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There was a long silence when he finished, and a tension had begun to build at the table. He was starting to get frustrated by all of this. It was clear his siblings were having conversations that he wasn’t privy to. He had his suspicions, but did they have something concrete?
“Do you have any reason to believe that Mom and Sarah are connected?”
To Zack’s surprise, this time it was Cooper that answered.
“Not necessarily, but it’s something that was never explored in the past. Seems like it should be looked into. Were there any connections? We don’t know. As for Dad hiring a private investigator, well, that’s what he told us, but I never saw any evidence of it. Did you? You’re the oldest. Did you ever meet him or hear about him? I sure as hell didn’t.”
“No,” Zack admitted. “I didn’t. Are you saying that Dad lied about that?”
“He’s lied about a bunch of shit throughout the years,” Cooper said with a shrug. “Why not this? I stopped trusting our father’s word in my early teens. Are you saying that you still do?”
“I don’t, but damn…lying about an investigator? That—”
“Sounds exactly like something Joel Winslow would do,” Cooper finished for him. “We asked Finn for a transcript of the police talking to Dad, and he’s going to try and dig it up. I think that might be interesting reading, don’t you?”
Just what had Joel said ten years ago? Zack couldn’t say that he wasn’t interested.
“And who knows?” Piper pressed. “Maybe by digging into Mom’s case, they might find something out about Sarah. You never know.”
Piper was hoping for a miracle. She’d always been the optimist in the family except when it came to their father.
And hiring a private investigator? That wasn’t a terrible idea either, although Zack wasn’t hopeful that they would be able to find anything helpful after all of these years. There was a reason that cold cases didn’t often get solved.
It was a sad truth…they might never get any answers about their mother.
His phone buzzed and he quickly checked his screen, surprised at the name displayed. He hadn’t been expecting this call.
“Do you mind if I step outside and take this?”
Cooper and Piper waved him away, and Zack stepped out into the sunshine where it was far quieter. And private.
This was a call from a former colleague named Gary who’d left the firm Zack had worked for about a year ago. They’d been friends and had worked together well, but he wouldn’t call them buddies or close friends. They hadn’t spoken in months.
“Hey, Zack. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, it’s fine. What’s going on?”
“I heard you left the firm,” Gary chuckled. “To the shock and surprise of everyone there. Your departure is all anyone has been talking about lately. I wasn’t shocked, though. I could tell that you were over their bullshit last year. Good for you telling them where they could shove their bonuses. I bet it felt good. I know it did when I left.”
Wall Street was huge, but it was also tiny. Word certainly got around when a long-time player made a move.
“I did leave, and I’m enjoying some much needed time off. I’m back home for a family wedding.”
“Good for you,” Gary cheered. “Everyone needs to take a little sabbatical. Where are you headed when you’re done? Shit, I won’t even beat around the bush, okay? We’d like you here. We know what you can do, and we’re willing to make it worth your while. If you’ve already made a commitment, I understand, but I haven’t heard where you’re going to land. We wanted to throw our hat into the ring, so to speak. We can give you top compensation, of course, and more work life balance than you had at our old place. When will you be back in the city? We can go for a couple of beers and talk about it. What do you say?”
When Zack had sold his apartment and put all of his stuff into storage it was because he was done. He hadn’t planned to go back to Wall Street, although he was beginning to wonder what in the hell he was going to do. He hadn’t a clue, but he hadn’t planned on looking over his shoulder. His gaze was firmly pinned on the future.
But…
Gary was a decent guy, and he wouldn’t lead Zack wrong about a potential opportunity. Zack had known that he might have a few offers, but he hadn’t thought about it much more than that. He hadn’t thought he’d be tempted in the least.
And going back to the city? That hadn’t been on his agenda either.
“This is kind of a surprise,” Zack said, stalling a bit. “To be honest, I haven’t planned anything. I’ve sort of been playing it by ear.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but sooner or later you’re going to want to get back on the horse. Guys like us are going to miss the adrenaline, am I right? I’m thrilled to hear that you haven’t made any commitments elsewhere. I want to make our case. I don’t think you’ll get a better offer, and if you do, I’ll make ours even more enticing. We want you. Full stop. I’m prepared to do whatever we need to do to make that happen. Let’s meet and talk. How about next week?”
Talking didn’t mean he had to take the job. It didn’t mean anything really. He could have a beer with an old friend, hear about an offer, and then walk away if he wanted to. He’d been wined and dined by competitors in the past, and he’d said no in the end.
