Page 154 of Noel Secrets

Rushton stopped in front of them. “Hello, Darby, you’re looking well. You’ve certainly grown since the last time I saw you.”

She turned away so Clay answered for her. “She doesn’t want anything to do with you, Rushton, after all you’ve put her through.”

“What I’ve put her through? She took money that rightfully belonged to me, but she refuses to return it.”

“It’s not your money,” she told him, suddenly finding her voice. “It was left to me by my grandmother.”

“You hadn’t even seen her in decades! I was with her every moment of her life.”

“Except when you dumped her into a nursing home,” Darby countered.

“I was the one taking care of her right until the end.”

“And blowing through her fortune while doing so,” Clay said, making certain Rushton knew they’d looked into his financials and knew everything about him.

His eyes widened then a scowl formed on his face as he came to that realization. He started to speak, but his companion stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Grant, we’re not here to debate this. The courts will handle that.” He pulled Rushton away, down the hall to where Chief Dean was standing and waiting. “I’m Calvin Stewart, Mr. Rushton’s lawyer. We understand there’s an alert out for my client. He’s voluntarily coming in to address these accusations.”

“We’ll be with you in a moment.” Chief Dean glanced at Clay then motioned for an officer. “Take these two to an interview room.”

As they were being led away, Dean turned to Clay. “Better sit this one out. You’ve antagonized our suspect, so you can watch through the viewing room.”

Clay didn’t like being relegated, but Dean was correct. Rushton was never going to answer his questions, so he would have to be satisfied with watching, listening, and hoping Dean was a skilled interrogator. Of course, they all knew they wouldn’t get much from him with his lawyer sitting beside him.

“You don’t need to be here for this,” he told Darby. She could return to the hotel. He was certain he could convince Dean to place an officer to protect her.

“No, I don’t want to leave,” she insisted. “Now that I know he’s behind this, I don’t want to go anywhere.”

She joined him in the viewing room along with several other officers and waited as Chief Dean entered the room and sat across from the two men.

“We would like to know what this is about,” the lawyer demanded. “Why is my client wanted for questioning?”

“There have been a series of attacks against your niece, Darby Foster. During the course of our investigation, we learned of an inheritance dispute between you and your niece over an inheritance you believe you’re entitled to.”

“I am entitled to it,” Rushton insisted.

His lawyer motioned for him to be quiet. “That’s a matter currently being litigated through the courts. My client has no reason to do harm to his niece over it.”

“How much money was this inheritance?”

“$500,000.”

Chief Dean’s eyes widened and he whistled. “That’s a lot of money. No wonder you’re angry.”

“It’s a small drop in my client’s mother’s estate. The amount isn’t the issue.”

“It seems like a significant issue to me.” Dean picked up some papers and read from them. “According to what I have, your financials don’t show any large deposits from an inheritance. Did your own mother not include you in her will?”

“She did. Unfortunately, her net worth was depleted by years of illness and long-term care costs.”

Not to mention the multiple large cash withdrawals and expensive cars and vacations Rushton had enjoyed through the years, according to Cooper’s deep dive into Darby’s grandmother’s financial records. Clay was a little miffed that Dean didn’t bring that up. It was a missed opportunity.

Chief Dean nodded. “No wonder you want to get your hands on that money. Seems to me that you got the short end of the stick.”

Rushton rubbed his face, obviously agitated. But his lawyer remained calm and answered for him. “As I said previously, we’re litigating the matter in court.”

“We’ve also heard from her ex-husband that your client paid him a substantial amount of cash for his help in getting ahold of that inheritance money.”