by Raven Snow
Danny raised an eyebrow at that. “Good for them,” he said, but he sounded a little uncertain about that.
“She said that she met your parents,” said Rowen, trying to gauge any changes in Danny’s expression.
Danny’s expression didn’t change much. He just stared at her for several long seconds seeming to debate on whether or not to divulge something to her. “Don’t let her get too close to him,” he said finally.
“Why?” asked Rowen. That wasn’t the groundbreaking revelation she had been hoping for, but it felt close to one.
“Just don’t,” said Danny. “He’s not a trustworthy guy. He comes off as all friendly and charitable and crap like that, but he’s just a con artist. That’s all he is. He acts like I’m the black sheep of the family, but I’ve got nothing on that jerk. Just−” Danny took a deep breath. “Just tell your sister or cousin or whatever to be careful, if you love her. Now, get out of my way.” Danny began to move toward the front door again. He slammed into Rowen’s shoulder on his way past, knocking her out of the way.
“Hey!” snapped Margo. She went right up to Danny and grabbed him firmly by the arm. She too was much smaller than he was. It wouldn’t take much for Danny to just shove her off. Presently, he seemed too startled to do so. “If my cousin is in danger and you know something, you better tell us,” said Margo. Her tone was downright terrifying. “If something happens to her, and I find out that you were keeping something important from us, I will hunt you down.”
Rowen wasn’t sure whether to talk her cousin down or applaud her. She was kind of impressed, honestly. Margo was so selfish most of the time, it was strange to hear something like this from her. Danny seemed equally surprised. Rowen thought he was going to get angry in a second. Instead, he shook her arm off and just stood there, looking conflicted for a few seconds.
“Well?” Margo snapped. “Do you have something to tell us or not?”
Danny tossed his box onto the porch. He headed to the side of the house, motioning for both of them to follow. Rowen shot Margo an uncertain look, but she was already going after him. It was a little nerve-wracking, but Rowen seriously doubted he was going to do anything, certainly not with both of them there so followed.
“My roommates are probably listening in,” said Danny, glancing at the house with a frown. “They do that. Just keep your voice down.” He took a deep breath. “I sent the letter,” he said.
Rowen had suspected as much. “What exactly was it you wanted me to find under the floorboards?” she asked.
Danny gave her an appraising sort of look. “What was there?” he asked.
“Just some papers,” said Rowen. “Some inexpensive jewelry. Some trash bags to keep all that dry, I guess.”
Danny nodded, like that was what he had expected to hear. “There used to be cash in those bags.”
“Cash?” Margo repeated. “How much?”
“A lot,” Danny replied. “My parents didn’t trust banks.”
Rowen still felt like he was leaving something out. Why would he send her a cryptic letter just to point her in the direction of some empty trash bags? How was she supposed to figure out that cash had been in those? No, he had written the letter to show her something else. Rowen wasn’t sure what it was yet, but she had more questions for Danny. “Who took the money?” asked Rowen.
“Who do you think?” Danny shot right back.
“You and your brother,” said Margo. “But why?”
“I didn’t touch any of that money,” snapped Danny. “I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
“You didn’t touch it?” Margo asked, giving Danny a skeptical look up and down. He certainly didn’t seem like the sort to say no to free cash.
Danny glared at her. “Does it matter?” he snapped. “The point is that it was Liam’s plan. He only told me about it after the fact, all right?”
“After what fact?” asked Rowen. “What did he do?”
Danny looked hesitant. There was a lot that he knew. He seemed to be picking and choosing what he actually told him. Rowen supposed that beggars couldn’t really be choosers, even if Margo tried to push the matter. She waited to hear what he had to say. “Our parents have a will,” he explained. “My parents were−are well-off. They worked together a lot. They opened a lot of different businesses and invested smart. They worked their way up from nothing. They were a big believer in all that making your own way crap.” Danny looked like he had some pent-up resentment. He gave a sigh, letting the matter go as he moved on. “They were also big on volunteering and that sort of thing. In the will, they said where the cash was and left it to charities.”
“Not to you,” said Rowen, gathering that much. “Or your brother.”
“Liam blamed me,” Danny grumbled. “He said I was always getting myself into financial trouble. Our parents got sick of bailing me out and decided there were people who deserved it more. Their will wasn’t always like that.” He shook his head. “I think they just got older and had, ya know, old people concerns. They started to go to church more, work soup kitchens, and stuff. I feel like that’s when they got it in their heads that they should change the will.”
“You were okay with that?” asked Rowen.
Danny shrugged. “I don’t know how much I expected. Liam was the good one. I guess I was already subconsciously prepared to not get left much of anything. Honestly, I didn’t like to think about my parents kicking it, anyway. I might not be the best son, but I love them.” His gaze went a little distant when he said that, like it was a thought that was presently bothering him.
“So, how did Liam take the money for himself? How did he get your parents out of the picture?” Rowen asked, assuming that he had. He must have. If they weren’t dead, then where were they? Something strange had happened here.
Danny hesitated again. He didn’t hesitate long, but Rowen still noticed it. He was making an effort not to sound suspicious. “Liam convinced them to move out to an assisted living community in Florida. He assured them he would take care of the house here.”
Rowen didn’t buy that. “And they just went along with it?”
Danny gave another shrug. “They were getting up there in years. It happens. They couldn’t take care of themselves in a house that big. I guess they figured he would keep it, what with it being our family home and all. They always put too much faith in Liam. They thought he was a much better person than he was actually is. I guess anyone looks like a good person when they’re constantly compared to me.”
Rowen still had her doubts. That their health had been in such decline that they had both moved out to Florida at the same time seemed odd. “Why Florida?”
“They always liked vacationing there,” said Danny. “The air is good, and dad always did have trouble with his lungs. It just made sense.”
It didn’t though. “Why did you write me that letter?” Rowen asked. “I was sick of my brother getting away with all of it. He keeps hassling me, so I wanted him to sweat for once.” Danny said all of this like it should be obvious. “I’m not the one who did anything wrong here. It’s no skin off my nose if he gets caught.”
“I’m not sure that’s how that works, considering you knew,” Margo muttered.
“I think you felt guilty,” said Rowen. “I think there’s something you’re not telling us.”
“Think whatever you want,” he said, shouldering past them again. It didn’t look like he was going to be amenable to any more conversation on the matter. He was done talking to them. “Just don’t bother me with any more questions. I’m busy.”
“He’s busy running away,” Margo grumbled once he had slammed the door shut. “That guy is skipping town.”
Rowen nodded in agreement and led the way back to the car. “Well, we have a little more to go on now.”
“So, what was the plan once the parents actually died?” asked Margo, looking thoughtfully out the front windshield at the house. “I assume the will is still the same.”
�
��I’m guessing someone goes to get the money and reports that it’s missing,” said Rowen.
“Danny and Liam would get caught then though. Wouldn’t they?”
“I don’t think so,” Rowen answered. “If Liam was smart about it, he’s hiding the fact that he’s got the money pretty well. There probably isn’t anything that says he even knew the money was there. Plus, he’s sold the house since then. If anything, people might think that I found the money and took it.”
Margo swore under her breath. She sank down in her seat, looking very annoyed. “Why didn’t he just do what everyone else does? Just suck up and get them to change the will back.”
“If he can get the money to himself, it works out better. He gets to skip the inheritance tax and live comfortably for the rest of his life.”
“It still seems like a lot of trouble,” Margo said.
“You think everything is a lot of trouble.” Rowen put the car into gear and began to pull out.
“What are you going to do next?” asked Margo.
“I’m going to look at that stuff I found under the floorboards again,” she said. “I don’t care what he said; I’m sure there was something way more incriminating he expected me to find down there. Maybe it’s still in the crawlspace and I just overlooked it.” She didn’t really think that though. No, she had a feeling that she had already seen what it was she had been directed to. She just hadn’t understood what it was at the time.
Chapter Fourteen
Rowen tried to drop Margo off at work, but it turned out to be impossible. She could hardly force her. It wasn’t like she was going in. She was too busy trying to solve a new mystery. That left Rose alone at work with just Willow to pick up the slack created by three of her cousins not being there. It hardly seemed fair. Rowen was going to have to make it up to them after everything was over and done with.
Well, she would have to make it up to Rose, at any rate. She still hadn’t forgiven Willow for messing around with that love potion nonsense. As far as Rowen was concerned, she deserved to have things a bit rough for a while after the mess she had helped create.
At Rowen’s house, there was already a car in the driveway. It wasn’t Eric’s car. This car was a junker. It looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. Immediately, she was nervous.
“Who’s that?” asked Margo.
“I don’t know. Wait here.” She parked and got out.
“I’ve seen that car before,” said Margo, getting out as well. Of course, she was going to completely ignore Rowen and tag along. “I know I’ve seen it parked outside of our office.”
That wasn’t comforting. Rowen went to the front door and found it still locked. She opened it, her heart beating fast in her chest. The door being locked didn’t mean someone hadn’t gotten in through a window or something. She hoped Chester was all right. He wasn’t much of a guard dog. Surely, no one would hurt him. She was relieved when he came up to her, his tail wagging.
Rowen reached down to pet Chester, but he turned and walked away. He growled as he moved to the back door. Rowen followed, walking slowly. If he was leading the way to the intruder, she didn’t want to alert them.
Chester led her to the sliding door in the back. Rowen got to it, looking out through the glass, and heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh, for crying out loud,” she muttered, opening the door. “What are you doing here?”
Tiffany was standing in the backyard, wearing a frown. She jumped when her daughter yelled. When she realized it was just Rowen coming home, she suddenly went on the offensive. “You’ve been keeping something from me!” she snapped, like Rowen was somehow the one in the wrong here.
“Me?” Rowen repeated skeptically. “Are you kidding? You’re supposed to call or something before you just snoop around someone’s house, you know?” This was why she hadn’t given her mother a key. If the door had been unlocked, Rowen was sure she would have waltzed right on in. “Whose car is that out front, anyway?” She knew it wasn’t her mother’s car.
Roland suddenly emerged from the shed. That answered that question, while simultaneously making Rowen ask herself a few more. What was Roland Davies doing here?
“I didn’t see anything weird,” said Roland. He nodded to Rowen. “Hey. I thought I heard you pull up. Sorry for just barging on in like that. I told her it was a bad idea, but−”
“But I’m her mother,” Tiffany cut in.
“But she’s your mother, I guess,” Roland concluded, not sounding like he really believed she had the God-given right to trespass. He also seemed unwilling to argue with her.
“Are you serious?” asked Rowen, putting two and two together. “You’re sleeping with Roland Davies now?”
Roland flushed, looking from one Greensmith to another. Tiffany only put her hands on her hips and drew in a deep breath. “Rowen Velour Greensmith,” Tiffany snapped, making Rowen cringe. She always used her daughter’s middle name when she was scolding her. Rowen hated it. Who named their kid after something you upholstered tacky sofas with? “Don’t be crass.”
“Are you through?”
Tiffany reached out and grabbed Roland’s hand. He immediately snatched it away, like he didn’t want to be involved in the situation. “We have been on a few dates now, yes.”
“Do you want me to give you guys some privacy?” he asked.
“That’s where you’ve been when you came home late.” Rowen cringed. She hadn’t wanted that mental image in her head. Still, she could and had done worse. Roland might have hassled her family for years, but he’d tried to make up for that. This was a pretty big step up from picketing the Lainswich office with signs about them being sinners. “No offense, Roland,” Rowen added, before he could think she disapproved. “I’m just surprised.”
‘Surprised’ was putting it lightly. Roland definitely didn’t look like her type. He seemed like your typical middle-aged bachelor, with a limited wardrobe and less than stellar conversational skills. Rowen supposed her mother always had been something of a free spirit. The men she had gone for had always been classically undesirable in their own unique ways. Heck, one time, she had dated a murderer.
“This is weird,” muttered Margo. She was probably beginning to wish she had gone back to work after all.
“Fine. I’m happy for both of you,” said Rowen. She tried to change the subject back to the more pressing matter. “But I still don’t understand why you thought it was all right to just barge in like this.”
That was a lie. Rowen knew why her mother had barged in. She didn’t give things like this a second thought. “I’ve known you were hiding something from me ever since the grand opening, when I was divining for you,” Tiffany told her. “After that mess with Peony earlier, well, I just knew something was up, and that I needed to step in.”
“What are you stepping into exactly?” asked Rowen.
“I don’t know,” Tiffany said, narrowing her eyes at her daughter like she planned to figure it out. “But I know this shed is evil.”
“Please leave me and my evil shed alone, Mother.” Rowen motioned to the driveway. “I’ve got this under control.”
“I want details,” said Tiffany, not even entertaining the idea of leaving. “You tell me what’s going on.”
Rowen didn’t really see a way around answering her. She looked over at Margo, but Margo only shrugged. Either she was refusing to get involved or saw no point in keeping anything from Tiffany. Rowen relented. “Come inside,” she said, defeated. “I’ll tell you what I know.” Rowen wasn’t sure why she ever tried to keep anything from anyone. It was impossible in the Greensmith family.
To Tiffany’s credit, she listened to the whole story patiently. She didn’t interrupt with comments or concerns like Aunt Lydia undoubtedly would have. She didn’t berate Rowen for trying to figure it out by interrogating the suspects herself. Tiffany probably would have done the same.
Roland seemed much more put-off than Tiffany did. “Shouldn’t we leave this up to the polic
e?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you show them what you’ve found?”
Tiffany waved a dismissive hand at her boyfriend. “As if the police ever solved anything in this town,” she said. She looked at Rowen. “Don’t tell Rose I said that. She seems like she might be a little too defensive about that boyfriend of hers. It’s the truth though.”
“I already told Ben most of this,” said Rowen, even though she hadn’t exactly given him recent updates. “He thought I was crazy.”
“See?” said Tiffany. “Now, why don’t you show me to these things you found hidden away in the attic?”
Rowen saw no way around letting her mother help. She supposed there was no harm in it. She went upstairs and retrieved the box and folder from her bedroom. She took them down to the kitchen table and laid them out to look over. Together, they pored over everything.
Margo commented on how cheap the jewelry was. Roland noted what a good deal the Woodwards had gotten on a pickup truck they had a bill of sale for from the nineties. Tiffany flipped through the medical documents like she was some expert on their contents. “My best friend from high school went on to become a surgeon, you know? I’ve been talking to her since I got back in town. I can show these to her. That could get us somewhere.”
Everyone was trying to help in their own useless way. Rowen let them have at it for the better part of an hour. Finally, frustration got the better of her. “This is pointless,” she said, dropping the printouts of business spreadsheets she was holding. “If there was ever anything useful in here, Liam probably already got it. Danny just didn’t know he had.”
Tiffany reached across the table and gave her daughter’s hand a pat. “Don’t get all wound up in this,” she said. “You’ll figure it out. It’ll come to you one way or the other. It always does.”
Rowen slouched back in her chair. “And if it doesn’t?”