Page 21 of Out of the Shadows (Angelhart Investigations)

Margo hated paperwork. With a passion. But thirty-seven boxes was a lot to go through, and Tess and their mom needed help—otherwise

it would take days, even with the help of Aunt Rita’s two interns.

So Margo sat at the conference table going over files one by one. For two hours she sat and read, paced and read, lay on the

couch and read.

“Oh, by the way, Margo,” Ava said after a long silence.

“Hmm?” Margo glanced up. Her eyes were fuzzy and she blinked, then rubbed them.

“I talked to the owner of Mastro’s yesterday. When I told him I was verifying someone’s alibi, he took me in the back to show

me the security footage. It was actually quite exciting—I never get to work in the field. Even when I was the county attorney,

I was tied to my desk or the courtroom all day.”

“I’m glad you had fun,” Margo said. “And Brittney was there?”

“She was. She dined with Trey Bartholomew.”

“That name sounds familiar, but I’ve never met him.”

“His mother is Congresswoman Denise Shaw.”

“Oh. Shit. She’s one of Logan’s partners in the resort. Brittney, that bitch.”

Ava cleared her throat.

“You see what she’s doing, don’t you?” Margo said. “She’s trying to stay close to Logan, through his associates.”

“Perhaps. But why? She has a settlement, Logan isn’t going to go back to her.”

“I don’t know why,” Margo said. “But I sensed she was up to something.”

“Just because she had dinner with an associate of Logan’s doesn’t mean she has ulterior motives.”

Margo snorted. “She does. I just don’t know what they are yet.”

“This is odd,” Tess said and straightened in her chair.

Margo and Ava looked over at Tess. “What?” they said in unison.

“Every file I’ve looked at is a family law case, with a few NDA agreements here and there, mostly for Roger Rapperson and

a few other prominent businesspeople.”

“Same here,” Ava said.

“This is a certified letter sent to John Thornton stating that he had been listed in the last will and testament of Bernadette

Kay Willis. The letter indicates that he needed to return the affidavit and the items would be sent to him by courier upon

receipt.”

“What items?”

“It doesn’t say. But the affidavit isn’t in the letter, so I assume he returned it.”

Margo looked up Bernadette Kay Willis on her phone. “Wow, she was an heiress to a small fortune. Ninety-two when she died,

had two daughters, one grandson. Donated most of her money to UCLA and the LA Museum. Born in Los Angeles, died in Los Angeles.”

She scrolled, read quickly. “Thornton was her godson.”

“The letter came from a law firm in Los Angeles,” Tess said.

“When did she die?” Ava asked.

“February.”

“Right before John died,” Ava said. “So tragic.”

“This letter was delivered on February 27,” Tess said. “He could have received the package days after returning the affidavit.”

“John died March 3,” Ava said. “He may never have received it.”

“And maybe it was boxed up in his things?” Margo said. “Wouldn’t his partner have opened it? Given it to his family?”

“I couldn’t say,” Ava said. “Did Lorraine mention anything?”

“No. In fact, she already had another job because Hedge was shutting down the office. Tess,” Margo continued, “did you track

him down yet?”

“He’s living in Florida. I reached out, but he hasn’t gotten back to me.”

“Maybe the bequeathed item was worth something,” Margo said.

“If it was, why would it be in a storage unit?” Ava said. “And we can’t assume that it was. We’re making some leaps.”

“Plausible leaps,” Margo said. “We know Charlie left the O’Neill house with something the size of a shoebox. He returned the

U-Haul, picked up his truck, and Bishop Securities tracked him down to Los Angeles.”

“And,” Tess said, “I reached out to the motel where he was staying and he checked out this morning.”

“So he could be on his way back,” Margo said.

“Why Los Angeles?” Ava said.

“The letter about the will is from a lawyer in Los Angeles,” Tess said.

“Where was Charlie’s motel?” Margo asked.

Tess pulled up the Bishop report on her computer. “Near downtown,” she muttered and clicked through to street view. “Not a

very good neighborhood by the looks of it.”

“Where’s the lawyer located?”

“Oh, I see what you’re thinking—his office is also downtown, but in a high-rise.”

“Mom,” Margo said, “call them, you can get them to talk.”

Ava looked at her with an expression that said, I can’t move mountains.

Then she picked up the letter and went into her office.

“She’ll get something,” Margo said with confidence.

Fifteen minutes later, Ava returned. “Charlie Barrett did in fact meet with Mrs. Willis’s lawyer yesterday afternoon. He brought

a picture of an antique box that contained a diamond-and-sapphire necklace. Also in the box was a note from Mrs. Willis to

John Thornton about the history of the necklace. The lawyer asked where he’d obtained the piece, and Charlie told him he’d

bought it at an auction and wanted to know more about it and where he could get it appraised, because he planned to give the

necklace to his wife.”

Margo winced. “Any reputable auction house would have an appraisal available to bidders.”

“That is correct,” Ava said. “The lawyer was suspicious. However, he knew that John Thornton had died and therefore didn’t

suspect foul play in how Charlie had obtained the piece. He even provided Charlie with a copy of the appraisal that Mrs. Willis

had done five years before she passed. The piece is worth—” she cleared her throat “—a hundred thousand dollars.”

“Holy shit,” Margo said.

“But the lawyer said John was bequeathed two items—the necklace, which was custom made for Mrs. Willis by a master jeweler

for her tenth wedding anniversary. And a Burma ruby.”

“Is that something pricey?” Margo asked. She knew next to nothing about jewelry.

“Only the most expensive ruby out there,” Tess said. She turned to their mom. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. It’s two carats and worth just over two million dollars.”

Margo couldn’t speak.

“What happened to the ruby?” Tess said, almost breathless.

“The lawyer didn’t mention the ruby to Charlie because, as I said, he was suspicious. But once we got our credentials out

of the way—and chatted about common acquaintances—he told me the ruby was stored in a special compartment in the same jewelry

box. Charlie may not even know it’s there.”

“The third bidder,” Margo muttered. “He knew. Maybe he didn’t know where it was, but he figured it out after the auction was

posted.”

“And tried to steal it first,” Tess said.

“And figured out who Charlie was. That’s why he cut into his safe. That’s why he went to Laura’s house, thinking he might

have given it to her. But why not search her bedroom?”

“Perhaps,” Ava said, “they were looking for where Charlie had gone, since he hadn’t returned home, and thought Laura might

have contact information.”

Tess said, “John Thornton was a widower. He left behind a son and daughter and five grandchildren. All local. The son—John

Jr.—is a high school math teacher, and the daughter, Abigail, is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband is a police officer down

in Queen’s Creek.”

“They could sue for the jewelry,” Ava said, “but I doubt they would win the case. They would have to prove either theft or

fraud, and that would be difficult, especially now that John is deceased.”

“So where do we think Charlie is now?” Tess asked.

“Driving back here?” Margo said. “Want to bet he’s going straight to Laura’s house to give her the necklace? Completely oblivious

to everything that’s been going on here. But that third bidder wants the jewels. As soon as Charlie comes back into the picture,

he’s in danger.”

“Who is that guy? Someone who worked for the lawyer?” Tess asked.

“My guess? Mrs. Willis’s grandson.” Margo tapped her computer screen. “She had two daughters, one daughter had a son, Jerry

Aberdeen. He’s thirty-five, lives in San Diego according to the obituary. Maybe you can find more about him. Like a photo

that we can compare with what Rapperson’s lawyer sent.”

“Great idea.” Tess started typing and Margo saw their mother nodding her approval.

Margo had never thought she needed a team as a PI. She still liked working alone, picking her own cases, planning her investigation.

But they did work well together, and this was one case that would have taken Margo much longer to figure out without the family

resources.

“Bingo!” Tess turned her computer screen around so Margo and Ava could see her find.

“Jerry Aberdeen is our third bidder,” Margo said. “Now all we need to do is prove he ran Laura off the road and broke into

her house—before he finds Charlie and that two-million-dollar ruby.”