Page 106 of Luck of the Devil

Frannie’s upper lip curled. “You didn’t show ID.”

She had a point. “Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked, feeling desperate. I’d been so close to her and I still had nothing. “If she didn’t give her name, then I’m worried she was going to forge my mother’s signature to get to the box.”

Which meant she and my father were working together.

I felt like I was going to be sick.

“That’s a very serious accusation,” Jill said solemnly.

“Why else would she have given you my mother’s box number?” I asked. “Especially after my father tried to get in a few days ago, and you turned him away. He threatened an injunction, with takes time and money. If he could send someone else in…” I let the accusation hang in the air.

The manager nodded slowly. “I assure you that we will be extra diligent with your mother’s box from here on out.” Her gaze dropped to my chest.

I was still clutching the papers and envelope to my chest like I has in the middle of the ocean and they were my life preserver.

I shook my head. “No need. I’m taking it all with me.”

Jill looked like she wanted to argue, but then her face softened. “I’m sorry you lost your mother. I hope you find what you’re looking for in whatever she left you.”

I hoped I found it too, but knowing my mother, I doubted it would be that easy.

Chapter 28

Unsure of what to do next, I headed back to the tavern. I still hadn’t looked at the papers, although every thirty seconds or so, I asked myself why. I could pull over and go through them, looking for anything that would justify murdering my mother.

But I realized I didn’t want to do it alone. I wanted to do it with Malcolm.

So, I drove, my hands tense on the wheel while my mind raced over the implications of Dad’s potential mistress showing up at the bank. It was possible she’d followed me, but my first theory still seemed the most likely—that she’d shown up intending to impersonate my mother. While the assistant manager knew my mother was dead, it was possible the teller wouldn’t have made the connection.

What would have happened if I’d showed up half an hour later?

I pulled into the tavern parking lot, scooped up the paperwork, clutching it to my chest with one hand, then headed to the unlocked back door. I peeked in James’s office, and when I saw it was empty, I headed into the dining room. It was still several hours until they opened, but I knew they had plenty of prep work to get ready for the day.

I found him sitting in a booth with his open laptop, staring at the screen with a look of concentration. When I walked in, his face lifted, his eyes widening in surprise.

“You’re back already.” His gaze dropped to the papers in my hand. “I take it you got in. What did you find?”

“I haven’t looked yet. I wanted to do it with you. Especially after my father’s mistress showed up at the bank, asking to open my mother’s safe deposit box.” My fingers curled into a fist at my side. “She said she had a key.”

James’s gaze caught the movement, then lifted to my face. “Your mother’s copy?” His voice was low. Not soft, just careful, like he knew the last thing I wanted was to feel weak.

Funny, I hadn’t stopped to consider how I felt about it. “Yeah. Maybe? I don’t know.”

“What happened?”

I filled him in on everything, including my theory about her presence.

“Maybe she got the key from your father,” he said.

“Maybe not.” I gave a slow shake of my head. “What if she got it from my mother? She was in the house, and we don’t know what happened after they left together. The key could’ve been in my mother’s purse or her car. The woman might’ve taken it before the car was dumped into the river.”

“Then why didn’t she try to get in the box sooner?”

“If she wasn’t working with my father, then maybe she didn’t know which bank to go to.”

He frowned. “Then how’d she figure it out now? Because if she followed you, you’re right that it would’ve made more sense to wait until you came outside and take the papers then.”

“Yeah.” I sat across from him in the booth. “I don’t know.”