Colton Christmas Protector (The Coltons of Texas #12)(47)
No reason she could see.
*
Even after years on the police force, Reid was surprised—or maybe dismayed—how easily information that should be private could be breached. Outside parties with just the right amount of inside knowledge, deception and ingenuity could gather a frightening amount of personal data. Bad news for the public. Good news for him as he called Hugh Barrington’s bank the next morning.
By providing Hugh’s bank-account number, date of birth and home phone number, he was able to convince the local bank employee that he was Hugh. He obtained a confirmation of the money transfer to the ME’s account, as well as a more recent transfer that boded ill. A large lump sum was sent last week, the same day as the shooting, to an account in a New Orleans bank.
Reid thought on his feet. What was that transfer about? He cleared his throat and improvised. “That’s odd. My associate claims he never received the transfer. Maybe his name was misspelled? How do you have his name?”
“It’s not a name, sir. It’s a business. Mareau Towing.”
“Oh, that’s right! I’ll remind him to check his business account. Thank you. You’ve been most helpful.” Reid was typing Mareau Towing in New Orleans into the Google search box before he even disconnected from the bank.
No such business existed that he could find. So...a dummy account?
“Well?” Pen asked, looking up from playing blocks with Nicholas.
He reported what he’d learned and chewed the end of a pen as he leaned back in his desk chair to process the information. “I think it is time I filled my family in on at least some of what’s going on.”
Pen looked dubious. “Are you sure you can trust them?”
He considered the question, turning his chair to gaze through the plate-glass window to the rippling waves on the lake. An egret stood in the shallow water of the inlet waiting for breakfast to swim or hop by. Puffy white clouds scuttled in from the west as the breeze kicked up.
“A year ago, even six months ago, I’d have been leery. Seriously leery.” He puckered his brow as he reflected on the last couple months, the changes he’d seen in the family dynamic. “But ya know what? Eldridge’s disappearance has done interesting things to the family. Plenty of accusations and blame have been thrown around, most of it disproved, and yet I feel more like I can trust my siblings now than ever before. We’ve been through the fire together, and it’s strengthened family relationships.”
“The proverbial silver lining?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I suppose. I’d say a lot of the change has also come from the significant others in the family.” A strange ache filled his chest at that thought, and he spun his chair back to face Penelope.
“What do you mean?” she asked as she carefully placed a block on the top of a tower. Nicholas immediately knocked the tower over with a gleeful chuckle.
The ache eased to a warmth as he watched his two guests—guests who felt less like company every day and more like people he wanted as a fixture in his life, guests who made him want to be his best self, guests who made him hopeful about the future for the first time in many years. Recognizing that truth, he could easily see why his siblings had grown more likable, become easier to trust and developed a more genuine loyalty to the family.
“Everybody’s getting engaged and married, becoming parents,” he explained. “Funny how being in love, sharing life with your soul mate can change a person. I guess falling in love, being truly happy brings out the best in the Coltons.”
“Love brings out the best in everyone.” She gave him a smile that burrowed to his soul.
“Yeah, I suppose.” He scoffed a laugh and shook his head. “Even Fowler and Marceline have been nicer lately.”
She made a choking sound and coughed. “What? Fowler? Even my mother said she thought he was a putz. And that was when he was just a teenager.”
“Good ole rotten Fowler. He’s always been as mean as a riled Texas rattlesnake toward me and the other kids in the family. But he’s mellowed in the past month or so after proposing to his longtime love.”
“Wonders never cease. And Marceline...” She bit her bottom lip as she narrowed her eyes in deep reflection. “My main memory of her is when your family came to our house once for a dinner party and she kept referring to us as ‘new money.’ Her tone made it clear that in her mind that was synonymous with pond scum.”
Reid snorted. “Our family fortune is ‘new money.’ Eldridge and his brother had nothing as kids. Eldridge was a two-bit criminal who married money, got lucky in oil and capitalized on key investments.”
“Oh, I do believe she was including your father in her denigration. She bragged about her real father having come from old money. From the ‘establishment.’ She made me feel so...unworthy of our wealth.”
“No wonder you hated our family.”
“I had a long talk with my mother that night. She told me a person’s worth and value is in how they treat other people, how they use their resources and work at making the world a better place. How well they love others.” Her expression reflected a mellow tenderness, a longing.
Reid tried to remember what he could about Pen’s mother. She’d largely been overshadowed by her vocal and obsequious husband whenever he’d met her. “I think I’d have liked your mother if I’d known her better. Your father, and my inattentiveness, made it easy to overlook her.”