Page 68 of Forgotten Path
“Whatever, go on.”
“So two things happened. Bodhi King and that lady doctor—”
“Stop saying lady doctor. It sounds like she’s a gynecologist,” he ordered.
“Sorry. So, Bodhi King and the, um, medical examiner showed up at the food bank to see my gran. And Gran said something that made it clear he’d been asking her about who might have made a big donation to Doc Ashland’s clinic. She told him she already said she didn’t know. And he said that wasn’t what they wanted to talk to her about. He said it was a community health issue.”
“A community health issue,” Fred repeated slowly.
“That’s what he said.”
“Any ideas what that’s about?”
“No, sir. But I’ll try to find out.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“Oh, when Gran said the bit about the big donation, Brianna freaked out.”
“Brianna Allen? From Gulf Paper Company?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What the devil is she doing there? Don’t tell meshe’slooking for free groceries.”
“No, she’s volunteering. Although, I heard she got fired today, so it might be smart for her to take home a bag or two.”
Fred ignored Craig’s concern about her unemployed state. “How exactly did she freak out?”
“She got really jumpy and dropped a can on the floor. It made a loud noise, so, you know, we all turned to look at her. She was beet-red and shaking and sweating. It was weird.”
Fred rocked back in his leather chair and closed his eyes. This was a complication. Chad had screwed up in multiple ways. But firing Brianna instead of keeping her close and controlling her had to be the most boneheaded of his mistakes. He exhaled sharply through his nose. So, now, what to do about it?
He considered his options. He could leave Chad hanging out to dry. He could go to Bodhi King with what he knew, cut a deal, and screw Chad over. Or he could clean up yet another one of Chad’s messes and have yet another chit to call in.
He sighed deeply. Part of him—a large part of him—wanted to walk away and let Chad fend for himself. But Emerald Estuary Estates wasn’t just the project that would secure Chad’s legacy. It was meant to secure Fred’s, too. And it couldn’t do that if Chad was under a cloud of suspicion—or worse, cooling his heels in a cell. He had to fix this. He vowed it would be the last time he did damage control for Chad, but he did have to do this one last thing.
Decision made, he opened his eyes. “You’ve done well, Craig.”
“So, you’ll pay me for this information?”
Fred shook his head at the blatant eagerness in Lowell’s voice. “Yeah. Two hundred this time.”
“Great. Should I come out to your house and—”
“No. I’ll get the money to you, don’t worry about that. But I have another job for you. A more important, time-sensitive job.”
“Anything,” Lowell said, making no effort to conceal his excitement.
“Keep tabs on Brianna.”
“Keep tabs on her? I mean, I’m happy to do it, sir. Because she’s easy on the eyes, if you catch my drift.”
Fred shook his head. Craig’s drift was so obvious and basic that it was impossible to miss. “Focus.”
“Sorry. So, you want me to, what, follow her? If I have to pick between seeing what Bodhi King wants from Gran and keeping an eye on Brianna, what’s my priority?”
Despite himself, Fred was mildly impressed by the question. It showed that at least some of Craig Lowell’s brain cells were firing, making connections, and drawing inferences.
