That entire brief exchange with Joe felt eerie now in light of everything that had unfolded afterward.
“Is there any contact info for Ethan Tucker?” I asked Missy.
“There’s a phone number listed on the transaction. Do you want it?”
“Yes, I do, thanks.”
Missy wrote it down on a sticky note for me. After walking out of the bank, I sat in my Tahoe in the parking lot and stared at the phone number. A 214 area code—Dallas. I pulled out my cell phone and quickly called the number. Disconnected. Sighing, I sat back in my car seat. Five million from an offshore account in the Cayman Islands? Did Joe have more money there? If so, how much? I again thought about what Joe had said the other night before our trip. He almost pulled out of the trip at the last minute, which was so unlike him. He then wanted to make sure I knew what to do in the event of his death. Did he know he was in some kind of danger? Is that why he didn’t look shocked when those men grabbed him? Was his abduction not random?
I needed to track down Ethan Tucker ASAP.
TWELVE
When I got home, Olivia and Nicole were outside in the pool, splashing around on an oversize mermaid float. It was good to see them laughing today. There had been a lot of tears last night while tucking them into bed. If possible, I wanted them to somehow enjoy their last few weeks of summer before school started. Carol was sitting in the shade on the back patio, watching the girls with Lizzie in her lap. Taylor was in the kitchen, making peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and cutting up strawberries and bananas. I felt unsure what to share with her about what I’d discovered this morning. It was still a lot of speculation. I didn’t want to unnecessarily freak her out when she was already emotionally taxed. At least not until I’d had a chance to chase down Ethan Tucker and see if I could figure this thing out first. Still, I didn’t like withholding information from her. She could usually tell.
I walked over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Hey,” she said. “How’d it go with Craig Kinney?”
“Uh, good. As expected, your mom is completely set. She’ll never have to worry about money. Your dad made sure of that.”
“So you think she’ll be able to stay in their house?”
“Yes, I do. If that’s what she wants.”
“That’s a relief. Although I’ll probably have to teach her how to pay her mortgage now that . . .”
Taylor’s words trailed off. I remembered that feeling well. Of not wanting to acknowledge reality in the immediate aftermath of my own father’s death. It felt too damn hard to say out loud that he was gone. Taylor paused for only a moment, took a breath, and continued to slice strawberries.
“How’s your mom doing today?” I asked.
“Okay, I guess. She’s still not talking much about it. She actually snapped at me earlier when I mentioned something about Dad to the girls.”
“Give her time. She’ll come around.”
“I hope so. Thanks again for getting Lizzie. I did see a brief smile on my mom’s face this morning when she came out of her bedroom and Lizzie raced over to her. And, of course, the girls were overjoyed.”
“Maybe we should consider getting them a dog now,” I suggested. Now, of course, meaning to fill the sudden void in our lives. Taylor had resisted getting a dog because she knew she would have to do most of the work of dealing with a pet at home on top of everything else on her plate. So I hadn’t pushed.
“Maybe,” she replied but didn’t take it any further. “My mom wants to have Dad’s service as soon as possible. I called over to the church. We can do it this Saturday afternoon. Pastor Larsen is available. He sends his regards.”
“Saturday is quick.”
“My mom thinks it’s better for everyone, so the healing can begin. Anyway, Joslin at the church said they’d handle everything and get the word out. She asked me if we wanted to put together some kind of video presentation with pictures of my dad, but I’m not sure I have it in me right now to go through all of our family photos.”
“I’ll do it,” I offered.
“Thank you.” She walked to the fridge and pulled it open. “Can you please tell the girls to get dried off for lunch?”
“Sure.”
I walked out onto the patio and called for the girls to get out of the pool. They ignored me and kept on playing. It always took me four or five tries before they’d finally listen. So I sat in a patio chair next to my mother-in-law.
“Lizzie seems happy,” I said.