“Forgot.”
My lips smack together, and I shake my head, but I share this news with Nick, who whistles.
“There will be a paper trail for that. We just have to uncover it.” He taps his chin. “Ask him where he had the money sent.”
“Right into my bank account. It came from an account owned by a Carrhid Durban.”
I rush to the kitchen and grab a notepad and pen, practically running back into the dining room. “How do you spell that, Jackson?”
He relays the spelling and I push the paper over to Nick to see if he’s familiar with the name. He grabs the pen from my hand and starts rearranging the letters.
Not two minutes go by before Nick bursts into laughter. “Thank god the man’s an egomaniac. Carrhid Durban is an anagram for Richard Dunbar.”
“We’ll get the evidence we need.”
He types something into his phone, and when he looks back up, I lift a brow.
“Sent a text to Malone with some details. I need him to get on this. Too many people know.” He looks around the table. “This must stay between us.”
Corinne mumbles and Lanie flips Nick the bird, but he doesn’t care.
“How do we prove that Andy and Marcus were involved?” I ask, tapping my fingers on the table. “Richard must’ve been driving. Why use a recognizable vehicle?” I’m thinking out loud, trying to sort through all the thoughts floating through my mind.
“In the event they were seen, people would look at Charlie,” Nick says, shaking his head. “The bastard was willing to let his son take the fall.”
What a sick man. That’s one thing I’ll never understand. How anyone would throw their own child down the river to save themselves.
“Why the length of time between my accident and Jackson’s death? And Jenna’s?”
“It took him some time to find a way to make my death look like an accident,” Jackson offers as a reason. “With the first attempt at taking out Jenna failed, he must’ve thought he could control her if he stayed with her. Buy her pretty things and promise her the world and she’ll comply.”
I choke on air. “What?”
Jackson gives me a look that screamsYou all right? “Jenna and Dunbar were fucking.” I wince at the crude word, but more than that, at the knowledge that Richard was having an affair with Jenna Cruz.
“How do you know this?” I question, needing proof.
Proof to help solve her case and proof for Nina to get some closure about the scumbag she married.
“It was common knowledge. Jenna was always gushing at the bar about the gifts he gave her. The Volvo was a gift from him.”
“Richard was having an affair with Jenna. He bought her the Volvo.” I tell the collective, but it’s Nick I look to.
“We’ll be able to find records of that. I’ve already put in a request for her phone records, including texts and videos. Hopefully we’ll find something incriminating there.” He yawns. “It might take a while, but Richard Dunbar is going down for murder.”
“I might have something that could help,” Lanie says, eyes on the table. “It won’t necessarily put them away for murder, but it might lead to more.”
My body shakes with worry at how Lanie got caught up with Marcus. It was clear a few times that she knew more than she was letting on. I should’ve pushed, but I didn’t want to think the worst of my best friend.
“Marcus came to me recently and asked to buy my studio. He told me I could run it and keep one hundred percent of the profits. He said in exchange, he’d need me to create customer profiles for dummy accounts who will pay in cash. I’d only have to deposit that money to a separate account. He handed me a box of booze, except inside it was filled with cash.”
“Money laundering,” Nick grates.
“I’m not an idiot. I knew what he was up to.” She shrugs one shoulder. “I told him that my dad’s an underboss in the Scottish mafia and he’d kill him if he found out. I promised to keep his secret and even suggested he speak to Milly instead. She’s hard up for cash.”
I bark a laugh. “Scottish mafia? He believed you?”
“I’m very persuasive. He even threw in an offer for me to use every facility he’s involved with. He’s a chickenshit.”
