To Love and to Perish - By Lisa Bork Page 0,25

might be more forthcoming if we show up on their doorstep.”

He was right. Plus, body language gives away so much, and we’d have the element of surprise. On the other hand, Albany was hours away. Given Danny’s school schedule and his football practices, I wasn’t going to be able to disappear without telling Ray where I was going so he could pick up the slack. “Ray’s not going to like it.”

“Since when does that stop you?”

True, I liked to make up my own mind. I’d even been referred to as stubborn. Stubborn can work to one’s advantage, especially with a sister like Erica. Cory knew that, but shame on him for playing me that way. I took it as a sign of his desperation.

“This is a legal matter. Ray’s the expert on legal matters, he and Catherine. And he said his friend Ken would look into it as part of the investigation.” Of course, Ken would be looking to make his case, not get Brennan off, and he didn’t know about the strange monthly payments and all of Brennan’s old friends who might be hiding something.

Cory scraped some crumbs off my desk and into his hand. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but Brennan called me last night.”

“From jail?”

“Yep.” Cory flicked the crumbs into the trash can and brushed his hands on his coveralls.

“What did he say?”

“That he missed me and not to worry. And not to do anything. He thinks Catherine has everything under control.”

“But he’s still in jail.”

“He’s working on the bail money, calling in a few favors. He said it wasn’t all that bad in jail anyway.”

“Really?” I had pictured Brennan lying on a thin mattress with a stainless steel toilet and sink two feet from his head and jail bars tickling his toes.

“It’s a county lockup, not prison, you know.” Cory said the words as though quoting Brennan.

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t call his father. The news reports said he’s loaded.”

“He is, but they don’t talk. His father doesn’t like what he refers to as Brennan’s ‘lifestyle.’ He wrote him out of the will a long time ago. That’s why Brennan moved here, to get away from his father.”

“What about his mom?”

“She’s dead, remember? She left Brennan her family money, though. That’s how he got his business started.”

I did recall Brennan mentioning his mother was dead when he joined us for Thanksgiving last year. Now I knew why he hadn’t mentioned his father.

“Did Brennan say anything about the crash, like if his father bought his way out of being charged?”

“I tried to ask him about the crash. He said he was out of time to talk and had to hang up. But I heard a guy in the background say that he still had two minutes left on his time.” Cory raised his eyebrows.

“Okay, I agree that’s suspicious. You’re onto something.”

Cory flourished his hand. “Exactly. So you’re in?”

Truthfully, I wanted in. I was curious and would go stir-crazy sitting here alone in our quiet shop, listening for the phone to ring, surfing the Internet for car deals, and waiting for Cory to investigate alone and report back. On the other hand, I felt like a hypocrite. I’d told Isabelle it was wrong to have a private investigator follow Jack around, invading his privacy and undermining trust, and now here I thought it might be a good idea to snoop. What was the difference in this situation? The fact that Brennan was in jail, facing a trial and prison perhaps? Or that I believed Cory’s theory might actually have some merit?

My doubts and concerns must have flashed across my face, because Cory started to look worried, too. “Aren’t you going to help me, Jo?”

Ray would not be happy. I could hear him saying “Jolene” in that tone of voice he gets when he’s annoyed. Was it really worth agitating him, particularly when the luscious and agreeable Catherine was back in the picture and only a phone call away?

Cory slumped in his chair. “It’s okay. I understand. I don’t want to cause trouble between you and Ray. In fact, Brennan may never speak to me again. But I just can’t let him sit there alone in jail and do nothing. I’d rather have him out of jail, never speaking to me again, than visit him in prison every Sunday.”

I made my decision. “No, I’m in.”

After all, Ray was used to me making up my own mind and doing my own thing. It was one of the things