“Yes,” Sam said. “It does.”
“I doubt that she’d believe me if I did tell her the whole truth, anyway,” Dawson continued. “But I do plan to let her know that the guy she was doing lunch with on a regular basis for the past few months was the architect of the Ponzi scheme that she insisted I invest her money in. I’m also going to make it clear that it isn’t Abby’s fault that Knox was a fraud and a scam artist.”
Willow exchanged a look with Elias. Abby was sure she saw some unspoken message pass between them. Willow looked at Dawson.
“It might be possible to recover whatever is left of the money that you invested with Knox, assuming he didn’t spend all of it,” she said.
“He didn’t have time to go through that much money,” Sam said. “He was focused on acquiring the lab book and getting the encryption broken. Depriving the Stricklands of the family fortune was merely a means to an end, collateral damage.”
“In that case, I’ll see what I can do,” Willow said.
Elias grinned proudly. “My wife has a real talent for following the money,” he said to Dawson. “If your grandmother’s fortune is out there, she’ll find it.”
Dawson looked at Willow. “That’s very kind of you. I might be able to help. I’ve got a little talent in that arena myself.”
“Excellent,” Willow said. “We’ll work the project as a team.”
They finished the coffee in silence. The flames crackled cheerfully on the hearth. Outside, the long summer day came to a close. Darkness settled on the island.
“I told Knox that he had miscalculated,” Dawson said to Abby. “Iexplained that he had misjudged the family dynamics. I said you had no reason to risk your neck for me. But he was convinced that you would come. For a smart psychopath, he sure had a blind side. He actually bought into the image in that photo on the back cover ofFamiliesby Choice.Thought the happy Radwell family was the real deal.”
Abby smiled. “Like Dad always says, family is everything.”
48
ABBY STOOD WITH SAM ON THE BLUFF ABOVE THE SMALL COVE.Sam was on his phone. Newton was exploring some nearby rocks.
Sam concluded the call and slipped the phone into the pocket of his leather jacket. “That was the lawyer I had looking into the status of Thaddeus Webber’s estate. Turns out there is a will.”
“So Thaddeus did take steps to make sure his most valuable books went to a library?” Abby smiled. “That’s great.”
“He didn’t leave his collection to a library. He left everything, including the contents of his book vault, to a single individual.”
“He had some family after all?”
“According to his will, he left his collection to the person he looked upon as a daughter, although, given the age difference, maybe he should have said granddaughter. He left it all to you, Abby.”
“What?”
Sam smiled.
It took her a few seconds to find her tongue. “But some of the volumes in that collection are worth a fortune.”
“They’re all yours now. The lawyer is making certain that the collection is guarded until it can be packed up and transported here to Copper Beach. You’ll have to open Webber’s vault, though. You’re the only one who knows the code.”
“This is amazing. I can’t believe it. First your mother and Dawson track down the bulk of the Strickland fortune in that offshore bank and arrange to get it back. Then one of your fancy lawyers manages to spring Grady Hastings, who is scheduled to start work in the Black Box facility on Monday.”
“Good talent is hard to come by,” Sam said. “Don’t like to see it wasted.”
“And now I find out I’m inheriting all of Thaddeus’s books. On top of everything else, I actually got a phone call from Orinda Strickland today, informing me that she intended to make provision for me in the Strickland family trust.”
“You told her you didn’t want to be named in the trust, didn’t you?”
“How did you guess?”
“I know you, Abby. The money isn’t important to you. All you’ve ever wanted was to be part of the family. Don’t worry, when you marry me, you’re going to have all the family you can handle.”
The late summer sun was setting, streaking the clouds with fiery light and turning the water to a sheet of hammered copper. Abbywatched the spectacular sunset, aware of a glorious sense of happiness and cer-tainty.
“Now I know why they call this place Copper Beach,” she said.
Sam drew her into his arms. His eyes heated. “I told you that you would understand one of these days. Think you can call this island home?”
“Home is wherever you and I are together,” she said. “Well, and Newton, too, of course.”
“Newton, too,” Sam agreed.
He kissed her there in the warm copper light of the summer evening. Abby opened her senses to the powerful energy of the love that she knew would bind them for a lifetime.
The Phoenix crystal burned.
