Page 52

But William couldn’t exhale until his plane was in the air and they were on their way back to Chicago. And until Joy, his wife, was safe.

But Joy, along with William and the flight crew, were all assisting Max and Ed. They both were in bad shape.

But when Joy looked at William with such a bewildered look of terror in her eyes, as if she never dreamed she was signing up for this kind of life, his heart sank. Because just as she believed what happened to Gramps and his brother was all her doing, William felt the same way. This pain and agony Joy was forced to endure, this unending rainstorm, was all his doing.

It was all because of him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Two days later, William and Joy were seated in their backyard around their pool, on the same lounger, in their bathrobes. Both were sipping wine and still coming down from the horrors of two days ago.

It was after work and visitors had dropped by: Tess, Cory, and Bobby. They had pulled up chairs and were seated around the lounger with the boss and his wife. When they heard the news about that ambush that almost claimed the lives of Max and Ed, and about Gramps’ part in that first ambush, they could hardly believe it. They all wanted to come over the day it happened but William told them Joy needed rest. She rested all of the next day too. But by day three, she wanted to see her friends.

But after drinks and cheers and an enormous amount of surface talk, Max showed up. Although Ed Rivers was still in the hospital expected to make a full recovery, Max had surgery that same day too, but the bullet didn’t hit any of his vital organs and he was released that next morning. He was back at work that next day. When he showed up in William’s backyard, the conversation shifted from gossipy talk about work and other friends just to keep Joy upbeat, to talk about that crazy day in Bridell.

“I know Gramps is acting like he paid his brother to kill Netta,” Tess said, “but there’s no way Gramps could have been behind a worldclass attack like the one y’all suffered on that road to the airport. There’s no way in hell.”

“I agree,” said William.

“He’s protecting somebody,” said Joy.

“He sure is,” said Cory. “His brother.”

Joy was shaking her head. “But I don’t see it. They couldn’t have been that close because Gramps never once mentioned him to me. All he ever said about his family was that he left them when he was sixteen years old and that they were worse than mine. And now all of a sudden he’s willing to go to prison for him?” She shook her head again. “I’m not buying it.”

“I don’t know your grandfather like you and Tess know him,” said Bobby, “but have any of you considered the flip side of that?”

They all looked at the handsome chief of staff. “Which is?” William asked him.

“From what Max told me, his brother didn’t get in touch with him. He got in touch with his brother.”

Max nodded. “That’s right.”

“And if that’s the case,” Bobby continued, “it would seem to me that it’s not about Gramps protecting his brother, but maybe Gramps admitting his wrongdoing.”

“You’re saying her grandfather wanted her killed?” Cory asked Bobby, who happened to be his superior, with incredulity in his voice. What they all liked about their friend circle, a circle that was increasingly including Max, was that rank at work didn’t spill over into any kind of rank off the job. They were all equals when they weren’t at SPR, with the absolute exception of William, whom they all still called Mr. Skeffington, and whom they all viewed as too far beyond them in age and money and experience for them to ever be considered on his level.

But everybody else, including Joy, was one of the gang.

“What I’m saying,” Bobby said in answer to Cory’s question, “is that we don’t know. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I agree with Cory,” Tess said. “Gramps wouldn’t harm Joy. No way, no how. That’s why I believe Gramps is claiming he did it because his nephew died. Or to protect his brother like Cory said.”

Max and Bobby glanced at each other. Their logic didn’t make sense to them, but they barely knew Gramps. They had no backstory to consider.

“What do we know so far?” Joy asked Max. “Have we even identified who the bad guys are?”

“It took some time, but we found video footage of two of the assassins heading to that isolated highway to set up for the ambush. They got there ahead of us, and they left only after everything went down.”

This interested William. “Who are they?”

“Does Pedro Hernandez or Oliver Lewiston ring a bell?”

They all thought about those names, but none of them had ever heard of either one of them.

“We’re looking for them now,” said Max, “while simultaneously we’re looking into their backgrounds.”

“I don’t know, Boss,” said Boddy as he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, “but I can’t see some small town Indiana guy like Gramps pulling off this kind of ambush. It had too many layers to it.”