Found Money - James Grippando [32]
He knew he sounded stressed, but he sure wasn’t going to tell her about the break-in. “Sort of. No, I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“I’ll make this quick. I’ve been thinking about our conversation, and I felt like I needed to set something straight. But I can call back later, if you want.”
“No, really. What is it?”
She struggled, not wanting to sound like a complete liar. “One comment you made really stuck in my mind. You said it didn’t surprise you that your dad gave me some money. You said you wouldn’t be surprised if your dad had given away money to lots of people after he learned he was sick.”
“I was just talking off the cuff.”
“But let’s say he did give away money to more people like me. Maybe lots more. I don’t mean to offend, but from what I can tell, your father didn’t appear to be super wealthy.”
He leaned against the refrigerator, curious. “What are you getting at?”
The direct approach, she reminded herself. Use the direct approach. Her voice tightened as she asked, “Where would he get that kind of money?”
Ryan hesitated. Did she know something? “I could only assume he saved it.”
“But what if it were a lot more than a thousand dollars? Just hypothetically speaking.”
“I don’t really see your point.”
“Just bear with me. You seemed like a nice guy when we talked. I guess I need to know just how nice you really are. Let’s say the box had…five thousand dollars in it. Would you still tell me to keep it?”
“A thousand, five thousand. Whatever. Yeah, keep it.”
“What if it were fifty thousand? Hypothetically speaking.”
He swallowed with trepidation. “I guess it wouldn’t make a difference. Not if that was what Dad wanted.”
“How about a hundred thousand?”
He said nothing, as if it were unthinkable.
“No,” said Amy, “let’s say it was two hundred thousand dollars. Would you let me keep it?”
A nervous silence fell over the line. “Hypothetically?” asked Ryan.
“Hypothetically,” she said firmly.
He answered in a low, even tone. “I’d want to know where in the hell my dad got the money.”
She answered in the same serious voice. “So would I.”
He sank into a bar stool facing the kitchen counter. “What do you want from me?”
“I just want this to be on the level. I’d love to keep the money. And as you say, for some reason your father apparently wanted me to have it. But if it’s dirty, I don’t want to be connected to it in any way.”
“I don’t know where my dad would get two hundred thousand dollars, if that’s what you’re asking me.”
“All I’m really asking is whether your father was an honest man.”
Ryan only sighed. “I may need a little time to answer that.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. There are some things I need to check into.”
“What kind of things?”
“Please, give me a week, just to get things in order. Family stuff.”
She didn’t answer immediately, but she didn’t see a choice. Not if she wanted to keep the money. “All right. I’m not looking to upset your family or ruin your dad’s good name. But if I don’t see some bank records or something that proves this money is from a legitimate source, I’m afraid I’ll have to turn it over to the police.”
“You could just give it back to me.”
“I’m sorry. But it came to my house, touched my hands. If it’s tainted money, I have to turn it in. Maybe the police can figure out where it came from.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
“I know it does. Believe me, that was the last thing I intended when I made this phone call. I was hoping…”
“Hoping what?”
The words caught in her throat. There was no point telling him she had hoped to see him again. Not if he couldn’t give a straight answer to a simple question like Was your father an honest man?
“Nothing. I just hope you can come up with something to put me at ease. You can have a week, Ryan. I’ll call you then,” she said, then hung up the phone.
15
Ryan hung up, then froze. He heard a creak in the floorboard just a few feet behind him. He whirled, clutching the phone like a weapon.
His moment of panic turned quickly to relief. It was his brother-in-law. Sarah must have given him her key. “Damn it,