The Hand on the Wall(46)

“Nope,” David said, using his feet to stop the spinning. “Just that it’s important.”

“So if I was looking at a bunch of spreadsheets, banking records . . .”

David stuck the last piece of the Pop-Tart in his mouth and shrugged.

“Helpful,” Hunter said. “So how do you know it’s important?”

“Because my dad is trying to hide it,” David said. “Because of the way he’s been acting. Because of stuff he’s said or hasn’t said. I know when my dad is up to some shady shit.”

“Isn’t that always?” Hunter asked.

“He’s always up to some shit,” David clarified. “It’s not always shady. This is shady. And whatever is on those drives, he was keeping it off the server.”

“A lot of the stuff seems routine,” Hunter said.

“Some of it may be. I think some of those drives are backups, which means we have to find the interesting thing. It’s fun.”

“Fun,” Hunter said.

“Like what you’re having. Oh, morning, Stevie.”

Stevie tried not to twitch. Everything about David was deliberate.

Hunter gathered up the cards and stacked them into a pile, tapping them neatly on the table surface before putting them back in the box. “You’ve set up some kind of fake identity in your dad’s campaign, right?” he said.

“You mean Jim?” David said.

“Yeah. Jim. Can Jim do something?”

“Like what?”

“Like send an email to the school asking to see the codicil.”

David eyed Hunter, somehow making sure to shut Stevie out of the look. Stevie, for her part, almost got whiplash from the turn in the conversation.

“What codicil?” he asked.

“The one that says that the person who finds Alice Ellingham gets a fortune,” Hunter replied. “The one the school doesn’t show anyone.”

David tilted his head in interest.

“Why would Jim do that? Jim is a busy guy.”

“I’m helping you with your stuff,” Hunter said. “You could do me a favor too.”

“A favor for you?”

“A favor,” Hunter replied, ignoring any implied question. “An exchange of labor.”

“And this favor is for you?” David asked again.

“It’s something my aunt believed in,” Hunter replied. “I want to know. I’ll help you; you help me.”

David waited a long beat, then spun in the chair again, twisting the rope. Stevie suddenly found that she was wide awake, and maybe about to throw up.

“Well, the Wi-Fi is out,” David said. “If Jim wrote such a note, I don’t know when it would send. But why would the school share it with Jim if they don’t show anyone?”

“It’s not that they don’t share it with anyone,” Hunter replied. “It’s probably more that they don’t share it with just anyone.”

It took Stevie’s foggy mind a moment to absorb the difference.

“Board members,” she said. “Legally, there must be people who would know.”

“Right,” Hunter said. “And maybe there’s a reason that Senator King would want to know about it because his son goes here. Maybe we could come up with a reason . . .”

Hunter was on to something. Stevie’s brain switched back on for one last burst of activity for the night.

“He would want to know because of news stories,” she said. “Because of the deaths. You don’t have to explain that much.”

“My parents are both lawyers,” Hunter said. “You write short, terse notes and make it sound like people have to do what you want. Only say what you need to. I think it might work.”

David scratched at his eyebrow and then rubbed the stubble on his chin. Chin stubble. Stevie had to tell herself not to look at it, or the way he stretched out his legs. Human sexuality was amazing and confusing and horrible, and messed up all her thoughts just as she got them in order. Focus.

“Will you write it?” she asked David. She looked right at him, challenging him.

“Again, I need a reason.”

“I’ll owe you.”

He laughed out loud at that.

“And it dicks around with your dad a little more,” Hunter added. “If you made a guy, why not use him?”

Stevie could almost see the calculations going on behind David’s eyes.

“Fine,” he said. “You tell me what to say and I’ll send it, and you keep reading. We don’t have a lot of time.”

It took only a few minutes to come up with Jim’s wording:

I am writing on behalf of Senator King. The senator would like to see a copy of any legal documents that state that there is some kind of financial benefit for anyone who produces Alice Ellingham. This document has been long rumored to exist. The senator would like to know about any potential legalities or news stories that might involve the school, and obviously, any kind of windfall would be rich fodder for the press. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

“It’s short,” Hunter said. “Keep it brief. Sounds more important, like you’re entitled.”

“Relatable,” David said as he finished typing. “Fine. I’ll send it off as soon as I have a signal again. Are you going to read the stuff I gave you now?”