I’d been driving home from the gym when I suddenly found myself parked in front of Erik’s office. I had planned to cool down—emotionally—before confronting him, but I figured it would be a shame to lose my edge. I was hot and had a few things to say to my old friend.

It was barely seven-thirty and the receptionist hadn’t arrived yet, so I made my way back to Erik’s office unimpeded. He was chatting on speakerphone and he glanced at his watch as he motioned me in. I shut the door hard, the slam echoing in the office. Erik frowned, threw a “great talking to you” at the black box on his desk, and hung up quickly. He started speaking as he rose to greet me, but I hit him full blast before he could utter a full sentence.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Erik froze. “What’s the matter?”

“Enough bullshit. How about coming clean for a change?”

Erik blinked rapidly. I’d blindsided him and he was mentally running through all the things that could be bothering me. He gestured toward the couch. “Let’s have a seat.”

“I don’t feel like sitting.”

Erik eyed me. “Suit yourself. What’s the problem?”

“I just finished talking with Teresywzki. He mentioned my father’s angel investments. Business you’d been handling.” I hit the “you’d” hard and pointed at him. “How come you never mentioned it?”

Erik glanced across the office at something on the wall. When he refocused on me, his demeanor had changed. Colder. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear about it.”

“What? Why not? Is this more bullshit about your client’s confidentiality? He was my father, for God’s sake.”

“When it came to the confidentiality pertaining to your father’s will, I had no discretion. He specifically asked me not to divulge anything, and as my client, his wishes were sacrosanct. This other stuff … Well, I guess that was my decision to keep quiet.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it now?” The words squeezed out through clenched teeth. It had been a long time since I’d been this mad at somebody I cared about. Even with Dani, my anger had seemed muted much of the time.

He sighed. “Sure, Josh. But let’s take a seat. Please. We’ll be more comfortable.”

We took our seats on the couch, facing each other across the empty middle cushion.

Erik stared at me as if probing my depths for something. “Your father helped a lot of people. He was a very good man, despite how you felt about him.”

“I know about Matt and Goose. Who else?”

“Dylan Wernicke. Suzanne Miller. Tony Stokes. Truck Taylor.” He paused and fixed his attention across the room again.

I shifted on the couch. They were all friends I had growing up. “There were others, too. Weren’t there?”

Erik nodded without looking at me. “Yeah. Lots. Abe didn’t wait for people to come to him. He sought them out. And I—”

“Helped. You helped, didn’t you?” These just weren’t my friends. Growing up, Erik and I had many of the same friends. We hung in the same circle.

He nodded again. “Yes, I did. Your father came to me with his idea. Explained it in such glowing terms. He’d help these people with their business ventures. He liked the idea of being an angel on everybody’s shoulders. But he wanted to make sure he was only helping good people.”

“So you steered him to all of our friends?”

A rueful smile grew on Erik’s face. “Make no mistake, Josh. These were all your friends. If they were good enough for you, they were good enough for him.” Erik’s voice had diminished to a whisper. “Abe wanted to help your friends. Because you wouldn’t let him help you.”

I rose and walked to the window, the faint tick-tock of a desk clock the only noise in the office. I thought back to the arguments my father and I had when I’d dropped out of college with ideas of starting my own business. He’d wanted me to continue my studies, but when I wasn’t dissuaded, he’d insisted on funding the start-up. I’d refused, wanting to succeed on my own, and not wanting to be under his thumb. I returned to my spot on the couch. Erik hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Considering your relationship with your dad, I thought if you knew he was loaning them money …” Erik laughed. “Loaning. Hell, he was practically giving away loads of cash with very little chance of ever seeing it again. I pointed that out on many occasions, but he just smiled and said it didn’t really matter.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I thought if you knew about it, your relationship with him would become even more strained. And I didn’t believe either of you wanted that.”

I swallowed. I was pissed now, hearing about it, but was I torqued at knowing the details, or because people had been keeping me in the dark? “So, all of my old friends got money from my father over the years? And no one mentioned anything to me?”

Erik licked his lips. “Abe didn’t want his angel activities to be secret—his goal was for people in need to come to him. But he didn’t want the specifics of his involvement known, so he made confidentiality part of the agreement. The recipients were prohibited from mentioning the source of the money.” He held his hand out. “I didn’t see any upside to telling you about all this. I’m sorry, Josh.”

“Got anything else you’re keeping from me?”

He shook his head slowly. “No. Nothing else.”

“What about Brandon Flannery? Are you telling me you didn’t know about his desire to buy my father’s stake in Matt and Goose’s company?”

Erik’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know anything about that. Brandon’s simply a workout buddy of mine. I referred him to your father, but we don’t really talk much business.”

“Come on. All you Business Elite guys seem to know everything about everyone’s business.” I’d become tired of all the bullshit raining down on me.

Erik laughed. “The Business Elite? That’s a joke. A sham. Nothing but a bunch of fat and happy yuppies having a good chuckle at their own expense. And parties, lots of parties.”

I squinted at him. “What are you talking about?”

Erik sprang from the couch and circled his desk. Pulled something out of the top drawer and returned. Flung it into my lap. “You’re a member of the Northern Virginia Business Elite. Congratu-fucking-lations.”

I picked up the scrap of paper he’d thrown at me. A membership card to the Elite, my name engraved in a fancy gold script. “What’s this?”

“You’re in. You are officially one of the most highly regarded and most influential businessmen in Northern Virginia.” He laughed again, a joyless sound. “I was trying to figure out a good practical joke to pull on you using your new membership.” He surrounded the word membership with air quotes.

“I don’t even live here. How can I be a member?”

“Thirty-five bucks gets you in. That’s the only requirement. We network, we throw parties, we give speeches. We have a newsletter mostly made up of pictures of us giving speeches at parties. It’s a phony-boloney boys’ and girls’ club in suits. Shit, I even signed my dog up. Scout Nolan is a member of the Elite, too. Arf, arf.”

___

My talk with Erik hadn’t left me in a very good mood. My best friend had kept important things from me, and my father felt he needed to give money to my friends as a proxy for giving money to his son. How much of what had happened was my fault? The older I got, the larger my portion of the blame seemed to grow.

I drove home with the radio loud, trying to blast away my sour thoughts about the last few days, but the volume level only went so high. I’d spent most of the weekend engaged in two pursuits: cruising around town looking for Kassian and trying to connect on the phone with Rachel. I’d laid goose eggs on both accounts and the failure grated on me.

When I got home the phone was ringing as loud as my ears were. “Hello?”

“Hello, Josh. This is Carol.”

I rubbed my face with my hand. “Yes?”

“Can you come over? I need to … talk to you.” Tense.

“Now?” I was looking forward to a hot shower. And maybe a nap.

“Please, Josh. It’s important.”

I sighed. “Where do you live?”

She gave me directions and I grabbed a banana on my way out.

Carol lived fifteen minutes away in Chantilly, in a subdivision not too far from the hustle and bustle along Route 50. After I turned off the busy commercial strip, I passed a school and a library, and there were sidewalks and playgrounds and baseball fields. Suburban living at its finest.

I turned down her street and rolled along, searching the house numbers on the mailboxes for the address she’d given me. I found the right one and turned into the driveway. Carol sat on the porch in a white glider built for two, bundled up in a black ski jacket. When I got to the porch, she rose and clapped her gloved hands together. Stressed or not, she radiated kindness, and I knew my father had been happy the last couple years.

“Thanks for coming, Josh.” A smile accentuated her gratitude.

“Sure. What’s going on?”

“Please,” she said, and gestured for me to go inside. “We can talk where it’s warmer.”

She took my coat and removed hers, hanging both up in the closet while I waited patiently. It was a large house in a neighborhood of large houses. Not mansion-large like Peter’s or Erik’s, but big enough for a full family. I wondered what happened to hers.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked over her shoulder as she led me down the entrance hallway.

“No thanks. I’m good,” I said, following her. “Nice house.”

She nodded thanks from behind, but didn’t comment, just kept walking. We entered the kitchen and she stepped to the left and stopped. Off to the right was a small table with four chairs. Sitting in one of them was Kassian.

“Kassian! Are you okay?” I wanted to rush over and hug him, but refrained. Relief flowed through me. I spun around to Carol. “How long has he … ?” I spun back to Kassian. “How long have you been here?”

He pursed his lips, not sure how to react to my show of emotion. I suspected he didn’t realize I’d been worried about him since he’d disappeared. “I came here after we argued. You told me to leave, yes?”

“No, not …” I glanced at Carol, anticipating a disapproving look, but she wasn’t showing her hand. Kassian stared at me. I cleared my throat and started again. “I’m sorry for what I did and said that night. I’d been drinking and I was upset. Why don’t you come back? That’s what my father would have wanted. Please—” I held my arms out, not sure what else I could say to get Kassian to see how bad I felt about the whole thing.

Carol stepped up and touched me on my arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner.” She tipped her head at Kassian. “But he told me you knew he was here. I’m sure you must have been worried.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yeah. Actually, I was. Very worried.”

Kassian hung his head.

Carol said, “Kassian feels like you’re mad at him. Like maybe you believe Abe’s death was his fault somehow.” Steely eyes met mine. “He’s afraid he might not feel welcome there.”

“No. I mean …” I looked back at Kassian, then at her. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that some things weren’t adding up. My father had left me something, and I couldn’t find it, and I maybe jumped to the wrong—”

Carol came closer and touched my arm. “Josh. Relax. We’re all on the same side here. I know about the missing diamonds.”

I glanced at Kassian and his face drooped. “Can I talk with you? Privately?” I asked Carol.

She nodded and smiled at Kassian. “We’ll be right back, dear.” She led me through the dining room into the living room, stopping near a shiny black baby grand piano, the top covered with framed photographs. She whispered, “He says you believe he might have something to do with the missing diamonds, too.”

I exhaled. I didn’t really believe Kassian had taken the diamonds and then returned them—it didn’t make any sense. But nothing made much sense regarding those stones, and I didn’t know whom to trust. So I was distrustful of everyone, including myself. Especially myself. I wasn’t sure I could handle anything properly, considering the emotional roller-coaster I’d been riding. “What do you know about them?”

“Abe told me about the diamonds. How he’d been collecting them for years. He wanted them to be his special gift to you. Eventually.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Kassian hadn’t snuck up on us. “He asked me if I knew someone who could give him an appraisal and I gave him a name. I never even saw any diamonds, except for the earrings and ring he gave me.”

Her gaze drifted to a family portrait hanging on the wall. In it, three brown-haired kids and a gap-toothed husband surrounded a much younger Carol. “I know about family dynamics. And about leaving keepsakes and strained relationships. Believe me, Josh. Your father loved you and he wanted you to have his collection.”

He hadn’t told me about the diamonds. He hadn’t told me about his upcoming marriage. He hadn’t told me about his “cousin” staying in his basement. What had my father been waiting for? Now, of course, it was too late. My throat tightened and I forced myself to take a breath. “Do you believe Kassian?”

“About what?” Carol asked, as she stiffened.

“About everything. About anything. Did my father tell you Kassian claims he’s related to us?”

A half smile appeared on Carol’s otherwise staid face. “Yes. Abe mentioned it.”

“What did he say? Is Kassian his cousin?”

The smile faded. “I don’t know. But it didn’t matter to Abe. Cousin or not, Abe would have taken him in. That was one of the things I loved most about your father. His compassion.”

“What about Kassian and the diamonds?” I asked, more for confirmation than for anything else.

Carol shook her head. “Kassian did not take them. He isn’t like that.” She said it firmly and absolutely, in a way that invited no argument.

“Then who did?”

“That I don’t know. I hope they will be recovered.”

“They have been,” I said. At least some of them.

Carol brightened. “You found them? Oh, that’s terrific. Why didn’t you … Never mind. Kassian will be relieved. And I’m sure you are, too.” She started to leave the room but stopped short. “He came to me because he had nowhere else to go, and he trusted me because Abe did. But all he does here is mope around like a wounded puppy. I’ll be leaving town to attend a conference for a few days, so … I assume you will take him back? He’s comfortable there.”

I didn’t answer, ran through my options in my head. Nothing jumped out at me.

“He trusts you, Josh. You are Abe’s son. To him, you’re family.”

I found myself nodding. “Sure. He can come back.”

Carol smiled, then her expression hardened. “Of course, you must not berate him again. He deserves your respect.” Her admonition made me feel even worse.

I nodded. “I won’t. I just lost it. Won’t happen again.”

“And for his part, Kassian must abide by Abe’s condition,” she said, smiling once again. I was reminded of my father’s stories about Henry Kissinger brokering peace in the Mideast.

I cocked my head. “Condition?”

“No drinking,” she said.

Sounded like a good rule. For him and for me. Carol touched my arm. “Come on, let’s go tell Kassian he’s going home.”

Home?