Page 142 of Family Affair

He mimicked her by wrinkling his nose. “Yeah. I see him a lot more often than I like. Hell, we’re practically inseparable.”

Coco giggled at the image. She can definitely see why they rubbed each other the wrong way. “At least he’s on your side. I think.”

“For now. He’s been trying to find flaws in my brothers’ alibis.”

“Are there any?”

Cade rotated his head, and a pained expression crossed his strong features. “Anything is questionable if you start digging. Alex, for example, was home with his kids. Ross was home alone, logged in to his company’s web service working on a project. He left enough footprints all over the Internet to prove that.”

“Dan?”

Tone frosty, Cade said, “Dan was drinking all night with Jeff. There were other people there. His alibi is probably the most solid.”

“And your dad?”

“He and mom spent the evening together at home.”

“So what does Willis want from you?”

Cade hesitated. “Information. Like, I know that mother takes sleeping pills for recreation. When she does, which is often, you can fire a cannon in the room, she wouldn’t know it. If Father went out that night, she might not remember. Ross is a gifted hacker. Not many people know about his side hassle, but he can program anything, so his digital proof may very well be manufactured. And Alex spends little time with his kids, even when they visit. They mostly stay in their rooms. If Alex went out, they might not have noticed.”

“They can’t prosecute based on the hearsay Willis’s heard from you, can they?”

“Of course not. But Willis adds the information to his other investigative leads. He also picks my brain about the old forgery case, Steve Stark’s murder, Frank’s death and the aftermath. A lot of people were involved, and the aftershocks lasted for years.”

“What happened to the people who were involved?”

“Depends on who it is. Ward had a real hard time. Father really threw him a curveball when he gave Stevie Stark an implicating interview. Stevie met his maker before he could stop it, the periodical went ahead without him. It nearly shredded Ward’s reputation. So when Frank died not long afterward, Ward was instrumental in pulling strings to force the prosecution to drop Frank’s case. All his cases. He had a lot to gain with Frank’s death.”

“And the others?”

“Many folks got a free pass by default. One guy, Abe Collins, got to keep an art gallery that Frank had financed. But Abe was greedy, he just couldn't help it I guess. He got busted for tax evasion a few years after Frank’s death. Good ol’ Abe died in prison of a heart attack.”

Coco pondered on that. “I take it Willis doesn’t share what he learns from you with Smirnoff?”

“Hell, no. There are serious issues between the two,” Cade told her through the mouthful of spaghetti. “And Willis needs to work on his diplomatic approach. Apparently, the idiot accused Smirnoff of falsifying Virgil Woodcock’s testimony by omitting how crazy the old man really is. In front of half of the police department.”

“Oh, brother.”

“It’s safe to say, Smirnoff and Jack Willis are BFFs no more.”

After they ate, Coco turned her back on Cade, pretending to be very busy arranging dirty dishes in the dishwasher. If she ever wanted to share with him the Pollock drawing, now was the time. They had reached a plateau in trying to uncover the mystery of Ward’s death, and they needed a catalyst. The Pollock was an ace up her sleeve that needed to come out and play its part.

Coco took a deep breath. “I have something to share with you.”

Cade gave her an arrested look but said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

“Come with me, it’s in my room.”

She led him back to her bedroom, to the dresser on the other side of her messy bed with linens all twisted up and pillows askew. Pulling a drawer open, she extracted her manila envelope first, placing it on top of the dresser.

“Here it is.” She carefully pulled the drawing from the drawer and presented it to him.

His eyes flickered. “It’s the fucking Pollock drawing.” He said flatly. She couldn't gauge his real reaction. The impenetrable Cade was back.

“Yes.” Her own heart fluttered like hummingbird wings inside her chest.

An emotion broke through from his eyes and ensnared her. “Christ, Coco, the police are searching for it, my brothers are. This thing is a time bomb. What the hell were you thinking?”