“That would be great,” Jem said.
“Plain Tylenol would be better.”Tean tried to catch Jem’s eye.“Or ibuprofen.”
Brigitte started down the hall, and Jem called after her, “Whatever you think is best.”
She came back with a prescription vial in one hand.“I think you should take a Vicodin, darling.You’re obviously in pain.”
“Jem,” Tean began.
“I hurt my shoulder,” Jem said.He held out his hand, accepted a pill, and dry-swallowed it.Then he closed his eyes and leaned back, adjusting the ice pack between his shoulder and the chair.
Brigitte watched him, her hands folded at her waist.As though she’d reached some sort of conclusion, she said, “You really do look terrible, Jeremiah.Should I call someone?”
Jem gave a weary shake of his head, but he said, “Did you know Stephen was stealing from you and Gerald?”
“What?But that’s impossible.”
Shock.Disbelief.A hint of rising outrage as the possibility of the impossible began to surface.It was perfect.Itwouldhave been perfect.If Tean hadn’t heard a version of it the third time he found a reserve of McDonald’s hash browns stashed at the back of the refrigerator.
The alarm in Tean’s head got louder.
“You didn’t know?”Jem asked.His eyes flicked open.His body was still loose, almost boneless in the chair.
“Of course not.Are you sure?Stephen’s such a wonderful young man.He helps Gerald with everything.”
“That’s how he’s managed to do it, we think,” Jem said.“Charging people different amounts.Funneling the money through a separate bank account so he could take his cut.”
The bank account.
Tean took out his phone and opened the browser.He searched for Utah’s LLC registry.
“I can’t believe this,” Brigitte was saying.“Stephen’s practically family.”
“How well do you know him?”
“He’s worked with Gerald for over a year.”
“But what about you?”
“I don’t know.IthoughtI knew him.We talked quite a bit.He was always over at the house to help Gerald with something.”
“Did you ever talk to him when Gerald wasn’t around?”
The pause was artful—just long enough to be believable.“I don’t think so.Why?”
“What was the nature of your relationship with Stephen?”Tean asked as he clicked through the registry.He kept Brigitte in the corner of his eye.
“He was Gerald’s personal assistant.”
“I’m asking about your relationship with him.”
“That’s all.I knew him through Gerald.”
“But what about—”
“Tean,” Jem said.
“—after you met him?Was there another element to your relationship with him?”
