At her grandfather’s condo, Lexi found it difficult to focus on her work. She watched a recording of a lecture she’d missed due to her morning trek to the prison. It was just as dull when viewed later—if not worse. She scrolled through social media while her professor yammered on. Nothing interested her. She merely needed the distraction. When the video ended, Lexi removed her headphones and walked into the kitchen.
She hailed from a long line of coffee drinkers, so it was never the wrong time to brew more. Zeke joined her when the half-pot finished. She poured both of them a cup. The old man took his black. Lexi added milk to hers. “How was your morning errand?” her grandfather asked.
“Fine.” Lexi replaced the milk in the fridge.
“You gonna tell me where you really went?”
“What do you mean?”
Zeke took a seat at the nearby table and invited Lexi to do the same. She did. “Look, I like having you here. It’d be nice if your father talked to me about it first . . . but whatever. I might be an old coot, but don’t presume I’m an idiot.”
“I wouldn’t,” Lexi said.
“Good. Now . . . where’d you really go?”
“How do you know I didn’t drive to school?”
“No reason for you to,” Zeke said. “Bunch of people here have grandchildren in colleges all over the place. If the classes are virtual, everything else is, too. There’s nothing you need from your school you couldn’t do online.”
Lexi frowned. She’d never think of her grandfather as an idiot, but she figured she could get this one past him. “Fine.” She sighed. “I visited my mother in prison.”
Zeke paused with the mug of coffee halfway to his mouth. He set it back down before saying anything. “Your father know you went?”
“No, but he told me I should do what I wanted. He knows Mom reached out to me.”
“Your mother’s no good,” he said. Lexi started to object, but her grandfather put his hand up. “I know you love her. You grew up mostly with her and not your dad. Take my word for it, though . . . she’s no goddamn good. I tried to tell your father years ago, and he wouldn’t hear it.”
Lexi sipped her coffee rather than say something rude. “You never liked her?” she asked after stewing on it for a few seconds.
“She was always nice enough to me. I could tell, though, how something was off about her.” He shook his head. “Hard to quantify, but I’m sure you’ve met people where you just knew something was wrong.”
Her uncle, for one, even if Lexi enjoyed the benefit of hindsight there. “I think everyone has.”
“Your dad didn’t want to see it. He was smitten.” The old man snorted. “He ever tell you how they met?”
“No. They never talked much about each other even when I asked.”
“She was a secretary on base when your dad was at Fort Bragg. They dated for a while. She got fired at some point . . . said it was about the contractor downsizing, but I think something happened. Didn’t take her long to get a job as a bookkeeper. She got canned again . . . this time while your dad was overseas.”
“Was she stealing?” Lexi said.
“Of course,” Zeke said. “Your mom’s always been smart, so she was able to paper over it. It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember what tipped anyone off. I heard she was lucky not to get arrested, though.”
“My dad’s never told me any of this.” Lexi sipped her coffee and leaned forward in the chair.
“He doesn’t like to badmouth her. He’s too nice when it comes to Rachel.” Her grandfather shrugged. “I’m an old man. I don’t have time to be nice.”
Lexi grinned. “She stayed out of jail for a long time, though.”
Zeke nodded. “Sure. She never stayed at a job long enough to get caught. By the time your father came back, she’d been through two other places. Then, she got pregnant.”
“You wanted him to leave?”
“No. He wasn’t sure about marrying her. I think he knew what she was but didn’t want to admit it. His mother was big on not having a grandchild out of wedlock, so he and Rachel got married a few months later.”
“I don’t really remember Grandma.” Lexi frowned and stared at the bare tabletop.
“You were little when she died.” Zeke fingered the wedding ring he still wore. “She’s the one who spurred your dad to marry your mom, though. It was a mess when they got divorced. The UCMJ isn’t very friendly to soldiers, but your dad knew a JAG who found a loophole. Rachel got arrested. Eventually, they didn’t charge her, but putting her in cuffs was enough. Your father could divorce her and not lose a chunk of his pension, so he did.”
“Wow. I didn’t know most of that.” Lexi sipped her coffee, which grew tepid during the conversation.
“Like I said, your father doesn’t like to badmouth her. I’m not really trying to, even if it might seem like it.”
“It kind of does,” Lexi said.
“She and I ain’t exactly close,” her grandfather said. “She knew I was onto her. Your dad was blind to it all for a while. He loved your mother, but in the end, he couldn’t be with a criminal, and it’s the path she was walking.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t get custody of me.”
“Courts used to favor the women in this stuff. Always have. He got pretty generous visitation, though.”
“Yeah.” Lexi nodded. “He was around a lot.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to my work. Thanks, Grandpa. Interesting stuff.”
“Sure.” Zeke smiled. She freshened her java and walked back to her bedroom. For a few years before her mother’s arrest, Lexi suspected Rachel was a criminal. She also thought—or maybe hoped—it was something new. Not a vocation. Now, more things made sense. The frequent job changes. Her mother’s state of near-constant worry. Moving from city to city. Always with Uncle George not far behind. Then, the next apartment and the next plan. Lexi wondered anew what her uncle was doing at the jail this morning and what the two of them were up to.
After his trip to Talbot Lakes, Tyler went back home. Plenty of work awaited him, and he didn’t want to test Smitty’s patience by coming in late every day. He’d get there a few hours after his normal time now. Tyler felt bad about leaving his boss there alone, but he also had bigger problems to solve. On his drive into the shop, he called Lexi. “What’s up, Dad?”
“I see the two of you haven’t killed each other yet,” he said. “Progress.”
A light chuckle came from the speakers. “We’re getting along fine, actually. Grandpa has some interesting stories to tell.”
“He certainly does. I’m calling about our friends in Harford County, though. Can you help me with some research?”
“Sure. Let me get your laptop.” Her phone thunked onto something solid while Tyler puttered along on Northern Parkway. When she came back onto the line a minute later, he hadn’t moved very far. “All right. You’re on speaker now, too. I seem to have acquired a research assistant.”
“I want to see this fancy machine in action,” Zeke said.
Tyler saw an opening in the right lane and surged around a slow-moving white van. He zoomed through an intersection just as the light changed to red. Traffic picked up without the delivery vehicle gumming up the works. “You’re watching the right operator, then. I checked out Héctor’s neighborhood again this morning. He’s moving product from his house, and it’s not Amway or Mary Kay.”
“Wow,” Lexi said.
“Yeah. It’s more brazen than I expected. It makes me think he’s built some legal protections into what he does. Before, I would kick the door in, but someone else gathered the intel and assembled a report. Now, I need to do my own. Which means you get to do it.”
“I follow you.”
“All right,” Tyler said. He thought back to his first visit to Talbot Lakes. “Héctor might be in business with the property manager up there. Todd Windholm.” He spelled the surname for her. “Can you check it out?”
“Sure.” Lexi’s fingers tapped the keys.
“Wish we had this kind of stuff in my day,” Zeke said.
“I take it you have results?” Tyler asked.
“Working on it.” After more keystrokes and mouse clicks, Lexi came back on the line. “You’re right, Dad—they do have something together. Talbot Lakes Development. It’s an LLC incorporated in Bel Air. It’s also listed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Windholm Enterprises. A few others fall under the umbrella, too.”
“Shell companies?”
“Pretty much,” Lexi said. “The address for the parent business is a vacant lot. Another one turns out to be a convenience store that closed last year. There’s a lot of crap here.”
“Sure, but it gives us another potential avenue of attack. Anything else?”
“Yeah,” Zeke said. “Be careful messing with the cartel. They have ways of killing people you and I would never think of.”
“I’m pretty creative, Dad.”
“He’s right,” Lexi added. “You know you’re on their radar now. You’re going to push because it’s what you do. I only want you to be smart about it.”
“It’s the only way I know,” Tyler said. “Thanks, kiddo. Bye, Dad.” He hung up. Héctor cloaked his operation in the veneer of legitimacy. It could explain the local LEOs not wanting to go after him. Cursory research would reveal a retired imports executive who now developed real estate. Either they lacked incentive to look deeper, or Héctor funded the disincentive.
Tyler checked his mirrors again. All clear. He remained vigilant looking for a tail all the way to Smitty’s.