shot at Cynthia, or was he trying to keep things as chaotic as possible, just as I was?
Cynthia passed me a coffee cup. She’d filled it while I wasn’t paying attention. I took a sip. It wasn’t bitter. How about that? There’s a right way to do things after all.
“That’s what I think, anyway,” Cynthia said. She sipped her coffee and winced. It was obviously below her standards. To me, it was wonderful. “Now, how about you?”
I shrugged. “I went to prison because I was in a fight.”
“That must have been some fight.”
“Actually, it wasn’t much of a fight at all. And it’s not something I’m proud of.”
“I’ll drop it.”
“Thanks. Why were you arguing with Cabot yesterday?”
“That doesn’t really matter, does it?”
I sighed. I took a long sip of coffee and savored it. It took a few moments of silence for her to take the hint.
“We were arguing about the family business, if you think that’s important. Charles inherited the timber company from Dad, but he wasn’t interested in it. Uncle Cabot rounded up some capital and bought it. Charles used the money to start the toy company, which everyone thought was nuts, but it’s Cabot who’s going bankrupt and Charles who’s thriving.”
“So… what? Cabot felt cheated?”
“He wanted more financing from Charles to take some of the pressure off. And he wanted Charles to…” She paused, searching for the correct phrase. She had suddenly become very careful with what she said. “Charles has access to some resources that Cabot wanted to use. Advice, really. Cabot wasn’t sure which way to jump.”
That rang a bell. I couldn’t quite remember why, but I’d heard something like that before. “Charles wouldn’t help him.”
“I’m not sure why, but no, he wouldn’t. Charles wouldn’t even meet with him. Uncle Cabot began to get really intense about it. I guess he was in more trouble than anyone realized.”
“And he came to you, because?”
“He wanted me to help him with Charles. I don’t know what he expected. I don’t own any part of Charles’s company, and I barely see him myself anymore.”
“What do you live on?”
“Trust fund,” she said carelessly. “The interest is more than I need, so I invested some instead of blowing it. I’m doing pretty well right now.”
“Does Cabot know that?”
“Hell no, and don’t tell him, either. I’m not throwing my money down his rat hole.”
“So he thinks Charles has all the money. And you don’t have any pull with your brother. Did you explain that to him?”
“Sure, but he didn’t believe me.”
I shrugged. “Neither do I.”
“Excuse me?” She sounded irritated.
“People shoot each other for all kinds of stupid reasons. I mean, really stupid. I bunked with a guy who shot his brother-in-law over who deserved the biggest piece of chicken. But what you’re describing is all wrong. If Cabot was going to shoot anyone, it would be Charles, for refusing to help him. Why would he pop one off at you? Charles is in town, right? I’ll bet Cabot knows where to find him. So, either he knows you have a good-sized nest egg, or there’s something else going on.”
“He must know about the nest egg,” she said, a little too quickly. Her voice sounded shaky, but I didn’t ease up on her.
“I still don’t believe you. Let’s cut the bullshit. Cabot wanted to use you against your brother. He had a plan, and he made an offer to you-I don’t know, more money or control of the toy company or something, right? He wanted you to help him with a hostile takeover.”
“That’s for publicly traded companies. Hammer Bay Toys is privately owned.”
“Fine. I don’t know a thing about high finance. In that case, he wanted you to have your brother declared incompetent.”
Cynthia blinked. Bingo.
“Right. Charles has been having seizures. Has he been to a doctor? I’d guess not. He’s too busy with his company, and he brushes off anyone who asks about them.”
“Who told you about his seizures?”
“Everyone knows. I saw one the night Harlan Semple shot up downtown. What did Cabot promise? You file commitment papers on your brother, and he’d support you? You’d get control of the toy company and he’d get an infusion of cash? Or you’d sell the company and split the proceeds? And Charles would get the medical care he’d need. I’ll bet he told you this was the best thing for Charles.”
She stared at me. The look on her face told me that I wouldn’t be doing the job Annalise had given me anytime soon. “Okay. Yes. That’s the pitch he made, basically.”
I didn’t push that
