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He blinked. “Oh, yeah. I forgot already.”
“You’re really not a morning person, are you?” she asked, amused, then reached over him to pluck his phone from the nightstand. Her eyes widened. “It was your aunt.”
Gabe snatched the phone, his hands suddenly trembling. Sure enough, there was a notification on his screen. Missed call: Gigi. “What if she’s not all right?”
“She’s been on vacation,” Molly said, using that tone that instantly soothed him. They were planning a trip to the stable later so that Harper and Chelsea could ride, and he’d thought he’d hear her use the voice on the horse. Not on me. But he was grateful for it, because his hands were shaking.
Swallowing, he dialed Gigi’s number, sighing with relief when his aunt answered on the first ring.
“Salut, Gabriel.”
“Salut, Tante Gigi. Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right,” she said, switching to her heavily accented English. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He exhaled, feeling a weight roll off his shoulders. “I’ve had a bit of a week.”
“As have I. I have been through the Panama Canal. You should do it sometime soon, mon cher. You work too hard.”
“I’d love to hear all about it, but I need you to listen for a minute. I have someone with me. Can I put you on speaker?”
“Of course.” When he’d done so, she barreled forward, as was her way. “I will ask you later about the ‘someone’ you have with you. But for now, tell me about your week. You sound stressed. I got a message from the ship this morning to call you. Are you all right?”
He laughed weakly. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
Molly tapped his arm. “You want me to start since you’re still not awake yet?”
“Oh, I am sorry!” Gigi exclaimed. “I always forget about the time difference. It’s already nearly lunchtime in Fort Lauderdale.”
“It’s only eight o’clock in Fort Lauderdale,” Gabe grumbled.
“As I said—nearly lunchtime. And who is this someone?” Gigi asked slyly.
“My name is Molly Sutton. Gabe hired me to help find out who killed his father.”
Gigi gasped. “Mon Dieu. What is this?”
“It’s a very long story,” Molly said, “but the short version is that Rocky was killed by a man who’d murdered a woman back during Katrina. Rocky discovered her body when he was searching for victims to evacuate from the flood. He’d been investigating her murder for years but picked up speed in the last few months. Because of his cancer.”
Gigi sighed. “He wanted to tell you that he was sick, but he didn’t know how. I told him that if he didn’t tell you soon, I would tell you myself, but...” She was quiet for a long moment. “I thought he’d really killed himself. He was in so much pain. I should have known that he wouldn’t do it in a way that would hurt you if you found him. I am so sorry, Gabriel.”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t sure myself until I had a private autopsy done.”
“That’s part of the long story,” Molly said. “We’ll answer all your questions, but I need to zip to the end. We discovered the killer’s identity and he’s dead. But Rocky left some cryptic notes.”
“Ah,” Gigi said knowingly, but then hesitated. “Did you find... someone?”
“You mean Xavier?” Gabe asked. “I did find him. I also found that you’re named as the president on one of Dad’s businesses that he used to hide monthly payments to Xavier’s mother.”
She gasped again. “Oh no. Gabriel. What you must have thought!”
“I did, for a moment,” Gabe confessed. “But I knew Dad would never cheat on Mom.”
“Your mother knew everything, if that makes you feel better. She was very supportive of his efforts to help the Morrow family. Your father was a very good man.”
“I know,” Gabe said, just as he had the day before when Cicely Morrow had said the same thing. His father had been a very good man. And hopefully now he can truly rest in peace. “Let’s get back to the angels. Dad gave both Xavier and me a little ceramic angel. We figured out that Xavier’s had a thumb drive inside it.”
“Oh? That sounds like a movie. What did it say?”
