AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Somehow everything was working out for her. The security system hadn’t even been armed, though that shouldn’t surprise her. If she didn’t do it, Dad certainly wouldn’t and Saaina didn’t trust the system one bit. With no log of her arrival and no eyewitnesses since staff didn’t arrive before ten, what was there for Robin to worry about?
She really did need to relax. Instead, she’d put too much effort into her working from home outfit. With Uncle Daar here, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Out of everyone in her family now that Mom was gone, he was the one that treated her like a contributing member. Growing up she’d always been so excited to see him, which was why his betrayal hurt. Robin knew Uncle Daar was connected, if not behind, Mom’s death. Robin just had to prove it.
Jessica was already working away at a new angle she didn’t want to tell Robin about. That made her uneasy. Jessica meant well, but to her this was a puzzle to figure out. A challenge.
Robin needed to call Jess and make her talk.
Later.
Robin would worry about that later. At some point today Uncle Daar would want to take a look at the work she’d done untangling Dad’s finances.
Thank goodness there was plenty of money. She just wished she knew where it all was, or where it was coming from, or where it went.
Not for the first time, she was grateful that Mom had prepared for this. Robin’s financial future didn’t rest solely in Dad’s hands. Either Mom had known what was going to happen, or she’d merely prepared for the worst. Mom’s will had been detailed, down to specific furniture and jewelry items. Dad had been furious when he learned about how Mom had split ownership of her businesses between him and Robin. But that had nothing on the fury when he found out Mom had willed the family home to Robin and not him.
All of that was why Dad now lived in New Orleans, states away from any business Mom had owned. All because Dad had thrown a temper tantrum.
Whatever.
Mom had left trusts set up to pay for the house and the divided ownership of the businesses meant Dad had very little to do with them. Most of the people Mom had hired still operated her companies. She’d known how to pick the good eggs. People who were motivated beyond a simple paycheck. Most of the top-level employees were all people who’d gone to college through mom’s scholarship fund for employees.
Was money the reason Mom had ultimately been killed?
Robin had always suspected Uncle Daar of wanting a piece of Mom’s financial pie. Money was a great motivator, and it stood to reason that with Mom’s death, maybe some of that bounty would go to him through Dad. But to Robin’s knowledge, Uncle Daar hadn’t taken a cent from Dad ever. No matter how much Dad owed Uncle Daar.
He was a puzzle. She knew Uncle Daar and Mom had clashed on many occasions. He hadn’t been terribly sad at her funeral. In fact, he’d been the one to comfort her the most. Over the years, she’d leaned on Uncle Daar more than Dad all the while ignoring what she’d feared deep down. It wasn’t fair. Why did the man who supported her the most have to be the star suspect when it came to Mom’s death?
Uncle Daar hadn’t gained anything by killing her mother. So why? Why had he done it?
Robin was going to figure that out. Sometimes she feared the answer.
He’d been her biggest family support when she’d made her career path known. And in a weird twist of fate, it was Uncle Daar who’d mentioned putting her skills to use. She’d still been trying to figure out how to bring up the topic with Dad and there it had just landed in her lap.
Things like that made it difficult to see Uncle Daar as Mom’s killer. But there was no one else who had the means to do it. Not for the first time Robin had to wonder if Mom had known her life would be cut short.
“There she is,” Saaina called out. For some reason everything she said sounded as though she were mocking Robin.
She paused at the foot of the stairs and took in Saaina standing there, glaring at her.
What now?
She had both of the Bichon Frise dogs tucked under either arm. The little dogs stared at her with tongues lolling to the side, probably ready to attack her feet.
Right, Robin still needed to buy Harper new sneakers.
Some day she would untangle her feelings toward Saaina. The little therapy Robin had done recently had opened her eyes to how alike she and Saaina were, and how regrettable it was that they seemed to be at odds all the time. Robin had tried over the years with her stepmother. Maybe not very well, but Saaina repeatedly slammed that door shut.
Robin pasted a pleasant smile on her face. “Morning.”
Saaina narrowed her gaze, no doubt assessing everything Robin was wearing. “You were out late.”
“We did stay out later than intended. Just lost track of time.” She shrugged and glanced around. The key to this was going to be playing it cool. She could not allow Saaina to get under her skin. “Dad and Uncle Daar around?”
“They’re in the dining room.”
It was ten-thirty, and they were just having breakfast? Or had they dined earlier and not bothered to move?
Robin offered Saaina a smile on her way to the dining room. “Wonderful, thanks.”
