Page 27 of Assassin's Prey
“The trust has been sitting for nineteen years, eleven since Amos died,” Eli said.
“But even at that rate of interest, it seems excessive.” Abby shrugged. “My dad was running for governor and had serious enemies, and he didn’t hire an army.”
“Our friend yesterday said Chadwick wasn’t the one running the show,” Eli pointed out.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. “I did see someone with Chadwick on the doorstep, but I couldn’t get a good look. Might be his partner. At minimum the man is involved somehow. If we could get some surveillance, a photo, maybe we could find out.”
“Which makes even less sense.” Remi tipped his coffee cup back and forth. “Now he’s splitting the money. That’s even less reward for more expense.”
All of us fell silent, considering the angles.
“I don’t think this is just about money,” I said.
“When is it ever not about money?” Remi asked.
I shifted on the hard wooden seat. “The man yesterday asked if we’d read the trust. There is something we’re missing here. And I think we’ll know what if we can get a copy of it.” I cocked my head at Eli. “Would that be a matter of public record?”
“The wills certainly would be.” His eyes glazed over like he was already deep in the wormhole of the Internet, working his magic. “They might not hold the details of the trust, but they could point us in the right direction. Certainly tell us who controls the assets. Even if the accounts have changed hands since then, it would give us a starting point.”
For a moment I fell back in time, to that night I’d snatched my brothers from their beds, handed them tiny backpacks full of clothes and the little bit of packaged food I could find without drawing attention to myself, and helped them out a downstairs window of the mansion. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t taken them and run? If I’d stayed under my uncle’s thumb long enough to understand what had been at stake. Would I already know the secrets he’d hidden from us? Or would we have ended up as dead as my parents before we’d become a threat to his plans? He’d obviously not been worried about any threats when I’d returned at eighteen—I’d managed to bypass security and get his fat neck in my hands before he’d had even an inkling of danger.
Which also meant he’d had no time to hide anything.
“How much do you think Chadwick knows about how Amos operated?” I asked, not really looking for an answer, more thinking aloud.
Eli narrowed his eyes, obviously thinking too. “What do you mean?”
“The safe,” Remi said.
I nodded. As boys we’d played in my father’s office every afternoon while he worked. We’d all seen him open the hidden safe behind the bookcase in that room. “Would he know about it?”
“Probably.” Remi contemplated the cup in his hands for a moment. “All these years with unrestricted access, I’m pretty sure Chadwick has been through every inch of the house.”
“Or whoever he’s partnered up with. They likely keep their own valuables in that safe,” Eli pointed out.
“Getting to it would not be easy,” I said despite the way anticipation thrummed in my veins. I’d like nothing better than to sneak behind enemy lines right beneath Chadwick’s nose. “Rathlin’s there.”
“And Chadwick’s ghost partner,” Eli said.
“And there’s the possibility that they’ve added another safe, replaced that one, changed the code…” Remi shrugged.
“It would probably be much easier to break into Chadwick’s law office,” Abby interjected.
We all turned to stare at her. She gave a little laugh as she stood, empty plate and cup in hand. “Men. Always making things more complicated.”
I felt a smile tug at my lips despite myself. “Smart-ass.”
Abby winked. “I’ll go take a shower and leave you all to your planning.”
The room was silent until the bedroom door clicked shut.
“She forgets this isn’t a friendly game of cat-and-mouse,” Remi said grimly. “They’re out to make us disappear. Her too.”
Because she was a part of us now. Forever linked and forever in danger. Because of me.
“She lost her home and almost lost her life a few days ago,” I reminded him. “She knows exactly what’s at stake.”
“Does she?”
