Page 84 of The Brothers Hawthorne

Grayson let her have this one. He took the phone. There was a photo pulled up on it, of a monthly calendar—presumably Sheffield Grayson’s.

“Tuesday night,” Savannah instructed. “Third Tuesday of the month.”

Grayson’s gaze went reflexively to the date. There were three events scheduled, but it was the last one that drew his attention:SVNNH GM.

“I had a game that night,” Savannah told him, her voice high and clear and steady in a way that told him she was working to keep it that way. “It was the last one he ever saw.”

Grayson registered the notation that Sheffield Grayson had used. He skimmed over the rest of the calendar and found a few other events written the same way.

“Savannah game.” His sister spelled it out for him, in case he’d missed it.

He hadn’t. “No vowels.KMisn’t mentioned on this calendar, butCCis.”Not initials. A name written without the vowels.“CC—Acacia.JLT—Juliet.”

“Which seems to suggest,” Savannah replied calmly, “thatKMmight be Kim or Kam. He only used that shorthand for family, but him using it for a mistress isn’t out of the question.”

Grayson shook his head. “It’s Kim, and she wasn’t his mistress.” He’d assigned Zabrowski to keep an eye on the girls and their mother—and the rest of Sheffield Grayson’s family. “Kimberly Wright.”

There was no spark of recognition in Savannah’s eyes.

“Your aunt,” Grayson clarified. “Your father’s sister.”

Savannah saw to the core of that in an instant. “Colin’s mother.” She’d known about her cousin. She must have inferred there was an aunt or an uncle, but from Zabrowski’s reports, it didn’t appear there was much, if any, interaction between Kimberly Wright and the girls.

“Dad said she was an addict. He didn’t ever talk about her. Didn’t want her anywhere near us.”

“She’s sober now,” Grayson reported. “Her other children are adults. They don’t seem to visit her much.”

If Savannah wondered how Grayson knew that, she didn’t give any visible sign of it. “It might be nothing,” she said. “The slips.KM. It might not matter. Weshouldstop.”

But she’d already told him she was tired ofshould.

“I’ll look into it,” Grayson told her.

Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “Gigi still hadn’t come home when I left. Whatever this is—the withdrawal slips, whatever laws Dad may or may not have broken—Gigi doesn’t need to know.” Savannah’s light gray eyes locked on to his. “She doesn’t, butIdo.”

The sound of the elevator opening down the hall alerted Grayson to the fact that they had company. Xander stepped out, followed by Nash.

Nash was carrying a limp Gigi.

CHAPTER 57

GRAYSON

Grayson’s heart froze inside his chest.She’s so still.Then Gigi turned her head toward them, a loopy smile on her lips. “What’s black and white and black and white and black and white,” she said, happily slurring the words. “And black and white and black and white and—”

“The answer is a penguin rolling down a hill,” Xander stage-whispered.

Gigi wriggled in Nash’s arms and made an attempt at poking Xander. “No spoilers!”

“Are you drunk?” Savannah asked her sister incredulously.

“As a skunk!” Gigi agreed amiably, then her eyes went very wide. “Hey! I’ve got a new one! What’s black and white and black and white and—”

Grayson met Nash’s gaze. “I can take it from here.”

Nash set Gigi on her feet, and she wobbled slightly, then started cracking up laughing. “Whatever you say, little brother,” Nash drawled.

Gigi pointed a finger at Grayson. “Is he ticklish?” she demanded.