visited Todd Orson the day Lawrence was stabbed.”

“I bet Brett asked his brother to do it.”

“But why?” she wondered.

“I can answer that,” Phoenix said and joined us at the table. “Luke was able to get someone in to talk to Lawrence yesterday. He called and left a message, but with everything going on, I didn’t check my messages until this morning.”

“What did he say?” Keegan asked impatiently.

“He said when Lauren first started coming to see him, she said it was because she wanted to get to know him. After the first few visits, she started asking about what happened to his assets. Then she started asking about Gabby. He said she became increasingly more demanding each time. At the visit before her last one, she gave him Gabby’s phone number and asked him to contact her. She wanted him to convince Gabby to cooperate with her and give her half of her inheritance. During her last visit, he told her he hadn’t contacted Gabby and had no intention of doing so. He said Lauren was furious. She told him she would get what was hers without him, and that he would be sorry for not helping her. Then he said a man he didn’t know came to see him the day he was stabbed, which we now know is Brett.Brett told him what happened with Lauren and Gabby and said he would finish the job. Lawrence didn’t know exactly what that meant or if he was serious, but he tried to call Gabby to warn her, just in case. He was going to try to call her again, but Todd stabbed him before he had the chance.”

“Why would he want to finish the job for Lauren? What did he get out of it?” Keegan asked, though I was wondering the same thing.

“I’m not sure we’ll ever know, but if I had to guess, I’d say money. She probably promised him a hefty sum if he’d help her get her inheritance from Gabby,” he said.

I nodded in agreement. “That makes the most sense. He probably learned some of his computer skills from his brother.”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t he just hack into her bank account and take the money?” Keegan asked.

“He probably didn’t know how. Hacking into a home security system is a lot easier than breaking into someone’s trust fund. Even if he knew how to get in, he likely didn’t know how to take the money and cover his tracks so he didn’t get caught.”

“I still can’t believe either of them thought Gabby had his money. I mean, look at every drug lord or Mafia boss that’s ever been busted. Their family didn’t get to keep their money and their mansions,” Keegan said.

Phoenix shrugged. “People are stupid.”

“Yeah, they are,” I agreed.

“Does Gabby know yet?” Phoenix asked.

“Do I know what?” Gabby asked from behind.

“Have a seat while I get you some coffee,” I said. “Then I’ll tell you everything.”

She took the news in stride. She listened to the entire story without much of a reaction. I was just as confused as Keegan was, but it was Shaker who seemed to know what was going on.

He sat down beside Gabby and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders so as not to jostle her injured shoulder. “Is this about Chad’s death, or is it about Lawrence actually trying to do something good for once in his life?”

“Both,” she said quietly.

“It’s okay to be happy Chad’s gone. It doesn’t mean you’re celebrating death. It just means you’re happy the threat to you is over. As for Lawrence, it’s okay to feel however you feel about him. If you want to thank him for trying to warn you, you can. Or if you want to move on and not acknowledge him, that’s okay, too.”

“Thank you,” she said and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she smiled. “I like things just the way they are.”

27

GABBY

Three weeks had passed since Papa shot Chad, and it finally felt like things were getting back to normal. Due to my extenuating circumstances, I was granted an extension to finish my clinical hours. Patch assured me we would get my hours in, but, with the extension, we didn’t have to rush. I had a feeling Gigi had something to do with my special treatment, but she wouldn’t admit to anything. I thanked her anyway.

I also received a letter from the nursing board. I thought for sure it was the letter notifying me of the complaint against my license and the investigation they planned to launch. To my surprise, it was a letter telling me they were dismissing the case. I wasn’t sure how that happened, but I called Tina and thanked her profusely.

The best part of those three weeks was getting the bandages removed from my hands. Since the fractures weren’t complete, meaning the bones were cracked versus broken in half, they didn’t take as long to heal. My hands were still sore and stiff, but I could use them to do things for myself. Things that I’d always taken for granted, like washing my hair and buttoning my jeans.I insisted on driving home from the doctor’s office, much to Byte’s dismay.

Once we were home, I assured him I would be fine by myself and shooed him away to do his thing at the clubhouse. Then I called Flint and asked him to come over.

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