My legs still tremble a little when I climb into bed. If Lee comes in now, he’ll see me tucked in with my book. No reason to think I was stalking him through the woods like a psycho or that I have any knowledge of his little creepy cabin.
I didn’t need to worry. An hour passes in silence while my mind won’t stop spinning. I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about what he’s doing out there. Following him at night was stupid. I’ll wait until he’s gone and go for a little daylight walk. If I get caught snooping around, I can just pretend I stumbled onto it.
Another hour passes before I hear Lee come in and go to his room. Everything in me hopes this is something innocuous. Some weird version of a man cave or a cabin he’s working to fix up. That could be it, right?
Lee feels like the only halfway stable thing in my life right now and I’m not willing to lose that.
Celia Lenton lives alone on a couple of acres out near the county line where the forest is thick and the houses are fewand far between. If I get the money from my insurance company, maybe I should consider moving out of town. I’ve started to enjoy the peace of Lee’s place. When I’m not creeping around it at night, anyway.
A calico cat looks up at me from a sunny spot on the porch, then lays her head back down as I climb the steps to ring the doorbell. The sound of a cane knocking against the floor grows louder until the door opens. “Come on in. I just made us some tea.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
She flaps her hand at me and leads the way to a small living room. The smell of cigarette smoke smacks me in the face, thick and oppressive. The walls must be saturated with it. “No trouble. My daughter got me one of those electric kettles last Christmas.”
“I love your tea set,” I tell her, admiring the deep red roses set against the black background on the cups and saucers.
“Isn’t it pretty? I found it at the thrift store a few years ago. Couldn’t believe anyone got rid of it.”
She settles herself on the couch, shifting some pillows around her until she’s comfortable while I pour us both a cup. She doesn’t waste any more time or mince words.
“Those bastards want Lucky’s.”
“They do. I know Austin vandalized the place. Or hired someone to.”
“Oh, I’m sure he hired that job out. He has plenty of people to choose from. You aren’t the only one they have over a barrel.”
“I’m not letting them take it from me.”
She grins, showing yellowing teeth. “No, you aren’t. Reach down and pull that box out from under the coffee table, would you? My back doesn’t like me today.”
My curiosity rages as I do what she says and set the box in front of me.
“I was the deputy clerk for ten years, then county clerk for twenty more before I retired a few years ago. All the paperwork filed in this county went through me at some point. Property deeds, contracts, permits, financial records.” She twirls her hand. “All of it. Looking into people became a sort of hobby for me. I’m sure it’s not news to you that the Matheson’s are crooked as a dog’s leg, but it goes a lot further than you probably think.”
The first folder I pull out contains copies of budgets and spending. They’re stapled together in sets with receipts. A short scan of the first set reveals what they did. The documents they filed are different from the receipts.
“They were skimming money,” I whisper, reading a little more carefully.
Her laugh is brittle. “Embezzling. They have been for a generation. They’ve built a network of others willing to cover up for them or just look the other way. It’s all in there.”
It would take a while to go through everything, but I quickly flip through copies of budgets, signatures, and clearly altered documents.
“My god.” There are things in here that would put them in prison for years. The expression on my face when I look up must show my alarm.
Bright, knowing eyes look into mine. “This is dangerousinformation to have. It isn’t only embezzlement. Tax fraud, bribery, money laundering, federal grant theft. Maybe I’m not doing you any favors by giving it to you, I don’t know. What you do with it is up to you.”
My head is spinning. The Matheson’s aren’t the only ones who could be arrested. She stole these documents while she was an elected official. “If I reported this to anyone, you’d be in trouble too.”
“Oh, don’t go thinking I’m any better, honey. I’ve been accepting their hush money for years to keep myself in heart pills and smokes.”
“You’ve been blackmailing them with it?” I’m not judging. Women have to be resourceful to survive around these types of men.
She lights a cigarette then sips her tea. “I never needed to. Austin ain’t got the sense god gave a goose but his daddy’s no idiot. No one knows that I have all that.” She gestures toward the box. “But Grady knew I must’ve seen a lot. From the moment I retired, he took care of me. Waived my property taxes, arranged for a monthly pension. He knew I wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds me, I suppose.”
Stunned isn’t a strong enough word for what I’m feeling. I’m not shocked that they were committing the crimes, but to be handed this proof. Evidence that’s been collected for decades. It feels like hitting a lottery and having a target drawn on me at the same time. The thrill also comes with a dose of suspicion.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
