Sighing, the girl reached into a cupboard beneath the old coffee table and pulled out a rumpled paper bag. She turned it upside down, and two stacks of cash dropped onto the table. “He was paid ten thousand dollars in cash.” She looked at Scott and then Millie. “I don’t know who hired him, but he hid this here and left that night.”
Scott eyed the bills. “You have no idea where he got that?”
“No.” The girl shook her head. “But I sure could use it for the baby.” She rubbed her belly. “Henry didn’t have family and neither do I, and so it’s just me and this little one.”
“You can keep the money,” Scott said. “Did you know Bob Phillips or Gene Lightfoot? They tried to kill us along with Henry.”
She tore off the rest of the nail. “I’d only met them but never spent time with either Bob or Gene. I don’t think Henry had paid them yet. Is some of that money theirs? Or their families’?”
Scott didn’t bother telling her that the money shouldn’t be anybody’s at this point, considering it was payment for a hit. “No. It’s all yours.”
“Can you name any of their acquaintances?” Millie asked.
“No,” Nancy said. “Honest. I stayed out of Henry’s business as much as possible.” She rubbed the bruise on her jawline. “He really didn’t like me to ask questions.”
Scott wanted to gather the girl up and take her home, but that wasn’t his place. Instead, he reached into his pocket and drew out an old receipt. “Do you have a pen?”
“Yeah,” she said, fumbling around in the same cupboard and handing him a ballpoint pen.
“I’m giving you the name and number of an organization I sometimes work with. They help unwed mothers with baby planning and job training.” He wrote down the name of the organization and a contact person. “Why don’t you give them a call? You and your child don’t have to be alone in this.”
Her hand shook as she accepted the paper. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“You bet. They’re headquartered in DC, but they have satellite offices everywhere, including here in Charleston. They’ll help you out, Nancy.”
Millie stood. “Thank you for speaking with us. It was nice of you.”
“I don’t feel like I helped much,” Nancy said, clinging to the receipt as if it were a lifeline.
“You did. At least now we know for sure that somebody hired Henry and his friends and paid in cash,” Scott said, also standing. Now, he just had to figure out who.
Chapter Thirty-Three
As they drove up to the garage, it took Millie a second to recognize Valerie and not her twin sister sitting on the front porch. Millie climbed out of Scott’s SUV as Scott and Wolfe did the same.
While Wolfe had met with two of Clay’s former employees, neither had much to say. It was a bust, according to him. He looked to where JT unloaded one of the fishing boats near the river. “JT needs help.” He quickly strode away.
Scott turned and took one step after him before halting.
“Go ahead,” Millie said. “Go play with the boys. I’ll check on the timing for dinner.” Her stomach rumbled, so hopefully Aunt Mae had the meal finished.
Scott winked and followed his friends. She turned and watched them all. What was it about boys and boats? Chuckling, she walked over the wet grass to reach Valerie.
“Hey, what are you doing?” She plopped down next to her old friend.
Valerie watched the men as they tossed materials out of the boat. “After shopping for all of the baby shower decorations, I told my sister I’d pick up Alex. They only own the one car, and Verna needed to take Frankie to baseball tryouts.”
“They only have the one car?” Millie asked. “I thought they owned two or three vehicles.”
“Things have been rough,” Valerie said. “The economy’s not doing anybody any favors, and then Verna unexpectedly became pregnant again. So she doesn’t want to work at the bar, and I don’t blame her. Of course, then Alex broke his arm at work. I give her whatever funds I can spare, but I’m not loaded, either.”
“We really could use the help around here.” Millie just had to figure out a way they could pay Alex and keep the lights on.
Valerie rubbed dirt off her knee. “I’m surprised you haven’t invented something and made a billion dollars by now.”
Millie couldn’t agree more. “Since I’m paid by the HDD, all of my inventions belong to the government, but I have applied for a few patents that have to do with fishing. If those ever go through, or rather, if I can figure out a way to get my creations manufactured in a way that doesn’t cost a fortune, then I could sell my specialized fishing poles. I’m working on it.” So far nothing had panned out, but she hadn’t really given it her full effort either. Plus, perhaps Scott’s legal background could be beneficial, even though he mainly worked as a trial attorney.
Valerie grinned. “That would be so cool.” She straightened as Alex drove through the gate, pulling the other fishing boat. “Oh, good. I’m working in a couple of hours and wanted to be able to grab some dinner.”
