And why steal the money when she’d refused everything else he tried to give her? He’d offered to be her landscaping client and she could have easily billed him an outrageous amount for that. Instead she’d pulled weeds in his backyard and dug a spot for a garden for free. The day she’d gone to the mall he’d practically had to beg her to take the Audi. She could have just driven off with it and not come back. She’d even refused the money he’d offered her the prior day when he told her to leave.
It just didn’t make sense. He needed it to make sense. Maybe if he could understand it he could stop seeing her face when he’d told her to leave.
“Wait a minute.” Nick interrupted. “What do you mean ‘if she’d asked’? You’re saying she never asked you for money?”
Eli narrowed his eyes.
“No. I already told you guys. She hated the idea of charity. She didn’t even want to have her sister as a landscaping client because she wanted to do it on her own. She didn’t want people thinking her success was due to her sister’s fame.”
Nick steepled his fingers. “What kind of scam artist doesn’t even try to scam you out of the money first? Why come here and get all cozy with you if she wasn’t buttering you up?”
“She wasn’t buttering me up for anything.” Jackson glared at them both. She was just burying herself so deeply in my life that I can’t function without her.
“Well, if she wasn’t trying to scam you, then what the hell was she doing? If all she wanted was your banking information, she didn’t need to stay this long to get it.” Nick spoke so softly that Jackson wondered if he knew he spoke aloud.
Elliott sat up, a grim look of determination on his face. “Something about this doesn’t add up for me. We need to figure this out. Fast.”
“How?” Jackson ran his hands over his hair and blew out a breath.
“By going back to the beginning. Everything started with the car accident, right? The authorities indicated that it wasn’t an accident.”
“If you say she’s a murderer, then I’m going to hurt you. I don’t believe Ridley killed David.”
“I don’t believe she killed him either but someone did. Which leads me to wonder what they hoped to accomplish? Were they actually trying to kill the guy or just scare him? And how does Ridley fit into the picture? If she’s not involved, then why are they coming after her?”
Jackson sat up straight. “The necklace!”
“The what?” Nick and Eli spoke in unison.
Ignoring their puzzled looks, Jackson ran upstairs to his room. He opened the door to his closet and pushed aside the row of black suits in front of his wall safe.
“Jackson, what the hell is going on?” Eli’s voice floated from behind him.
Jackson ignored him and punched in the electronic code. The numbers flashed and then a soft click indicated the unit was open. He pulled the door open and reached behind the pile of documents he kept on the bottom row. When he turned around, he held the necklace up to the light.
“I think I know what they’re after.”
Eli took it and ran his hands over the front. “What is this?”
“Ridley said David gave her this for safekeeping the day he died. That he was chasing down a lead and didn’t want it to get stolen. Do you think the jewels are what they’re after?”
Eli flipped it over and then grinned. “That’s not a necklace.” He yanked on the ends. It snapped in two.
“What the hell? Did you just break it?”
His brother held up the two ends triumphantly. Jackson stopped in his tracks. One end looked like a jeweled pendant. The other end looked like a computer port.
“What is that?” he asked.
“This, little brother, is a flash drive. Now let’s go see what the hell was worth killing for.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“I DON’T WANT you to worry. I’ve got Sam working on it and we are going to figure out who’s behind all this. I still think I should have changed my flight.”
Ridley sat on the edge of her sister’s bed and smoothed a hand over the luxurious counterpane.
“I still can’t believe this is happening.”
Ridley knew she needed to just go to bed. There wasn’t anything else she could do tonight and Raina was furious enough for the both of them. She was already scheduled to come back late the following day but it had been a fight to convince her not to change her flight to that very night. It seemed ridiculous to go to all that trouble and expense when she would be there within a day anyway.
“It’s fine. I’m not going to let them intimidate me. I know my rights and since I haven’t done anything wrong whatever evidence they claim to have must be bogus.”
“You bet your ass it is. I already have my suspicions about who’s behind this nonsense,” Raina snarled. “Nick hates me enough to do just about anything.”
“You think Nick did this?”
“Sam is going to prove it. He’s already working on tracing the I.P. address used to make the transactions. Nick is smart so I’m sure he didn’t do it from his own computer.”
It was horrifying to imagine someone hating her so much that he’d be willing to frame her for something she didn’t do.
“I don’t understand any of this. What happened between you two that was so bad?”
Raina was quiet for so long that Ridley figured she wasn’t going to answer her.
It just didn’t make sense. He needed it to make sense. Maybe if he could understand it he could stop seeing her face when he’d told her to leave.
“Wait a minute.” Nick interrupted. “What do you mean ‘if she’d asked’? You’re saying she never asked you for money?”
Eli narrowed his eyes.
“No. I already told you guys. She hated the idea of charity. She didn’t even want to have her sister as a landscaping client because she wanted to do it on her own. She didn’t want people thinking her success was due to her sister’s fame.”
Nick steepled his fingers. “What kind of scam artist doesn’t even try to scam you out of the money first? Why come here and get all cozy with you if she wasn’t buttering you up?”
“She wasn’t buttering me up for anything.” Jackson glared at them both. She was just burying herself so deeply in my life that I can’t function without her.
“Well, if she wasn’t trying to scam you, then what the hell was she doing? If all she wanted was your banking information, she didn’t need to stay this long to get it.” Nick spoke so softly that Jackson wondered if he knew he spoke aloud.
Elliott sat up, a grim look of determination on his face. “Something about this doesn’t add up for me. We need to figure this out. Fast.”
“How?” Jackson ran his hands over his hair and blew out a breath.
“By going back to the beginning. Everything started with the car accident, right? The authorities indicated that it wasn’t an accident.”
“If you say she’s a murderer, then I’m going to hurt you. I don’t believe Ridley killed David.”
“I don’t believe she killed him either but someone did. Which leads me to wonder what they hoped to accomplish? Were they actually trying to kill the guy or just scare him? And how does Ridley fit into the picture? If she’s not involved, then why are they coming after her?”
Jackson sat up straight. “The necklace!”
“The what?” Nick and Eli spoke in unison.
Ignoring their puzzled looks, Jackson ran upstairs to his room. He opened the door to his closet and pushed aside the row of black suits in front of his wall safe.
“Jackson, what the hell is going on?” Eli’s voice floated from behind him.
Jackson ignored him and punched in the electronic code. The numbers flashed and then a soft click indicated the unit was open. He pulled the door open and reached behind the pile of documents he kept on the bottom row. When he turned around, he held the necklace up to the light.
“I think I know what they’re after.”
Eli took it and ran his hands over the front. “What is this?”
“Ridley said David gave her this for safekeeping the day he died. That he was chasing down a lead and didn’t want it to get stolen. Do you think the jewels are what they’re after?”
Eli flipped it over and then grinned. “That’s not a necklace.” He yanked on the ends. It snapped in two.
“What the hell? Did you just break it?”
His brother held up the two ends triumphantly. Jackson stopped in his tracks. One end looked like a jeweled pendant. The other end looked like a computer port.
“What is that?” he asked.
“This, little brother, is a flash drive. Now let’s go see what the hell was worth killing for.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“I DON’T WANT you to worry. I’ve got Sam working on it and we are going to figure out who’s behind all this. I still think I should have changed my flight.”
Ridley sat on the edge of her sister’s bed and smoothed a hand over the luxurious counterpane.
“I still can’t believe this is happening.”
Ridley knew she needed to just go to bed. There wasn’t anything else she could do tonight and Raina was furious enough for the both of them. She was already scheduled to come back late the following day but it had been a fight to convince her not to change her flight to that very night. It seemed ridiculous to go to all that trouble and expense when she would be there within a day anyway.
“It’s fine. I’m not going to let them intimidate me. I know my rights and since I haven’t done anything wrong whatever evidence they claim to have must be bogus.”
“You bet your ass it is. I already have my suspicions about who’s behind this nonsense,” Raina snarled. “Nick hates me enough to do just about anything.”
“You think Nick did this?”
“Sam is going to prove it. He’s already working on tracing the I.P. address used to make the transactions. Nick is smart so I’m sure he didn’t do it from his own computer.”
It was horrifying to imagine someone hating her so much that he’d be willing to frame her for something she didn’t do.
“I don’t understand any of this. What happened between you two that was so bad?”
Raina was quiet for so long that Ridley figured she wasn’t going to answer her.
