One Foot in the Grave (Carly Moore #3) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,88
anonymous tip was called in.”
“Any idea where that tip might have come from?”
His grin spread. “I can see you’re dyin’ to pin it on me. I’m sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t do it. I generally like to handle things my own way. No need to bring in a middleman, especially law enforcement.”
“Yet you knew it was an anonymous tip. Surely you gave some thought as to who called it in.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he stared out into the trees beyond my car. “I always suspected Heather set him up. It was no secret she wanted the Drummond money. The tavern closed for a few days. Then Bart had Carson Purdy run it for a bit, tellin’ everyone that Wyatt was sick. It wasn’t hard to believe since he stuck to his house. Wyatt was arrested not long afterward, and then Max came back from school, not only runnin’ the place but ownin’ it, just like Wyatt had demanded. How’s that for karma?”
Heather must have been furious. “Why would she have had Wyatt arrested if she wanted the money?”
“Rumor had it Wyatt was done. He’d put up with a lot of shit from his old man, and he’d reached the breaking point. But Heather had invested a lot of time in her trust fund project, and she had no intention of walking away empty-handed.”
“So her plan all along was to blackmail the Drummonds?”
“I don’t know that for a fact, but I’ve always suspected.”
“So why make all that fuss about the Drummonds pressuring her to change her testimony?” I shook my head, realizing the answer myself. “Because she fully expected them to pay her off. And the Drummonds didn’t pay up because they expected Wyatt to use their attorney, and then they’d grease the wheels of justice and get the charges reduced or dropped.”
Bingham winked. “But it turned out the oldest Drummond boy wasn’t the team player his daddy raised him to be.”
“The Drummonds gave her five thousand dollars to leave town,” I said. “But that’s got to be a far cry from what she expected.”
“She was probably just cuttin’ her losses,” Bingham said. “Take the money and move on to the next mark.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think she had another plan.” I turned to glance at him. “She had a boyfriend on the side. Any idea who it was?”
He snorted. “It sure as hell wasn’t me, so you can stop barkin’ up that tree.”
“I know it wasn’t you,” I said. “You’re too smart to get caught up in someone else’s machinations.”
“It could be argued that you’re gettin’ me caught up in some now.”
“Nah,” I said. “I’m not involving you in anything. I’m only borrowin’ your ear.”
A guarded look crossed his face. “I don’t allow many people to borrow my ear.”
“I’m not using you, Bingham,” I said. “We’re both working toward the same end.”
“Damn straight,” he said in a growl. “No one uses me.”
“I’m not using you,” I said insistently.
“What am I gettin’ out of all this?”
That was a good question. I was about to tell him that the information he could provide me might help me bring down Bart, but I was beginning to wonder if Bart had anything to do with Heather’s death after all. Even through a favor. What if Heather and her boyfriend had set Wyatt up, expecting the Drummonds to pay her big bucks to go away? What if they’d fought about the low payout and he’d taken out his frustrations by murdering her?
“I don’t know,” I said, deciding to go with honesty.
“I ain’t a charity.”
“Consider it a gift to your baby’s godmother.”
His eyes darkened, and it was clear that Lula had forced me on him, not that I’d expected differently.
I knew I was opening a huge can of worms, but I asked anyway, “What do you want?”
A sly grin spread across his face. “A favor that I can call in later.”
Ice flooded my veins. “I never knew you were in the favor business, Bingham.”
“I’m typically not. Maybe I’ve been inspired by our mutual friend.”
Owing Bingham a favor was the worst idea, yet I was tempted. What if he knew the identity of Heather’s boyfriend? What was that name worth?
But I still hadn’t spoken to Dick or May, and it was possible I could get the information I needed without his help. I wouldn’t make myself beholden to Bingham unless I had no other option. “No.”