Page 74 of A Vintage of Regret
“Patagonia,” Riley said evenly. “I had just finished leading a hiking group when Bryson called with the news.”
“Can anyone verify that?”
“The company I worked for. My best friend, Mateo. Half a dozen clients, the lodge staff, the park rangers,” Riley said, ticking them off on her fingers. “Need me to send you their numbers?”
“Give them to Harlan, and he’ll get them to me.” Sandy’s pen scratched across the page. “Have you traveled back to the U.S.—specifically Napa Valley—in the past year?”
“No.” Riley glanced between Sandy and Harlan, who have her a reassuring smile as if this was all normal stuff.
Sandy clasped her hands, rested them on her desk, and leaned forward. “What can you tell me about Sean and Grant’s relationship?”
“I haven’t lived here in twelve years,” Riley said with a tremor in her tone. “I was close to my dad, but not as close to Grant. They’ve had their issues over the years, but to my knowledge, they worked hard to maintain a decent relationship.”
“What does that mean?” Sandy asked.
“I don’t know.” Riley raised her hands and slapped them against her legs. “Can you be more specific?”
“Sure.” Sandy unclasped her hands and shuffled a few papers across her desk. “Was Grant harboring a grudge against your dad?”
“Not that I know of,” Riley said.
“Did they fight a lot?”
“My dad said they’d been getting along, especially since Grant had kids. Grant softened a lot after that.” Riley hesitated for a moment, afraid she might say something to hurt her brother. She glanced toward Harlan, who gave her a short nod. “I’m the one who had problems with my family. All of them, except my father. But I think he and Grant got along mostly well enough.”
“Do you know anything about your brother’s financial status?” Sandy asked.
“He’s well-off. Not at the same level as the Boones or the Callaways, but I believe he’s a millionaire.”
“And how do you think he got that way?” Sandy asked.
“Hard work.” Riley shifted her gaze once again to her attorney.
“How do you think he avoided Robert Wilkerson’s Ponzi scheme?” Sandy asked.
“He’s smart. He’s good with numbers. And knew what kind of person Robert was. He even tried to warn people about him. At least that’s what I’ve been told,” Riley said.
“Okay. But what about that letter your dad sent you?” Sandy asked.
“I can’t explain that. I just know what my brother had to say.”
“You and your dad never talked about it?”
Tears welled in Riley’s eyes. “I didn’t know about the note until after my dad had died. My friend, Mateo, called me when it arrived.”
“I’d like your friend’s contact information so I can speak with him directly.”
“I can give that to you,” Riley said.
“Alright. What do you know about your mother’s finances?”
“Not that much, truthfully,” Riley admitted. “I mean, she married Parker because he was well off, but I don’t know the first thing about how that worked. And I learned recently that she lost some money in that Ponzi scheme, but I don’t think that put too much of a dent in their resources.” Riley wanted to jump out of her seat and scream at her friend that she knew all this already.
“What do you know about Monica and your mother’s friendship?”
“I didn’t know they had become friendly until I got back to town.”
“Are you aware that Monica’s on the Main Street Beautification committee?” Sandy asked, leaning back and rubbing her temple. “And that your mother has a hand in that.”
