Page 65 of Insidious Threats

“It’s worth a try,” Sasha agreed. “But I think he probably needs to be checked out by a medical professional sooner rather than later. Even for your dad, he’s …”

“Spacey. I know.”

“Before you start story time, let me ask him one direct question, okay?”

Ellie bit her lower lip and gave Sasha an uncertain look. “Okay.”

Sasha crouched beside Cinco, who was mumbling to himself and switching the order of the drawings. “Hey, Cinco?”

“Chuck,” he muttered.

Ellie arched an eyebrow.

Sasha rolled with it. “Chuck, did Bella threaten you?”

He looked at her wide-eyed. “She warned me.”

“What did she warn you about?”

“That Leith would be very mad if I told anybody what happened to Landon. That he’d take it out on Gillian and Eleanor.” Cinco rocked back on his heels and began to sob and babble at the same time.

* * *

While Ellie settledher father down, Sasha stepped out onto the porch to place a phone call. Maisy answered on the third ring.

“Hey, sugar, how’s your trip going?”

“It’s been … interesting so far.”

“Did y’all find Ellie’s daddy?”

“We did. And he appears to have had a psychotic break or, at least, some sort of trauma response.”

“Good gravy. What’s got him traumatized?”

“Bella Steptoe.”

The line went completely silent.

“Maisy?”

“I’m here. I’m just stunned.”

“That makes two of us. With the caveat that I’m not sure how much of what he’s said it reality-based. Cinco claims that a day or two before Landon died, Leith Delone called and asked Cinco to find someone who could pressure Landon.”

“Pressure him to do what? Back out of his deal to testify for you?”

“That’s what I thought, too, but Cinco says no. According to Cinco, Landon had entered into an agreement to sell his wretched Cesare program to one of Delone’s companies, and suddenly, Landon was getting cold feet. Delone’s guy in Silicon Valley was worried that Landon wouldn’t hold up his end of the bargain. Delone wanted Cinco to find someone to intimidate Landon. To convince him to go through with the deal.”

“It kind of weird to ask your lawyer to find you muscle. I mean, isn’t it?”

“For normal people, yeah. But Delone seems to consider himself almost like a Mafia don or something. You’ll never guess who Cinco found to do it.”

“Tim Colchis.”

“Gold star for you.”

“Well, here’s somethingyouprobably don’t know. Detective Colchis died today.”