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Kaden nodded. “The baby black market would certainly be the easiest way to explain why there was a large amount of cash missing from their bank account.”
Lia sighed. It was impossible to speculate exactly what Jolene did or didn’t know about Sunny’s real mother. Always assuming Sunny was Vanna’s daughter. And it didn’t really matter.
“The more important question is whether the baby has anything to do with Vanna’s death.” She turned the conversation back to more important matters.
“It’s possible, but I can’t see the connection. She died . . . what?” Kaden paused as he considered the time lapse between the birth of Vanna’s baby and her death. “Three, maybe four years after she gave birth? If you wanted to get rid of her, why not do it when she announced she was pregnant? Or after she first handed over the child?”
Lia considered the question, remaining silent as they hit heavy traffic clogging the streets. She didn’t want to distract Kaden from his driving, even if he was a professional. It wasn’t until they reached the highway that she at last swiveled in her seat to study his sculpted profile.
“I agree, it doesn’t make sense. Why go through the farce of creating a fake fellowship if he intended to kill her?” She made a sound of frustration. “Or let her blackmail him and his buddies when she came back as an EPA inspector?”
“Blackmail.” Kaden spoke the word softly, as if he was tasting it on his tongue. “When I confronted Tate with proof he’d been paying off Vanna, he mentioned that the judge had to get involved because he was the president of the Chamber of Commerce and they needed the funds. They obviously reached the end of what they were willing to pay to avoid being exposed.”
Lia nodded. “You think she was demanding more money from them?”
A hard smile curved his lips as he merged onto the highway and pressed his foot on the gas. “No. I think Vanna was smart enough to realize she’d squeezed all she could from Burke and the town of Pike,” he conceded. “But now that we know about the baby, I suspect she found another target.”
Lia frowned. “Tate?”
“I’m pretty sure he would pay anything to keep his dirty little secret. . . .” Kaden’s words trailed away as his fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The picture.”
“Picture?”
“The one with Tate and Vanna in front of the extension office,” Kaden clarified. “I sensed there was something different about his reaction when he saw the photo. Until that point he’d been defensive, but he had an answer for every accusation I made.” He grunted in disgust. “A true politician.”
“What was different?”
“He looked genuinely concerned. As if he was worried I’d seen it.” Kaden’s jaw tightened, clearly angry at himself for missing an important clue. “At the time, I assumed it was because it was undeniable proof he was paying Vanna large sums of money. Now I wonder if he was worried I might discover he wasn’t being blackmailed to keep her mouth shut about the violations, but to keep it shut about a baby.”
Lia nodded. The theory would certainly explain Tate’s reaction. And why he’d risked doing his dirty business in broad daylight when anyone might have seen them.
“But why then?” she asked the question that nagged at her. Or one of the thousands of questions that nagged at her. “Why choose that moment to demand the money?”
“Why not?”
“Unless Vanna had some hidden addiction that was costing her thousands of dollars, she had to have a small fortune stashed away in overseas transfers. Why continue to press her luck when she didn’t need to?”
Kaden shrugged. “Maybe she was addicted to money.”
It was possible, of course, but Lia couldn’t shake the premonition there was a tangible reason she’d been so insatiable in acquiring as much money as possible in a short period of time.
“Or she thought she was going to lose her ability to make more,” she hesitantly suggested. “Was it possible she planned to leave her job after she got married?”
Kaden snorted. “No way . . . wait.” His brow furrowed, as if he was searching through his memories. Lia remained silent, allowing him to think in peace. At last, he released his breath through clenched teeth. “That’s it,” he said in harsh tones. “The wedding was just a few weeks away.”
“Was she going to take time off for a honeymoon?”
“Just a few days, nothing that would have interfered with her blackmail scheme.” He sent her a quick glance. “But my brother was constantly complaining he hated that her job meant they spent so much time apart. He told me that after they were married, he intended to travel with her so they could be together.”
Lia smiled. Obviously, the Vaughn brothers had a lot in common. Not only did they have enough confidence in their masculinity to admire strong women, they were willing to do whatever was necessary to make sure they could acquire their dreams.
Lia’s heart melted.
Clearing her throat, she resisted the urge to reach over and run her fingers through Kaden’s silky hair.
