Page 102 of Blind Luck

“What you need to understand about Stanley is that he always gives in to his sons. Their mom died young, and I guess he wanted to make up for the loss because he began spoiling them and never stopped.”

“But you just said he threatened to fire Jace.”

“Yes, but he’d never have gone through with it. He always did that—made empty threats and then backed down. That’s why I was so surprised when Jace actually did start working on the golf course.”

“Which is when he most likely lent the Galaxy a million dollars in Bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin?”

“Cryptocurrency.”

“Computer money? No, no, no. Jace doesn’t docomputers. He doesn’t even like email. He phones people or meets them in person.”

“Maybe Jackson helped him?”

“I guess.”

“Well, someone made a Bitcoin wallet available to Uncle Mike, and that wallet contained over a million dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.”

“Oh, you mean theCoyotemoney? But that was a gift, not a loan.”

“The what?”

Yeah—thewhat?

“Years ago, Grandpa painted a series of urban wildlife canvases.Raccoon on a Swing, Chipmunk on a Clothesline, Coyote on a Lawn Chair, Bear in a Paddling Pool.They were designed to showcase the way man is encroaching on other creatures’ habitats. He showed them in an exhibition at the Bellagio. A teenage boy talked with him for a long while, and he wanted to buyCoyote, but the painting was ten thousand dollars, and how many teenagers have that kind of money? But Grandpa liked the boy, and he didn’t really need the money anyway, so he agreed to trade it for some Bitcoins. Live a simple life, he always told me—take joy in the small things. He didn’t even know what Bitcoins were back then; he was just happy that the painting was going to a good home. We have to encourage future generations to be creative, he said.”

“He sold a painting for a million in Bitcoin?”

“Oh, no, no, no.Coyotewas one of his smaller pieces, pen and gouache on paper, almost a sketch. He was experimenting with new mediums. I remember him telling me the price tag was, like, five hundred bucks at the time. When Grandpa was putting his affairs in order, nearly everything else was in the trust, but then he realised he forgot about the Bitcoins. The paper with the codes on it was stuffed away in a desk drawer. We both nearlychoked when we realised how much that wallet was worth now. But he knew Uncle Mike was having money trouble, and as I said, they were friends, so Grandpa said what if he simply gave him the paper and forgot he ever owned it?”

“And you went along with that?”

“It was his money, not mine, and there’s plenty in the trust. I just can’t access it at the moment. I truly didn’t think I’d need those Bitcoins, plus I have good memories of the Galaxy. When I was little, Grandpa used to take me for fries in the Library every Saturday. Have you tried the fries there?”

“Several times.”

“Aren’t they the best?” Yup, Selene was totally right about the fries. “I hated the idea of Jace knocking the place down, but what could I do? He doesn’t listen to a word I say.”

“Did Jace know about the Bitcoin gift?”

“Uh, I think so? Yes. Yes, I’m almost sure Grandpa told Stanley, and Stanley would have told Jace.” A gasp, and we were onto our third Scream face. “Are you saying that Jace turned a gift into a loan? Ohmigosh.”

Ari nodded. “That seems probable. And then he used threats and violence in an attempt to extract repayment from the Galaxy’s new owner.”

“That poor girl in the parking garage…?” Selene burst into tears again. “I just…I just don’t know what to say.”

Welp, we’d solved the mystery of the loan, which was what we’d been hired to do. We knew who was behind the threats against Cole. Technically, our job here was done, but it felt as if there were still so many loose ends to tie up.

Ari rubbed Selene’s shoulder. “Don’t say anything. Just take some time to decompress while we work out the next steps. I’d recommend not leaving the house.”

“No, no, I’m not going anywhere.”

“If you need supplies—clothes, toiletries, books—we can bring those.”

“I just want to sleep for a week.”

“You can do whatever you’d like.”

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