She walked over to him, pulled him to his feet, and looked him in the eye. “We’re not through, Matt. Your cousin is a liar and a thief. All we have to do is prove the document is a fake.”
“That’s all?” Matt wanted to laugh, but his throat wouldn’t work.
The woman he loved didn’t want to marry him and the Trust put into his hands for safekeeping was jeopardized.
Could anything else go wrong?
Chapter Twenty-Six
“We have to re-group,” Sky said as she gathered up the pertinent ledgers and tucked them under her arm. “I’m going to scan and email Mr. Flannery what we have. His fax should be here and we can see what else we need.”
Matt and Dirk came with her. At the door she turned back. “Stay at it. We’re still looking at the money. Always, and I mean always, follow the money.”
“You need to come to work for us, Sky. The FBI will turn flips once they realize how your analytical thinking and precision with numbers would be a big help to them. You should think about it.”
Sky chuckled.
Dirk groaned. “One person in the family in the FBI is enough.”
“I can see why Quentin Steel calls you his most valuable employee. You could probably run his business with one hand tied behind your back.”
“That’s a nice thing to say, Matt. But not true. I wouldn’t want the responsibility.”
In Matt’s office, Sky walked over to the computer and sat down. “I’ll scan these to an email if you’ll give me Flannery’s address.”
“What can I do?” Dirk asked.
No one answered.
Matt grabbed the fax from the fax machine. It was a handwritten document on two pages. “It’s a standard partnership agreement, signed and notarized in December of 1905.”
Busy on the computer, Sky said, “We’ll examine it in a minute.”
The email sent, they headed back to the attic. “If this document is for real, the Trust as we know it is a goner.”
“Not yet, Matt, we still have a long way to go.” Sky smiled when Dirk took one arm, Matt the other, and escorted her back to the attic. “I don’t need your help, you know.”
“Makes us feel better.”
She laughed. Back at the table, she took a seat again. The others in the room were all eyes and ears. “What does it say?”
“If this is authentic, we’re screwed.”
“Give it to me, Matt,” Sky demanded.
Matt handed it over. “Okay, we have the handwriting to prove or disprove this document in almost fifty ledgers. Let’s see if it matches.” A minute later, she asked, “Do you have a magnifying glass, Matt?”
“In my office. I’ll get it.” Matt ran downstairs. Please let it be a forgery, he prayed as he returned to the attic with the requested item.
He handed Sky the glass and leaned over her shoulder. “It looks the same to me.” He couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t there been any indication of a partnership all these years. It’s not something one would keep secret.
Sky looked up. “But it’s not. Look. The ledger is written in old-style cursive. The T’s have a slight hook at the top—the Y’s have it at the bottom. Now look at the document, no hooks.”
Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief. “Our word isn’t enough.” She looked at Matt. “You know a lot of people in Houston, do you know a good handwriting expert?”
“No. But I’ll find one.”
Stepping out of the room, he stood on the landing and called Flannery. “We need a handwriting expert—one whose reputation is top notch. I think we’re looking at a forgery.”
“I have a call into one now. I’ll take care of it. Good work, Matt.”
Breathing a little easier, Matt went back into the room. “Flannery is on it. He’ll get the best. If this is a forgery like we think, he can take our findings to court and we can forget the mess Reed has caused.”
“Are we finished here?”
“No.” Sky smiled at her husband. “I want to look through every one of these ledgers. Twice.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Matt grabbed one and started in. The others did the same.
“I found something interesting,” Lanie mumbled. “Take a look, Sky. See what you think?”
“I think you’re right.” She made a notation on her yellow pad and flagged the page.
“What is it?”
“It looks as if your great-great-grandfather’s brother, James, fell upon hard times in the early nineteen hundreds. Your great-great-grandfather gave him five thousand dollars two years after the so-called partnership papers were drawn up.”
“What kind of note did he make?”
“Loan to James.”
“Let’s see if there are more.”
By five o’clock, they found that five more loans in the same amount written out to James. No notations that any of it was paid back.
Coop looked at his watch. “We need to tend to the dogs. We’ll be back when we’ve finished.”
“This can wait until tomorrow.”
“No, Matt, it can’t. We’ll take a break, I’ll fix dinner while the dogs are being taken care of and we can get right back to work.”
“Thanks, Carrie. Marshall, if you need to go home, it’s okay.”
“I’ll stick with it. It’s fascinating to see all of the paperwork that is now done on the computer, so accurate and precise and done by hand over a hundred years ago. I’m in awe.”
Coop and Dirk, followed by Lanie, went to tend the dogs. Sky stretched, held her back and stretched some more. “I find I should exercise more now than ever. Gently, of course, but exercise.”
“Rest while I cook,” Carrie offered. “You have to take care of that baby.”
“I think I will. At least for a few minutes. Then I’ll join you in the kitchen.” And she headed for the couch.
“I’ll help,” Marshall offered as they all clambered downstairs. “First, I’ll make a call to the house and tell the family I’ll be working late.” He went to the party room to make his call.
Matt was alone with Carrie. They looked at each other. Carrie grinned. “How good are you in the kitchen?” She flushed a pretty pink. “Never mind.”
What was that about? She was keeping it the same as it had always been between them. It hurt. He wanted so much more.
Moving to the pantry, she opened the door and looked inside. “Not much here, Matt.” Opening the refrigerator she muttered. “You have money, but you don’t have food. What’s the deal?”
“I don’t cook much.”
Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms over her chest. It took every ounce of his willpower to stand and watch when he wanted to grab her and, company or not, run to the bedroom.
“It’s going to be all right, Matt. Your cousin isn’t going to win this one. He may look a lot like you, but he’s very much the opposite.”
Matt’s heart lurched in his chest. “How do you know he looks like me?”
Carrie walked to the sink and looked out the window.
He came up behind her, inhaled. He would know Carrie blindfolded. The scent of soap and flowers washed over him. “Carrie.” His voice was gravelly in his throat. “How do you know my cousin looks like me?”
She wiped a hand over her face and turned around. A guilty look gleamed in her emerald green eyes.
“Where did you see him?”
Waving a hand, as if it didn’t matter, she said, “I’ll run into town and get food. What do you think everyone would like?”
“Changing the subject isn’t going to work.”
“Okay! I saw him. Not a big deal.”
She tried to walk away. He took her hand and held her. “You went undercover, didn’t you? As a blonde in a sexy, red dress.”
“What if I did?”
Her chin jutted out and he wanted to kiss her. The woman was impossible, and he loved her dearly, but she was exasperating as hell. “Do my brothers know?”
She shook
her head.
“What did you find out?”
Her glance darted away from his. “Nothing you don’t already know.”
Dropping her arm, he pulled her close. “And what did you really think of cousin Reed?”
She tried to pull away, but he held her tight. “He’s not to be trusted.”
“And you know this how?”
“I could see it in his eyes. He’s jealous of you and will do anything to get his hands on your money.”
“If the partnership document proves to be a forgery, he won’t get a penny.”
“Don’t trust anything he says, Matt. Please.”
“He put the make on you, didn’t he?”
She grinned. “Did you think he wouldn’t?”
“Montgomerys aren’t stupid.”
“Even though he looks like a Montgomery, there is something missing. At first glance, people know they can trust you. They know you’re an honest man. One glance at Reed tells the opposite.”
Footsteps headed their way. He kissed her quickly on the lips before moving to the other side of the wide island.
“What are we having for dinner?” Marshall asked. Looking around, he turned to Carrie and spread his arms in an I-don’t-understand motion.
Carrie laughed. “Matt doesn’t have time to shop for something as essential as food. We’ll have to go to town for takeout. How does pizza sound?”
The backdoor opened. Shorty, with Maggie in her arms, walked in. “Matt, Marshall, if you guys will give me a hand, I have lasagna and a salad in the car. Maggie can stay with Carrie.”
“Come to Aunt Carrie, baby girl.”
Maggie jumped into her arms. Carrie laughed and hugged her tight. “Who’s your favorite auntie?” She gave the child tiny kisses on the neck. Maggie laughed.
Carrie will make a wonderful mother, Matt thought, as he followed Shorty to the car.
And her children would be his.
When he walked back inside loaded down with food trays, he was smiling.
Carrie gave him a look.
His smile stretched broader. She just didn’t know it. Yet.
With the food gone, the kitchen cleaned up, and Shorty and Maggie on their way back to the homestead, the others went back to work.
“How many ledgers do we have that we haven’t gone through?” Lanie asked.
“I’m starting over, in case we missed something.”
“You’ll be here all night, Sky” Dirk warned. “And you’re not going to pull an all-nighter.”
“No, she isn’t,” Matt agreed. “Two hours and you’re out of here.”
Sky frowned at Matt and her husband. “Don’t I have a say?”
“No,” they said at the same time.
“Fine. Then don’t bother me for the next two hours.”
They didn’t. But Matt saw that every so often, Sky made a note on her yellow pad and flagged another ledger. When his cell phone rang, it was a welcome distraction. It was Flannery again. “I found an expert. One the court will approve of and one the opposing attorney can’t dispute. He has looked at the ledger pages you emailed and is almost certain the partnership document is a forgery. To be certain, he has to examine the original handwriting.”
“How soon can he do it?”
“He’s in my office now. I told him this was an emergency, as the Trust is in jeopardy. He’s aware of how important that is and is willing to work late tonight.”
“Can he come here? We have at least fifty ledgers he can look at.”
“I’ll ask and see what he has to say.”
Matt waited, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Would this be over soon? Then Flannery was back. “We’ll be at your house in an hour or two. I’m coming with him.”
It was a testament to Flannery’s devotion to the Trust to stay up this late. But he was as determined as Matt to counter Reed’s claim.
“We’ll be here. The entire family has been working on this all day.” And Matt was grateful.
“Have the ledgers ready.”
When Matt turned around, all eyes were on him. “The handwriting expert is almost positive the document is a forgery. To be sure, he and Flannery are on their way here to look at the original handwriting.”
A shout went up. “Does that mean we’re finished?” Dirk wanted to know.
Every eye turned to Sky. “I still want to go through each ledger again and I’m not nearly finished. But you guys can call it quits.”
“What are you looking for?”
“I want to have an exact figure of how much money was loaned to James Montgomery. Then I’m going to figure the interest from that time to now. When I come up with a figure, Matt, I want to have your attorney give it to Reed’s attorney for payment.”
Matt sat down. “That will be hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“More like millions. I would like to see Reed’s face when he gets the bill.”
Carrie laughed out loud. “He’s going to have a fit.” She turned to Matt. “And I’ll bet you’ll never hear from him again.”
“Unless the handwriting expert changes his mind, I think you’re right.”
The guys slapped each other on the back. Marshall prepared to go home, as did Lanie.
“I want to stay and see what the expert has to say,” Sky said. “And I want to talk to Mr. Flannery.”
“Then rest on the sofa until he gets here. The ledgers can wait until tomorrow.”
“Let’s take them to the dining room table where they can be examined in a more comfortable setting.”
“Keep the ledgers with tabs separate from the others. I don’t want to have to go through these a third time.”
“You got it, boss.” Matt laughed as he took a stack of ledgers and headed downstairs. “I’ll be back to help you down.”
“Will he be this protective when his wife is expecting?”
“Whenever that will be, the answer is yes.” Coop said as he carried a load out the door.
Matt looked back. Carrie was looking at him with the strangest look on her face.
Did she know what he did? That, baby or not, he would be devoted to his wife forever. Did she know that she would be that wife?
“I can see that celebration dinner now.” Dirk grinned, following Matt downstairs with his arm around Sky’s waist. “Do you think we could have two or three desserts? It is going to be a big celebration, you know.”
“Yes, Dirk. We know. And I think there will be plenty of sweets even for you.”
Laughter followed them into Matt’s large dining room.
“Have you ever used this room?” Carrie asked.
“Not until today.”
“The furniture is so heavy, it looks like something from a museum.”
He dumped his stack of ledgers on the table. “How would you change it?”
Carrie eyed the room. “I saw a lot of pieces in the attic that looked interesting. It’s a good place to start. You should call Dory. She’s really good at this kind of thing.”
Matt chuckled. “Decorating is the last thing on my mind right now.” But looking around he could see how cold and formal the furnishings looked. Little wonder, as most of the pieces had come from the estate.
Dirk escorted Sky to the over-large sofa where she stretched out. “This feels wonderful.” He sat next to her and put her feet in his lap. “Your feet are swollen.”
“Sitting too long. I’ll be okay.” Gently, he massaged her feet, smiling when Sky groaned her pleasure.
Matt wanted what they had.
Coop and Matt ran upstairs for the last load of ledgers.
When they got back, Carrie was in the kitchen making coffee.
Matt found her there. “Thanks, Carrie.”
“It’s just coffee, Matt.”
“For everything. You didn’t have to come here and work all day. I appreciate it.”
She walked over to him, looked in his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone about going to see Reed. But I couldn’t r
esist. I thought I would get more out of him than I did.”
“Why did you?”
Tears glinted in her eyes. “That’s not hard to figure out. I wanted to do something to help you keep the Trust intact. I know how important it is to you.”
He bent down and kissed her lips. “And you wonder why I love you.”
Two hours later, Attorney Emery Flannery walked in with a man who had to be in his seventies. It didn’t take long to know the man knew his business. An hour later, he verified the partnership document a fake. “Actually, it isn’t even a good one.”
“I couldn’t tell the difference,” Matt commented. “Thank goodness, you could. Let’s hope the judge agrees with you.”
“He will.”
Sky and Matt took Flannery into the other room and presented him with their findings. “I’m going to work up a figure, including interest, that you can present to Reed’s lawyer. A stern warning about fraud and the amount his ancestor owes the Trust should keep him in California from here on out.”
“Brilliant. We can take everything we have to the DA. They have enough evidence of fraud to prosecute.”
Matt shook his head. “I just want my cousin out of my hair.”
“Done.” With a dozen ledgers tucked under their arms to show the judge, the attorney and the expert were gone.
Coop and Carrie were the last to leave. “Why don’t you spend the night at the homestead, Carrie? It’s late and you’re tired, it only makes sense.”
“I think I’ll take you up on it. I’ll be there shortly.”
When the taillights of Coop’s truck disappeared, Matt and Carrie turned to look at one another.
Matt reached out to take her in his arms. Carrie stepped back. “The chasm is too wide and too deep, Matt. It would never work. But I want to stay friends. Is that possible?”
Her very green eyes welled with unshed tears. Pulling her into an embrace that made him shudder with want, he whispered, “Friends, always. But you love me and I love you, I think the outcome is inevitable.”
She broke away, kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight, Matt. It’s been a good day.”
He watched her car until it turned toward the homestead.
Then he went inside and looked around.
“I’ll call Dory in the morning.”
When he slept, he dreamed of Carrie. And making babies.
Wounded at Work Page 21