Carter shrugged. “I’m not sure how much she actually knows.”
“What about the other witness? The neighbor?”
“Funny thing. His mortgage was paid off this morning. One hundred and ten thousand dollars was wired to the mortgage company on his behalf.”
“Wired? You can trace that.”
He nods. “Tried. Dead end.”
Mr. Gardiner—or Mrs., who the fuck knows—is paying a lot of money to frame me. I’m trying really hard not to believe I’m completely fucked. At least I have Carter on my side.
After a minute, I tell him, “There’s one big problem with your plan of having me prove myself to Lawrence Gardiner.”
Carter leans forward. “What’s that?”
“Lucy walked away from her father and the trust fund. It makes no sense that I would want to impress him for her.”
He holds up a finger. “Ah, she walked away from her trust fund, but she didn’t walk away from her family. And being with you would put a serious divide between them, wouldn’t it?”
Maybe. But she hasn’t mentioned it being an issue.
“Look,” Carter presses, “I don’t care what you tell the old man, as long as you get on his good side. And if you can get inside or learn anything about his businesses, that would be great.”
“I don’t know. Let me think about this.”
Carter stands, pulls his wallet out of his pocket, and puts a business card on the table. “Don’t think too long.”
He lets himself out, and I lean back in the chair.
I know Lucy’s dad doesn’t like me, but to set me up for murder? That’s straight up evil. But if I do this and help take him down, will Lucy be able to forgive me?
CHAPTER27
Lucy
I wakeup but don’t recognize where I am. As I open my eyes wider, the bright light hurts, and I turn away from it with a grunt.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Connie says softly.
I sit up at the familiar voice, and pain slices through my head. I grab it and lay back down, groaning as I squeeze my eyes shut.
“I thought you might not feel so good. Here’s water and an aspirin.”
I crack one eye open and see water and a pill on the coffee table. Connie’s coffee table. “I’m at your place?”
She chuckles. “Very good.”
“On your couch.”
“Two for two.”
“Why?”
I sit up slowly this time and take the aspirin, then finish the water. Even after that, my mouth feels like I’ve sucked on mothballs.
“You don’t remember?”
I eye the empty bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table, and the evening slowly comes back to me.
