Page 9 of Lost Love Cove 4
Carrie’s eyes narrowed. “Was that the first time you were threatened?”
Ian shook his head, eyes dim. “No. Three months ago, when Erika and I were chasing a lead on Cheryl Winters, the phone rang. It was a woman. She told us to stop looking for Cheryl Winters. She said that Cheryl didn’t want to be found.” He swallowed and drew a breath. “It was Erika who answered the call. Erika told the woman that they were looking for Cheryl because Delia Winters, Cheryl’s mother, had passed away, and the attorneys needed Cheryl to sign off on the estate that was now hers. That woman…” Ian frowned, his features tightening. “She said Cheryl didn’t care that her mother was gone, that she had no interest in property or money.”
Matt’s pulse quickened. His voice came out rougher than he expected. “Do you think it was Cheryl herself who called?”
Ian’s head moved slowly, side to side. “No. We’d hired a PI by then. He was tracking both Cheryl and Katy. That woman was not Cheryl. She was someone else.”
Oscar’s face twisted, his mouth pulling down in disbelief. “You were spying on your daughter? Geez, man. That’s more than messed up.”
Carrie turned on him sharply, her voice firm but even. “Oscar. One day, when you have kids of your own, you’ll understand. Erika and Ian were trying to protect her. Look at the risks your mother took for you.”
Oscar’s cheeks flushed. His eyes dropped, shame tugging at his expression. “You’re right,” he said quietly.
Andy’s eyes stayed fixed on Ian. “What did the PI find?”
“And did he track down who called you?” Carrie added.
Ian licked his lips. His voice was hoarse. “Yes. The caller was a woman who once took Cheryl in when she was twenty and broke, living in Chicago. They had been friends since then. She was pressured into making that call and didn’t know who was pressuring her. But she told the PI to tell us to stop looking. For Cheryl. She said that Cheryl was not interested in anything Delia had left behind. Not the money or the property. That she didn’t care who was living there now or why.”
Carrie’s brow furrowed, confusion shadowing her face. “But how would she know to say that?” She gestured with her hand. “About the property?”
“I don’t know,” Ian admitted, shoulders slumping. “Erika thought Katy had been spying on us. She knew we were looking for Cheryl. And then…” His voice cracked. “We found out that Katy was the one who stole the copies of the real deeds. The ones that showed the Cove properties were not owned at all, only leased for ninety-nine years. The ones Trevor and I made copies of.”
Carrie’s eyes sharpened, her voice slicing through the haze. “So your investigation into Cheryl alerted Dick that you and Trevor knew the truth. And he used Katy to turn the screws.”
“Yes.” Ian’s head dropped, nodding with defeat. “That’s what we believe.”
Matt spoke before he realized he was doing it. “And yet you kept digging?”
“I never thought Dick would hurt Katy.” Ian’s voice cracked. He looked down at his bound hands, then back at them, hollow and destroyed. “Dick was a lot of things. Crooked. Greedy. But a murderer? I never thought…” His voice trailed into a whisper.
“People will go to any length to cover their crimes,” Andy said flatly. “We need evidence that it was Dick Katy was seeing. That Katy was spying on you for Dick.” He glanced at Matt. “And that she was covering for Dick when she got the permits for the renovations on your property approved.”
“I have the original documents,” Matt told Andy. “I keep all my paperwork.”
“Good,” Carrie stated. “We’re going to need all that.”
Ian’s body sagged. “I should have left it alone. What have I done?”
Andy’s voice softened, his tone gentler than before. “You were trying to do the right thing. But you did it the wrong way. You should have gone to the police.”
Ian’s head snapped up, anger flaring. “We would have lost everything. Me. Erika. Lori. Matt.”
Andy nodded slowly, sighing. “But you could still lose it all. Someone is dead, Ian. That changes everything.”
Ian closed his eyes, his whole body sagging. “I know.”
The silence in the room grew thick. Outside, the last of the storm had faded into a stillness that felt almost unnatural. None of them had noticed until the shrill ring of the phone cut through the quiet like a blade.
Carrie and Matt both froze, then turned at the same time. Her eyes flashed with sudden light, and before anyone could stop her, she was on her feet, sprinting down the hall. Matt pushed up from the loveseat, his steps quick behind her, entering the room as Carrie snatched the receiver in Trevor’s study.
He spotted the blinking red light and the conference button. Without hesitation, he pressed it.
“Mom?” The voice was male, young, strong with concern.
Carrie’s face crumpled, tears springing to her eyes. “Trent… honey, thank goodness.”
Relief pulsed through Matt, too, though Trent was not his son. Her relief was his, and he knew that Alisha was with Trent. If Trent was safe, so was Matt’s daughter.
