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We told him, and after we did, he closed the door. We all convened at a corner of the large oak table, long enough to literally seat everyone, our parents and Bow included. When my parents had bought this place, my dad had intended for the cabin to be a home away from home, one all the families could go to and had over the years. My buddies and I had spent countless summers here, so many good times had.
“Where’s my grandfather?” I asked, getting right into things. “He still in town?”
“Nah.” Wolf put his hands together. “Had Thatcher track him.”
“He made it easy.” Thatcher shrugged. “I didn’t have to do much, and actually, I thought it’d be harder. You never told Wolf where you thought he went after he dropped you off, but fucker popped up at the first hotel I called. I started with those, the nicest ones I could think of downtown, thinking maybe he was staying at one.”
“Good idea,” I said. “That’s where he was staying?”
“Yeah, and using that fake-ass name he’s been going under.” He swiveled his computer around, his screen filled with pinpoints on a Maywood Heights’s town map. “There wasn’t much movement after that. Though I don’t know where he was before I identified him. I was able to get his whereabouts the next day in the evening.” Thatcher clicked around. “He was at that hotel and didn’t really move after that. He went to the store a couple times, late. But other than that, nothing. We had some stoner asshole track his movements for a hundred bucks while we were all at school or with our parents.”
“I took up the shifts after that, watching him?” Wells lifted a hand. “He didn’t really do anything, D. Nothing weird anyway.”
“And he only stayed a few days.” Wolf nodded. “He left just like he told you he would.”
That didn’t mean much to me. “Where is he now?”
Thatcher clicked a button on his computer. “Last we could track him was the airport. Stoner guy told us he booked a flight to India.”
“India?”
Thatcher put his hands together. “He’s got businesses there. Just built an airport actually and has a nice little paper trail for that fake-ass name. If he was trying to hide something from someone, he’s doing a shitty-ass job. Callum Montgomery has lots of businesses in India, and they appear legitimate. In fact, all his businesses do. He’s a land developer. Been out there for years, I guess.”
“What about the name Montgomery?”
“Couldn’t find any ties back to you or your family.” Thatcher sat back. “It’s a pretty common name, and the only thing I could find was another Callum Montgomery, but that was way before Callum Prinze’s time, your grandfather?” Thatcher shook his head. “Anyway, that family was a bunch of bootleggers.”
“Basically nothing of note.” Wolf captured my attention, frowning. “I don’t know what your grandfather is doing, but we couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. He and his new name seem to be on the up-and-up.”
Squeaky clean, which was in itself very telling.
“What about Sloane and her brother?” I asked, surprised by my initial reaction. I managed to contain everything inside me, my anger, my rage wrapped all up in a tight little box. Noa Sloane had crossed my thoughts more than once.
Enough where my runs hadn’t just been in the mornings with my parents.
I’d sweated that shit out, nightly for what felt like a solid week, and even then, rogue thoughts lingered. Her poison had embedded deep, but I managed to keep my shit together.
I managed to not do something stupid.
I kept it all on lock, good at that, and coming out of my head, I noticed my buddies. They’d gotten real quiet, and Thatcher and Wells diverted their attention to Wolf. He had offered to look into the Sloane situation for me.
“Wolf?” I questioned. “What did you find out?”
Again, I surprised myself. My voice was level, even.
Bracing his arms, my buddy leaned forward and a silver chain hung from around his neck. I hadn’t seen the thing in years, something he’d gotten as a kid. He said his parents had given it to him.
The bottom of the emblem grazed the table, Wolf wetting his lips. “Didn’t find anything off about her either. Her brother?” He placed a hand on the table. “I kept an eye on them both. Even set up a camera outside their house.”
“And?”
“Normal shit. They do normal shit. Sloane goes to school. Her brother at home.” He raised a hand. “He even seems to be sick. They had some doctor come over for him the other day. Had Thatch run the guy’s plates.”
Thatcher pulled thick fingers through his hair. “Yeah. Guy works in pediatrics. Some doctor who runs a private practice upstate.”
“What about her parents?” My jaw tightened. “Her connection to my grandfather?”
“Thatch looked into that.” Wells patted Thatch’s arm. “Her dad’s name is Godfrey Sloane. He was on your grandfather’s payroll before your gramps went to prison. Worked for one of his factories.”
