Page 98 of Luck of the Devil

I signed into my law office account on the laptop, and a few minutes later, the email pinged. I opened it, then opened the attached document titled “Sarah Jane Adams Last Will and Testament.” I started scanning the pages, holding my breath. She hadn’t left me much, not that she had much of her own to give. She gave me her personal bank account, her jewelry … and access to a safe deposit box at a bank in Wolford.

But that was all I needed.

Chapter 26

I went inside to see if James was up yet. The house was quiet, and his bedroom door was closed. I was starting to get hungry, so I checked the fridge and the cabinets for breakfast food, finding eggs, bacon, and bread. I spread some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and spread out six pieces of bacon, then set the pan in the oven and turned it on. I didn’t want to start the eggs or toast until James was up, so I freshened up my coffee and walked over to the photo on the mantel. There was something about the other girl in it that pinged my memories, but I couldn’t figure out why. Then it hit me.

Neely Kate was J.R. Simmons’s daughter, albeit illegitimate.

Which meant Joe Simmons was her half-brother.

And Joe had a four-year-old daughter with Rose Gardner. I pulled out my phone and searched for Rose Gardner, then pulled up the article about her nursery I’d found last week, scrolling down until I found the photo of Rose, Joe and their two children.

The girl in the photo was Hope Simmons.

I wasn’t sure what to do with that information. It made sense that the two cousins would have their photo taken together, but why would Neely Kate send him a photo of both girls? Why not just her daughter?

Or maybe I was just reading too much into it.

I walked to the window and looked outside, thinking to myself that James had the right idea. He spent most of his life at the tavern, but when he wasn’t at work, he had the perfect place to relax and escape from everything.

“Enjoyin’ the view?” James said from behind me.

I turned to look at him, wondering whether I’d see contempt in his eyes. Instead, he seemed open and relaxed.

The tension in my shoulders eased. “I am. I’ve been sitting on the porch getting some work done. My father’s law partner saw my dad get out of a car about a month ago, and it was driven by the woman who showed up at my mother’s house last week. He suspected my dad was having an affair.”

“Does he know who she is?”

I shook my head. “No, but he also created a new will for my mother about three weeks ago. In the will, she granted me access to her safe deposit box.”

“That’s good news,” he said, walking into the kitchen and pulling a coffee cup out of the cabinet.

My stomach twisted as I watched him fill it with coffee. “James, about last night…”

He held up a hand. “What’s done is done.”

“I don’t like how we left things.”

He took the cup over the peninsula and put his hand on the counter. “You were right. I was keeping secrets, and you were tryin’ to solve a case. Of course you’d call Deveraux.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m using you or setting you up.”

He held my gaze. “I don’t.”

I watched him, not sure I believed him. If our roles were reversed, I’d be watching my back. How could he forget it had happened? He shouldn’t forget. There was a good chance Deveraux might start breathing down his neck.

“But Deveraux…”

He gave me a grim smile. “There’s a reason Deveraux is breathing down my neck. I can tell you part of it but not everything. The fact is, I can’t tell you everything about my life, because some of my secrets protect other people. I refuse to put them at risk.”

“I’d never ask you to.”

“And that’s part of the reason I’ve decided to be more open. If I tell you something that could end up hurting someone, I believe you’d keep it to yourself.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked. “I called Mason Deveraux.”

“I’d already suspected you did,” he said. “Even before you told me.”