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

He pulled out a second folder and opened it. “This is Matthew Grimes, age eighteen. He grew up with Lorelei Henning, or Lorelei Colson at the time, but mysteriously died of a heart attack at the age of eighteen.”

My brows furrowed and I pulled the file closer, reading through the details. “It says that he had a heart condition.”

“Yes, but the doctor also said that it would have taken extreme stress for his heart to give out as it did. Then, several years later, she started dating Murray Claybourne, a financial advisor. He died mysteriously in a single person car accident. The police reports say that he fell asleep at the wheel.”

“But you don’t think he did.”

He shook his head. “There’s evidence that another person was in the car that night, but they never did find out who that was.”

“So, you think she was in the car and caused the accident?”

“The police report shows that Murray was driving erratically. The tire marks show that he was skidding all over the road.”

I nodded. “Like if someone was jerking the wheel and trying to cause it to crash.”

“Exactly.”

“Why do you think she would have killed these two people?”

“I think she’s a black widow.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “She would have to have some sort of gain for her to be a black widow. Did you find any evidence of that with the first two deaths?”

“That’s why I want to hire you. I want you to dig into this woman and find out if she is what I think she is.”

I had to admit, this was much more intriguing than I initially thought. I picked up the picture of her and tried not to let my body react to her, because she was incredibly beautiful, but she also might be a killer. But she was also living in this town, and the last thing we needed was a serial killer on the loose. Been there, done that.

“If I take this case, I do things my way. I need time to properly investigate.”

“Done. I’ll also send over all the information I have on her and my father.”

“Not necessary. I do my own research, and that’s the only way I do things.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but just nodded. “One thing you will need are the terms of the trust. You won’t be able to get that from anyone but me.”

I smirked at him. “I think you’d be surprised what I can get.”

“I have no doubt. That’s why I came to you. But please remember one thing as you go forward. Lorelei is very deceptive. She’s conned everyone into thinking that she loved my father very much. She played the part perfectly, even in front of my brother and sister.”

“Then what makes you so sure that she did this?”

He stood up and buttoned his jacket. “There’s one thing you’ll realize about my father as you dig through his life. He was a bastard that didn’t care about anything or anyone. He put on a great show, but he was ruthless and he never let anyone get in his way. He never would have handed over his assets to his wife, who doesn’t even have a business degree. He would have set up a board of directors with me as CEO.”

“He wouldn’t have just handed over the reins to you?”

“No, he didn’t even trust me enough for that. If people really knew him, he would have been hated more than any man on the planet. That’s how I know that Lorelei had something to do with his death. She pretended to love him too much.”

And with that, he strode away, leaving me with the files he had created to compel me to take the case.

I carried the pizza boxes up the steps to Eric’s house and grinned when Kat opened the door. “Hey, quiche-girl.”

“You guys really need to stop calling me that.”

I leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek as I passed. “Not a chance. You can take the Millennial out of the man, but not the nicknames. They’re here to stay.”

She eyed all the boxes hungrily. “Did you bring me a cheese pizza?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you would do it just so I had to share a pizza with you again, and then you could hold it over my head for the rest of my life.”

“Would I really do that?”

She narrowed her eyes at me and nodded. “Yes, you would, because you want to be my favorite brother.”

I smiled big at that. Kat had a special place in my heart and always would. “Top box.”

She squealed slightly and snatched the box off the top. “You’re the best.”

I blushed, because hell, this woman had the ability to make me buckle at the knees for her, not in a boyfriend kind of way. Still, I craved her acceptance. She was the sister I always wanted. I liked the other girls also. Hell, they were all awesome in their own way, but Kat was the first, and she always took care of me.

“Do you have any interesting cases?” she asked as she opened the box and pulled out a slice.

“Actually, I just met up with a new client this morning. It’s…definitely interesting.”

“Yeah? Can you tell me about it?”

I shook my head. “Client confidentiality.”

“Yeah, I forgot that you’re a professional hacker now and all.”

“That’s right. A regular gumshoe.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “If you were a regular gumshoe, then you would wear one of those funky hats and hold a magnifying glass.”

“I haven’t ruled that out yet. I think I need to create a style all my own, something that really speaks to who I am.”

“Like Hacker Holmes.” I cringed. “Ooh, or Detective Web.”

“Those are both terrible names. Besides, I already told you that I’m the Hacker of All Trades.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’re a gumshoe.” She pulled out her phone and started typing something.

“What are you doing?”

“What you guys do.”

“What are you talking about?”

She