Page 73 of The Last Grift
With that, the coward fled, leaving Gabriel with only Elton for backup.
“He seemed like a nice young man. Are you two together?”
“Together?” Gabriel repeated hoarsely when he had enough oxygen to do so.
“Pfft, together. Lovers. Boyfriends.Togethertogether.” Claribel made what some circles would describe as a rude gesture.
Shay clapped a hand over his mouth, but Gabriel could tell he was hiding a grin. Elton just shook his head again and stayed quiet.
Shay dropped his hand. “Auntie, I think you’ve scandalized Gabriel enough for now. Maybe keep on with the pertinent part of why we are here.”
“Fine, be a spoilsport.” She turned her attention back to Gabriel. “I’m pro-gay, in case you are curious. All the letters of the alphabet. The world would be a better place if people would stop worrying about who was fucking who.”
“Claribel, focus,” Shay said sternly.
“Very well, if you insist. Elton called a few days ago asking about the deed toThe Golden Ticket, saying that the heir to David’s boat showed up and needed it. I have to admit, I thought we’d meet years ago.”
“I only found out about,” Gabe said, lifting his hands and cocking his index fingers, “the boat, after my mother passed away. Which was a little over a month ago.”
He didn’t feel the need to explain that the inheritance been almost perfect timing due to the unfortunate mistake that was the Anderson brothers. That part was still working itself out. Hopefully, they’d forget about him.
Oh, Chance.
“And who exactly was your mother?” Claribel asked.
“Heidi Karne.”
“Heidi Karne,” she repeated slowly. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard the name mentioned. But seeing as this is David we’re talking about, that’s not a surprise. When he died—in complete disgrace, if you’re at all curious—the instructions were to leave the sailboat here. Then I learned that Elton was taking care of it. I’ve held onto the deed and Elton did the hard work. Which is good because there’ve been times when I was mad enough at David to torch the damn thing.”
Gabriel understood the sentiment but not for the same reasons as this Claribel woman.
“From what Heidi told me over the course my life and in the letter she left me,” Gabe said, “is that she never spoke to my father again after finding out she was pregnant with me. I didn’t think he knew she’d had a child.”
“It’s immaterial now, they’re both gone. The Delacombe genes are strong though,” Claribel continued, managing to sound slightly disgusted by her own statement. “I would have known immediately if I’d seen you at the grocery store or someplace like that.”
“When was the last time you went grocery shopping?” Shay asked her dryly.
“Don’t sass me, young man.” Claribel returned her attention to Gabriel. “Tell us your story.”
“Er, like what?” He scrambled to come up with a version of his life history that didn’t scream confidence man. His hand throbbed, distracting him.
She continued to stare at him, not blinking. It was unnerving.
“Let’s see.” Gabriel stalled for time, his brain blank. “Heidi never married. We bounced around from place to place as Momdiscovered new opportunities, mostly in and around Seattle. We lived outside San Francisco for a couple of years when she was dating an art dealer. After that ended, she started up her own gallery in Missoula. But we always ended up back here in the good old Pacific Northwest.”
“And what do you do?”
“At the moment, I’m… in between things. I’ve done a little of everything,” he said vaguely.
Could he sound anymore suspicious? Maybe, but not likely.
Claribel made what someone else might call a scoffing sound, as if she knew exactly what Gabriel was glossing over.
“My nephew was a grifter, honey. I don’t think he did an honest day’s work in his life.”
“Claribel,” Elton interjected, “what would you know about an honest day’s work? I’ve heard about that bingo group you’ve got going up on Piedras.”
“Give Gabriel a break,” Shay said. “He didn’t expect to be interrogated this afternoon.”
