I didn’t plan to pull an all-nighter with Buck. We had enough of those in Afghanistan, but at least we’re in his cushy apartment that he shares with Aspen, not sweltering in the desert, looking over our shoulders for enemy fire.
“She didn’t tell me anything,” I say. “I asked her for the name of the aunt who left her the money, and she clammed up quickly.”
“So she realized you were after information.”
“Not at first. First she accused me of wanting her for her money.”
Buck lets out a chuckle.
“Until I explained I didn’t want her, money or not. Then she escorted me to the door.”
“So it’s not that she refused to give you the aunt’s name, it’s that she wanted something more than you were able to give, and she thought by asking for the aunt’s name, you were wanting to know more about where she got her money.”
I shrug. “Hell, I don’t know. I personally don’t think there even is an aunt.”
Buck taps busily at his computer, and then he raises his eyebrows.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Actually, there is an aunt. Clementine Taylor, and she was a hedge fund manager with Norsemen Funds.”
I stop my jaw from dropping to the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I were, but I’m not. Clementine Taylor did exist, and her will was probated in Tucson, Arizona. She did leave an estate of approximately ten million to her niece, Racine Taylor.”
“You got the will?”
“Right here in the database.”
“I’ll be damned.”
“She wasn’t lying. Her aunt did pass away about a year and half ago. And most of the estate passed through trust and wasn’t held up by the probate court at all. So pretty much overnight, Racine Taylor was a rich woman.”
“Except she was already a rich woman. Those half-million dollar payments started coming out six months after Kelly was taken.”
“Yes, there’s that as well. It looks like she got four of those altogether, and now she’s worth about thirty million dollars, as we already knew. She got into some good stock buys and increased her wealth, and then she got another cash infusion when Auntie Clem died.”
“Okay. So it’s still possible she sold her daughter.”
“It’s possible for sure. The only thing that doesn’t make sense is why she had to wait six months for payment and why she was paid such a large sum.”
“Right, when the people who took Aspen and Katelyn were paid right away, and not nearly as much.”
“Then maybe… Maybe she wasn’t involved in her daughter’s kidnapping,” Buck says. “I truly doubt that Derek Wolf paid in the millions of dollars for these women. Hell, if he did that, he could have probably gotten a few to volunteer.”
“Maybe, but not if they knew for sure what they were getting into.”
“Of course not, but if you’re willing to pay that much, there would be a few biters.”
“True enough.” I cock my head, my mind racing. “Something’s not right between Racine and Kelly. That much is obvious. Why else would she refuse to see her mother?”
“Aspen didn’t see her parents at first. It’s hard to imagine what these women were thinking. Their mindset.”
“It’s not that hard to imagine.” I gesture to a scar on Buck’s arm.
“You and I went through a lot, but we were trained for it. What we went through wasn’t pretty—and it’s nothing I want to experience again—but we knew what could happen to us out there. The fact that a lot of it did doesn’t change the fact that it was a risk we consciously took. It was our choice.”
“True enough. These women didn’t make the choice.”
“No, they didn’t. They didn’t take this risk. It was thrust upon them.”
“I guess I can see why Aspen didn’t want to see her parents at first. It’s humiliating. You and I should know.”
“Exactly,” Buck says. “But, Aspen did see her parents after a while. In fact, I found her at a train station going to Colorado to see them. When I went after her when she disappeared.”
“So she made the choice to see them on her own.”
“Right. After a lot of therapy, and after realizing that there was nothing for her to be humiliated about. But with Kelly it’s different,” he says.
“Yeah, it totally is. I did not get good vibes from Racine at all. She said all the right words, claimed to love her daughter, but her acting left a lot to be desired.”
“So you don’t believe her?”
“Not only no, but hell no. She knew how to sniffle at the right time, how to dab at her eyes. But she was dabbing at dry eyes, Buck. Dry fucking eyes.”
“They…”
“Right? So whether she had anything to do with her daughter’s abduction or not, they did not have a good relationship. Of that I’m certain.”
“There’s only one way to find out the truth about that,” Buck says.
I nod. “I know. I have to ask Kelly.”
“And you know how that will go.”
“God, do I. But I have to tell you, I’m understanding her better and better. I don’t think she has a nasty streak at all. I think she’s just super defensive. She’s been hurt her whole life, so now she strikes before anyone can hurt her again.”
“Do you plan to hurt her?”
“No. Not intentionally, anyway. So I suppose that means…”
“It means hands off, Phoenix.”
“You didn’t keep your hands off,” I shove back at him.
He doesn’t reply. How can he? Until—
“No, I didn’t. And I’m glad I didn’t, because that lovely lady sleeping soundly in the next room is everything to me.”
I nod. “I know, bro.”
“You’re not feeling something for Kelly, are you?”
“No.”
But the lie is bitter on my tongue because the truth is that I am feeling something for Kelly. I’m going to have to tamp it down. She’s certainly not ready to be with anyone, and in my own way, I’m not either.
No more hanky-panky with Kelly Taylor.
And I’m surprised at how much that thought saddens me.
I rise. “Send me a copy of all the docs you found. I’m going to get some shut-eye. Good night.”
“Don’t you mean good morning?”
I shake my head and sigh. “Damn. What is it? Eight o’clock already?”
“Seven thirty.”
I yawn. “See you, Buck.”
“Take it easy, Phoenix.”
I leave Buck’s, take the elevator down to the fourth floor, and head to my place.
And then I drop my jaw.