Page 131 of The Reluctant Hero

“And you gave all of it to me,” I stare at her in disbelief. “Why? I’m not some detective.”

“Because I thought you knew. I thought I could get a little revenge driving you crazy.” She shakes her head as if she realizes how dumb that is.

“You drove me crazy, alright,” I mutter. “On the plus side, the pictures made me see how much of an infected pus ball he is.”

She blinks at me in surprise. “I’m stealing that insult.”

“It’s free. Go for it.”

I sit back and try to put all these pieces together. Loser stole a bunch of property. I knew that already. I’m back to wherethe money is coming from. And then the photos. Something is off about that, too, other than being gross. Now, a missing PI.

This whole thing has gone from a smelly pile of garbage into an entire dumpster of filth.

“I’d like you to leave now,” she says weakly.

“Shut up. I’m thinking. And you sound close to a heart attack,” I glare at her. The flat look she gives me reassures me that the cast iron set to her backbone is slowly returning.

“But he hasn’t done anything with it all,” she says with a sneer

“He built a mansion on one of the sites,” I mutter to her and myself. “No golf course, though. And no idea where the photos came from.”

Her lips tighten even though I didn’t mean it as an accusation.

“Is Loser the only one in them?” I cringe.

“And that judge. Fullerton.”

I turn to her in disgust. “Yeah. Thanks for that.”

“It’s proof that they’re in it together,” she protests.

“Yeah, they are,” I give the picture a horrified glance.

“Once an idiot, always an idiot. Don’t you know what that means?” Her fire comes back with a snap.

“That the lawyers and judges are in on whatever this is,” I sneer.

“And the cops, girly. The cops,” she leans in my face to emphasize.

That assurance builds the unease inside to a breaking point. If all of them band together, there’s nowhere to turn.

No wonder I can’t find a lawyer for the divorce.

We sit in silence while I stew on insults and puzzle pieces. So much for trying to stay off the mystery team.

With a sigh, I stand up. “Give me all the names you have.”

“You have them. Except my daughter.”

“Ok. Maybe Gabriel can take a look and get further than the PI. What’s his name?”

“You’re going to tell him?” She sneers at me.

“He already knows,” I snap back. “He’s the one investigating now. He’s rich, he has bodyguards, and he’s determined. If anyone can do it, it’s him.”

“Stupid girl,” she stares at me sadly. “Whatever you do, don’t trust him. You’ve already done it once and look how that ended up.”

My heart twists at her logic. I’ve had the same thought myself. My head is buried so far in the sand I might see light on the other side soon.

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