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“Daniel, this is Rafe. I don’t recognize the name.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Daniel said. “But the police were able to connect him to a few references about Colton Oil on a dark web board where illegal activities are bought and sold like want ads.”
Asher planted his hands on the edge of the table. This meandering story was getting them nowhere.
“It’s Asher. Cut to the chase, man. Did he write the email or not?”
Daniel’s chuckle came through the speaker. “Yes, the police found the email to Colton Oil that said, from ‘Classified,’ right in his sent box. They arrested him.”
“Guess he wasn’t much of a computer expert, after all, if the police were able to catch him,” Marlowe said.
“Right about that, boss,” Daniel said. “Watts refuses to give the identity of the person who hired him. He is being charged under interference with commerce laws for his implied threats of exposure of the secrets affecting the structure of Colton Oil.”
Marlowe puffed up her cheeks and blew out a breath. Her skin was ruddy again, like it had been after the bomb threat. Their mother wasn’t the only one dealing with a lot lately.
“That’s great, Daniel. Do you think the district attorney will be able to convince him to cooperate in the investigation?”
“It’s not looking likely.”
Ainsley rolled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t he cooperate? He could face up to twenty years in federal prison if convicted.”
“That’s true, but he probably realizes that the information investigators already have on his computer will connect him with other convicted felons on the clandestine board. The DA will petition for his parole to be revoked.” Daniel sighed audibly. “I guess he figured it wouldn’t serve him well to talk.”
“Just our luck,” Rafe called out.
Grumbles of agreement all around the table announced their common frustration as Marlowe ended the call. Too many questions, never enough answers. It was the story of their lives lately, and the rest of them didn’t even know the full tale.
Marlowe glanced over at Rafe. “Did you know anything about the arrest?”
“Me? Kerry doesn’t tell me anything about her job. She says it wouldn’t be professional, but I think she just doesn’t want me to worry.”
For several minutes, no one spoke as they ate a few more bites and sipped their wine.
Asher even considered making the announcement about his personal mystery right then. It wasn’t as if their spirits could get any lower.
Then the five-year-old, who’d been sitting so quietly beside him, shifted and came up on her knees so she sat as tall as some of the adults.
“Did someone say ‘dessert’?”
Jace strode through the door then, tucking his phone back in his pocket. “Yeah. What she said.”
“You sure timed that one,” Grayson said.
Again, the room filled with laughter. The moment had passed, and Asher hated admitting his relief that it had. He would tell them all about the possible baby switch. Soon. Individually instead of en masse. Anyway, he would share his story with at least one family member that night.
Maybe Payne Colton had dropped the ball dozens of times during Asher’s childhood, but right now he could do one thing from that hospital bed that he’d never done before. Something Asher needed more than he could ever know. He could be a good listener.
Chapter 17
“You’re looking better today.”
Asher shook his head as he patted his father’s pale hand on top of the blanket. He didn’t know why he said that every time he visited. It wasn’t true. Dad looked the same. Broken. Fragile. Words he never would have used to describe the mountain that was Payne Colton.
“On second thought, you look like crap. I want you to wake up right now and get back to work. We need you.”
He scooted the chair closer to the bed and waited. Payne’s chest rose and fell in the same monotonous and assisted rhythm as before, his regular heartbeat drawing a squiggly but relatively even line on the heart monitor. Asher lifted his father’s hand and squeezed, but when he released his hold, it dropped with a soft thud back to the sheets.
Asher gripped the plastic bedrail instead, squeezing so hard that his knuckles flashed white. What had he expected? That his father would pull a Lazarus and wake up right then? Sure, Dad would have liked to make a statement like that, but wherever he was, he must have felt safe there, as he didn’t seem ready to return yet.
