“Ryan mentioned the recovered bullets from the door are .30-06. Nico owns a rifle chambered for that caliber.”
“As do half the men in this county.” Russ stared at Colin, a look many men would back down from.
Not Colin. He returned Russ’s gaze and widened his stance. “But do half the men in the county have a grudge against Wally?”
“Grudge?” Mia asked, her mind racing over what it might be.
Colin shifted to face her directly. “Goes back a few years. Nico wants to retire, but he didn’t save enough money. Wally said he would build a cabin on the property for Nico to spend the rest of his days in rent free. Wally never delivered. Nico confronted Wally on his last visit. Wally said he just forgot about it and would get the construction process started. But Wally didn’t and told no one about it. Not his attorney, Verna, or even his accountants. Verna did say if it was up to her, she and Nico both deserved a place to live after all they’ve given over the years to this business.”
“Not sure what I think about that, but it’s worth considering that it could be a motive for revenge,” Mia said. “I didn’t find any plans for a cabin or permits or anything to suggest Uncle Wally planned to start building.”
“And he didn’t leave any money in his will for it either,” Colin said.
“But wouldn’t Nico just come to me and ask about it instead of trying to get even?” Mia asked.
“Makes sense, yeah,” Colin said. “But maybe he thought you wouldn’t follow through either.”
She shook her head. “I refuse to believe he would do this unless he talked to me first and I shot him down. Even then I find it hard to believe..”
“I need to talk to him,” Russ said.
Mia nodded. “Me too.”
Russ shot her a frustrated look. “Leave this up to me.”
“You go ahead and do your thing, but it’s my duty to ask about this for business reasons.”
Russ frowned but didn’t argue, so she moved on. “What about Verna? Find anything on her?”
Colin nodded. “She’s in debt up to her eyeballs. Looks like it’s all recent. From medical expenses for her daughter.”
“She has a Down syndrome daughter,” Russ said. “She’s a few years older than us.”
“Yeah, thirty-four and still lives with Verna,” Colin said. “The daughter had a scare with cancer. She’s in remission but the bills trashed Verna’s finances.”
Russ frowned. “Means Verna could be looking for a quick buck to save her hide.”
“Exactly.”
Mia looked at the men. “But scaring me away won’t provide her with any cash.”
“Insurance would pay for the barn, and if she was stealing from Evergreen, she could take advantage of the sudden cash windfall,” Russ said.
Mia shook her head and explained the separation of accounting duties. “And she’s dragging her heels on filing for insurance. That doesn’t suggest she’s eager to steal that money.”
“Then I don’t see how her finances could be behind this.” Colin handed the folder to Mia. “These are the background reports on both of them plus David and your dad. I don’t see a red flag in either of their finances and no associations with men who they might’ve hired to threaten you. I was unable to look into David’s business. The records will be hard to access without permission.”
“No way I can ask him to open his books to us other than Evergreen’s accounts,” Mia said.
“What about Wally?” Russ asked. “Anything of interest there?”
“A few things actually.”
“Really?” Mia resisted gaping at Colin. “He was the most uncomplicated guy I’ve ever known. How could he have something worth looking into?”
Ryan locked gazes with her. “You can’t know everything about a person. You know that from counseling.”
“Yeah, but this is Uncle Wally.”My father figure.The one man I trusted. Loved unconditionally.
