Disillusioned

“Me? Why would he be angry at me?”

“Well, he was close to your dad. . . .”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, if he was faking it with the Bradleys, he might have been faking it with your dad as well.”

“I guess.”

“And there’s one other thing that struck me. . . .”

“Yeah?”

“Remember how you said the lawyer told you that you had a sibling?”

“Yeah?”

“What if that sibling is Steve?” Blake rushed out. “I know it’s a long shot, but with the information we have available, it could be highly possible.”

“You think Steve is my brother?” My heart slowed and the blood drained from my face. “No, he can’t be.”

“And there’s one last thing,” Blake continued. “I don’t know if it’s important or not.”

“What’s that?”

“So that third guy that started the company? Maxwell?”

“Yeah?”

“He just disappeared around the same time that Larry Renee started working as the company attorney. And Larry’s the attorney who was responsible for cleaning up the Steve mess.”

“So you think there’s something between Steve and Larry?”

“It would make sense, right? Maybe Larry is the mastermind behind all of this,” Blake spurted out. “Maybe Larry is the one that set this whole thing up. Maybe he’s the mastermind, the Hitler or the Stalin, in the operation.”

“But Larry is in hiding.” I paused. “Or maybe not. Maybe Larry is pretending he’s in hiding.”

“So we think Steve and Larry could be hiding out together?” Jakob rubbed his forehead. “And if that’s correct, why would Larry care to put this whole thing together?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Blake’s voice dropped. “I need you guys to go through all the papers Larry gave you once again. Look for anything that can be helpful, and then we’re going to try and find Larry. I think once we find Larry, we find Steve. And when we find both of them, we can figure out what’s going on.”

“How are we going to figure that out? Do you think they’re just going to tell us?” I asked in disbelief.

“Maybe with a little help from my friend.” Jakob gave me a tight smile.

“Your friend?”

“My Taurus 709 Slim nine-millimeter.” Jakob cocked his head. “I find a gun to the head usually gets people talking fast.”

“I could lie here with you all day.” Jakob nuzzled my neck as we spooned on the couch after getting off the phone. I felt his arms tight around my waist as he cuddled me to him.

“So could I,” I said happily, as his fingers brushed across my breasts.

“But we need to concentrate now.” He pulled away from me and sat up. “It’s time to figure out what’s going on. Your friend Blake gave us some great information. We need to look through the papers Larry gave you from your dad.”

“You know what I was just thinking?” I reached over and brushed a strand of my hair from his face.

“What’s that?” Jakob’s eyes searched mine.

“What if the papers weren’t from my father?”

“You mean all of them?”

“I don’t know. All or some.” I shrugged. “Larry could have easily planted information into that box that he wanted me to see.”

“You’re right.” Jakob nodded. “And it was Larry who provided all the information to me and David. He told me your mom slept with my dad. He told David about the box in the first place and that we should be worried you were coming to take down the company.”

“He seems to be the common thread in everything that’s going on.” I nodded. “Which makes me question the paperwork he told me to search through so diligently. What does he want me to find?”

“Let’s go through the papers again and notate anything we think could possibly be related and then think about whether it was planted for a reason.”

“Yeah, I guess we can do that.” I sighed. “Though, I’ve been through those papers pretty thoroughly.” I held my hands up in despair. “I don’t understand why he would plant that. It basically says that my father was one of the founders of the company when it started. It says that he created the products and had the patents. And that he wanted to leave the company and take his patents with him. For some reason he never left, he never got his patents, and we both know he had no power at the company and made very little money. What could Larry possibly want me to take from that, that could benefit him?” I was confused.

“It doesn’t add up,” Jakob agreed. “If anything, it informs and educates you and puts him and the company in a bad light.”

“Yeah, and the letter from my dad, well, that basically informed me that my mom was murdered. Why would he let me have that letter? Why would he want me to know that information?”

“I don’t know.” Jakob frowned. “But there has to be a reason. And the fact that he told you to look through the paperwork again—he wants to make sure that you understand the importance of all the claims.”

“Why would he care?”

“Is there anything else you haven’t told me? Any other papers? Any other notes? Any secret files from your father?” Jakob cocked his head and surveyed my face.