“Let’s give them some space,” Gran now suggested. “Instead of gaping at them as if they’re animals at the zoo.” And so she ushered us back into the room, so that Isaac and Kirsten could go about their duties—and their romance. “You did a good thing there, Scarlett,” said Gran, giving her friend a rare compliment. “I never thought you’d be able to pull it off, but you did.”
“All I did was give them a little nudge in the right direction,” said Scarlett modestly. “But what I think clinched things is that whole Desmond business. Especially now that Isaac proved such a rock to Kirsten, when she was going through hell these last couple of days. First standing up to Desmond the way he did, and almost getting attacked by that man for his trouble, and also being there for her when Henry died, and then when she stumbled over Desmond’s body.”
“Yeah, Isaac really proved himself,” said Gran. “And now, I guess, our work here is done. So we can start packing and go home!”
“Oh, whoopee!” Dooley cried. “We’re going home, you guys! We’re finally going home!”
“And not a moment too soon” Brutus grumbled. “This business about burying my doo-doo and my wee-wee is really starting to wear me down.”
41
Brian was in his office and the atmosphere was tense. Sara had asked if she could drop by, and even though this never happened— she hated to visit him at Happy Home—he hadn’t an inkling until she told him she wanted a divorce. She had shown him some of the images of him and Dee, and also of him and Gladys, and of course he had demanded to know who had made those images, and how she had gotten them, but she merely said she had her sources, and that it was typical that he would start accusing her of spying on him, when all the while he should be apologizing for what he’d put her through.
He realized that she was right, but when he did apologize, she said it was too little and too late, and that she was going to demand full custody of the kids, and that her lawyer would be in touch with him.
And in the middle of this tense meeting, his phone rang and when he picked up, it was that Detective Kingsley with the Hampton Cove Police Department on the line.
“Yes?” he said, not really in the mood to talk to the cop, but not wanting to brush him off either. He was, after all, a police officer, and the things that had been happening at Happy Home could herald in the end of his tenure—or even the end of Happy Home, period.
“Mr. Brooks,” spoke the cop’s deep voice. “I talked to the notary who’s handling Henry Kaur’s estate, and he tells me the money has been transferred into your company’s account. I just wanted to let you know that this concludes my investigation, sir.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” he said, and automatically opened his banking app on his phone, to check how much had actually been deposited. It just might prove to be the saving grace for him. With people threatening lawsuits left and right, he was going to need Henry’s inheritance.
“Can you please pay attention to me when I’m talking, Brian,” his wife was saying.
He held up a finger.“Just one moment. It’s the police.” He frowned when he saw that no money had been added to the Happy Home account. “I don’t see anything,” he told Detective Kingsley. “Are you sure this notary got the correct account?”
“Henry left precise instructions,” said the detective. “And those include the bank account and the sum total that was to be deposited. Ten million, to be precise.”
Ten million! Now that kind of windfall was exactly the good news he needed at that moment.“Nope, I didn’t get it,” he said. “Nothing.”
“I’ll check with the notary again,” said the detective, even though clearly it wasn’t the police’s business to handle such trivial matters, and Brian could hear it in the inflection of the man’s voice.
“Thank you, detective,” he said therefore, using his most unctuous tone. “Much obliged.”
He disconnected, and placed his hands on his desk. With ten million in the bank, he suddenly felt more than ready to face any legal challenge, and even his vengeful wife!
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
Chase was frowning when he hung up the phone. He didn’t like this business of having to play go-between for Brian Brooks and Henry’s estate. But sometimes putting a case to bed required doing things that were out of his comfort zone. Like calling back Henry’s notary, and asking him to double-check if that money had actually been transferred.
“Oh, absolutely, detective,” said Al Powell. “I gave the order to the bank this morning, and they said they were going to handle it forthwith. Though knowing banks like I do, it might take a couple of days before the money will show up in Mr. Brooks’s account. So you can tell him from me that he shouldn’t worry. The money will arrive within the next few days.”