Found Money - James Grippando [0]
James Grippando
For you, Tiff, always
“Say not you know another entirely, till you have divided an inheritance with him.”
—Johann Kaspar Lavater
Aphorisms on Man, c. 1788, no. 157
Contents
Epigraph
Prologue: July 1979
It was dying. No way to save it. And Amy…
Part 1
Summer 1999
1
Amy wished she could go back in time. Not way…
2
Lazy swirls of orange, pink and purple hovered on the…
3
It was still dark when Amy woke. The drapes were…
4
Ryan spent the night in his old room, fading in…
5
Amy took Monday morning off, arriving at the office during…
6
Amy met Mr. Phelps’s unrealistic three o’clock deadline. She always…
7
The kitchen smelled of corned beef and cabbage. So did…
8
The Crock-Pot discovery had Amy in high gear. Just to…
9
“We’re rich!”
10
Two days had passed, and Amy was still working up…
11
Ryan ate an early lunch on Friday and drove alone…
12
Friday afternoon traffic was heavy as Amy reached Denver. She…
13
From the Mile High City to the plains of southeastern…
14
Stupid. That was how Amy felt. After all the mental…
15
Ryan hung up, then froze. He heard a creak in…
16
At 9:00 P.M., Amy had a date. With Taylor.
17
The money was burning. But only in his mind.
18
Panama. Until now, it had meant nothing to Ryan but…
19
By midafternoon, Ryan could see the Denver skyline from the…
20
On Sunday morning Amy called Ryan Duffy again. An elderly-sounding…
21
Her truck was dying at the Sand Creek Massacre.
22
Ryan woke at 5:30 Monday morning, Mountain Time. He reset…
23
Ryan Duffy, M.D., S.O.R.—son of a rapist.
24
It took longer than Amy had expected to fix her…
Part 2
25
Ryan didn’t call the police. Sure, he’d been robbed—robbed of…
26
The Boulder police arrived in minutes. Curious onlookers gathered outside…
27
Ryan returned to the Banco del Istmo on Tuesday morning.
28
Amy drove to Denver on faith. She didn’t actually have…
29
At noon Ryan called Norm from the Panama City Marriott.
30
It was getting late on Colorado’s Front Range. Clouds drifted…
31
From his hotel room late Tuesday night, Ryan called his…
32
Ryan slept in his hotel room until noon. He’d been…
33
They were out of lettuce. For nine straight days, Sarah’s…
34
Visiting hours at Denver Health Medical Center started at 7:00 P.M.
35
Amy had taken her daughter to Denver only a dozen…
36
Ryan’s flight landed at Denver International Airport at 11:50 P.M.
37
On Thursday morning, Ryan was ready to call home. His…
38
Amy arrived in Denver a few minutes early. Traffic out…
39
Ryan didn’t follow her out. Numbness took over, shutting out…
40
Ryan sat in silence amidst a seventy-inch television screen and…
41
Amy called Marilyn Gaslow at her home in Denver, but…
42
Ryan stayed in the media room all night, studying the…
Part 3
43
At 10:00 A.M. Joseph Kozelka reached the K&G Building, a…
44
The wait was going on two and a half hours.
45
Ryan went directly from K&G headquarters to Norm’s office. Norm…
46
The courthouse on Saturday was like church on Monday. Row…
47
The drive back to Norm’s house seemed to take forever.
48
Driving alone at night on Highway 287 was an exercise…
49
Ryan’s pager chirped just north of Eads, about an hour…
50
Ryan took the long way home, down the lonely gravel…
51
A firm knock on the door landed just after dawn.
52
They had never found a suicide note. That had been…
53
Ryan stopped for breakfast on the way home. After the…
54
Sunday was a workday for the presidential appointee. Marilyn Gaslow…
55
Liz slept late on Sunday. She’d had trouble falling asleep.
56
Marilyn lacked focus. That was the consensus opinion of her…
57
Sheila was beginning to worry. Rusch wasn’t happy with her…
58
It was Amy’s first trip down Holling Street since the…
59
Trumpets blared. Violins wept. Joe Kozelka was seated in a…
60
Ryan reached Denver long after dark. He’d been thinking about…
61
They returned to the Clover Leaf Apartments after ten o