Page 9 of Rage's Solace
“I wanted to mention that you don’t need to worry about your husband’s final arrangements. I was informed that his father claimed his body and already had him cremated.”
“Well, that was fast,” she stammers.
“Normally, in cases of death by cop there’s a delay while they do an internal investigation. This was done relatively quickly because there were so many eyewitnesses, and he had security footage in the living room and several other rooms.”
Her eyes fly open. “I didn’t know that. I had cameras in my own home?”
“I’m told they were hidden. It made me wonder if your husband even knew they were there. He was acting all kinds of crazy while they were capturing every single thing he said and did.”
Priscilla starts wringing her hands. “I can’t imagine anyone else who would want to spy on us.”
“Your father-in-law crossed my mind as a potential suspect. He would have had a vested interest in monitoring his son, probably hoping to avoid him escalating like he did that night. Your husband’s father actually owns the home you were living in. He was also giving your husband a monthly stipend.”
“What?” she just shakes her head. “That’s unbelievable.”
“You have any idea why he would do that? What about the other brother?”
She pales and looks nervously at her hands, “I’m not sure. The whole family dynamic is strange.”
“I had our IT guy, research details about the house deeds and inheritance and there doesn’t seem to be anything in your husband’s name to be inherited, no community property whatsoever.”
“All I know is that he was in his home office all day long. He told me not to bother him because he was working, Sometimes, he left the house, saying he had to meet with clients.”
“Let me guess,” I told her. “He always came back rip roaring drunk, right?”
Her expression turns haunted. “Not at first, but over the last year. It started when…” her voice trails off.
“What?” I ask.
“It all seemed to start around the time his brother got out.”
Nothing had turned up on our search about the family, “Got out of where?”
“He was in a rehabilitation center for nine years. I’m not sure exactly what was wrong with him. All I know is that when he was inside, Conrad seemed much happier. But when he was released eleven months ago, that’s when Conrad started drinking. I think he drank in his office off and on as well.”
I feel so fucking sorry for everything she’s been through, but I need her to know the rest. “Our club attorney, Smoke, searched state and county records. He didn’t find a business license registered in Conrad’s name, nor was he paying employment taxes. That pretty much means he was living off Daddy’s money.”
“If that’s true, it means I need to get job right away. Mia has extracurriculars and trips planned for this year.”
“Don’t worry about all that. We’ll get through it, and you can pay me back later, when you’re on your feet and earning a decent income.”
She seems bewildered for a brief second and then her expression clears. “Is there anything else I should know about?”
“I met with Mia’s principal this morning and gave him your number. He’ll call you first if anything comes up regarding Mia.”
She reaches out to touch my hand. “Thank you for that. How did things go with the other kids? They aren’t ostracizing her, are they?”
“I can’t speak for all the kids that go to her school, but my club brothers have kids that are around Mia’s age, and they seemed to be bonding when I left her. I’ll keep my eyeballs peeled for anything out of the ordinary.”
She lies back on her pillow and her hand slips from mine. “This is all much more than I bargained for.”
I try to lift her spirits by reminding her of when we were kids. “Remember when our fifth-grade teacher told us how to eat an elephant?”
Her expression brightens. “A bite at a time.”
“Exactly, I tell her. “We’ll just break this gigantic multi-faceted problem apart and solve it a piece at a time.”
We chat for a while longer and then I take my leave of her. She needs her sleep, and I need some alone time to get my head straight. Seeing the one and only woman I ever loved again ismessing with my head. Seeing her desperation and joy at me showing up in this moment is enough to stoke all those old feelings into an inferno. I’m still dead set against getting into a romantic relationship with her again, even if she wanted me. However, I’m curious about what happened to the fabulously wealthy lifestyle this man was supposed to provide for her. It seems they had all the outward trappings of wealth, but Conrad’s father actually owned everything of value in their lives. I decide to look into that some more and try to figure out why that was.