Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
I hadn’t thought about how young he had to have been to have that many books published by the time he died, but he’d only been forty-three when that happened.
So that was astonishing.
Cade continued, “In depositions taken from the different editors the men had, it was shared, on the first three books, they definitely worked together. Roosevelt plotted and wrote the action-driven narrative. Lincoln was responsible for the snappy dialogue and interpersonal relationships. However, two things happened. One, the series became popular for its action, not its relationships. And two, Roosevelt learned as he went along how to cover the things Lincoln did. Future books were more action focused, and the editors said that Lincoln contributed very little to all of them, except to do a final pass-through after Roosevelt wrote the book, making tweaks. From book four onward, he acted as more of an editor, not a writer.”
Riggs and I looked at each other because we’d already heard word of this, though it was fascinating to have it confirmed.
Cade carried on speaking.
“Sarah arrives on the scene, and in her parents’ deposition, everything that has anything to do with the brothers and Sarah, they refer to the brothers in plural. She met them. She became involved with them. The sister reported that Sarah actually met Roosevelt first, but he quickly introduced her to his brother.”
“Is that significant?” I asked, thinking that they were twins, so it wouldn’t be.
“It is, if my theory is correct, and Sarah and Lincoln had an open marriage, with the third member of that situation being Roosevelt,” Cade answered.
“Fuck,” Riggs grunted.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“Oh yeah,” Delphine murmured before taking a sip of coffee.
“So you’re saying you think Lincoln knew about them?” Riggs queried.
“Knew. And outwardly approved,” Cade said.
“Outwardly?” Riggs pressed.
“He built a house where he couldn’t see his brother’s cabin. This tells me he didn’t want to know. That makes sense. It also doesn’t. Because, if I’m reading between the lines, it was less an open marriage and more a brother-husbands type of deal. They were all one family. They had joint bank accounts. They built a trust that covered their assets like they were one unit. They frequently spent time together. They shared all holidays together, including with the kids when they came along. And considering publishing contracts from the third set of books, this being book seven and on, no longer included Lincoln’s name at all, Roosevelt was providing for what he considered his entire family. Not his brother and his wife. His family.”
“This is totally wild, and it also makes total sense,” I stated.
Cade aimed a small smile at me.
“Now, there are things that put a wrench in this theory,” he allowed. “We’ll start with Roosevelt living a quiet life and not being one to toss his money around. Lincoln was the opposite. Roosevelt stayed in MP. Lincoln and Sarah went back and forth. This kind of thing can cause some friction and doesn’t relate. But all families have friction. I think it’s a stretch, because your brother likes his dose of city living, he takes the woman you share with him, you get fed up with it, get in his face, and he’s moved to murder. I think it’s even a stretch that it’s clear Roosevelt didn’t want to sell the rights for motion pictures even for the first three books, because he knew if they took off, the writing was on the wall, and it’d have an effect on his life he wouldn’t want, so Lincoln killed him and his wife because he was ticked about that. I think families have these differences and disputes. I think they also get over them or figure out a compromise. But in both instances, if you’re pissed at your brother, you kill your brother. You don’t also kill your wife.”
“Nadia’s friend in Chicago read through some of this stuff, and the Whitaker parents say that last part was getting heated,” Riggs remarked.
“That’s what they say. And yes, it was under oath. But Roosevelt communicated copiously with his parents, at their instigation, because again, he was the favorite. A lot of it was through email, and they have a good deal of evidence to present about the majority of their claims, but nothing to back that particular assertion up. They swore to that testimony, but I think they’re lying or reading things in a way that would skew the estate in their favor.”
“So Roosevelt and Lincoln both shared Sarah from the beginning, and there’s no beef about the books, which means Lincoln has no reason to kill them,” Riggs broke it down.
Cade nodded. “Exactly.”
“So who killed them?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Cade said. “And the answer to that question lies at the end of a variety of thorny paths. Starting with her parents, who are intensely, religiously conservative. If they were aware of this situation, and from what I can tell by the unnecessarily vitriolic way they refer to the brothers, it’s a good bet they were, they could have motive. It’s thin, but it could be the sister, because the Whitaker men weren’t only rich and talented and both known to be good, dependable men, they were good-looking and fit, and it might be a sibling rivalry gig. It could be some unknown, but that wouldn’t explain why Lincoln took the fall for them.”