Page 27 of Bit's Bliss

“Rumor is he worked for Laird. Something like that anyway.”

“You saidsomepeople. Who besides Mr. Ashford?”

I made sure I didn’t stutter this time. “My brothers.”

“If they can help, that’s great. But, um, can you take me home first? I want to freshen up, change my clothes, then visit the bank before it gets much later.”

“Yes, but I want to check in with Vader again before we head over there.”

“Sure. Of course.”

When Eberly stood and went into the bathroom, I called him.

“Hey, Bit,” he answered. I guess it wasn’t only my family who’d taken to calling me by the nickname.

“Eberly wants to run by her house. Any issue with that?”

“Nah, my guys finished up over there a couple of hours ago.”

“Was there any sign of someone on the property?”

“No, which makes me wonder about this Burke guy. Why call from the gate at that hour instead of attempting to access the property another way? It isn’t like it would be tough to do.”

“Maybe he thinks it’s more secure than it is. Oh, and before I forget, Malcolm Warwick’s date Saturday night was Nancy Burke. Says she hasn’t talked to him or seen him since he dropped her off that night. Also, according to Eberly, he didn’t come home after doing so. He arrived after nine the following morning.”

“Did you say her last name was Burke?”

“I did, and, Vader, I plan to ask Ashford to do some digging. I thought I should let you know.”

“Appreciate it. I’m interested to see what he comes up with.”

I was about to mention what Eberly had told me about not knowing how her father sold the winery when she was the majority owner, but decided I should ask her before divulging that her dad might’ve committed fraud.

The other thing I kept to myself was that I’d also recognized the man. First, I wanted to run it by both Decker and thecaballeros.

“All set?” I stood and asked when Eberly returned from the bathroom after I ended the call.

While she smiled, it didn’t come through her eyes. Was there something bothering her that hadn’t been a few minutes ago? I wouldn’t ask now, but later, I’d get it out of her one way or another.

When we arrivedat her house, the first thing we did was clean up the mess that was left in her father’s study when I carried Eberly out of there two nights ago. There was no sign her father had returned, so when she took a shower in the en suite bath, I stayed in her bedroom and called Decker.

“Hey, Trevino. What can I do for you?”

I explained that Malcolm Warwick had left his house late yesterday afternoon and hadn’t returned.Then reiterated the part of the phone call Eberly had overheard. Next, I told him about Malcolm Warwick’s financial trouble and how he’d somehow sold the winery out from under his daughter even though she was a majority owner.

“Interesting,” he said under his breath.

“It gets even more so. Vader was able to pull footage of the guy who showed up at the gate that night. Turns out it was Eberly’s ex-fiancé.”

“That doesn’t seem significant, Bit.”

“I’m convinced he’s got some connection to the people who attacked me in the caves.”

“Tell me why.”

“His eyes.”

There were a few seconds of silence, and I wondered if Decker was looking into something or simply processing what I’d told him.