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“Lieutenant Heather Coleson?”
“Yes. I’m Heather Coleson. Who is this?” Probably another damned reporter. They’d been harassing her and her family for days. Just like after Eastman. And they were remarkably good at getting private numbers.
“The man I believe you have been looking for. My name is Handley Barratt, Heather. I wish to speak with you for a moment. I won’t cut into your time too deeply. I know you are…off…work right now.”
“Handley Barratt—the billionaire? Houghton Barratt’s son?” Heather waved a hand at Miguel. He straightened, from where he’d been fixing the blanket over Hope. “You are Handley Barratt. And you want to speak with me right now.”
“Yes. I believe you live next door to my nephew Alex now. You have my condolences on that, my dear. He has always been the grumpiest sort. I don’t always understand it—his parents are rather optimistic, good-natured people. But Alex…quite the grouch at times.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
“But tell that beautiful girl he’s been bickering with that he is a softie underneath. And deathly afraid of spiders. She can use the knowledge to her advantage, I’m sure.”
“I’ll do that,” she said as Ember fussed in her arms.
“Ah, your baby is awake. Did my call wake her?”
“No. She’s…” Well, no sense lying about it. “She’s nursing right now, Mr. Barratt. I really need my hands free. Do you mind if I put you on speaker so I don’t drop my phone? Or her?”
“Of course not. Do what you must. I understand how much juggling is involved when they are that young. I didn’t get that much time with Houghton as an infant; I was working then, you understand. But…it was different with my Beck. I was able to take care of my younger son myself. To spend that time with him.”
She hit the speaker after motioning the rest of her family to be quiet. Miguel had his phone out now, recording.
“Okay, you are definitely on speaker, Mr. Barratt.”
“Please, call me Handley. Since…I know you are the one digging into every corner of my life now.”
She was. He was still the biggest case on her list. And suspects didn’t just randomly call investigators out of the blue on a Saturday morning. There was a reason he had called. “Okay, Handley. I have a bunch of very young kids in the room with me right now. So I’m sorry if it gets a bit noisy. Why are you calling today?”
“You are very blessed in your family. I…miss mine a great deal. My sons, my brothers, their families.”
She could hear the hurt in his tone. She understood it. Haldyn’s words came back to her—this man loved his family. And the loss of his wife had changed him. She could understand that, too. “Why did you call me exactly today?”
“I have been doing a great deal of thinking…”
“About what?”
“The past. Similarities.”
“Between?”
“Your family’s past. Maria. I have read the articles of your family. Rather hard to miss. They made me think…my own…quest.”
“What quest is that?”
“That is for another time. When you finally…do catch me. I know you will. Eventually.”
“How do you know I’ve been assigned to your case specifically?”
“There is very little I don’t know about the TSP. I pay well for information. That’s the best currency, you understand. Information. Knowledge.”
“I see.” So someone was on Handley’s payroll—big surprise.
“We will discuss this eventually. For now, I know you are with your family while you are on suspension. And they are what matters most.”
“They are.”
“I miss mine, a great deal. Tell…tell that neighbor of yours that I miss them all. And to take care of themselves out there. And that I love them.”
