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“Basically, the wife and daughter of Gregory Madden are now top-of-the-list suspects,” Damian says.
I recall Nick’s words. “Yeah, but why? They each have the same amountandthey have shares in the company. Jasmine isn’t any part of that.”
“Greed is greed, man. They’ve lived the good life, and Daddy Moneybags gave them that life. Then this woman comes back into the picture and tells him he has another kid and Madden goes on a quest to find her. Maybe their egos are bruised. Maybe they don’t think she deserves it,” Alex says. “Seems to me that money makes people stupid. The more they have, the more they want.”
“We’re talking murder, Alex. They’re willing to kill a woman over an inheritance,” I say disbelievingly.
“Come on, Zeke. You and I both know that people do bad things for less,” he scoffs. He’s not wrong. Unfortunately, greed is a common factor in many crimes. Revenge is the other.
“I’ll pull up what I can on Christie and Paris Madden,” I tell them.
Caleb says, “Alex, go back to the bar and show the waitress a picture of Christie and Paris. Damian, go pay a visit to the grieving widow. Feel her out. See what she has to say about Jasmine’s existence.”
“And you?” I ask, understanding the expression on his face. It’s saying this goes deeper, and I’m getting to the bottom of it.
“I’m going to check and see if there was an autopsy done on Gregory Madden. If he died suddenly, it should have been protocol,” he says.
“You think he’s a victim?” I ask.
“Nothing is certain. It seems highly unlikely that he tells his family he has another daughter, then both he and her biological mother, Constance, are suddenly dead. Which reminds me, I better look into her cause of death. Davis said they were supposed to meet up, but she died before they could.” Caleb’s mind is working ten steps ahead.
“Christ, you think one of them is knocking off the others to become the sole heir?” Damian bites out. “That’s fucking cold.”
“It could be mother and daughter,” Alex points out.
“It could be none of that,” I remind them.
“Only one way to find out, and that’s to dig,” Caleb says. “We have our plan for now. Tomorrow, I want an update at the station. Zeke, call in. I want Jasmine out of sight as much as possible.”
I’m glad this discussion is over. I want to get back to Jasmine. Chloe and Sabrina are great with her, but I want to be with her. She’s had a ton thrown at her, and I want to feel her out. With Jasmine, it’s about what she doesn’t say as much as what she does.
“We’ve got nothing but conjecture at this point. We’ve got no proof,” Damian reminds us.
“Then we search until we come up with answers,” I tell them, because there’s no way I’ll have Jasmine living in fear.
ELEVEN
Tequila
ZEKE
As much as I appreciate my friends, it feels good to be alone with Jasmine. She’s had a little time to take in the events of the day, and maybe she’s ready to talk.
“Hey, baby.” I plop down next to her on the sofa, my arm coming around the back of it and sliding her closer so that she’s leaning into me. “How are you doing?”
“I want to talk to my parents. I’ve been thinking about this since we left Nick’s office. Mom and Dad both offered to help me find my mother years ago. They didn’t know anything about my father, but I’m pretty sure they looked into the woman who gave me up. Dad said that whenever I was ready, to call them first,” Jasmine says, burrowing deeper into my side.
“I got the phone right here. Ready when you are.”
With a heavy sigh, she sits straight and takes the phone out of my hand to dial. To my surprise, she puts the phone on speaker and sets it on the small table in front of us. It rings only once.
“Jellybean, so good to hear from you. How’s our little girl?” Her father’s voice is bright and cheerful.
“I’m good, Dad.” Jasmine tries to be upbeat, but her tone says it all and her father picks up on it quickly.
“What’s wrong, Jasmine? Do you need me to come home? Your mother and I can be there by morning.”
“No, stay put. Listen, Dad. I have lots to say. Some of it’s great and some of it’s not so great. Is Mom there? Can you put me on speaker?”
