“The person wanted to stay anonymous. I never liked working that way so it didn’t take me long to track her down.”
Paradise straightened.“Her?”
“Yep. It was a woman by the name of Pamela Collins.”
“Was her husband Ben?” Paradise asked.
Fletch raised a brow. “You already knew?”
“We discovered the first name of Drew’s father, but that was all we’d found out.” She pulled out the onyx cuff link and showed him theC. “This makes sense now.”
“I was unable to give her much information about you, Drew. Becky refused to give up the names of your adoptive parents.”
“There’s more you might not know.” Blake told him about the messages on the answering machine.
“How did my father die?” Drew’s voice was a monotone.
“He was killed on January 25, 2005, a week before the Aldens. His body was discovered at just after 5:00 p.m., but time of death was placed right after lunch based on stomach contents. We know he ordered a pizza at 11:00 a.m. The police assumed it was a robbery gone wrong. Ben owned a huge building fullof collectible vehicles, and his family was wealthy. One of the cars, a 1970 yellow Hemi Barracuda, was missing. It’s never been found.” Fletch studied Drew’s expression. “Strangely enough, Pamela Collins died from a fall down the stairs a week later. She died the day before the murders in Nova Cambridge.”
Paradise gasped and leaned forward. “She was killed?”
“I have my suspicions, but it was ruled an accidental death.”
Blake didn’t buy it. That was way too coincidental. He reached for Paradise’s hand, and she laced her fingers through his.
Drew raked his hand through his hair. “This is a very convoluted case. I’d like to see those case files. Pamela’s death is too coincidental for my liking. Paradise remembers seeing Becky kissing a man.”
“Was politics involved at all?” Blake asked. “Maybe someone was trying to avoid a scandal?”
“I suggested that angle to the police. Ben was planning to run for the Mississippi Senate. He comes from a long line of politicians.”
“Who’s his family?” Drew asked in a tense voice.
The nameCollinshad been rolling around in Blake’s head. “Is it the Holden Collins family?”
“Bingo,” Fletch said.
That Collins family just happened to be one of the most prestigious families in Mississippi. There had been multiple governors and senators and even a Collins who’d run for president. Blake let out a low whistle. The pool of suspects just got a lot bigger.
Chapter 20
The minutes ticked by as they pored over the documents Fletch had provided. Paradise had already downed two coffees, and the acid roiled in her stomach. She called up the information about the Holden Collins family and ran through the list of politicians and founders of large companies as well as several large nonprofits. “I’ve never done a deep dive into the family, though I’ve heard of them, of course.”
She glanced at her brother and saw him absorbed in something on his phone as well, and it hit her how personal this information was for him. “Did you look up the obit?”
Drew glanced up, his expression intense. “Yeah. I have the names of my half siblings. One of them lives right outside town, about five minutes away. The estate looks palatial.” He turned his phone around to show her a large white mansion set off from the road by a vast green lawn.
“The children were all too young for me to contact,” Fletch said. “I’d let it all go years ago, but when you called, I started digging. Taylor is a Mississippi state senator now. She’s married to an oilman, Troy Murphy. I thought you might want to talk toher, so I checked her schedule. She’s in residence for the week. We could try to get in to see her.”
“Is the estate gated?” Drew asked. “I could flash my badge.”
“That should work,” Fletch said. “The guard will want to comply with law enforcement. As part of the government Taylor would look bad if she turned you away.”
Paradise turned off her phone screen and stood. “Let’s do it.”
Blake glanced at his watch and nodded. “We have time.”
Time for what? Were they on a schedule? Maybe he’d promised the boys he’d go swimming with them or take them fishing. He treasured his time with his little brothers, and they adored him. This was important though and the reason they’d come. It would take however long it would take.
