the estate.”
“Yeah, and he knows that. He put in the goddamn system, and if you erase things, it’s going to show. There are log-ins that can be traced.”
“Have the detectives asked for the footage?”
“Not yet. But they will.”
“Are you going to give it to them?”
Lane cursed. “Do I have a choice? And I don’t know … I was alone with Edward today. I almost asked him.”
“What stopped you? Were you afraid he’d get pissed?”
“Among other things, I was afraid of the answer.”
“What’s your next move?”
“I wait. The detectives aren’t going away. They’ll go out to see him at the farm. And if he did it …”
“You can’t save him.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why exactly would your brother want your dad dead, though? Lot of trouble to go to just because you got grounded a couple of times as a kid.”
“Father tried to have him killed down in South America—”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, Edward is the way he is now because of what was done to him down there. And there was a lot of bad history between them before that. Hell, even in his will, Father deliberately left him out. Also, you know, my brother is no one you screw with. He’s got that way about him.”
Dear God, Jeff thought.
In the silence that followed, he considered his brother and sister, both of whom lived up in Manhattan, too. They were married. Multiple children. His parents split their time between Florida and Connecticut, but had a pied-à-terre in SoHo. The whole lot of them got together for all holidays, and there was warmth and conflict and joy and tears and laughter.
Always laughter.
Lane had a nice house. With a lot of nice stuff. Good cars.
There was no comparison, was there.
The guy went over and parked it on the chair at the desk. “Anyway, enough on that. So if you didn’t leak it, who did?”
“Senior management. I mean, come on. I got the information from their sources. The spreadsheets I’m doing the analysis on are their work product.”
Lane rubbed his head like everything hurt. “Of course.”
“Look, buddy, you can’t freeze those suits out forever, and clearly, they’re not coloring in the lines, which is not a surprise. Now’s not a good time for there to be no one at the helm.”
“Yeah, I need someone to run the company on an interim basis. The board chair wants to meet with me. He’s got to be thinking that, too.”
“Well, just in case I didn’t put a fine enough point on it—unless you take control, senior management, the very assholes you booted out, are in charge.”
“But I’m not qualified. The only thing I’m smart enough to know is that I don’t know shit about a business on this scale.” Lane threw up his hands. “For crissakes, I can’t worry about this right now. I have to get through the visitation tomorrow, and then we’ll go from there. Damn it, Edward was the one who was going to take over.”
As everything got quiet, Jeff smoothed the duvet over his thighs because he didn’t know what the hell else to do. Eventually, he said half-jokingly, “When do I get the maid back? And not to clean the bathroom.”
“That’s up to you. I’m her employer, not her pimp.”
“So you are in charge of this family, huh.”
“No one else is volunteering for the job.” Lane got to his feet. “Maybe because of what happened to the last guy who gave it a shot.”
“You got this, my man. You can do it.”
Lane came over and put out his hand. “I am really sorry I’ve put you in this position. Honestly. And after this is over, I promise, I’ll never contact you again for anything.”
For a moment, Jeff measured what was offered. Then he clasped the palm. “Yeah, well, I don’t forgive you.”
“Then why are you shaking my hand?”
“’Cuz I’m one of those people who forgets easily. I know, I know, it’s backward. But it’s worked for me so far—and it’s getting you off the hook, so fuck off with your principles.”
TWENTY-SIX
“Now, this is more like it.”
As Richard Pford lanked into Easterly’s family sitting room at around nine that evening, Gin wanted to roll her eyes and tell him the nineteen fifties wanted its mores back. But the truth was, yes, she had stayed in to speak with him, and yes, as she watched him proceed to the bar as if he were lord of the manor, she was reminded of how much she despised him.
After pouring himself a bourbon, he went over and sat in