Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6) by Giulia Lagomarsino (an ebook reader txt) 📕

Arlen’s trust was settled, I would finally be able to settle in comfort and live out my life the way I wanted.

Andrew

I was dressed in my very finest, which was jeans and a black t-shirt. Hell, I had a suit, but there was no way I was wearing a suit to meet with this prick. I had opened my business email last night with a demand that I meet some guy today to discuss a problem he had. I always chose my clients. I never worked with anyone that felt shady, and this guy was giving me big time shady vibes from his email.

Most of my clients heard of me from word of mouth, yet this guy didn’t mention anyone. That was my first hint that I shouldn’t work with this guy. The second hint was his demanding nature. Whoever this guy was, he was from money and felt that he could command my services. He was in for a big surprise when I threw the case back in his face and refused to work with him.

Still, I was curious about who he was, and while I was pretty sure I was going to turn this down, that didn’t mean I couldn’t listen to what he had to say. I whistled to myself as I pulled on my coat and left the apartment. Strolling down the sidewalk, I pulled my coat tighter, already feeling the winter chill seeping in. The weather was turning faster this year and as I walked, I noticed small flakes of snow falling. Of course, it wouldn’t stick. It never did.

I told the client I would meet him at the diner, and if my assumptions about him were correct, he wouldn’t like the diner or the fact that it was a public setting. I looked both ways before running across the street and then opened the door to the diner. It was impossible to miss the guy. The suit alone was a dead giveaway that he wasn’t from around here. He reminded me of Robert a few years ago. I flopped down in the seat across from him and stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He looked me up and down, obviously not liking what he saw, but apparently he needed me more than he cared about appearances.

“Mr. Cortell—“

“Andrew,” I interrupted.

“Right,” he smiled tightly. “My name is—“

“Andrew!” My head swiveled at the sound of Jack’s booming voice. I sighed and nodded to him as he approached the booth.

“Jack, how can I help you?”

“Did I just see you jaywalk?”

My eyebrows shot up as I gaped at him. “I’m sorry, what?”

He nodded out the window. “Yep, I saw you on the way over here. Jaywalking is against the law.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. I’m afraid I’m gonna have to fine you.”

My jaw dropped as he pulled out his pad and started writing me a ticket. He finished up and handed it over with a smile.

“You have a good day now.”

The man across the table from me snorted. “You must have really pissed him off.”

“You have no idea,” I grumbled.

“Anyway, my name is Bartholomew Henning.” I pulled my lips tight to keep from laughing at the name. He couldn’t help that he was named Bartholomew. “My father recently passed away and all of his finances were wrapped up in a trust that went to his wife.”

“Your mother,” I clarified.

His face tightened and he shook his head. “My step-mother.”

“Ah, and I take it you didn’t get along with mommy dearest.”

“You could say that.”

“Okay, so what do you need? I’m not into illegal shit, so don’t ask me to steal money.”

A glimmer filled his eyes and he grinned. “I don’t need you to do anything illegal. What I need from you is to catch a murderer.”

Okay, I did not expect that. I leaned back in my seat and waited for some kind of explanation.

“I’m glad I’ve caught your attention.”

I held up my hand. “Before we go any further, why me? You could have contacted any number of PIs that do this shit for a living.”

“I’ve heard about your skills. I’ve done my research on you. Before you started your little PI business, you were a hacker. One of the best.”

“I don’t do that anymore.”

“I’m sure your skills still come in handy when you need them.”

“But you’re looking for a murderer. I’m more into cybercrime. Where did you say you’re from?”

“Buffalo.”

“New York?” He nodded. “How exactly do you expect me to find a murderer in New York when I live here?”

“Because she’s here, in your quaint little town.”

I huffed out a laugh, scratching at my jaw. “Are you shitting me?”

He smirked at me. “Not at all. Would you like to hear more?”

I wasn’t sure. I was intrigued for sure, and this would be a lot different from other cases I had worked, but how the hell was I going to catch a murderer? Wouldn’t this be something for the police to figure out? I was good at stuff online, but there had to be more than what I was seeing.

“I’m listening.”

He pulled out a file folder and turned it to face me, opening it up to reveal a woman that I wasn’t expecting at all. She was young, close to my age, and she was sexy as hell. She had long, dark hair and a face that could both lure a man in and slay him all at once. She was fucking gorgeous. In the pictures in front of me, she was dressed in fancy clothes, nice clothes that screamed money.

“This is my step-mother.”

“A little young for that job.”

“Precisely.”

“And why is it that you assume she’s a murderer?”

“Because my father died of a heart attack at the age of forty-seven.”

“That’s not exactly proof.”

“And the trust was signed over completely to her, all his assets were in her name.”

A little more convincing, but still not enough to go on. “I’m still not convinced.”

“They were only married for a year.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never heard of someone dying