“I just get a check once a month I use to pay Mom’s bills,” Mindy said. “Mr. Handley controls the money.”
“The kidnappers may not know that,” Maddox said.
“That’s right,” Chase said. “We need to figure out who knew about the trust fund money.”
Jax swiveled his chair to face them. “We’re hoping to speak to the attorney who manages the trust sometime today.” He turned to Mindy. “Why don’t you go ahead and call him.”
“From here?”
Jax nodded. He wanted to make sure the guy didn’t try to put her off.
Mindy pulled out her cell and hit Handley’s contact number. The phone rang several times before it was answered.
“Marcus? Hi, it’s Mindy Stewart. I know you’re busy and it’s the weekend. I’m really sorry to bother you—”
Jax took the phone out of her hand. “Mr. Handley, this is Jaxon Ryker. I’m a private investigator with Maximum Security. Last night a kidnapping attempt was made on Ms. Stewart after she left the office.”
“What?”
“Fortunately, the effort failed. I need to speak to you. I’m hoping you have information that can help me find the men behind the attack and keep Ms. Stewart safe.”
“Is Mindy all right?”
“She managed to escape unharmed, but until these men are stopped, she’s in danger.”
“I see. I’m not sure how I can help you, but I’m more than willing to try.”
“Thank you so much, Marcus,” Mindy chimed in.
Jax set up a meeting at Handley’s house that morning and ended the call.
“You brought your laptop,” he said to her. “I want you to make a list of anyone who might know about the trust fund money. Girlfriends, old boyfriends, people you worked with before you came here. I need addresses and phone numbers if you have them.”
Maddox spoke up. “If there’s anyone at your mother’s health facility who’s shown more than a passing interest in how her bills are being paid, you need to list them, too.”
“Good idea,” Jax said.
Mindy took her laptop out of its case, set it on the conference table and went to work.
Jax tipped his head toward the door and the men left her to her task.
Chase paused outside the conference room door. “What about the van? Any way to track it?”
“I’ll phone Detective Gunderson, see if any sign of it’s shown up. Maybe the parking lot or street cams caught something useful.”
“We need to set up a protection detail,” Maddox said. “You don’t have to do this by yourself.”
“It’s not a problem,” Jax said. “I’ll stay at her place at night. During the day, she’ll be here working. As long as one of us is with her in the office, she should be safe. While she’s here, I’ll have time to do some digging, follow up on whatever we come up with.”
“Looks like you’re taking the lead on this,” Chase said.
“I was there when those bastards went after her. I’ve got a personal stake in bringing them down. So yeah, I’m taking the lead.”
Chase nodded. “Good enough. Just keep us in the loop and let us know if you need more help.”
“Will do.” As Chase walked away, Jax started to head back to the conference room, but Jason caught his arm.
“You gonna be able to stay objective on this? Like you said, you’ve got a personal stake—and I’m not talking about the men in the van.”
