Page 56 of Saltwater Memories
“I don’tknowhim – it’s complicated. But there were some issues here on the island. You remember that my dad’s a cop, right?”
“Yes…” he said slowly.
“I mean, it can’t be that hard to figure out who it is if you vet your clients. I know they use shell companies and launder money, but if you look under the hood, you’ll see that something isn’t quite right.”
He eyed her. Was this some kind of joke? He didn’t do business with themob!“Oh, is that all? Just look under the hood?”
“I’m not saying that you’re going to go on their property and it’s going to have a bunch of drugs out in the open or something. But also, I don’t know that that’snotthe case? We’re pretty close to the Canadian border, and that might be useful for drug smuggling…”
“Whoa whoa whoa, what’re you talking about? Who is this client?”
She shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”
“What kind of mob are you talking about? Like guys who sell fur coats that fell off the back of a truck? Or like…guys who will kill me if I mess something up?”
“I don’t know, I’m not privy to any of their business. But I’m sure that they do illegal stuff, and make a lot of money doing it. And I know that you sympathize with – ”
“I don’t sympathize with the mafia!” Will took a deep breath. He realized that he’d sort of shouted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. But it feels like you’re accusing me of being something that I’m not.”
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I just don’t think you know what you’re dealing with.”
He walked back into the house, determined to walk away and regain his composure.
“Orwhoyou’re dealing with,” she added.
He spun around. “Is this really what you think of me? That my clients are mafioso’s and I’m this bad dude who helps them launder drug money? Or are you just making this up to keep pushing me away?”
“No, I don’tknowthat it’s drug money, it could be from other stuff. You know – whatever they do.”
He dropped his arms to his sides. “So you have no idea what this client does, but you’resurethat he’s in the mob, and you won’t tell me who he is. Oh, and I’m possibly laundering drug money. Really helpful Amanda.”
She stormed past him and stopped in the hallway. “This is why I couldn’t tell you. You don’t care about the truth. Like you told me the day that we met, all you care about is money.”
His jaw dropped. “That is not what I said!”
“Good luck with this house!” she said as she ran down the stairs. “I’m sure you’re going to make a ton of money off of it!”
The front door slammed shut and Will stood there, looking down the crumbling staircase, her words echoing in his mind.
