Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3)(41)

“Hale Industries is finished,” Hale said.

“The Princess and the Pea?” Gabrielle suggested.

“Not enough time,” Kat said.

“Where’s Waldo?” Gabrielle went on.

“No.” Hamish recoiled. “I am still not allowed back in Morocco.”

“Three Blind Mice?” Simon said.

Everyone looked at Kat, who shivered. “I don’t do rodents.”

The train kept going and the suggestions kept flying, but none found their mark, and finally silence descended on the crew.

“Maybe we’re making it too hard,” Simon said. “Simple is good, right?”

“As long as we’re not kidnapping anyone,” Kat said.

Gabrielle blushed. “It was only a suggestion.”

“What do we know about Garrett?” Kat asked. “Hale, does he gamble?”

“I don’t think so,” Hale said with a shake of his head.

“Drink?” Kat asked.

“No more than any of the other people from my childhood.”

“Chase the ladies?” Hamish asked.

“No. He’s just…a lawyer. He was always there. Briefcase. Suit. Hat. The guy is seriously boring. There is nothing scandalous or even interesting about him.”

“Well, that’s not exactly true.” Kat spoke softly, carefully. She forced herself to meet Hale’s gaze. “He does have an ex-wife. And a daughter.”

“Natalie isn’t a part of this. She isn’t,” Hale insisted even when Kat didn’t protest.

“Okay. I believe you,” Kat said. “But she might be useful.”

“We’re not going to use her.” Hale’s voice was like stone, unmoving. “And besides, it’s not like she and her dad are exactly close. Natalie went away to boarding school when her parents divorced. She hardly ever came home after that.”

“How long has Garrett worked for the company?” Gabrielle asked.

“That’s the thing.” Hale shrugged. “There’s always been a Garrett working for us. His dad had the job before him, and so he was always…around.”

“Okay, so we go farther back.” Kat felt herself swaying, rocking like the train. “Tell us about your grandfather.”

“What can I say, Kat? He’s dead. They’re all dead. My grandmother. My grandfather. My grandfather’s brother—”

“Wait,” Kat said. “Was this the brother who was supposed to run the company with your grandfather?”

“Yeah. He died way before I was born. He was supposed to be a real character, but then he died, and my grandfather got it all—all the money, but all the pressure and responsibility too. He was a workaholic. And—”

“When did your great-uncle die?” Kat asked.

“Maybe fifty years ago. Like I said, I never knew him. No one ever talked about him. It was like the whole family thought he was cursed or something.”

“No more curses.” Gabrielle’s whole body shivered. “Please no more curses.”

“It wasn’t that kind of curse, Gabs,” Hale told her. “He was just…I don’t know…super eccentric or something. He wanted to be famous, but famous in a way that had nothing to do with being a Hale. So he was always doing stuff like climbing K2 or flying solo to the North Pole. He disappeared floating down the Amazon or climbing the Andes or something. It was this big, tragic family secret no one ever talked about.”

“So he just disappeared? They never found a body?” Kat said.

“No. Why?”

The train kept racing, but to Kat, everything was growing slow and still. She felt it in the crew around her, all gazes, all thoughts settling on her as she breathed against the chilly glass and whispered, “Anastasia.”





For an odd sort of girl, Kat was used to odd sorts of meetings, but there was something especially strange about walking into Uncle Eddie’s parlor and looking out over the people who sat straight-backed on the dusty, faded chairs.

“Hi.” She shifted a little more nervously than someone of her pedigree ever should, and then she risked a glance at Hale, who stood beside her. “Thanks for coming, everybody. Have you all met?”

She looked from Marcus, Marianne, and Silas to the Bagshaws, Simon, and Gabrielle. Uncle Eddie stood by the fireplace, firmly in the center, and Kat had to wonder how she had ended up there, with these people for clients and crew.

“So everyone doing okay?” she asked. No one answered. “Okay.”

“Did you find the will?” Marianne asked.

Kat smiled sadly. “No. I’m sorry, Marianne. We think any trace of Hazel’s real will has probably been destroyed. But”—she hurried to add the good news—“if we can prove that Garrett stole from the company, we may be able to petition the courts to name a new trustee.”

“I’ll take care of you, Marianne,” Hale told her. “I will always take care of you.”

Marianne smiled and dabbed at a tear in her eye.

“Thanks to Silas,” Kat went on, “we finally know what’s going on. It looks like Garrett has stolen the Genesis prototype and its plans and is trying to sell them to one of Hale Industries’ competitors. That’s the bad news.”