from me regarding Larry, you need to spill your guts about this.”
“You won’t believe me if I tell you.”
I heaved a sigh. “Jonathan, you have no idea the things I’ve seen in my short life. The things I’ve had to deal with. At this point, I’ll believe just about anything.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, and you will, if you want my help with Larry or anything else.”
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his brown hair. “All right. It came in cash. To my office.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. A hundred grand in cash was delivered to my office. Via the US Postal Service. In a plain brown box. No return address.”
I nodded. Then, “You’re right. I don’t believe it.”
“I told you so.”
“Uh-huh. How about the truth now, Jonathan?”
“That is the truth! Why do you think I’ve kept it from you? I knew you wouldn’t believe it. You’d think I was hiding something or protecting someone, but the truth is, I’m not.”
“Okay, for the sake of argument, I’ll assume you’re telling me the truth. Was there anything inside the package to indicate who had sent it?”
“Nope. Nothing. And you can bet I searched through every single bill to see if anyone had left a note on one of them.”
“What investigation did you do after you received it?”
“What do you mean?”
“To try to figure out who sent it?”
“I didn’t.”
“Right. Someone sends you a hundred grand in the mail, and you don’t even question it?”
“Brad, it was an answer to a prayer. It was the money to pay for Daphne’s treatment. I was looking at a second mortgage on my house, maybe selling my car. So no, I didn’t question it. I just thanked God.”
I didn’t believe him. Not even for a second. But what could I say? I couldn’t fault his story. I’d looked high and low, and the money had no trail.
Which meant his story could actually be true.
But it didn’t ring true to me.
I’d point-blank asked Larry if he’d paid for Daphne’s treatment, and he’d point-blank told me he hadn’t.
But I didn’t trust Larry, either.
It could have come from Larry. He’d had that kind of money at the time, but why would he hide the fact that he was paying for it?
Something didn’t add up.
Tom and Theo and Wendy all had that kind of money as well, but they wouldn’t pay for Daphne’s treatment. Why should they? Because they were Larry’s friends? Business partners?
If Larry hadn’t paid, why would they?
“Who do you know who might have had that kind of money and would want to help you and your daughter?” I asked.
“No one.”
“Think harder.”
“I’m not lying to you. Do you think I haven’t wondered myself? Who would do this for my family? I racked my brain and came up with nothing.”
I sighed. What could I say? I couldn’t prove otherwise because there was no trail. None at all.
“Did you think about seeing if there were any fingerprints on the box?”
“I considered it, but then decided not to.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I needed the money. I wanted the money. For Daphne. For Lucy. Fuck. Even for myself. I didn’t want to mortgage the house. I needed the house for my wife and daughter.”
“And you were afraid the money might be dirty and might get confiscated.”
“The thought crossed my mind. Tell me, Brad. What would you have done in my shoes?”
It was an interesting question, and one that in all honesty hadn’t occurred to me. I had my own problems, but money had never been one of them.
“Probably the same thing. I would have put Daphne’s well-being first. I do that every day.”
“Then you understand.”
“I do. Now tell me about Larry.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Daphne
“How far along are you, honey?”
My neck nearly snapped at my mother’s questions. Was it that obvious?
“About three months. How could you tell?”
“Your body changes. Your hips are a little curvier, your cheeks a little rosier.”
“Really? Because I feel like crap.”
“Yes, the morning sickness. It should subside soon. You look beautiful. You looked exactly the same when you were pregnant with Jonah and Talon.”
“And Ryan?”
“We didn’t see you when you were pregnant with Ryan. Brad said you were on bedrest and couldn’t have visitors.”
I nodded. “Right.” No use telling her I didn’t remember that pregnancy. That would only worry her. I hadn’t experienced any significant time loss since then. Only a blip here and there. Nothing to worry about. If it didn’t affect my family, I had no reason to worry.
“Have you told the boys?” she asked.
“Not