“Ah,” Gracie says. “But then we wouldn’t have learned that Lance’s maternal grandmother, Denise’s mother, is a kick-ass trailblazer in corporate law. Seriously. I wonder if she’d agree to an interview. Shepioneeredcorporate ethics in Canada.”
“Can we first figure out if her grandson had a reason to kill our friend?” It takes me about thirty seconds of googling Andrew Murray to see he doesn’t hold the same high regard for ethics as his former mother-in-law.
“Wow, Andrew seems like a dick,” Gracie says.
“Yeah, I think I’m reading the same news story.”
It’s from some business newspaper. The gist is that, about twenty years ago, Andrew Murray went into business with Stephen Everett, Denise’s brother. They started a tech company, but it struggled in the early 2000s, when all the other tech companies were booming. Andrew wanted out and sold his half to Stephen. Stephen kept the business, and it finally started to do well. He sold a decade later for an undisclosed but presumably ridiculous amount of money. Andrew Murray promptly sued Stephen, claiming he was entitled to half the proceeds. He lost the case and probably lost a lot in legal fees. Five years later, Stephen died in a boating accident.
Shit.I think I know the name Stephen Everett. I grab the notebook where I’ve been taking notes on my media project.
“Maybe Lance’s father isn’t all that wealthy anymore,” Gracie says. “I can’t imagine suing my own family. Like ... it’s beyond my frame of understanding. Asian families would never ...”
Finally, I find my notes, and yes, I see the name Stephen Everett.
“I knew it!” I say, pointing at my notes. “I’ve read about Stephen Everett. He’s the Toronto mystery that Mia and I were about to cover in our web series before we stopped. This wealthy Toronto bachelor went sailing in the Caribbean and disappeared off the face of the earth. No one knows what happened. It was a calm day, and he was a very experienced sailor. Locals saw nothing out of the ordinary.”
Gracie whistles low. “And Jay also disappeared in a boating accident, just like Taylor and Lance’s uncle. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Taylor convinced Mia to change the topic of your web series right before you started working on an episode about her uncle?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think there are any coincidences.”
“Wasn’t your web series supposed to be about mysteries associated with the school?”
On my laptop, I open the folder of preliminary research I did on the case months ago. “Stephen Everett did his MBA at Toronto City University and donated a bunch to the school right before he died. Probably with that tech money.” As I scan the article, I find a nugget of information that makes me gasp out loud. “Oh my god, he won the Bright-Knowles scholarship. Gracie, what’s the name of the kick-ass lawyer? Denise Murray and Stephen Everett’s mother?”
“Helen Grant. She must use her maiden name professionally. Her kids have a different surname.”
My hand goes to my mouth, shocked. “Holy shit,” I say quietly. “There’s the link to Jay.”
“What?” Gracie asks, eyes wide.
“Helen Grant is Salma Hoque’s boss,” I say. “Jay’s mother has worked for Lance’s grandmother for years.”
Gracie looks up at me. “That’s some coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence! The motive was thescholarship, not the trust. Lance’s dad doesn’t have much money anymore because of Lance’s uncle, Stephen. I assume Grandma, Helen Grant, took her son Stephen’s side. Maybe helped get great lawyers. So when Lance’s new friend Jay tells him about his mom’s boss, who sponsored him for a scholarship,Lance was angry, because Jay took what he thought was his birthright. Angry enough to hurt Jay.”
Gracie whistles low. “Wow. That’s got to be it. Which means ...”
“It means Lance killed him intentionally. It wasn’t an accident.”
We sit with that information for a while. I can’t believe it’s Lance. Mia’s boyfriend. I shake my head. All this happened a few weeks after Mia and Lance met. They were “talking” then, not exclusively dating. Did he tell her about the late-night boat ride? Did he tell her that he drugged one friend, and threw another overboard?
Has Mia been covering for Lance this whole time?
“How do we let past Jay know this?” Gracie asks. “We need to tell him, because if he was able to save himself last night, Lance might still want to hurt him.”
“We can’t. Not unless he comes back into the room while I’m here.”
“Well, I hope he does.”
I exhale. “Me too, Gracie.”
TWENTY-THREE
Monday night, before going to sleep, I text Jack.
Aleeza:How are you feeling tonight?
