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“Lucien stayed all night?” Molly asked. Lucien was one of Burke’s trusted employees. Lucien or Val would be the only two that he’d assign to family, because in Burke’s mind, Chelsea was his sister, too, and Harper his niece.
“He did. He sat outside our front door whenever he wasn’t doing rounds around the building. We’re fine, Molly. I swear it. What is this case that you’re so afraid for us?”
Molly hesitated, trying to find a way to explain it without breaking confidentiality. “It involves people in positions of power,” she hedged. “And I can’t say any more than that.”
“Got it. I’ll worry about you, too, but I know you’re careful. Harper knows not to answer the door. She’s a little on edge, but nothing like she’s been in the past. She likes Lucien.”
“She should. He brings her a book every time he sees her. What was it this time?”
“Charlotte’s Web.” Chelsea chuckled. “She’s already saying that the farmer and his wife should be more interested in the spider than the stupid pig.”
“Because she’s smart. Listen, I need to go. I’ll call you later today. And if anything weird happens, call Burke.” She ended the call, then washed up in the bathroom, which, like all the other rooms in the shotgun house, was surprisingly not claustrophobic, despite its tiny size.
The high ceilings truly added the feeling of space. She’d have to remember that for when she got a place of her own.
Because Chelsea and Harper wouldn’t need her forever. Sooner or later, she’d be on her own again. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
She found Burke sitting at the kitchen table, Gabe at his side. The two were hunched over Burke’s laptop.
“What’s going on?” Molly asked, making both men startle where they sat.
“We’ve been looking into Cicely Morrow,” Gabe said grimly. “She’s got a son.”
“Second son,” Molly said quietly. John Alan Industries. “But that doesn’t mean that your father did anything wrong.”
Gabe looked upset. “It’s damning, though. Why give this family money all those years if he didn’t have a personal connection? They’re not a charity. They’re a family. They live in a house on a five-acre parcel of land in Mont Belvieu, a suburb east of Houston.”
Molly poured herself a cup of coffee and carried it to the table. “What’s the son’s name?”
Emotion flickered in Gabe’s eyes. Definitely some anger, but a lot of grief, too. “Xavier. He just graduated from Rice University. Premed.”
Xavier.She remembered Patty had heard Rocky Hebert talking about a trust for “X.”
“Kid got accepted to med school at the University of Pennsylvania,” Burke added.
“Smart young man,” Molly said warily. “That’s a good school.”
“That’s an expensive school,” Gabe spat. “The kind one needs a trust fund to attend.”
Oh my.Gabe had clearly come to a set of conclusions that—if true—were very upsetting. “What about Mr. Morrow?”
“Died of a heart attack seven years ago,” Burke said. “He was a doctor, too.”
“Medical family,” she observed. “What else have you found on Cicely Morrow?”
“Not much.” Burke looked frustrated. “Woman is a law-abiding citizen. Not so much as a parking ticket. Same with her son. He was salutatorian of his high school graduating class. Worked part-time during school months for a diner near the campus. Worked summers as a lifeguard.”
“Saved some little kid’s life a few years ago,” Gabe added glumly. “Got a write-up in the local paper. The kid’s parents wanted to pay him for saving their child’s life. He asked them to donate to a shelter for LGBT youth instead. He seems like a good person.”
Which would make it harder for Gabe to hate him. If he had a good reason to. Still a big if.
“Gabe.” She waited until he met her gaze. “Look, I know this is difficult, but you need to wait until we have the full picture. Your father was a good man, right?”
Gabe swallowed. “I always thought so.”
She reached across the table to grip his hand hard. “Then think so a little bit longer.” She released his hand, ignoring how right it had felt to hold it. “It’s coming up on ten. Maybe your dad’s lawyer is in his office by now.”
“He’s not there,” Burke said. “We called already. He told his office manager that he was taking the week off. Family emergency, or so he said.”
