I felt Nick’s body tense, trying to read between the lines just as I was and not liking any of it.
“You think Austin was jealous?” I probed.
Chloe pursed her lips. “I think he was hurting and angry and at a bit of a loss what to do with himself,” she said circumspectly. “He’s always felt he deserved more in life. A prettier wife, a bigger house, a better job, more money—that kind of thing. When his marriage broke up, all that went out the window.”
I knew the type well. “So, what happened?”
She sighed. “We made the original offer, thinking Austin would be gone in a couple of months. When he was still here six months later, Brendon drew a line in the sand and told Austin he had four weeks to move out.”
Nick leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “And how did Austin take that?”
Chloe shrugged. “He was gone in two weeks instead of four. The subject was never raised again. After Brendon died, Austin bought another house and met Belinda. They moved in together and seem very happy. We get along reasonably well, but Austin likes to do things his way, and he doesn’t listen to me. For that reason, I’d rather he didn’t have power of attorney.”
I thought about the conversation Nick had overheard the day before and wasn’t convinced by Chloe’s offhand dismissal of Austin’s behaviour.
Nick raised a brow my way and I shrugged. “No harm in thinking about it.”
His smile looked strained and he returned his attention to Chloe. “I’ll need a lot more details before I can even consider it. I held Davis’s financial and medical power of attorney until he died, but that only means I understand how complex it can be.”
Chloe’s eyes brightened. “Of course. Anything you need. We could go to the bank now, if you like. I’ll get you printouts of everything. And you could speak to my doctor. I don’t mind.”
“Whoa there.” Nick raised both hands. “One thing at a time. What about Austin?”
She pulled a face. “I’m not telling him anything until you decide what you want to do. Besides, he’s working today, so he won’t even know I went out with you.”
I thought about the nosy neighbour and wasn’t so sure. But what Chloe was asking of Nick and her depiction of Austin were too important to ignore. I knew Nick wouldn’t be cautioned, so I didn’t even try.
“How about Mads takes a quick look around to see if he can find your cell phone first. If not, then we’ll take you to buy another and maybe call into the bank at the same time. If you’re not up to coming with us, you could simply sign-in to your accounts on my laptop.”
“I don’t have the password.” Chloe stuffed her hands back in her lap and looked away. “When I forgot to pay my rates a few months ago, Austin took over my accounts. He changed the password for security reasons.” She shrugged.
Nick’s gaze jerked to mine, then back to Chloe. “And he didn’t give it to you?”
She frowned and looked sideways out the window. “Like I said, my memory isn’t what it was. Austin didn’t want me making mistakes, like double paying or drawing down on the wrong account. It’s... safer this way.”
Riiiight.I elbowed Nick gently. I didn’t like the way this was going one little bit, and by the troubled look he returned, Nick didn’t either.
“But Austin doesn’t have power of attorney yet, right?” I clarified.
Her shoulders slouched. “No. But I’ll give it to him if there’s no other option.”
Oh God. No pressure then.
CHAPTER TWELVE
NICK
We spentfifteen minutes searching for Chloe’s phone while she got herself dressed but turned up nothing. No surprise there. A picture was being painted, and I hated what it said.
Austin had effectively cut Chloe off from her money. She had no car, and as of yesterday, no mobile. Austin was pushing her to move in with him and talking about her money as being his father’smoney—the implication being that it was really his and she didn’t deserve it or have a right to it. The whole thing had the unmistakeable stench ofAustinslowly isolating Chloe from her world and making her dependent on him. It could be nothing more than the unintentional consequence of a well-meaning but overbearing duty of care. Or it could be something much more sinister.
Either way, I didn’t like it.
And I especially didn’t like Austin bloody Pattinson.
Another thing I didn’t like was being dragged into a complex and messy dynamic with my estranged mother and feeling like I didn’t have a choice. Iwanted some kind of relationship; I’d decided that much. But there was a world of difference betweenchatting on the phone while we got to know each other again, and being handed power of attorney over what amounted to her entire life until she died, including all the complicated questions around care and finances as Parkinson’s slowly eroded her ability to look after herself. I’d walked a similar road with Davis, and I knew the toll it took.
Mads jumped in the driver’s seat without any discussion, and apparently that was that. The man could be a bossy little shit, and I loved him for it. As he drove us into the small but surprisingly busy town centre, I put a call through to Dr. Carruthers so Chloe could ask about bringing her appointment forward. Turned out, the doctor’s clinic schedule was jam-packed, but a short video call was possible the following afternoon. It was better than nothing and we took it. With Chloe’s new mobile, we wouldn’t even need to be together in the same place.
