Page 17 of Out of the Shadows
She shook her head. “Everyone on staff has been there for at least a year, and our office manager for as long as we’ve been open.”
“Neighbors you’ve had issues with?”
“I would tell you, Jack. I’ve had no threats, no one has followed me, no strange phone calls, nothing!” She was getting upset.
“We’re also going to look into Logan’s businesses and see if there’s someone who may want to get to him through you. And my sister Margo has already talked to Brittney.”
She grunted. “Bitch.”
Jack smiled. “It’s unlikely that she would commit a crime now that she has a settlement and would lose it if she violates the agreement.”
“What agreement?”
Jack shouldn’t have said anything, but he did. “Logan gave her the house and a cash settlement—”
“Which he shouldn’t have. She cheated on him, her boyfriend nearly killed him!”
“And as part of the divorce settlement, she can’t contact him or any member of his family or business for a year, except through his lawyer. So I don’t see what her endgame would be going after you through a surrogate.”
“Oh. He didn’t tell me.”
“I don’t think it’s a secret, but he doesn’t seem comfortable talking about what he considers a failure.”
“My big bro.” She smiled, sipped her coffee, grimaced and dumped it out in a potted plant. “You know him pretty well.”
“We became friends after I determined he wasn’t committing corporate espionage.”
“He told me about that,” she said with a small laugh. “So what’s next?”
“Margo will track down your ex-husband. Maybe he has an idea what’s going on.”
“I’ll ask him when he calls me back,” she said. “Charlie’s irresponsible and always has his head in the clouds, but he wouldn’t get involved with anything illegal.”
She paused, bit her lip. “Logan’s always had vision. Growing up on the ranch, he wasn’t as physical as our younger brother, Henry, who loved working with cattle and fixing things. Logan wanted to make work easier and more efficient. He failed a lot, but he learned. By thirteen, he’d designed an innovative irrigation system for our garden, sold it around town, and hired nine-year-old Henry to help install it. He’s clever. Charlie admires that, believes he can come up with ideas that will make him rich, too.”
“And his ideas?” Jack asked.
“Wild. Mostly about investing. He’s been fired from nearly every job for daydreaming. But Charlie’s always happy. He fails, gets up, tries again. I loved that about him. But he doesn’t accept consequences for his actions, nor does he learn from his failures. When we lost the house, he believed hisnextidea would fix everything. That’s when I said enough.”
She looked away. “After the second major financial upheaval he put us through, I told Charlie I was done. He promised no more investments without my explicit approval, no more risks. Six months later, I found out he’d forged my name on a second mortgage. So I left. That was four years ago. I don’t think he’s ever accepted that I’m not coming back. He still thinks if one idea succeeds, I’ll forgive him.”
Jack treaded carefully. “Have you given him any reason to think that?”
“No. I told him never. I love him, but I’m not in love with him. I can forgive, but I can’t forget. It wasn’t just one lie.”
“Does he have a job now?”
“He works in maintenance at Logan’s resort. He’s had similar jobs—golf courses, outdoor work. Logan’s crew cuts him slack because he’s family, but he does well when he shows up.”
To Jack, it sounded like Charlie kept getting second chances and never learned. He’d already ruined his marriage. Was he chasing a new scheme? Had he put Laura in danger without realizing it?
“Talk to your husband,” he said. “Margo will also speak to him, his boss, his neighbors. Maybe he ticked someone off.”
“That doesn’t sound like Charlie,” she said.
Jack wasn’t sure. If Charlie was in financial trouble, had he borrowed from the wrong people? That was a job for Tess—she was better with financials than Margo.
“And this may have nothing to do with your ex,” he said. “But we have to cover the bases.”
