“I do. My ex’s father. Joseph’s ex-father-in-law, Lawrence Gardiner.”
“Gardiner? You mean the man that owns half this town?”
I frown. “How do you know that?”
“Well, our office is at the end of this town. I’ve seen his name all over several businesses here..”
I nod. “Why would Joseph call his ex-father-in-law, though? And why would Lawrence Gardiner help him? He hates the guy,” I say.
“Maybe he’s paying Joseph to leave town.”
Paying. Wait, Joseph would have received his trust fund by now. “What day is it?” I demand.
“Wednesday.”
“I overheard him telling Vince he would get a trust fund payment Tuesday. That would have been yesterday.”
Rover crosses his arms. “You think it’s related?”
“It could be. We know someone wants Joseph dead, and that he owes someone or many people money. Maybe he called Lawrence because he wanted to pay him back.”
Rover grimaces. “If that’s true—”
“Then Lawrence is his biggest threat,” I finish.
After what Joseph did to Lucy,again, I’m not sure there’s enough money in this world to save him fromG.
“That asshole is in real danger, isn’t he?” Rover asks.
“It looks like it.”
“Damn. This job just won’t end.”
“Wait.” I scroll through the phone. “Let’s see who called him before the fire.” I find only one incoming call that morning. It only shows a phone number, no name. “It wasn’t someone in his contacts,” I frown.
Rover takes the phone and calls the number. When it goes to a generic voicemail, he ends the call. “I’ll have someone at the office run a check on this. We’ll find out who it belongs to.”
“Whoever it is, let’s hope they don’t find him to finish the job.”
CHAPTER19
Lucy
“Oh my god,you had sex with him, didn’t you? If I thought you were glowing before, you really are now,” Connie practically yells the moment I open the door and see her on the porch.
I grab her and pull her into Cody’s house. “Jesus, Connie. What if Cody was home, and he heard you?”
Connie’s hands go to her hips. Her hair is in a ponytail, and she’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt—a more casual look than I’m used to seeing on her. “Did you or did you not have sex?”
I close my eyes and allow the smile spreading across my face. “We did.”
“Then I’m just stating the obvious.” She settles in on the couch and pats the seat next to her. “Now, come over here and tell me all about it. While I’m still not sure I’m on team Cody, I want to hear all the details.”
I laugh as I sit down. “Well, hello, Connie. Yes, I’m doing well, and you?”
She shakes her head, and her pony hits me in the face. “No, I’m sorry, I have to live vicariously through you. I haven’t had sex in months and I’m dying.”
“Months?”
