Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
The Steels are good people. I trust them implicitly.
So why do I have a feeling I’m heading to my demise?
Get over yourself, I say silently.
Ruby climbs into the back seat. “You have such long legs, Brendan,” she says. “I didn’t want you to have to sit back here.”
Ryan’s Mercedes sedan has more than enough room in the back seat for my long legs, but it’s a nice gesture.
Or is it?
Ruby’s a trained cop. An excellent shot. She could easily stick a gun to the back of my head from where she’s sitting.
My God, why is my mind doing this?
Why do I have such a bad feeling?
“Exactly where are you taking me?” I ask.
“Your place,” Ryan says.
“We could’ve walked,” I say.
“I know, but we’re in a hurry.”
Within less than a minute, Ryan’s pulling in front of the bar, and we walk in the back way.
“Wow,” Ruby says. “It looks great. Your contractor did an excellent job.”
“They did. My insurance company was very generous.”
Ryan nods. “My brothers have given me some information,” he says, “about what you found here. I’ve seen the copies of the documents they have. I’d like to see the originals, please.”
“The originals are in a safe-deposit box,” I say.
It’s a lie. The originals are in a safe in my closet at my parents’ home, but something keeps me from saying those words.
“Where’s the safe-deposit box?” Ryan asks.
“In Grand Junction.” God, I hate lying. “But if you’ve seen copies, you’ve basically seen them.”
“All right.” Ryan pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at it. “Let’s go tomorrow. You and I.”
“Wait. You think I’m going to just give you these documents?”
“No, of course not,” Ruby says. “But I need to take a look at them. See if we can find any fingerprints on them.”
“Well, Dale, Donny, and I have all touched them.”
“What about your father?”
“I actually… I haven’t told him about them.”
“You haven’t?”
“No. I went straight to Dale and Donny. I mean, Dale and I aren’t exactly close, but we are the same age and did go to school together. He was the obvious choice.”
Ryan clears his throat. “I understand that your father bought this place from a man named Jeremy Madigan.”
“That’s what the documents say.”
“How did your father know Jeremy Madigan?”
“I’m afraid you’d have to ask him that.”
“I see. But you haven’t told him about the documents.”
“No.”
“I have to say, Brendan, that seems a little puzzling to me,” Ryan says.
“Why?”
“Because he’s the owner of this building, isn’t he?”
“He is, but I am as well. When he retired, he added me to the deed via quitclaim. That way we can avoid probate when he passes.” Another lie. What the hell is wrong with me? Though my father has drawn up the documents. They just haven’t been recorded yet.
“Your father did a lot of investigating when he first came to town,” Ruby says.
“That’s true.”
“Do you know if he investigated the Madigan family?”
“I was a kid. I wasn’t even born yet when my father came here. He met my mom here and decided to stay. I came along a year later.”
“I understand that,” Ryan says. “I’m just wondering, how long did your father investigate his uncle’s death?”
“For a while,” I say. “But I’m not sure what this has to do with anything right now. Maybe you should be talking to him.”
“Yeah,” Ryan says. “Maybe we should. But we’re concerned because of the messages that you and Ava got.”
“My dad knows all about them,” I say. “They came to Hardy’s office and said to ask the Murphys. He’s a Murphy.”
“Right,” Ryan says. “Has he mentioned the Madigans to you at all?”
“No. Why do you keep asking me that?”
“What about Ava?” Ruby says. “Has she mentioned the Madigans?”
“No. Why would she? None of us even know them. My dad bought this bar from Jeremy Madigan. I don’t even know anyone by that name. Do you know the Madigans?”
Ryan and Ruby are both silent.
“Should I take that as a yes?”
“Ava has told you,” Ruby says, “that I’ve been giving her the runaround on those messages, hasn’t she?”
“She may have mentioned that.”
“There are some things Ava doesn’t know about our family,” Ryan says. “Things that could hurt her. And I’m sure you don’t want to see her hurt.”
“Of course I don’t. I care very much for Ava.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Ruby says. “You’re a good man, Brendan.”
“Yeah, I am.” I stand tall. Ryan Steel is still a little taller, about half an inch. Of course, he’s wearing cowboy boots, and I’m not.
I honestly don’t have any fear of Ryan Steel.
But I don’t want anything to harm Ava.
“Has Ava mentioned anything about her family keeping secrets?”
“No, she hasn’t.”
That’s not exactly the truth, of course. Ava’s been very freaked out about the readings she’s been getting lately. Something about secret knowledge. Hypocrisy. But I don’t feel comfortable telling her parents this without her knowing that I’m talking to them.