Page 55 of Edinburgh Escape
“At least twenty years so far.” He handed Callum a ledger. “Here’s one from thirty years ago. See if you find it there. I wonder if he was putting money into a secret investment account that I need to find.”
Callum opened the ledger and checked through several months of entries. “None here.”
Ewan frowned and pulled out the one before the ledger he’d handed Callum. “None in this one as well. Wait. Halfway through the year, he started making the entries.”
Callum took the one labeled the year after. “This ledger has entries like that for every month.”
“Do you have bank account records?” Callum asked. “Maybe they show where that money went.”
Ewan shook his head. “There’s a stack of boxes full of tax records in the attic, but they only go back several years. I could look in them.”
“When was the most recent transfer?” Callum asked.
“Less than a year ago.”
“You could check online and see if there’s more information about where that transfer was sent.”
“His accounts are still tied up in probate,” Ewan said. “I’m waiting for the courts to grant me access.”
Callum stepped away from the desk, his thoughts going back to what Ace and Hank had said. They had people with technical skills who might be able to access those accounts. He turned to face Ewan, a former SAS like him, a man Callum felt in his gut he could trust. But would Ewan trust him?
Callum crossed to the door and closed it softly.
Ewan looked up, his brow creasing. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” Callum said. “But I haven’t been completely forthcoming with you.”
Ewan’s frown deepened. “About what?”
“Why I’m here.”
“You’re Maggie’s fiancé.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you not?”
Callum shook his head slowly. “That was my cover. I was hired to provide her protection. The friends I’ve mentioned who are sending help are my teammates. We’re members of the Brotherhood Protectors, an organization comprised of former highly skilled men trained for special operations. We provide services like security, protection and extraction for people who need it.”
“And my half-sister thought she might need it to come to Scotland to meet me?” Ewan shook his head. “Did she think I would harm her?”
“No.” Callum smiled. “Quite the opposite. She’s never been out of the US. Her friend’s husband is the founder of the Brotherhood Protectors, a former US Navy SEAL. He and his wife worried that Ms. Maggie was going off alone and was too naïve to know when she might be taken advantage of in transit or once she arrived here. They asked me to follow her in case she needed help.”
Ewan sighed. “And she did. All because of my cousin’s gambling addiction and subsequent deal with the devil.”
“Which we didn’t know coming here to meet you,” Callum said. “In order for her to show up with me in tow, we came up with the story that I was her fiancé.”
“You had no idea who attacked her on the train or in Edinburgh,” Ewan’s lips twisted. “She could’ve been targeted by her siblings, eager to get their hands on the full inheritance, rather than having to share a portion with a child born of my father’s affair with the nanny. Why are you telling me this now? You could’ve kept that to yourself and let me believe the people coming to help are just convenient friends.”
“Because they have people with technical skills and contacts who can access information and get to data that most cannot.”
“You mean hackers?” Ewan crossed his arms over his chest. “You know that’s illegal. What makes you think I want to be involved in hacking into databases full of private information?”
Callum shrugged. “They could get to your father’s bank information quicker than the courts can grant you access. They also have a man with contacts who might identify what organization is threatening your cousin and the rest of your family.”
Ewan studied Callum for a long moment. “You’ve already got them looking for information on my cousin’s loan shark, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’d like to know where this money was going sooner rather than later. If it’s to an investment account, I’m not worried. If it’s blackmail money, I need to know what my father was up to in case it comes back to haunt my family.”
Callum pulled out his cell phone and placed a video call to Ace.
