“How?”
“He wasn’t in the US when it happened. He was in Russia selling oranges and got caught there by snow. The judge in the case was one of the families who’d come over from Scotland. I guess you know about them.”
“Not at all.”
“There were eight families who arrived here, all of them broke, but only James went on to become wealthy. The most wise thing my family ever did was to hitch themselves to him from the very beginning. We were always comfortable. Not rich, but good. Mr. Lachlan took care of his people. Even today it seems to be a tradition that I cut his lawn.”
“But I guess the judge went his own way.”
“Yes. As soon as they arrived in the US, James offered him a partnership. But the man laughed at him and said his fruit trees were ridiculous.”
“I can see where this is going,” Kate said. “The judge did not succeed in any endeavor.”
“That’s right. He failed at every business he tried, except being made a local judge. People said his bitterness was legendary. He’d give ten years for stealing a bunch of bananas.”
“And death for a barroom brawl.”
“Yes, he did. He sentenced my grandfather to be hanged. Even the begging of his pregnant wife wouldn’t change his mind. Grans was determined to delay it until Mr. Lachlan returned, but the judge was more determined to carry out the sentence before he got back.”
“And the judge won.”
“He did.”
“What an ugly story,” Kate said. “I’m beginning to understand why your grandmother won’t leave here.” She was starting to see that Reid and Alish deserved Lachlan House. “James’s son disappeared.”
“Yes. Aran, that was his name, ran away. He and my grandfather were raised together. Aran couldn’t take his cousin’s death. No one knows what happened to him. Probably joined the war. Maybe he’s in one of the tombs of an unknown soldier. I guess we’ll never know.”
“So you’re Reid Graham the third.”
“I am. Pretentious as it is.”
They sat in silence for a moment, then he said, “We better get back. Jack may think I’ve kidnapped you. If he’s like his father, he’ll punch a man in the face before he asks questions.”
Kate felt defensive, but said, “Jack would wait for the answer, and if he doesn’t like it, then he’d hit you.”
Again, Reid laughed. It was a nice sound.
She gathered her courage. “You probably want to get back to Rachel.”
His shock showed on his face. He was a good-looking man. If his eyes were a bit different and his nose narrower, he might be handsome. “You people don’t miss anything, do you? Did Sara tell you that I was in love with her?”
Kate didn’t answer that. “Are you still?”
“Maybe,” he said as he got up. “I hope to find out. Are you ready?”
Kate didn’t move. “Who do you think killed Derek Oliver?”
He sat back down. “The million-dollar question. I’m sure you’ve been told that I wasn’t in the house much, but I did go in to check on my little sister.”
“So you saw things.”
“Enough to know that everyone hated the man.”
She took a breath. “Including your sister. I remember that much.”
His eyes widened. “Youremember? You were four years old.”
Kate wished she hadn’t said that. “Only vague images. I remember that I liked Greer.”
