Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“Right.” Cara waved a hand toward Sam, indicating he should keep talking.
“The group clashed with the people at the motel, the cops raided the place, and what did they find? The same type of marked cash, at which point it goes into evidence too. The hooker activity dies down for a while, the moms forget about the Winkler place, a new administration comes in, and lo and behold, the money sits and nobody takes another look. Over time, any activity at the Winkler place ended, and nobody was willing to discuss what really went down there.”
Mike shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, well, let’s say I get that we’re in a small town with shitty record keeping. And I also get how that old boys’ network kept further investigation from continuing. We’re talking about what? Money laundering in addition to prostitution out there?”
“We don’t know,” Cara answered.
Mike raised his hands in frustration. “What do we know?”
Sam cleared his throat. “Well, we know that the only person currently on the force with possible ties to all this in the past—is Dad.”
Mike gripped the sofa seat, about to jump up, when Cara held up a hand. “Hang on. We’re not saying Simon did anything wrong.”
“At least not yet,” Sam added. “But the thing is, after Cara and I got up to speed on the history of this case, we went to the evidence room to see what we could dig up. It turns out that the original marked bills from the traffic stop were referenced—but now there are one thousand dollars’ worth of bills that don’t match up.”
Mike leaned forward in his chair. “Did you ask Dad about the bills?”
Sam nodded. “Damn right I did.”
“And what did he say?”
Sam frowned, and Mike’s skin prickled with unease.
“He outright refused to discuss it, and believe me, I pushed hard. I’d planned to bring it up again, but he was diagnosed and went right into treatment. The time hasn’t been right since.”
Mike gritted his teeth. “So . . . where do we stand now?”
Sam looked from Cara to the walls, everywhere but at Mike.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Mike asked, his underlying tone making it clear it wasn’t a question but a demand for answers.
“Go on,” Cara said to Sam. “He needs to know.”
Sam blew out a breath before answering. “Dad’s partner at the time of the incident was Rex Bransom.”
Mike swore and glanced at the ceiling, pulling himself together. Though he probably should have seen this coming as soon as Sam grew more reluctant to tell the story, he felt blindsided anyway. “My biological father,” he finally said.
Sam remained silent, giving Mike time to process the news.
His brother knew Mike’s real father was a sore subject. As far as Mike was concerned, Rex Bransom was a man who hadn’t wanted a family and who’d disappeared from his life when his mother was pregnant. Ella and Simon hadn’t sugarcoated the truth—that Rex had bailed on his pregnant girlfriend—explaining that Rex had too many flaws and problems to stick around. But Rex had been Simon’s best friend and partner, and when he’d taken off for parts unknown, Simon had stepped up, married Ella, and adopted Mike.
And they’d all had the perfect life without Rex Bransom involved in it. Deep down, Mike had always figured there was more to the story, but he hadn’t pushed for answers. Probably because since leaving Serendipity, he knew firsthand how much like his real father he actually was. He couldn’t bear to know more.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked.
Cara remained quiet, but he felt her perceptive gaze and sensed her pity, one emotion he did not want her feeling for him.
“I’m fine,” he lied. Mike was happiest when not thinking of the man who’d given him life and probably the rest of his bad habits and behavior before abandoning him.
“Then you understand someone has to take over the investigation with Cara,” Sam said, his point clear.
“Yeah. And because it involves Dad, that person is me.” Mike leaned his head back and groaned.
“Hey, don’t sound so happy about working with me,” Cara said, probably hoping her tease would bring him out of the mood he’d sunk into.
“It’s not about you,” he said, and rose to his feet. Without sparing either of them a look, Mike headed for the front door.
* * *
Cara watched Mike leave and let out a heavy sigh.
“Give him time,” Sam said. “Anything to do with his real father brings out the worst in him.”
Cara bit the inside of her cheek, feeling sorry for Mike at the same time she knew he’d hate that particular emotion. “I didn’t know he was adopted by Simon until we started this digging.”
Sam shrugged. “It’s never been a secret. My parents were always open with Mike and with us. They wanted him to know he was wanted and loved by both of them. And I’ve never seen a hint of anything different from my dad, so you had no reason to know.” He shook his head. “Our dad. Simon’s always been our dad.”