Page 13 of See You There

As hard as it was for them to hear, it must be excruciating for Declan.

“They set a great trap, Dec. With witnesses he would trust,” Luke began.

Declan’s violet eyes flew open, so dark they were almost black, and he slashed his hand through the air. “No! Fuck that! He believed it of me, which means he thought I was capable of it. If he knew me at all, he would have come to me, and we would have cut the evil bitch’s plan out at the root. He’s dead and I don’t care.” His voice rumbled. “What Idocare about is making sure they don’t continue to profit by stealing from me—us,” he amended. “We have two options. Either we prove they killed him and overturn the will, or prove they forged the will. I don’t care which, but we will get back what belongs to us.”

Luke’s heart sank. He’d hoped working together to solve their father’s murder would bring Declan some of the peace he needed. Instead, the darkness had only grown.

“They are one and the same,” James said.

“Fine,” Declan bit out.

James cleared his throat. “Let’s consider what we learned from Dr. Keller. He said he was protecting his son about the accident. So, we can now reasonably assume Chris was complicit in the coverup.”

The muscle in Declan’s jaw ticked. “And we know Courtney, formerly known as Crystal, saw the opportunity and somehow forced our father to marry her.”

“The police report,” Luke said. “The one that was in the vault in Dublin. We found no trace that it was legitimate, so it’s not a stretch to think Courtney created the fake document to give weight to her claims. Maybe she told Dad she was protecting Declan from prosecution?”

“Our father wasn’t stupid,” James said, ignoring Declan’s huff of bitter laughter. “Police reports don’t disappear unless someone is paid to make them disappear.”

Luke cocked his head. “Dr. Keller said Vincent paid off the escort who survived. Courtney could have had him pay off the cop?”

“There was no cop!” Declan snapped.

“We need to find out if the officer’s name on the fake police report is an actual officer with that township’s police department. I would imagine our father would have checked that. So, was it someone Courtney already knew? We need to follow up on that,” Luke said.

James flipped to a new page on the pad and scribbled a note. “We need to make finding Vincent Menardi a top priority. Hopefully, he’ll remember the other woman’s name and if the officer was paid or not.”

“He’s a ghost. He was in the Middle East for a little while, but I can’t find who’s he is working for now. Rumor is he’s back in the States, but not in what city,” Declan said. “Leave that to me. I have better connections there.”

Luke rolled his lips in. He wouldn’t argue with the fact his elder brother had more unsavory connections than he did. But as a high-priced defense attorney, he’d met his fair share and would put out his own feelers.

“There’s something that keeps bugging me about what Dr. Keller said. Twice, he referenced ‘sons.’” James consulted his notes. “One of the last things he said was ‘I won’t implicate my sons.’” James nodded emphatically.

“He was on pain meds, and a couple of times I thought I was going to lose him. I caught it at the time because he also said ‘children’, but I chalked it up to the narcotics.”

“Maybe.”

“He also said ‘they’ several times. It’s a safe bet to assume that’s Chris and Courtney. Chris witnessed the will and was driving my car.” A dark light flashed in Declan’s eyes.

“Am I the only one grossed out by the fact he’s having sex with his dad’s ex-mistress?” James’s lip curled. “He never struck me as a sleaze.”

“Yeah? Well, he never struck me as someone capable of murderous betrayal, either. Have the police ruled the doctor’s death an accident or not?”

Luke grimaced. “Not yet. But since I spoke to the nurse shortly before the fire started. I’m sure I’ll be getting a phone call soon. I had to be one of the last people to see him alive.”

Declan’s face hardened. “You need to be careful. I wouldn’t put it past Chris to frame you for this.”

James fiddled with his pen. “You’re jumping to conclusions and worrying about something that isn’t an issue yet. But we should have a plan in place if they do.” James looked at Luke with a serious expression. “If they make contact, be sure to let them know I represent you and they should direct all questions through me.”

“I’m not worried.” Luke shrugged. “I can handle whatever questions they have by myself.” When James frowned, Luke sent him a smirk guaranteed to bother his brother. “But thanks for caring, bro.”

Declan’s lips thinned. “This isn’t a game, Luke. You need to take this seriously. They’ve proven they’ll do whatever it takes to keep our father’s money.”

Luke ground his molars. He wanted to say that, of course, he knew how serious this was, but it wouldn’t make a difference. Growing up, it was as if they had each been assigned a role to play in the family. Luke’s was the carefree jokester—whether the description actually fit who he was or not.

“That just leaves one item,” James said, ticking off something on his notepad. “Which of us tells Cara when she gets back?” Declan and Luke both yelled ‘not it’ before James even got all the words out. “I hate both of you.”

CHAPTER FOUR