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The truth is that I never caused any waves at school. I’ve been teaching my grade since I started, and no one has ever had a problem with it. When it comes to other duties, I’ll do whatever they need. We all just seem to get along, so the thought of someone disliking me so much as to want to do me harm is hard to swallow.
“Hey, Jaz.” Damian greets me before going over to Zeke. “Watcha working on?”
“Doing a background check,” Zeke mutters, and I roll my eyes. Alex catches it and grins.
“On who?” Alex butts in.
“Another teacher. Dan Furth.”
“Coming up with anything?” Damian asks.
“Bupkis.” He swivels in his chair and looks at his friends. “You guys got anything?”
“A partial print. It’s with the lab tech. We also got a footprint. Definitely a man’s shoe,” Alex tells us.
Damian jumps in with “Here’s the thing. Your answering machine was tampered with. It’s like they were trying to listen to your messages or delete them.”
“No one calls me on that phone besides the school. Occasionally, my parents, but they’ve gotten used to calling my cell,” I say.
“Speaking of your cell phone, there’s a message on it. We didn’t want to hack in, so we waited for you to get here. Officer Granger says it’s been ringing on and off all day,” Alex says. “It’s with Caleb. I’ll go grab him.” He leaves to get Caleb, and Damian watches the screen where Zeke’s still working away.
“Guy’s clean,” Damian says quietly.
“Yeah. Looks like it.” Zeke sighs, pushing away from the computer and leaning back in his chair. “Any hits from the print?”
“Not yet, but they just started. There was a lot to go through in the apartment. We should hear back by tomorrow at the latest,” Damian says.
Caleb comes through the door, holding my cell phone, with Alex close behind. “Hey, Jaz, how was your day with your new coworker?” Caleb teases, jostling Zeke’s shoulder with his own.
“He’s a natural. If he ever decides to give up fighting crime, he’d make a great teacher. The kids were loving his art lesson,” I tell them.
“Zeke’s not leaving this team,” Caleb says. “Took me forever to get him to come here.” He puts the phone on the desk beside Zeke. “I’m going to ask that you leave it on speaker.”
I nod and wait for the voicemail system to ask for my passcode. The first two messages are from Mom and Dad. I’ve already called them and told them I lost my phone and to call me on the burner. I don’t want them worrying, at least not yet. The next is from Macey. She’s wondering why I haven’t called and gave me a warning to call her immediately or she’s driving down. I’ve got to call her because I have no doubt that she’ll do what she says.
“Call her after we’re done,” Zeke says. We continue listening through several hang-ups, and then there’s a weird message from a lawyer.
“Miss Belfour, we’re heading toward the thirty-day mark, and we still haven’t heard from you in regard to your inheritance. We’ve had legal documents sent to your apartment with specific instructions, and at this time, we’re concerned that they may have gone missing. This is a substantial sum of money that is allotted to you, and there’s much to discuss. Please call the office of Samson, Fitzgerald, and Jackson as soon as you receive this message.” The person rattles off a phone number and clicks off. I’m bewildered. What inheritance?
Mom’s brother and sister are still living, and they have kids of their own. On Dad’s side, there’s only one brother, and he passed away five years ago from cancer. With all the treatment, there was nothing left, and Mom and Dad had to step in to help Aunt Sally financially until she got back on her feet.
“I don’t understand.” I look at Zeke. “I don’t know anyone who’s passed away.” I tell them about my family situation. Alex scratches his chin. Damian stares at the ceiling in deep thought. Zeke comes over and puts an arm around me. “I swear they’re confusing me with someone else.”
“Jazzy, your name isn’t common. There are seven Belfours in Colorado. Three are men. The remaining four women don’t seem to have any connection to you. Two are in retirement homes. Another is a stay-at-home mom with a lawyer for a husband, and the other is you,” Zeke says. He’s done his homework.
“Let’s see if we can get a clue from the law office.” Caleb calls the number he jotted down and states that he’s calling on my behalf. He’s transferred immediately to a Mr. Davis by his secretary and begins speaking to the lawyer. “Mr. Davis, this is Detective Thorne. I believe you’ve been trying to get in touch with Jasmine Belfour. She’s with me and my team. We’d like to know what business you have with Miss Belfour.” There’s a long pause as Caleb looks from his feet to me, then to Zeke, and finally back to me. “I see,” he says, then continues to listen attentively. “Right. Well, I’ll have Miss Belfour come by to see you tomorrow at five o’clock. Since we believe her life is in danger, she won’t be alone. One or several of my crew will be with her.” He listens once more, writing down an address. When he disconnects, he says, “It seems that you’re an heiress, Jaz. This Davis guy says he has a will that needs to be read, and he’s the executor of the estate. He couldn’t tell me who he represented, but we’ll be finding out tomorrow.”
“How do we know it’s not a setup?” Damian asks.
“On it,” Zeke answers, pulling me along with him and then sitting me next to him as he does his own research on the law firm.
* * *
Zeke
Ikeep Jasmine close to me. She’s shaken up and still befuddled by it all. I check out the law office and the lawyer, Davis. They’re legitimate. The office has been around for over thirty years. Nicholas Davis is one of their top attorneys, and he deals with the most elite clients. Which creates more questions than answers.
There’s a tap on the door, and Officer Michael Tanner pops his head in. “Sir.” He looks directly at Caleb. “We got a hit on the print.” He hands the folder to Caleb.
