Lee shook his head. “That was part of my inheritance from my father. It came from his legitimate investments, not anything he earned from Stonefish.”
“Why?” Amy asked.
He hated the distrust on her face. “Because I never wanted to hurt your family the way I did. It was the only way to get Lucas to trust me.” He hesitated, not sure how much he should say. “I enjoyed our discussions, Amy. I never wanted to lie to you. I realise money can’t make up for the hardship and suffering I’ve caused, but it can hopefully lighten your financial burdens so you don’t lose the Ridge.”
“Thank you.” Lara picked up a wad of cash. “It will help, won’t it, Dad? We won’t have to move?”
“Yeah, it will help, pumpkin,” Darcy replied.
“If it’s legitimate,” Matt replied.
“It is,” Lee assured him, not that his words had much weight with them. He glanced at Nhiari. “When this is done, I can show you the paper trail.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
“All right, we need to get back to planning,” Dot said, “and you need to find somewhere safe to put the cash.”
Darcy stood. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” He glanced at his daughter and then at Jordan. “Shall we go to the beach?”
Lara looked at Lee, then at Nhiari and finally her dad. “All right.”
“The beach sounds perfect,” Georgie said.
“I’ll make a picnic,” Amy added as most of the people at the table stood and went to get ready.
Soon Lee faced the three army men, Dot, Nhiari and Oliver. They shuffled closer together around the table and Lee used the opportunity to remove the listening device he’d planted under the table months ago.
Oliver shifted in his seat, wincing a little. “I can wait in the lounge,” he said. “The beach is out for me at the moment.”
“Stay,” Dot said. “You know how the museum works and whether what we’re proposing will work.”
“How’s the chest?” Lee asked.
“Sore.” Oliver placed a hand on his sternum. “Were you responsible for my kidnapping?”
“No, that was Lucas. I didn’t know until Andrew called me the night before.” His heart panged. He wanted to ask Oliver about Andrew’s last minutes, but there would be time later.
“Why didn’t you stop it?” Sam asked.
“I wasn’t supposed to know,” Lee replied. “Lucas didn’t tell me he was in town, or what he’d told Andrew.”
“Sounds as if he doesn’t trust you,” Sherlock said.
“His confidence in others is low considering how things have gone over the past year. The business has worked under the radar for generations and it’s all surfacing now because of some decisions he made about the treasure and allowing his son to control this part of the business.”
“I don’t understand why the treasure is such a big deal. The man must have millions.” Brandon tapped his hand on the table.
“The company and all his history is built on the idea the original pearl divers overcame their masters. They took their portion of the treasure Reginald found and built the business. They moved away from their poor pasts and became powerful. The knowledge there was more treasure they were cheated out of was enough to make Lucas furious. He is extremely proud of his history and he sees the treasure as rightfully his.”
“Seems crazy to me,” Sherlock said.
Lee nodded. “Pride is very important to him. He thought it would be easy because he had the captain’s journal, but Bill and Beth wouldn’t sell the property, no matter how much money he offered them. Not being able to buy what he wanted wasn’t a concept he’d ever encountered before. It triggered something in him that made him unreasonable.”
“Did you try to stop him?” Brandon asked.
Lee looked him in the eye. “No. I wanted him destroyed.”
The others had finished getting ready for the beach and he stopped talking as they passed through the kitchen and out to the cars. When the fly screen door slammed behind the last of them, Nhiari spoke.
