Hard Risk by Sidney Bristol
Chapter Five
New Orleans, LA.
Harper drifted, not yet ready to be fully awake. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been able to just lie in bed, comfortable and relaxed. After the last place he’d called home had been broken into and a guy tried to kill him, he always felt on edge in this between stage. But not now.
He shifted, drawing closer to the warmth next to him.
“Oh, crap!” A hand shoved him away. “No. No. No!”
Harper sat up before he was actually awake. His eyelids wanted to stick to his eyeballs like plastic wrap.
“What…?” He squinted at the figure darting around the foot of his bed.
Robin.
Right.
Last night.
The job.
“What’s wrong?” He shook his head, dispelling the lingering grogginess.
Robin was nothing more than a bit of darker shadow moving about the room. She turned left then right, her movements frantic and lost. “I fell asleep. I didn’t go home.”
He reached over and turned on the lamp. “It’s okay. I’ll get you home.”
She clutched what looked like his T-shirt to her chest and groaned. The material covered all the important bits, but he had a very good memory and he’d been thorough last night. “That’s not the point.”
He stood and grabbed a pair of clean underwear from a stack of laundry on top of the dresser. “Relax.”
“I can’t,” she snapped. Robin winced and covered her face with a hand. “Sorry, it’s just…”
His still sleepy head wasn’t firing all cylinders, but it didn’t take much to lay it all out there. “Let me guess, nice, Muslim family expects their daughter home at a reasonable hour?”
She let the hand drop to her side. “Yes. Though calling us a Muslim family is kind of a stretch. After I went to boarding school all of that was just something Dad did.”
He snagged sweatpants off the foot of the bed, which meant the shirt Robin was clutching was its match. He pulled on the pants as he spoke. “Say no more. I grew up Catholic, so I get it. Your dress is hanging up in the bathroom.”
“It is?” Her face brightened in the dim light. “Thanks. I’ll call a car and—thank you.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll take you home.” He held his hand up before she could protest. This would not be his first time corrupting an otherwise good girl. He knew the drill. “I’ll pull around back and park around a corner or in another driveway so no one sees, okay?”
She hung her head. “I’m sorry. Really sorry.”
“Hey?” He closed the distance between them and cupped her face with his hand. “I’m not judging. If you must know, I’m already doing mental gymnastics to figure out how to make this work next time.”
It was too dark to tell if she was blushing, but it was safe to assume her cheeks were a delightful pink. She’d had no problems ensuring her own pleasure last night. He quite like corrupting her.
He bent and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. What Robin needed was a little levity, nothing more. That done he patted her hip. “Go get dressed.”
“Thank you,” she said softly and turned.
Harper braced a hand on the foot of the bed and said nothing. He was too busy enjoying the view. Robin still clutched his shirt in her hands guarding her front, but that left her backside bare save for the curtain of messy hair. She was curvy and fit against him oh so well. And he was a complete and total asshole for taking advantage of her this way.
Maybe someday she would forgive him, but given how much she seemed to like her uncle he didn’t see that happening.
Yeah. He was an asshole.
Harper grabbed a shirt and got his shoes on in the time it took for Robin to pour herself back into her dress. He almost offered to help her with her shoes, except he wasn’t sure he would have the restraint necessary to investigate if she’d found her panties or not.
“Ready,” Robin announced from the bathroom doorway.
Her hair was no longer in the picture-perfect curls and her make-up was mostly gone save for her eyelashes, but she was still a vision of beauty to him. For now, he’d have to live in the moment, because there was no way in hell this ended well.
“Has anyone called or texted?” he asked.
“No.” She crossed the room and handed him the folded T-shirt. “It’s early still. I think I can slip inside and no one notice. You don’t have to drive me. This isn’t your problem.”
He frowned at her. He was a gentleman. “I’ll pretend you didn’t just say that. Come on.”
Harper tossed the shirt on the bed and took her hand.
“Really, you don’t have to…”
He ignored her weak protest. Yes, he knew he was the real asshole here, but he could do right by her otherwise. He wrapped her up in one of his jackets before escorting her down to his car.
Unlike her, he had more than a few missed calls and texts, not all of which were of a work nature. The way he saw it, he’d stretched things with his team out as long as he could. Someone was going to have to tell them something soon.
“You ever had to sneak back into your house before?” he asked as they got on the road.
Robin glanced at him with a mischievous smile. “Yes. During college some of my sorority sisters and I came here for break. I forget how Dad found out we were in the city, but he ordered me home, only he was never there. So I snuck out most of that week.”
“Sorority sisters? I’ll bet there are some stories there.”
She grinned back at him. “Sisters never tell.”
He was glad she had that. He hoped those girls were still in her corner. Robin was going to need them in the coming months.
She twisted her hands in the sleeves of his jacket. “I’m sorry about this morning. I really… I mean…”
“Hey?” He reached over and took her hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself.”
Harper couldn’t help but think about their resident tech genius on the Task Force. Her Indian family wasn’t exactly conservative, but she wasn’t letting her parents know just how much time she spent with her boyfriend either.
“Families are complicated. No one gets to tell you how to be, got it?” he said.
“Thank you,” she mumbled. “I just don’t want you to think I didn’t… Um…”
He glanced at her. As entertaining as it was to watch her squirm, this wasn’t the time. “I seriously doubt last night was all for my benefit. At least, it didn’t sound that way when you were telling me to suck your nipples.”
Robin’s shoulders hunched, but only for a moment. She closed her eyes, drew in a breath and sat up straight. “I’d like to go out again. Just the two of us though. I… Last night was enjoyable.”
“Enjoyable? Hm.” He did his best not to grin. She was in a vulnerable position right now, mentally speaking, and here she was taking ownership of what she wanted. He was proud of her. “Sounds like I need to try harder.”
“Try harder?” She almost choked on those two words. “If you try harder, you might break me.”
He slowed the car to a stop at a red light then leaned on the center console. She didn’t budge an inch, but she watched him with wide eyes. “I said try harder, not fuck harder.”
Her lashes fluttered, and he was treated to a delightful flush. “Harper!”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was too much fun to tease. He liked that she could hold her own, enjoy the banter and still call him on it. But this was his favorite.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I promise, you’ll enjoy it.”
The car behind them laid on its horn.
Harper sighed and focused once more on driving.
“Turn up here,” she said.
She guided him through narrow lanes until they could access the back of the homes along the same street she lived on.
“Park on this side of that garage, please?”
Harper had already noted the garage addition and how it blocked all lines of sight from Robin’s house.
Smart girl.
She turned to him. “Are you going to ghost me?”
“What?” Her question surprised him.
“I know what you just said. But you like to tease, and I’d rather you be honest with me.”
Straight to the point.
She was a very smart girl.
In that moment, this wasn’t about the job or how he was supposed to get close to her. This moment was. He reached over and took her hand in his. “I have every intention of taking you out again. Soon. Let me know what works for you.”
She blew out a breath and seemed to deflate back to her normal size. “Okay. I’ll text you. Things get chaotic when my uncle is here. The rules are always changing and plans are never shared until the last second.”
“Come here.”
He tugged on her hands but didn’t wait for her to come to him. He leaned across the car and kissed her. He lingered, savoring the way she seemed to melt against him. She was so earnest. Which meant when this operation came to a conclusion, she was going to hate him. Unless he figured out a way to extract himself without her ever becoming aware of his role in things. Yeah, that was a tall order. The way these things were going they were more likely to blow up half the city.
Robin pulled away from him and was out of the door before he could stop her. Which was probably for the best. She tossed his coat onto the seat, wiggled her fingers at him then closed the door.
Harper waved back and settled in to watch her. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but it also let him know her best, covert entry point.
Robin disappeared through a gate cut into the fence and was gone.
Well that was easy. And unlocked. He didn’t like that.
He lingered another few minutes before shifting into reverse and exiting the lane the way he’d come.
Now to deal with the less enjoyable action points of his day.
Harper dropped his phone into the cradle on the dash then used the display to initiate a call to Samuel.
This was going to be a fun conversation.
The line picked up after only one ring.
“Morning,” Samuel said, his tone frosty.
“What do you want me to say?” Harper sighed.
“What the hell, Harper?”
“You told me to get close to her.”
“You’re going too fast.”
“I don’t agree.”
“Are you heading back to your place?” Samuel asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll meet you there. And Harper?”
“Yeah?”
“Call Logan. Or Jamie. Or someone, because Zora is pressuring me about your cover story.”
“I thought she was handling it?”
“That’s when she thought this would be a quick job.”
“Great.” Harper groaned and ended the call.
He knew what Samuel’s complaints were going to be, but Harper wasn’t going to budge. There would be no surveillance equipment in the bedroom. That was a line he wasn’t going to cross. And yes, he had shut the bedroom door last night on purpose.
They were using Robin. Harper couldn’t forget that, but he didn’t have to be a complete ass about it. Law enforcement would be reviewing and listening to every second of audio he helped them obtain. It was going to be a new kind of hell once Robin knew what he’d done. The least he could do for her was to keep the intimate moments private. It wasn’t like he was grilling her family when they were otherwise occupied with each other.
Damn.
He scrubbed a hand over his face.
Now that he thought about it in that light, he felt like trash. Utter and complete garbage. Too bad he didn’t have the luxury of harboring that feeling. In order to stop Daar and those he worked with, Harper was going to have to do things he hated and he couldn’t allow his conscience to get in the way.
How had Jamie done it?
To be fair, he’d mostly failed that assignment. Still, perhaps that’s where Harper should start. Jamie would be easier to convince than Logan that Harper was just taking some personal time.
He activated the speed dial number and did his best to relax into the seat. It was harder than expected what with the knot of guilt in his stomach.
She couldn’t know. If Harper told Robin, if her uncle was who they thought he was, she could die.
Jamie’s voice penetrated the fog, surprising Harper out of his thoughts. “You aren’t dead?”
Shit.
“Hey, man,” Harper said.
“Hey yourself. What the hell are you up to?”
“Ah, you know how it goes? Mom guilted me into coming home for a bit.”
“A bit?”
“Zora said it wasn’t a problem…”
“Since when is Zora in charge of us?”
Harper winced. Jamie was hitting the nail on the head repeatedly.
The Aegis Group team was valuable to the Task Force because they could operate outside the bounds of law enforcement when necessary. They didn’t have the same red tape tripping them up. But Jamie was right, the team answered to Logan, who worked with Zora.
This was the tricky part.
Clearly Zora hadn’t explained it away.
Damn it.
“Look, Logan and Kelsey…”
“Nah, man. I get it.” Jamie chuckled. “He’s not happy, but I don’t know what you’d do if you were here, anyway. It’s dead around here.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I thought we’d be doing more,” Jamie said slowly.
This sucked.
For the first time Harper couldn’t talk about the job openly. How was he supposed to do this?
“When will you be back?” Jamie asked.
“Not sure.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Okay, then why the need to rush off like that?”
“Because if I hadn’t Logan would have come up with some reason not to.”
Jamie barked a laugh. “You’re right there.”
“Hey, Jamie?” Harper shifted in his seat. How to ask this?
“Yeah?”
No. Better not to ask. “Sorry, got to run. I’ll call TL later.”
Harper ended the call, cutting off whatever Jamie was saying.
Damn it.
Everything had sounded so easy sitting in Zora’s office. So damn easy. But now he was here and none of this felt right.
Thursday. Suleiman Household, New Orleans, LA.
Robin tiptoed down the stairs.
Was she going to get away with this?
She’d been home for almost three hours and had yet to see or hear anyone moving about the house. Though it wasn’t like, she’d gone looking. She’d slipped inside at almost seven-fifteen. The earliest Dad moved these days was seven-thirty, but with Uncle Daar here she expected everyone to rise late. No doubt they’d stayed up talking until the early morning. Dad didn’t function unless he slept a full eight hours.
Somehow everything was working out for her. The security system hadn’t even been armed, though that shouldn’t surprise her. If she didn’t do it, Dad certainly wouldn’t and Saaina didn’t trust the system one bit. With no log of her arrival and no eyewitnesses since staff didn’t arrive before ten, what was there for Robin to worry about?
She really did need to relax. Instead, she’d put too much effort into her working from home outfit. With Uncle Daar here, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Out of everyone in her family now that Mom was gone, he was the one that treated her like a contributing member. Growing up she’d always been so excited to see him, which was why his betrayal hurt. Robin knew Uncle Daar was connected, if not behind, Mom’s death. Robin just had to prove it.
Jessica was already working away at a new angle she didn’t want to tell Robin about. That made her uneasy. Jessica meant well, but to her this was a puzzle to figure out. A challenge.
Robin needed to call Jess and make her talk.
Later.
Robin would worry about that later. At some point today Uncle Daar would want to take a look at the work she’d done untangling Dad’s finances.
Thank goodness there was plenty of money. She just wished she knew where it all was, or where it was coming from, or where it went.
Not for the first time, she was grateful that Mom had prepared for this. Robin’s financial future didn’t rest solely in Dad’s hands. Either Mom had known what was going to happen, or she’d merely prepared for the worst. Mom’s will had been detailed, down to specific furniture and jewelry items. Dad had been furious when he learned about how Mom had split ownership of her businesses between him and Robin. But that had nothing on the fury when he found out Mom had willed the family home to Robin and not him.
All of that was why Dad now lived in New Orleans, states away from any business Mom had owned. All because Dad had thrown a temper tantrum.
Whatever.
Mom had left trusts set up to pay for the house and the divided ownership of the businesses meant Dad had very little to do with them. Most of the people Mom had hired still operated her companies. She’d known how to pick the good eggs. People who were motivated beyond a simple paycheck. Most of the top-level employees were all people who’d gone to college through mom’s scholarship fund for employees.
Was money the reason Mom had ultimately been killed?
Robin had always suspected Uncle Daar of wanting a piece of Mom’s financial pie. Money was a great motivator, and it stood to reason that with Mom’s death, maybe some of that bounty would go to him through Dad. But to Robin’s knowledge, Uncle Daar hadn’t taken a cent from Dad ever. No matter how much Dad owed Uncle Daar.
He was a puzzle. She knew Uncle Daar and Mom had clashed on many occasions. He hadn’t been terribly sad at her funeral. In fact, he’d been the one to comfort her the most. Over the years, she’d leaned on Uncle Daar more than Dad all the while ignoring what she’d feared deep down. It wasn’t fair. Why did the man who supported her the most have to be the star suspect when it came to Mom’s death?
Uncle Daar hadn’t gained anything by killing her mother. So why? Why had he done it?
Robin was going to figure that out. Sometimes she feared the answer.
He’d been her biggest family support when she’d made her career path known. And in a weird twist of fate, it was Uncle Daar who’d mentioned putting her skills to use. She’d still been trying to figure out how to bring up the topic with Dad and there it had just landed in her lap.
Things like that made it difficult to see Uncle Daar as Mom’s killer. But there was no one else who had the means to do it. Not for the first time Robin had to wonder if Mom had known her life would be cut short.
“There she is,” Saaina called out. For some reason everything she said sounded as though she were mocking Robin.
She paused at the foot of the stairs and took in Saaina standing there, glaring at her.
What now?
She had both of the Bichon Frise dogs tucked under either arm. The little dogs stared at her with tongues lolling to the side, probably ready to attack her feet.
Right, Robin still needed to buy Harper new sneakers.
Some day she would untangle her feelings toward Saaina. The little therapy Robin had done recently had opened her eyes to how alike she and Saaina were, and how regrettable it was that they seemed to be at odds all the time. Robin had tried over the years with her stepmother. Maybe not very well, but Saaina repeatedly slammed that door shut.
Robin pasted a pleasant smile on her face. “Morning.”
Saaina narrowed her gaze, no doubt assessing everything Robin was wearing. “You were out late.”
“We did stay out later than intended. Just lost track of time.” She shrugged and glanced around. The key to this was going to be playing it cool. She could not allow Saaina to get under her skin. “Dad and Uncle Daar around?”
“They’re in the dining room.”
It was ten-thirty, and they were just having breakfast? Or had they dined earlier and not bothered to move?
Robin offered Saaina a smile on her way to the dining room. “Wonderful, thanks.”
She muttered something followed by the familiar tapping sounds of nails on hardwood.
The dogs were free.
No sooner had that thought surfaced than a bark broke the morning calm, and when one dog barked they both barked. She winced and kept going, though she was braced for an ankle nip at any moment. The little hellions liked her well enough when it was just them, but they were loyal to Saaina. In a way, that was sweet. Saaina had no children of her own. Robin didn’t know if it that was by design or if biology had dictated it. What she did know was that Saaina came from a world governed by men, where she went and did what men told her. To Dad, she was a companion and a possession. Not a person. And so in a way, the dogs were all that Saaina had.
For that reason, Robin had promised herself to always treat the furry brats well, no matter how many times they nipped her or pooped on the carpet. They were her siblings. Caring for them was the only thing she could do to prove to Saaina that in this house, they were not enemies.
Robin heard the hushed voices of the two men before she rounded the corner. She pasted on a bright smile and entered the sun-drenched room.
“She lives,” Uncle Daar said over his coffee cup.
She grinned back at him. “She does.”
Dad didn’t quite frown at her, but he clearly wasn’t pleased. “Saaina said you were out late.”
Robin slid into the chair to her uncle’s left. “She’s right. Harper and I talked for a long time after dinner. I completely lost track of time.”
Uncle Daar peered at her out of the corner of his eye. “Relax, Cassim. It was their first date, and we ruined it.”
Dad’s eyes widened. “First date? Really?”
Seriously? Did he hear nothing she said ever?
Robin didn’t sigh, just amped up her smile a little more. “It was. I met Harper at the park on Tuesday. Remember, I said that Button and Bow got away from me? Harper managed to catch them for me.”
Dad nodded slowly. “I do remember you being gone a while.”
“Harper was quite interesting,” Uncle Daar commented.
“What is he?” Dad asked.
Robin paused. “I’m sorry?”
“What is he?” Dad asked this time with a wave of his hand. “What’s his last name again?”
“Your father wants to know where his family hails from,” Uncle Daar explained.
Yeah, Robin had understood that, she was just surprised. Maybe it was a sensitive question for her given that sometimes people asked her what she was. As if being human wasn’t enough.
“Based on his name, I can only assume his family is Hispanic or Latin.” She wished she had something to do with her hands. “You know that’s kind of a rude question, Dad?”
He snorted and waved her off.
Uncle Daar leaned toward her. “It’s clear you inherited your mother’s manners.”
“Thank goodness for that,” she muttered under her breath.
He pitched his voice lower. “I concur.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Dad demanded.
Uncle Daar wiped his fingers on the linen napkin. “I was asking Robin when she planned on working in the office today. I’d hoped to make use of her skills.”
“We aren’t done talking about this man yet.”
“I’d quite like to have him over for coffee. He had interesting things to say about cyber security.”
“Cyber security. Bah.”
Uncle Daar shifted toward her. “Would you happen to know when he’s free?”
“No, but I can find out,” she said slowly.
Okay, this kind of sucked.
She’d wanted Dad and Uncle Daar to be interested in Harper, but at this rate that was all they were going to talk about. It shouldn’t sting, but it did. No questions about how she was, what her plans were other than work. It wasn’t new that her only worth to the family was what she did for them, but every now and then it still hurt.
Yes, Uncle Daar might value her intelligence, but at the end of the day she knew she couldn’t trust him. And Dad would always do what was in his best interest.
Robin grabbed a pastry off the platter in the middle of the table and proceeded to nibble on it. Dad and Uncle Daar talked back and forth, switching from English to Arabic without warning. The longer it went on, the more animated they became, rehashing stories from their youth and old conflicts they’d never quite given up.
It was as if no one else existed.
Even Saaina joined them for about ten minutes then left. No one even spoke to her.
Things shouldn’t be this way.
Robin and Saaina should be able to bond over this. Not for the first time Robin wondered what it was her stepmother had against her.
With the banter showing no signs of stopping, Robin excused herself from the table. Her inner balance was off, but that wasn’t unexpected. Uncle Daar had that effect on her. He was the only family member who treated her with respect, but she couldn’t ignore that he wasn’t necessarily a good man. Then there were her suspicions.
She wanted answers.
Robin retreated to the office and settled in for more routine analysis. Neither Dad nor Saaina were very good with keeping track of their money. Which was why it had come as no surprise to Robin when she’d figured out at least three former employees had stolen from the family. While she was unhappy with the former employees, a large portion of the blame stayed with Dad and Saaina. If they treated people better and weren’t so careless, these things wouldn’t happen. But changing Dad would be like trying to change the seasons.
Her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts and all the numbers.
Robin glimpsed the name on the display and smiled. Of course it wasn’t until she clicked the green button that she remembered her own failings.
“Hey,” she said in far too high of a pitch.
“It has been three days! Three! When were you supposed to call me?”
Robin groaned and leaned on the desk. “Tuesday. I’m so sorry, Jessica.”
“Is he there?” Jessica whispered.
Robin glanced at the doors leading into the office. “Yeah.”
“Oh my God. Okay. Well, what’s happened?”
“Nothing.”
Jessica groaned and Robin could picture her flopping back. Onto a bed. Onto a chair. Jessica was an expert flopper to the point that Robin had bought her a floppy-eared bunny their junior year.
They shouldn’t have been friends.
Jessica was bright, bubbly, never went to class. Almost Robin’s complete opposite. And yet, they’d bonded. Come to find out, Jessica was something of a genius. She hadn’t gone to class because she rarely needed to if a teacher was just going by the book. On top of that, Jessica was one of the best people Robin knew.
“Do you have anything for me? Anything at all?” Jessica pleaded.
“No.”
“Phone numbers? Emails? Give me something!”
“I told you I’d try, but no promises.”
“Can you at least tell me his flight information? I can work off that.”
Jessica’s passion was the law. Or more accurately, right and wrong. Robin’s suspicions about her uncle weren’t something she could talk about openly. But she’d confided in Jessica after a nasty trip home her true thoughts about Mom’s death, and that was it. Jessica was on the case. Only, it wasn’t until last year when Jessica finally had both connections and access to help that they’d been able to do any real research.
They’d thought they had a lead a few times, but in the end nothing had ever panned out.
All they needed was a lead that went somewhere.
“Fine. How are things going? Given any thought to visiting me? I miss your face.”
“I miss you, too. I was thinking we might do a trip come spring.”
“You mean the spring break we never had?”
Robin chuckled.
Her phone beeped.
Curious, she glanced at the display.
It was Harper.
The text preview wasn’t anything significant, just him saying he was thinking about her and hoped she hadn’t gotten caught. But what mattered was that he was thinking about her. When he should probably be doing other things.
Her insides warmed, and she smiled to herself.
“I…” Robin closed her eyes, took a breath and forged ahead. “I met someone.”
“What?” Jessica yelped into the phone. “When? Who? I need pictures, a birthdate, his full name—”
“Stop. You are not running a background check on him. I’m pretty sure Uncle Daar already has.”
“Then all the more reason for me to. The enemy can’t know details we don’t. Please tell me he’s hot? And not a dick?”
“I don’t want to jinx myself.” Robin eased back onto the leather chair. When it came to Harper, her feelings were jumbled. She was using him, but she liked him, too. “I’ll send you…”
Her voice trailed off as she realized Uncle Daar was standing in the doorway. He caught her eye and tipped his head toward the hall, as if to ask if he should come back later.
“Hey, I’ve got to go,” Robin said in a rush then hung up. “Hey, Uncle Daar.”
“You didn’t have to do that on my account,” Uncle Daar said.
“If I let her, she’ll talk all day.” She smiled. “Do you need the office?”
“No, I actually had a question for you.”
“Oh?”
“Do you know whatever happened to your mother’s laptop?”
The question took her completely by surprise. The laptop? Did she even know what it looked like?
Wait.
Robin had a momentary vision of Mom sitting at the writing desk in the living room of her family’s house and a blue laptop. There’d been a little, silver rectangle on one side.
She hadn’t thought about that in…ever.
“No idea, sorry,” Robin said. “Any reason why? Something I can help you with?”
Uncle Daar grimaced. “I was asking your father about some of your mother’s holdings she and I had discussed ages ago. You know how he gets when we talk about her. Your father has no recollection whatsoever. There were some pictures she was supposed to share with me as well, but that never happened. I just wondered. It’s nothing.”
Stock holdings turning into pictures? Was that a line of thought Robin just wasn’t following?
“I can ask Dad. He might remember something if I ask,” she offered.
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t think your father wants either of us poking around.”
“You’re probably right.” Robin sighed.
Just what did Uncle Daar want with an old laptop? Pictures kind of made sense, but all of mother’s accounts, property, stocks, right down to itemized pieces of furniture had been accounted for in her will. Tracking down information on holdings, whatever that meant, shouldn’t be difficult. Nor should it need an old laptop.
So, what was he really up to? Had he just dropped the lead she’d been begging for into her lap?