was conveniently locked away for years, another was murdered, and the third didn’t know what had happened to it.”
I took a second to think about what she’d said. It was obvious Louise didn’t know where the money was, and Michelle had flat out told me the third person didn’t know. Which left one person. “Bruce buried it.”
“Yep. He told me he wrote down the location, but then she was arrested, and he was killed.”
“Did he happen to hide the information in a black toolbox?”
She looked leery, like maybe I held more cards than she’d realized. “He told me it was in a toolbox, and I searched our garage and all over our property and never found it.”
“And you think the location of the money is inside?”
She nodded, then took a drink.
I narrowed my eyes. “When did he tell you that he’d buried it?”
There had been a very short window between Walter’s murder and Bruce’s arrest, not to mention it sounded like Michelle and Bruce hadn’t been close near the end.
“When I visited him in jail and told him I couldn’t make bail. He said the whole thing wasn’t sittin’ right. He thought he was being purposely kept in jail until they found out where he’d put it.”
“Who was keeping him there?”
“He wouldn’t say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Bart Drummond. He had that kind of power.”
So I’d heard.
“I never got the chance to ask him again, because the next time I saw him he was dead.”
“Have you told anyone about any of this?”
“No. You’re the first person I’ve mentioned it to. I don’t trust nobody, but when I was askin’ around about you, I heard how you helped those Crimshaw boys, not to mention Hank’s grandson. Plus, I know you’re living with Hank.” She hesitated. “I figured maybe you could approach him for me.”
“But if you don’t know where the toolbox is, how can he find the money?”
Frowning, she tapped the side of her bottle. “I might know where the toolbox is.”
“I thought you already looked.”
Her gaze lifted to mine. “On my property. Not Louise Baker’s land.”
Should I tell her that Louise knew about the box and was looking too? No. I was keeping my cards as close to the vest as possible. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Relief filled her eyes. “I’d appreciate it.”
“Can I ask you a question?” It was a long shot, but I figured she might be agreeable since she wanted me to talk to Hank for her.
“Shoot.”
“How do you know Bart Drummond?”
Her eyes widened and her face paled.
Crap. She did. I tried to rein in my disappointment. “Is this all for him?”
“What?” she gasped. “No.”
“Then what kind of relationship do you have with him?”
“It was a long time ago,” she said. “Somehow it had gotten back to Bart that Bruce had taken something from Hank, and Bart wanted to know what it was.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I didn’t know—which was true. Bruce claimed to have stolen his fortune, but I didn’t know what it was.”
“And Bart accepted that?”
“He wasn’t happy, but what could he do?”
A lot. The man was capable of a lot. “Was this before or after Bruce was arrested for his fight with Todd Bingham?”
Fear filled her eyes. “Before.”
“So you didn’t tell Bart about the toolbox?”
“No.”
“Do you think Bart tried to get the information from Bruce in jail and had him killed?”
Tears filled her eyes. “I dunno.”
“Are you working with him now?”
Her head jerked violently side to side. “No. I hate the man. I’d sooner eat a cockroach before I help him again.”
But according to what she’d told me, she hadn’t helped him before, that she hadn’t told him anything about Hank’s money or the toolbox. Was that a slip of the tongue, or had she done something else for him?
“Don’t you want to keep the money for yourself?” I asked. “Why bring me and Hank into this at all?”
“I’ve struck out tryin’ to find it on my own.”
“I’ll talk to Hank tonight.” A talk about his past was long overdue, and I was going to insist on answers this time. “You know, if we don’t find the money, he’s not going to give you anything.”
“I know.” Hope filled her eyes, but I wasn’t so certain it was warranted. That toolbox was gone, which meant someone had taken it. I doubted she’d be able to tell us anything useful. “You’re sure you didn’t tell anyone else about the toolbox?”
“Yeah.”
I pushed out a sigh. “Okay. Leave me your number, and