Paradise took the final gulp of her coffee, tepid by now. “And we wondered if you’d taken a peek at Warren’s bank account.I know you can’t tell us anything, but do you think the police should subpoena his records?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Of course not.” Paradise rinsed her mug and placed it in the dishwasher. Abby had already done the same to hers and Drew’s cups. “Let’s see what we can find.”
Abby called up the stairs to Quinn that they were going to the barn. The girl called back, “Okay.”
They exited into a warm, humid afternoon. Officers dotted the fields and Paradise spotted figures moving through the trees in the woods as well. She doubted they’d find him. Once Adams knew Blake had seen him, he’d be long gone from the county.
She hurried to the barn with the others. Blake ran on ahead and left the door open for them. She found him in Roger’s office. The walls were barnwood, but he’d tried to liven it up with pictures of Abby and Quinn through the years. There was one with Paradise and Abby on horses. They were twelve. Her throat tightened at the memory of how good Roger had been to her over the years.
Blake yanked open the filing cabinet and pulled out file folders that he stacked on the battered desk. He and Drew began to go through them. Paradise picked up one also. She flipped through three pages until she realized she was looking at a list of pictures and names along with details of crimes and amounts of money in several installments.
She showed it to Blake. “I think Roger was blackmailing people.”
Blake stood with Paradise off to one side of the Collinses’ meticulously manicured lawn dotted with roses, azaleas, andrhododendrons. People he didn’t know mingled, and their laughter and conversation flowed around him. Drew motioned to them from the drink table, where he stood with Abby, who had come along as his date. Blake caught a whiff of seawater in the breeze that blew in from the beach.
“Your brother wants us to join him. The people he’s with look related.” He took her hand. “I was enjoying watching, but our presence is required.”
They walked across the soft grass. Drew appeared relaxed and comfortable with Taylor and the two men flanking her. Taylor wore a black cocktail dress and heels, and the men both wore sport coats. Blake felt underdressed in his khakis and polo shirt.
They reached Drew, who took Paradise’s hand and pulled her closer. “This is my sister, Paradise. We share the same mother. Sis, this is Gray.” He indicated the blond thirtysomething man with a receding hairline who stood expressionless with his hands in his pockets. “And this is Parker.” Parker reached out and gripped Blake’s hand. He was a shorter version of Gray with light brown hair. His open, friendly expression was in contrast to Gray’s glower.
“I’m sure this was all a shock.”
“Our parents had a rocky relationship, so it’s not as surprising as it could have been,” Parker said.
Gray hailed a server with a tray of champagne. He gulped back the liquid before turning steely gray eyes toward Drew. “You want money, I suppose.”
Drew inhaled, then shook his head. “I don’t want anything other than information. My birth mother and her husband were killed within days of both of your parents. That has to mean something. If I can figure out the connection, we might find justice for both of us. Did you ever know of anyone who arguedwith your mom or dad? Ben was running for the Senate before he was murdered, correct?”
“Yes, but I was too young to remember any of that. You should talk to our uncle Bear.” Parker turned and hailed the portly man standing with Victoria and Percy.
Both of Drew’s brothers resembled their uncle, but Bear’s hair was gone except for a thin stripe extending from one ear to the other. His congenial smile was like Parker’s as he walked over to speak with them. “Ah, my parents have been regaling me with what they know of my unknown nephew. You don’t look much like Dad or Mom, do you?”
“Nope.” Drew gave Paradise a side hug. “We both look like our mother, Becky Bartley. Have you ever heard that name?”
“Yes. Ben was head over heels for her. When Taylor was little, he was ready to get a divorce and marry Becky until the family put the hard press on him. Mom, Dad, our grandparents—they all talked incessantly until he gave in and broke up with her. Ben never said anything about a child at the time.”
“He didn’t know,” Drew said. “Becky never told him.”
Victoria and Percy said they’d been searching for Drew, but Bear must have been shielded from the knowledge of Drew’s existence.
Drew must have thought the same thing because his eyes widened. “Your parents were looking for me. Weren’t you and our father close?”
Bear’s smile melted away. “Very close. Mom and Dad must have found out later, and they’re less likely to share personal details than Ben was. I understand Becky and Ben met up again randomly, which was probably when he found out and told our parents. I’ve been living in Texas for the past thirty years, and once I moved, Ben and I didn’t speak as often as when we werekids. There was no falling out or anything like that. I was glad he found success where I’d failed.”
Drew snagged a glass of iced tea from a passing server and took a gulp. “We think it’s possible some connection with his political aspirations led to the murders. He never mentioned an enemy?”
“Not to me.”
“Did he have a campaign manager who might know more? We’re particularly interested in who his supporters were.”
“That was twenty years ago. But if anyone knows where those records are, it would be Octavia. She’s Mom’s best friend.” Bear motioned to a woman talking to Taylor on the patio. “Octavia, come meet Drew.”
The woman turned with a smile. She was the grandmotherly sort, softly rounded with pink cheeks. Her white hair was up in a French twist, an old-fashioned style that suited her.
She came toward them with a questioning expression, and as she neared, she glanced from Drew to Blake. “Drew?”
