Page 193 of The Woman By the Lake

He smiled, huge, and said, “Yeah. That was something Lincoln did tell me.”

“And it is?” Harry prompted.

“Lincoln didn’t write the books after the first three, but he worked closely with Dad, and bottom line, he was still a thriller writer. And I know this was to get back at Sharon. So, when she visited him in jail, he told her he printed out Dad’s last manuscript after she’d left, deleted the digital files, took the pages and some contracts he told her he’d persuaded Dad to sign, which sold the movie rights to the next six books in Dad’s flagship series, put them in a lockbox and buried them somewhere by the lake before he called the cops.”

“Why would he bury those things?” Harry inquired.

“He didn’t,” Tru declared. “There wasn’t a last manuscript, and there wasn’t a contract. Lincoln had given up on talking Dad into selling more, because the attention made Dad uncomfortable, and Lincoln felt that, literally. But Sharon came to Dad first as a huge fan. The main character of the books has an identical twin, no surprise, and I think in her twisted head, she thought Dad was Lucas Washington. And if there’s a missing Roosevelt Lincoln book, it’d be worth a lot of money. And if there was a contract for film rights, that’d be worth a lot more. And those were what I figure Jeff was after. And for his part, he couldn’t have any of the rest of us knowing until he figured out how to cut everyone else out and get a lock on my father’s estate.”

Fucking pissant.

“But Sharon would kill to read that manuscript,” Tru went on. “Which makes it even more insane she machinated the author’s death. Because she could have had a lot more. But Lincoln knew that it would drive her even crazier than she already was, the idea there was a Lucas Washington story she hadn’t read yet. And if there were more movies, she’d have even more Lucas Washington.”

At least Lincoln got a little of his back, sending her on a fifteen-year quest to find nothing.

“However, saying that,” Tru carried on, “I can’t imagine he had any idea that she’d spend fifteen years doing what she did. I know in my soul, he did it just to fuck with her. In the end, she had a hand in taking precious things from him, and as a father who loved his son, a husband who adored his wife, and a devoted brother, he had no choice but to do what he did. That was his only way to take something precious from her.”

Tru turned to Riggs.

“And he’d be gutted to think anyone shattered the peace on that lake where we were all so happy. The only place we could be a family as we truly were. Absolutely gutted that the people who came after us weren’t as happy as we were.”

“We’re happy, Tru. Sharon and your brother were just occasional pains in our asses,” Riggs assured him.

That urged another smile to the surface from Tru.

“I’m going to have to speak to your brother about the murders, Tru,” Harry warned.

Tru turned back to Harry.

“Not that I have a say, but I’m good with that. Lincoln’s name needs to be cleared. I know what you videotaping me means, and I’m fine to go on the record with all of this. I shouldn’t speak for her, but my guess at this juncture, Kennedy will be too,” Tru told him.

“This will mean your family will have deeper scrutiny,” Harry warned.

“Sheriff, I’ve spent the entire thirty-three years of my life hiding the fact I’m Roosevelt Whitaker’s child. My father was a good man. He was a good dad. He loved me deeply, and he didn’t hide it. He taught me to be all the good things I am. I owe him everything. I miss him every day. People with small minds who do not know my family will think whatever they like. I can finally claim my dad. So bring it on.”

Right, then.

There it was.

Riggs liked this guy.

FORTY-ONE

Something The Cat Dragged In

Riggs

A little after eight in the morning, Riggs turned into his lane.

Last night, he’d had about fifteen minutes to bring Gia back to the house and show Nadia and Ledger he was all right before he needed to head to the station to give his statement.

But while he was gone, Nadia had texted him to suggest he allow Ledger to stay home from school that day, and he agreed. So he’d called the school and texted Angelica to let her know everything was all right, and that Ledger was taking the day off. If she needed to know why, he’d call and explain later.

Which meant, as he came to a stop in the drive, the door immediately opened and Gia galloped out toward his truck, with Ledger following right after.

He’d jumped down from his truck, slammed the door, got a hand on Gia, but then had to brace as Ledger hit him like a rocket.

Riggs gave his son a hug, and Ledger tipped his head back.

---