“It’s a drug, Aleeza,” Gracie says. She looks at the picture. “Wow, sea of white people.”
“Itisa yacht club twenty years ago,” Jack says.
I look. The picture is of about a dozen teenagers standing beside a huge sailboat. It takes me all of three seconds to find Andrew and Denise with their arms around each other. I chuckle. It must be so awkward to have a picture of you with your ex-husband forever hanging on the wall of your yacht club.
“Wow,” Gracie says. “Lance looksexactlylike his father. It’s uncanny, really.”
And then I see it. Gracie is right—the pictureisa sea of white people. But there is an exception that catches my eye.
“Holy shit.Salma Hoque,” I say, pointing to the screen.
It’s from twenty years ago, but one of the girls looks exactly like the woman I saw in the press conference, except younger. I zoom in. She’s kind of small, with really pretty, big eyes and brown skin. She’s standing with a tall, dark-haired teenager, who has his arm around her shoulders. He’sbeaming. In fact, his smile seems borderline too big for his face.
I’ve seen him before. It’s Stephen Everett.
“Oh my god. She’s with Stephen Everett,” Gracie says, eyes wide. “That’s totally her. Do you think—”
I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. The resemblance is so strong. I lean closer to the screen, scanning the lines on the familiar face. “Stephen Everett is Jay’s father.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Jack leans over to look at the picture. “That girl is Jay’smother?”
I nod, still not really believing it. But the picture is right there ... that’s Jay’s smile, right on this man’s face. “Yup. Did Stephen get her pregnant back then? Do you remember Stephen Everett having scandals?” Getting a teenage immigrant girl pregnant would have been a major scandal, wouldn’t it?
Jack snorts. “People like us don’t have scandals. We pay to make them go away.”
“Did Jay ever see this picture when he was at the yacht club?” Gracie asks.
Jack shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I never took him into the restaurant.”
And I remember him telling me that he’d never seen Jack’s secret Instagram. I google Stephen Everett, finding a picture of the guy not long before he died. Stephen Everett looked like any other rich white guy. Nothing stands out. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a big smile.
“That would make Jay Lance and Taylor’s first cousin, wouldn’t it?” Aster asks, forehead furrowed. She’s clearly trying to make sense of the relationships here. I don’t blame her for being confused.
Gracie nods. “Yep. Their mother and Jay’s father are siblings.”
I exhale, staring at the picture. This ishuge. This is Jay’sfather. “I can’t even imagine.” I look up at Gracie. “Do you think Stephen knew about Jay?”
Gracie shrugs. “Someoneknew. This is all connected. Andrew thought he was entitled to Stephen’s money. And now Andrew’s son thinks he’s entitled to Stephen’s son’s money.”
“The trust,” I say. “Stephenset it up for Jay.”
Gracie nods. “Maybe it’s an inheritance. And who would be next of kin if Jay doesn’t claim it?”
“Maybe Stephen’s nephew. Or niece.”
Relationships and money. Pretty much the only reasons why anyone wants to hurt anyone.
Jack frowns. “Wait. How do you know Stephen set up a trust for Jay?”
Um, good question. We can’t exactly say Jay told us. Or that we opened his mail.
“His cousin told us,” Gracie says quickly. “His cousin on his mom’s side. She said he had a trust that he could claim when he turned twenty, but no one knew who set it up.”
I’m impressed by Gracie’s quick thinking. I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing I’m thinking that if past Jay is safe and avoided getting on that boat with Lance, then Lance has a motive to keep trying to kill Jay until Jay claims the trust.
“Should you give the police this new information?” Aster asks.
