She begged him to explain what, in her eyes, was unexplainable. “Why would Henry kill Luca if the guy was loaning him money?”
“Maybe he had no way of paying him back,” Coop tried to make her see reason. “His only way out was if Luca were to die. Or maybe Doyle was looking to benefit from Luca’s death in some other way.”
“Like what?” Mac swung her gaze back to Trevor. “Was he listed on the guy’s will or something?”
“Ryker didn’t mention it.”
“Okay then.” Mac shrugged as if that settled the whole thing.
“This could be about something else entirely.” Coop looked at the other two. “Maybe Marino was trying to screw Doyle on some sort of deal and Doyle got pissed.”
Trevor mulled it over. “It’s possible. It’s also possible Ryker’s on the right track. Henry borrowed money from Marino and couldn’t pay it back, so he killed Marino before the guy could take him out.” Trevor gave Mac an apologetic look when she glared at him. “I’m not saying he did, or that Ryker or the cops found irrefutable proof. All I’m saying is the pieces fit.”
“Trevor’s right, Mac.” Coop looked at her. “I know you don’t want to believe Henry would blackmail you, and I understand why. But think about it. Doyle’s been in business with your uncle for decades.”
“So?”
“He was around back when you were living in that house. He could’ve known about the hidden money and somehow figured out you took it.”
“Fine.” Mac began playing Devil’s advocate. “Let’s say Henry did know I took the two million. Why wait this long to try to get it back from me?”
“Maybe he didn’t need it before now. Like you said, your uncle paid him really fucking well. Maybe his financial struggles are recent.”
“I still don’t think—”
“The timing fits, Mac,” Coop interrupted her latest denial. “The guy’s desperate. From what Trevor just said, he’s most likely in debt to Luca and God only knows who else. Then, after all his years of service to your uncle, all his hard work keeping his ass out of jail, the guy got nothing. Not one, single cent. Instead your uncle left it all to you, the one person who betrayed him and walked away from the family legacy.”
“If I were Doyle, I’d be pissed,” Trevor agreed with Coop’s theory. “Plus, Tony’s death gave him the perfect opportunity. Your uncle’s gone, he takes out Luca…the only one left is you.”
Keeping his eyes on Mac, Coop continued with his and Trevor’s line of thinking. “You said Luca Marino was listed as the secondary beneficiary. With you both gone, someone with the kind of backdoor legal knowledge Henry would be able use the system to work in his favor. To justify taking over the estate as the attorney who’s handled it for the past thirty-plus years.”
“I was with Henry. Twice.” Her saddened eyes met his. “Outside the church and again when the three of us had lunch. He never said a word about the money or acted out of sorts in any way.”
“Of course he didn’t. There were a lot of people at that church, Mac,” Coop pointed out. “At lunch, too. Hell, I was sitting right next to you. The guy’s not going to come out and admit to blackmailing you in front of me or any other witnesses.”
Mac shook her head but stayed quiet. Coop wanted to reach for her, give her a hug and tell her it was okay, but he kept his hands in loose fists at his sides.
Even though things between them were fucked—quite possibly beyond repair—the pain crossing over her face the second she realized everything he’d said made sense gutted him.
“He got agitated.” She looked back up at him. “At lunch, when I told Henry I was leaving town that next day, he seemed upset. Remember?”
Coop nodded. “He kept trying to talk you into staying in town longer.”
Her shoulders fell, and he knew Mac had finally accepted what he’d been saying as truth.
Henry had been the one person from that time in her life she thought she could count on. The only one who’d given her any semblance of comfort when she had no one else to turn to. And most likely, he was also the person who’d deliberately put both their lives in danger.
“Are they going to keep him in custody or will bail be set?” Mac asked quietly.
“Depends on what they find out once they talk with him.”
Right on cue, Trevor’s phone started to ring. After pulling it from his pocket to see who it was, his gaze rose to Coop’s before landing on Mac’s. “It’s Ryker.”
“Put it on speaker,” Mac demanded.
“Hey, Jason. I’m here with Mac and Coop. We have you on speaker.”
“Good. They’re both going to want to hear this, too.”
