Page 32 of Ghostlighted (Ghost Townies #2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

“ S eattle?” I roared when Avi reappeared next to me in the kitchen.

“That douchecanoe lives in Seattle . His car’s been registered there for three years.

” No wonder he’d been able to show up in Richdale within a few hours of getting Sofia’s call about the Harvard graduation trip. “Hell, does he even go to Harvard?”

Avi dodged out of my way as my enraged pacing took me around the island. “Maybe you could find out. There must be a student directory.”

“Yes, but because of privacy issues, you can’t access it unless you’re a student or an alumnus. I found that out during a ghostwriting gig a couple of years ago, and unfortunately, I don’t know any of those.”

Avi set his jaw. “Yes, you do.”

“You? You went to UO. We hung your diploma on the attic wall.”

“Not me. Professor DeHaven.”

I blinked. “Patrice went to Harvard?”

He nodded. “Double major in comparative religion and folklore and mythology.”

A double major from Harvard? This made Patrice even more intimidating, but my fears didn’t matter. Not now.

“I’ll call her and see if she’ll check. Was Liam still there?”

Avi hesitated for an instant, then nodded. “He just put that new cell phone Ricky bought her the other day in the suitcase.”

I growled, low in my throat. “What do you bet he took her others, too? Snuck in and swiped them just to make her think she’d lost them?”

“No bet,” he said flatly.

“Keep an eye on him again? I told Yaz that something might be going down here, so they’re going to alert Kamilla, but we have to have something concrete for her before she makes a move. Give me maybe five, ten minutes and then come back and report?”

He nodded and popped out.

I wasn’t familiar with Patrice’s teaching schedule, so I just dialed her number and hoped she’d be available.

She answered on the first ring. “Maz? Is there another manifestation?”

“Yes and no. We’ve got something to tell you about, but that’s not why I called. I have a huge favor to ask.”

Patrice’s chuckle was decidedly rusty. “You’re the sole conduit to the first spiritus manifestation in Ghost. There’s little I wouldn’t do for you. How can I help?”

“I understand you went to Harvard, and that as an alumna, you have access to the online student directory.”

“That’s correct.”

“Could you check on a current student for me? He should be graduating this month.”

“Name?”

I grimaced. Crap. What name would he be using? I had no idea what Sofia’s first husband’s last name had been, but I’d bet Gil’s kibble Liam wouldn’t be using it, nor Guillermo either. What was his stepfather’s name again? Ricky had told me, but— Got it . “Frost. Liam Frost. Possibly William Frost.”

“One moment please.”

While I was waiting, Avi returned, looking nearly as angry as I felt. “What?” I mouthed. He just shook his head and wrapped his arms around his middle.

“I’m sorry, Maz, but there is no student by that name, graduating or otherwise.”

“Thank you,” I said woodenly.

“You’re welcome. I look forward to hearing about the latest developments whenever you’re ready.” She disconnected the call.

Not one for social niceties, Patrice. It was one of the things I most admired about her.

I set my phone on the counter gently, because if I threw it against the wall and shattered it, I’d release some frustration now, but trade it for the aggravation of replacing the phone later.

On the other hand, maybe I’d be able to score one from Liam. He evidently had a few extra lying around.

“So.” I planted my palms against the counter. “We know why Liam was so against Sofia coming to his graduation. He’s not graduating.”

“He’s failed out of Harvard? But isn’t he supposed to start law school?”

“He didn’t fail out. He’s not even a student.

I doubt he’s ever set foot in Cambridge or anywhere else in Massachusetts, his stupid gold keychain notwithstanding.

That jerkwad has been scamming Sofia out of more than a hundred grand a year for four freaking years .

” No wonder he could afford a Porsche, not to mention a place in Capitol Hill.

“He’s about to keep doing it, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“He has one of those big light boxes, the kind you can use to trace drawings? He’s using it to trace Sofia’s signature onto a check. For a hundred grand.”

“Son of a—” I slapped the counter. “How the hell does he think he can get away with something like that? I mean, he doesn’t even need to.

If he asked, she’d probably just hand him the money, no questions asked.

He’s everything to her.” I didn’t want to think about what it would do to Sofia to find out Liam had been lying to her for years. “She was so proud of him.”

“That might be why. You know what Carson was like. Liam is cut from the same cloth. Their image of themselves is more important than anything else.”

I froze. “Carson. Crap. Carson . One second.” I scrabbled my phone back into my hand and called Taryn.

“Maz—”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever I’m interrupting, I’m sorry, but this is critical and really time sensitive. You know how Sofia shelled out for Harvard tuition for Liam?”

“Yeeeaaahh,” she drawled, aggravation giving the word about six extra syllables.

“Short story—he’s not now and never has been a student. He’s been living in Seattle this whole time on her money.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Not even a little. Plus, tuition checks were made out to Liam, not the school, and Sofia never mailed them.” I scrunched up my face and slapped my forehead. “Of course he wouldn’t let her mail them. He didn’t have a Cambridge address.”

“Still in the dark here,” Taryn said.

“Right. Sorry. The way Liam got those checks? Sofia gave them to Carson--who allegedly was attending annual conferences in Boston—to pass along.”

There was a moment of silence, and then—as I knew she would—Taryn got it. “Carson was complicit in the fraud.”

“Ex actly . I don’t know how possible it is for someone to speak to Carson like in the next hour, but I suspect he’d turn on his ol’ buddy in a heartbeat if it means he can cut a deal on his own charges.”

Taryn literally growled. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make some calls.”

“Could you make one of those to Kamilla? She’s already on her way, but she may need more to make the arrest.”

“On it.”

After she hung up I took a deep breath, letting the tension—a very little bit of the tension—drain out of me. But then I got a good look at the grim lines bracketing Avi’s mouth.

“What?”

“I think I know how Liam was planning to get away with it. How he still might, if Taryn can’t get to Carson in time.”

I gritted my teeth. “This is bound to be good.”

“The big light box was a tight fit in his messenger bag, and when he finally wrestled it out, some… other things spilled out too. A pill bottle.”

“Prescription?”

Avi nodded. “The patient name on the label was smudged, but the expiration date was over a decade old. I recognized the drug because my father had a heart condition. It increases the heart rate.”

A couple of memories pinged my brain. “Liam’s father. He died because of heart disease.”

“He did. He had the same issues as my dad and ignored them just as resolutely.”

“Dammit!” Slapping the counter wasn’t enough, but punching it wouldn’t do anything but break my knuckles.

“Not only did he monkey with Sofia’s meds, he did it with expired drugs.

Who knows what that could have done? Were you able to”—I made a shooing motion with both hands—“nudge the bottle under a chair or something so there’s evidence with his freaking fingerprints? ”

He shook his head. “You know I can’t affect physical objects. Much. But a lot of papers spilled out too.” He waggled his fingers. “Papers I can handle, so I looked while he was setting up his little forgery workshop. On… on her kitchen table.” Avi’s voice broke, and my own throat seized up.

The kitchen table. Where Sofia set a place for Liam—for Guillermo —at every freaking meal.

“Go on,” I managed to choke out.

“A conservatorship petition, citing a danger to herself or others. An advanced directive plus medical power of attorney. In other words, he’d have sole authority over Sofia’s assets and medical care.”

“No way. Gil is more a danger to others than she is. And Maria has her medical POA. Sofia would never sign anything like that.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line. “She doesn’t have to sign them, does she?”

My stomach dive-bombed my toes. “The light box. He’s going to forge her signatures on those, too.”

He nodded. “I tried to stall him. I was able to”—he waved his hand through the air—“disrupt the electrical circuit in the light box a couple of times, but it wasn’t fatal. He got it to cycle back on.”

“Dammit,” I muttered.

“But, Maz. There’s something else.”

“Something worse than him trying to victimize his own grandmother?”

“Well, maybe not that, but you be the judge.” Avi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “He came in through the back door. It didn’t latch.”

My head swam as if I’d stood up too quickly. “Gil?” I croaked.

Avi nodded. “The light box was padded with bubble wrap and Liam tossed it on the floor. Gil?—”

I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. “Gil pounced.”

“Yes. And popped a bubble. Liam jumped nearly a foot before he figured out it was Gil and not, I don’t know, a gunshot.

When he shouted and lunged for him, Gil darted outside.

Liam slammed the door then. I manifested on the porch, but he must have run outside my range so I couldn’t find him. I’m sorry, Maz.”

I took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s… Well, it’s not okay, but we’ll deal with that later. He hates sharp movements, especially from strangers, so it makes sense that he’d hide.”

Avi nodded, still looking absolutely miserable. “When I got back inside, Liam was lining the power of attorney up on the light box and talking on the phone. I could only hear half of the conversation, but I think he was talking to an appraiser.”

I ground my teeth together. “For Sofia’s jewelry?”

“No. For Sofia’s house.”

My jaw sagged. “Her house ?”

Avi nodded. “He said he wanted everything settled so the house could go on the market ASAP.”

“That rat bastard .”

“We can’t let him get away.”

“You’re damn right.” I grabbed my phone again. “Let me know if he tries to bolt?”

Not bothering to reply, Avi vanished.

I pulled up my recent calls and dialed Yaz. “It’s a go. Tell Kamilla to hurry.”

“Copy that. But it could be at least fifteen minutes. She’s still on her way back to Ghost.”

“Thanks, Yaz. We’ll be on the lookout for her.”

Avi returned. “He’s on the move. Shoving everything back in the messenger bag.”

“Crap.” I chewed on my lower lip. “We’ve got to stall him somehow.” My gaze zeroed in on the garage door, across the mudroom from where we stood. I bared my teeth at Avi. “Feel like a road trip?”

He returned my feral grin. “I call shotgun.”