Chapter 23
CARLOTTA GLANCED at her watch to see exactly twenty seconds had passed since she’d last checked the time. She scanned the hotel lobby for Jack, but no dice.
“Come on,” she muttered.
Granted, she’d interrupted him on a daytrip with Liz at Hoover Dam, and he’d shouted over the roar of the water it would take him a while to make excuses and get back, but Christ, she was about to burst. She considered texting him a headline to get him moving, but knowing Jack, if she sent something as outrageous as MASHBURN & TULLY ARE BIG FAT COUNTERFEITORS, he’d blow her off altogether. Instead, MEET ME ASAP HOTEL LOBBY would have to suffice.
After leaving the jail, buzzing with excitement over their sibling smarts, and reveling in how they were going to take down Mashburn & Tully, she realized what it might mean for Peter…and wondered if his growing agitation this week had anything to do with what was going on behind the scenes. The overheard conversations of him reporting back that neither she nor Wes had talked to Randolph made sense now—they didn’t want him telling anyone what had happened.
Was someone at the firm also responsible for Randolph being jumped and stabbed in prison to try to silence him for good?
And what about the more troubling statements of time running out and needing to “pull the trigger”?
Her phone rang. Disappointment it wasn’t Jack calling was replaced with concern when she saw Birch’s name.
“Hello, Birch. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. But I thought you’d want to know that Melanie has been talking up a storm since you left yesterday. She keeps repeating she’s running out of room to store all the paper things Randolph brings her. Does that mean anything to you?”
“As a matter of fact, it does.” She tried to tamp down her excitement. “Keep Mom talking as long as it doesn’t upset her. I have an important meeting, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Will do.”
She disconnected the call and scanned the lobby again. She didn’t see Jack, but Hannah came around the corner, wearing her Goth garb. Carlotta waved and swore Hannah saw her, but her friend kept going. Perturbed, Carlotta ran her down.
“Hannah!”
When Hannah couldn’t avoid her, she turned and feigned surprise. “Hey, how’s it going? How’s your dad?”
“He’s maybe a tiny bit better, but it’s hard to say.”
“How’s your mom?”
“That’s always interesting. Remember I said she might know where the evidence is that would exonerate my dad? I think she’s on the verge of revealing where she hid it. So even if the worst happens with Randolph, maybe it will still see the light of day.”
Hannah was edging toward the elevator. “That’s nice. Look, I have to be somewhere, so I’ll catch you later.” She bounded onto the elevator and the doors closed.
Carlotta scowled. What was going on with Hannah?
She released a frustrated groan. And where the heck was Jack?
Chapter 24
“YELLO?”
“Mouse, it’s Wes.”
“Jesus Louise Christ, why haven’t you called me back? I left you a bunch of messages.”
“Long story short, I didn’t know the money I gave you was fake—really sorry about that. Then I got out to Vegas and spent a bunch more of the fake money, still not knowing it’s fake. So I was arrested and my phones confiscated. Then I thought The Carver put a hit out on me, so I didn’t want to get out of jail. Oh, and I guess you heard Leonard bought the farm? Anyway, I’m still in jail, but everything’s going to work out and I’ll be home soon.”
“That was the short version?”
“I’m calling to tell you that the source of the counterfeit money is tied up with Dillon, so when the feds move in for the takedown, The Carver might be implicated by association. Cover yourself.”
“Wow, thanks, Little Man. You might want to listen up, too. One of the messages you didn’t get was about the person who hired the guy to stab your dad…”
Chapter 25
“A WOMAN?” Carlotta asked, squinting. “Are you sure he said a woman?”
“Yeah. Mouse said it was someone close to me and you, who has a lot of money. And not only did she hire someone to take out Dad, but she hired Leonard to follow you to find Mom, and take her out, too!”
“Alright, calm down, Wes. That doesn’t make sense. What woman who’s close to us and has a lot of money would care if Randolph—”
Then her heart stopped.
Hannah.
Her mind raced back through memories, stopping on pertinent factoids.
Finding out Hannah’s family were clients of Randolph’s and had lost almost everything.
Randolph Wren was the cause of a lot of grief in my world.
I was a little obsessed with finding out more about you.
Hannah had been the one with connections to the prison to get them inside…did she also have connections to arrange for the attack on Randolph?
Was there a connection between Hannah and Leonard? “Wes, did Chance know Leonard?”
“Yeah. They worked together sometimes. Why?”
Her head was spinning.
Hannah knew she was coming to Vegas to look for her mother, and had decided to come, too, at the last minute. How did she know Hannah had visited her family’s hotel to have lunch with a prince?
How did she know HAL Properties even owned a hotel in Vegas?
“Sis, you still there?”
“Wes, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
She disconnected the call and pulled up a search engine to find the HAL Properties company website. In the Find Locations box, she entered the state code for Nevada.
No results for NV.
But Hannah’s family had regained their wealth. In fact, Hannah had concealed the fact that she was heir to the HAL Properties fortune because she didn’t want to be associated with money. So why would she be fixed on revenge?
Still telling herself it couldn’t be Hannah, she went back to the original search results page, and a link to an article jumped out at her. Kathleen Kizer, Co-owner of HAL Properties, Commits Suicide.
Carlotta covered her mouth with her hand.
Ha—I wish my mother was an alcoholic.
People check out, turn their backs on their families all the time.
“Not you, Hannah. Not you.”
But even as she said the words, she remembered her friend and coworker Michael Lane, who had turned out to be a killer. And hadn’t Jack’s former partner Maria accused Carlotta of not knowing anything about her best friend?
Hannah had been acting so strange the past couple of days, moody and irritable.
So Coop gets an introduction to your new family, and I don’t?
And oddly curious about her mother’s mental capacity.
Your mother is awfully young for dementia, isn’t she?
Did you ask your mother about the evidence your father said he had to exonerate him?
Hannah, who knew exactly where her mother was…and only a few minutes ago, Carlotta had said she thought her mother was on the verge of revealing where she’d hidden the evidence that could exonerate Randolph. And Hannah had rushed off…
She texted Hannah Hey, where are you?
AutoTextReply: Sorry, going to be out of reach for a while.
She’d never gotten an automatic response from Hannah before.
Carlotta’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Jack.
Traffic is brutal…ETA to hotel 30 min.
She was trembling, wanted to call Jack and tell him what she suspected, but she didn’t want him to go in with guns blazing. What if she was wrong? With a shaky hand she texted Change of plans, mother in trouble, meet me there, will explain.
Chapter 26
WHEN CARLOTTA DROVE up to the little ranch house, her heart dropped. A rental car sat in the driveway, like the model Hannah was driving.
She counted to ten to slow her galloping pu
lse. Hannah might’ve simply decided to drop by and introduce herself to Carlotta’s new family, assuming they’d all be friends anyway when they returned to Atlanta.
After parking, she slipped up to the garage and peeked inside one of the small windows across the top. Birch’s BMW was missing—he must be out running errands. She pulled out her phone to keep it handy in case she had to call for help.
“Drop it.”
The voice made her blood run cold. Not Hannah.
Liz Fischer.
She would’ve bolted if not for the fact that her mother and Priscilla were probably in the house, defenseless. And Liz was holding a handgun to her head.
“Goddammit, Carlotta, drop the phone now.”
She did. It landed with a crunch, signifying at least her screen was toast.
“Inside,” Liz said. “Easy. I already saw one person’s brains scattered all over the ground this week.”
Carlotta turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. She walked inside carefully, scanning for her mother and Priscilla. They were in the kitchen, gagged and tied to chairs, their eyes wide and frightened. Carlotta pushed down a tide of anger—she wasn’t going to be a hero…she just wanted them all to get out alive. She skimmed the room for exit strategies. There was one tall horizontal window over the sink—useless. And the back door, she recalled, was deadbolted shut—also useless.
Where are you, Jack?
“Actually,” Liz said, “you might be able to help me, Carlotta.”
“What do you want me to do, Liz?”
“Convince Valerie it’s in everyone’s best interests if she just tells me where the counterfeit bills are. She was talking nonsense before. The girl says she has dementia.”
“That’s right. What’s your stake in all of this?”
“Every dime I have is invested in Mashburn & Tully. I’m not going to raise my child in poverty.”
“Surely you don’t think you’re going to get away with this?”
“Surely I do. It’s too bad about the girl, though. I didn’t expect that little wrinkle. Although, I could take her with me and raise her myself. That would be better than the deal she has now.”
Priscilla shot eye-daggers at Liz.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Liz said. “It’s true. And you need to learn now you can’t count on men. The dummy I paid to kill your daddy in prison—that didn’t work. Randolph refuses to die. And the dummy I sent out here to follow Carlotta accidentally killed an FBI agent trying to get an address out of him, then he walked into a bus.” She scoffed. “I have to do everything.”
“Can I remove their gags?” Carlotta asked.
“Only Valerie’s. No tricks.”
As if she’d try anything clever with two of the most important people in her life in the room. She smiled at her mother. “Hi, Mom.” As gently as she could, she untied the two knots in the strip of cloth.
“Do I know you?” Valerie said.
“Yes,” Carlotta said. “We’ve met. I’m your daughter.”
“Of course you are.”
“Hurry,” Liz barked. “Their gate-watcher will be back in an hour.”
Carlotta smoothed back Valerie’s hair from her cheek. “Mom, have you seen any counterfeit money?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Liar,” Liz yelled. “Where is it? Where’s the three hundred million Randolph stole? There’s only a half million in that dinky little townhouse in Atlanta. He had to put the rest of it in a warehouse somewhere. I want the key.” She raised the gun and fired into the ceiling. The boom shattered the silence, and Valerie whimpered.
“Did that shake your memory loose, Valerie?”
Valerie glared at her. “I never liked you.”
“But Randolph did. If you hadn’t been such a pathetic drunk, he would’ve left you for me.”
“Maybe that’s why I got sick,” Valerie mused. “So he would have to stay with me.”
The profound statement gave Carlotta hope her mother was still in there somewhere.
“Where is the money?” Liz demanded.
Valerie looked off into space. “If these walls could talk, they might tell you, but I’m not going to.”
Liz walked over and pushed the end of the gun into Valerie’s hair. “Start talking now, crazy lady, or I’ll blow away what little brain you have left.”
Priscilla mumbled against her gag, trying to say something.
Liz nodded for Carlotta to remove it. As soon as the cloth was loose, Priscilla said, “It’s in the walls, behind the paneling. Please don’t hurt my mommy…or my sister.”
Carlotta would have to thank the tike for that sentiment later. For now, Liz was pushing her toward a section of wainscoting.
“Tear it out,” Liz said.
“With my bare hands?”
Liz sighed. “Stand back.”
She shot into the paneling at the seam, and it gave way enough to reveal something was behind it. Another shot into the seam sent bits of paper flying into the air.
Liz laughed. “This is too perfect. A woman with dementia leaves on the stove, sets a fire, and burns the entire house down, with all that evidence inside. And a few victims.”
She walked to the gas stove, turned on all the burners, and tossed a few kitchen towels on top to get a blaze going. Then she gave Carlotta a sad smile. “Sorry, Carlotta, but I don’t have time to tie you up.”
She lifted the gun and Carlotta closed her eyes. When the boom sounded, she thought getting shot in the face hadn’t hurt as bad as she’d expected.
In fact, it hadn’t hurt at all.
She opened her eyes gingerly to see Liz lying in a crumpled heap, a small dart in her neck.
“Birch!” Priscilla shouted, grinning down at the floor.
Birch lay with his head and one arm inside the doggie door, pointing a gun at Liz. “It’s a tranquilizer,” he said. “She’ll be out for about thirty minutes.”
Carlotta grabbed a knife and cut her mother’s and Priscilla’s bindings. “Take Mom out the front door,” she yelled to Priscilla, coughing through the smoke. She tried to get close to the stove to turn off the burners, but the flames had caught the curtains and were spreading fast. She could hear Birch battering something against the back door, but the oxygen was quickly being sucked out of the room. After a deep breath in the crook of her elbow, she put her hands under Liz’s shoulders and dragged her deadweight body down the hall and out the front door into the tumbled rock yard. Carlotta fell to her knees, wheezing and coughing.
At the sound of a car engine, she lifted her head to see Jack’s rental barreling down the street. The brakes screeched, and he was out of the driver’s seat before the vehicle stopped, his weapon drawn.
“No gun,” Carlotta said, hacking up a lung. She pointed. “Water hose. Help Birch.” She crawled over to where Priscilla and Valerie were huddled and drew them into a group hug. “It’s over. It’s all over.”
When she pulled pack, her mother said, “Do I know you?”
“Yes. I’m your daughter, Carlotta.”
“I like you,” Valerie announced.
Carlotta blinked back tears. “I like you, too.”
Birch came jogging out, his clothes scorched and his face soot-covered. “Everyone okay out here?”
“We’re good,” Prissy said. “You were awesome, Birch.”
“Who are you?” Carlotta asked with a laugh.
“Someone Randolph knew he could trust,” Birch said, hinting at a past. He knelt to examine Liz, checking her pulse.
A fire truck came screaming up the street, followed by an ambulance. Birch waved them up.
Jack came out and tossed down the garden hose. His hands and face were streaked with grime, and his clothes were wet. He stepped aside as the firemen bounded into the house, then made his way over to her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Liz…lost her way.”
“A long time ago, from the sound of it. I’m sorry I didn’t se
e it. How can you be so close to something and not recognize it for what it is?”
“Because we’re human, Jack.”
“Birch told me you pulled Liz out of there. Thank you, Carlotta, for saving her.”
“I didn’t do it for her, or for you,” Carlotta said. “I did it for your child.”
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Then he walked with Liz’s stretcher to the waiting ambulance. She was starting to come around. As Carlotta watched, Jack pulled out handcuffs, linked one around Liz’s wrist and the other to the stretcher. His head and shoulders were bowed.
Chapter 27
“I CAN’T MARRY YOU, Peter. I’m sorry. Honestly, I shouldn’t have said yes. I was caught up in the moment, and I think I was in love with the fantasy of us.”
Carlotta slid the red Cartier ring box across the satiny bed covering toward where he sat. “I have to help my family heal, and I have to adjust to a new normal myself. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us if I tried to be there for them and be there for you, too. I hope you understand.”
Peter’s face creased with pain and sadness as he picked up the box. His eyes watered, and he bit into his lip to compose himself. “Of course I was expecting this. I’m going to have to get used to a new normal, too. I wouldn’t want you to feel as if your life is on pause to see how all this shakes out.” He exhaled noisily.
“You’ll get through this, Peter. I’ll still support you any way I can. All you have to do is ask.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Do you mind getting it?” Peter pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face.
She pushed to her feet, walked across the opulent suite and opened the door.
Jack stood on the other side. “Hey.”
“Is it over?”
He nodded. “The assets of Mashburn & Tully have been seized by the Justice Department, and the offices shuttered and padlocked.”
“And the partners?”
“Warrants have been served on Ray Mashburn and James Brody, and Walt Tully. As soon as Tully’s physically well enough, he’ll be remanded to custody.”
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