“Oh yes, they did.” Shireen’s eyes were sparkling with excitement now. “They applied at several foundations who give out scholarships, and with their grades, they were considered by three of them. The interesting bit is which of these foundations chose them.”
The picture on the screen changed; the lines were now white, and one of the names was prominent. “Aquarius Foundation. They’re picky about who they take on, and people like Tabitha and Josephine are not on their usual list.” Shireen made a disgusted face.
“Let me guess—the usual list doesn’t contain women or people of mixed heritage.” The words poured like acid from George’s lips.
“Mixed heritage, African American, Asian American, female, queer, all reasons to not be chosen by them. And yet they got the scholarship. Guess why.”
“Shireen, please,” Andi groaned.
“Fine. If you insist on being a spoilsport….” Shireen pouted briefly. “I’m not entirely sure this is the reason they were accepted, but the legal counsel for the Aquarius Foundation is Gartner & Partners, and Gideon Gartner is a member of their board. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
George whistled. “That’s interesting indeed. I didn’t peg Gideon Gartner as so conservative, though.”
Shireen shrugged. “That man has his fingers in many pies. His law firm also regularly donates to the LGBTQ youth shelter in their neighborhood, and every lawyer in his firm has to take on one pro bono case per year for people who can’t afford a high-priced lawyer, which means they defend a lot of nonwhite people every year. If you ask me, Gideon Gartner likes to be on top of everything. The Aquarius Foundation has many rich, influential donors, many of whom have employed the services of Gartner & Partners.”
Andi stared at the screen with the names of firms, companies, foundations, and charities, all of them interwoven and connected through a list of recurring names. He wasn’t surprised to see the names Miller, McHill, and Portius as well. A caterpillar’s weave indeed, with no hope to ever find the starting point. “Can you keep looking into Gartner?” It was a hunch, something his gut instinct told him to do, and Andi trusted his unconscious more than his senses, which were quite unreliable, as he knew only too well from his connection with the arthropods.
“Will do. Whatever I find, I’ll text you. Now, shoo.” Shireen waved them away, already concentrating on her screen again. George and Andi turned toward the door. George was already reaching for his car keys in the back pocket of his jeans. “We’re going to visit a lawyer?”
“We’re going to visit a lawyer.”
THIS TIME,the building where Gideon Gartner’s law firm was located wasn’t freshly fumigated and the arthropods had returned, most probably in vaster numbers than before, something humans didn’t seem to understand. If the infestation was on a normal level, it made little sense to fumigate because the then empty territories were like magnets drawing even more creepy crawlers in. As it was, the house was teeming with everything from silverfish to roaches, spiders, flies, mites, and pill bugs. Their vast numbers gave Andi a multilayered picture with so much more dimension than what he had seen with just his human senses. The first thing he realized once they were led into Gartner’s office was the silk protein clinging to the handlebars of his wheelchair. Because he was distracted, he let George take over the conversation.
“Detectives Donovan and Hayes! What a pleasure to see you again. To what do I owe the honor?”
Interestingly enough, Gartner really was happy to see them. There was no spike in adrenaline or anything. Just the general pheromone signature indicating contentment. He must have felt completely safe, and Andi could see why. Shireen would have to find a lot more than just a possible link between Gartner and two victims of the three sons of the men who had made him a victim, and wasn’t that sentence an ugly summary of the entire case? Until Shireen found more about Gartner and his possible connections, all they had was the silk protein Andi just sensed. And there was no way they would ever get a warrant for that.
“Well, Mr. Gartner,” George lifted his right brow in a conspiratorial manner. “We had to investigate two women who briefly were suspects for the murder of McHill, Portius, and Miller, and imagine our surprise when we found out they got their scholarship to finish their studies at Yale from a foundation you’re a member of.”
Gartner tapped the side of his nose.
“You mean the Aquarius Foundation.”
“Yes, the Aquarius Foundation, who granted a scholarship to two women of color, something it has never done before or after. Women who had been raped by the sons of the men who put you in a wheelchair.”
“Well, I heard of their plight back then and decided to help where Portius, McHill, and Miller had chosen to intimidate.”
“That was very generous of you.” George’s entire body language projected calm and laid-back. It was a trick that often loosened the tongues of suspects. Andi doubted it would work on Gartner, though. The man was a veteran hardened in countless battles in court, no doubt knowing all intimidation tactics in the book and some that were only passed on from lawyer’s mouth to lawyer’s ear. It was worth a shot, though.
“Not really. As I already told you, I was fortunate enough to profit from the horrible turn my life had taken. I only thought it just to help others as well. Spreading the goodness, so to speak.” Gartner opened his arms wide. Andi almost believed his philanthropist shtick. The man was good.
“By mentoring two women who might one day help you get your revenge on the men who put you in a wheelchair.” George was fishing, and his words didn’t match the way he was lounging on the chair, which was exactly like he wanted it to be. Gartner smiled broadly, obviously not falling for George’s trick.
“Life works in mysterious ways, don’t you agree, Detectives?”
“Yes. And sometimes its workings are downright sweet, aren’t they?” George smiled as well. Andi wasn’t sure if this was him still trying to play Gartner or if he truly meant it. Andi was leaning toward the second, because fooling the lawyer in front of them was close to impossible.
“Yes, it is.” Gartner made another broad gesture with his hands. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, thank you for your time, Mr. Gartner. Have a nice afternoon.” George got up and Andi followed, nodding toward Gartner. He was sure they had found the caterpillar who had woven the impenetrable cocoon, but it was too well hidden beneath countless threads to be caught. Or at least it thought it was too clever. Perhaps Shireen would prove it wrong.
In the car, George stared ahead for a moment before he started the engine. “He’s involved, isn’t he?”
“Definitely. There was silk protein on his wheelchair. The same as on Josephine, Tabitha, the two female assassins, and the victims. He did have contact with either one of them or perhaps all, and I bet he’s up to his ears in this whole case.”
“Any chance we can prove it?”
“Depends on Shireen and what she’s able to find. I wouldn’t get my hopes up. He’s had an entire lifetime to plan his revenge.”
