Page 97 of The Hardest Hit
“Pretty sure you once told me that there’s no statute of limitations on murder,” said Dominique, glaring at her brother.
“Well, yeah, but Grandma didn’t get caught and Evan and Jackson aren’t going to let her get caught and besides, even at this late date, I can put together a bang-up defense. I mean it would be a bit sucky for her career, but she’s got to retire at some point anyway.”
“You’re either an idiot or amazingly confident,” said Dominique. “However, regardless of your thoughts on the subject, I can see that Grandma wouldn’t want that to come out.”
“I don’t think she knows about it,” said Jackson. “However, as Evan was digging through the storage unit he found an email from Randall to Genevieve saying that they needed to talk. It was dated three days before their vacations.”
“Right before the plane crash,” said Aiden. “Evan thinks they were going to tell Mom about it?”
“It was right when Grandma was planning her first campaign,” said Dominique. “They might have decided to bring it up.”
“Maybe,” said Aiden with a shrug. “I’m not sure it matters.”
“Yeah, well Evan couldn’t find anything else, so he put in a public records request at the FAA. I’m guessing in November because right before Thanksgiving she got a call from someone at the FAA.”
“Shit,” said Aiden. “I told Evan that no one could tell if he’d made a public records request. I didn’t count on Grandma having fucking spies in place.”
“Next up,” said Jackson, “Christmas. That’s when she gets a call from a pre-paid phone that I can’t trace. She exchanges calls with that phone number and then she withdraws five thousand in cash and I have no idea what she spent it on. She gets out another three shortly thereafter and I’m ninety-eight percent certain that went to the photographer in mid-town.”
“That would be the doctored photos of Olivia,” said Aiden slowly, trying to follow the breadcrumbs.
“You think Grandma is targeting Evan for looking into the plane crash,” said Dominique.
“I think she’s very uncomfortable with his sobriety. I think she’s freaked out that he’s looking into the plane crash, and I think when someone approached her with blackmail on Evan, she sent that person to Ralph Taggert so that she could blame everything on him, and at the same time she created the photos of Olivia to make sure she wouldn’t lose the healthcare bill. It’s chess and she only has to sacrifice Evan to win.”
“This cannot be permitted,” said Dominique. “We have to stop her.”
“I intend to,” said Jackson. “But I need to get both sets of photos. If I can get Eleanor and Taggert’s photos then they’re both back at square one. I know who Eleanor used for hers. I can get those, but I’m not sure what to do about Taggert’s copies. I’m also not sure where he got them. Which makes me worry that there are more to be found.”
Dominique’s phone chirped and she dashed off a quick reply. “That was Max’s thirty-minute warning. So be prepared to be normal in a half-hour. Aiden, do you need to borrow some sweats and take a jog to calm down?”
“I’m not seventeen,” barked Aiden. He was silent for a moment then shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”
“I’ll get them in a moment. Meanwhile, Jackson, I think you need to talk to Olivia. She did not strike me as someone who took a… parochial approach to sexuality. I’m not anxious to discuss Evan’s past sex life with her, but we need an ally in the Taggert camp and I think she will have some insight.”
“Maybe you should do it,” suggested Aiden. “Girl-to-girl kind of thing.”
Dominique nodded. “Ordinarily, I would agree. However, if we pull this off, Olivia and Evan will be back together. And it is my distinct impression that Evan would be a bit distressed that I knew about his club thing.”
“Mm,” said Jackson, nodding.
“That doesn’t deal with the plane crash situation,” said Aiden.
“I’m also working on that,” said Jackson. “Evan found two of Randall’s old hard drives from DevEntier, but they’re encrypted. I’m having my people work on them. It could be something or there may be absolutely nothing.”
“It would be better if there were nothing,” said Dominique. “What are we going to learn that would help any of us?”
“It might be nothing. It might be something. Whatever it is, we’ll know where we stand once and for all,” said Jackson. “We’ll tackle Eleanor on that topic once I can get Olivia and Evan sorted.”
“And we’re just going to never mention the murdering her husband thing?” asked Dominique, looking at both of them.
“You seem happy enough to have Jackson put a bullet in Granger,” said Aiden. “You’re going to quibble over our horrible grandfather?”
“Well, I don’t mind it. I was just thinking maybe… therapy or something? I don’t know. It seems like the kind of thing that other people care about.”
Jackson choked on a surprised laugh. “And Pete wonders why I still have cravings for cigarettes. You two are enough to drive me to bad habits.”
“Sorry,” said Dominique, looking genuinely sympathetic. “We don’t mean to.”
