Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“You knew, didn’t you,” Roan accused, noting my lack of shock. Guilt swept in. Of everyone present, he and Angus looked the most upset.
“I tried to talk him out of it.” Even as I said the words, they sounded weak. Perhaps like my dad, I’d subconsciously wondered if the catfish was someone close to me. Someone who knew things the public didn’t.
“Hey, is that why you suggested I get the band together for that street gig yesterday?” Elias questioned, frowning at Dad. “I knew there was something odd about that.”
Dad didn’t look nearly as apologetic as he should. “Yeah, it was a shot in the dark, I’ll admit. I had Alison message the catfish to say she was going to be there in the crowd. I thought maybe I could lure them out, and they’d turn up and try to approach her or at least be watching her. And if it were one of you, you’d have spotted her there and perhaps displayed a tell, messed up a song maybe.”
“And did we?” Kami demanded, starting to look at the others like one of them could be guilty. This was the problem with these kinds of suspicions, it made everyone paranoid.
Dad shook his head. “No.”
“Did anyone else show up in the crowd?” I asked. “Was anyone watching Alison?”
He seemed uncharacteristically deflated. “That would also be a no.”
“So, it was all for nothing,” Elias griped. “Wonderful.”
“There’s more, though,” Roan said quietly and everyone turned his way. “He was testing us earlier with the emails.”
“What the hell?” Uncle Jack growled, staring at Dad accusingly.
Roan stepped forward and put his hand on Shannon’s shoulder. “Shannon figured it out.” He shot her a small, affectionate smile. “I overheard her confronting Uncle Jay. That’s how I found out.” Okay, so that was how they knew. Also, I loved Roan, but I did not enjoy him smiling at Shannon like that, nor did I like him touching her.
Swallowing down the thick lump of jealousy, I asked, “What emails?”
“The ones with the tickets for Jay’s show,” Shannon explained softly.
“I saw Oliver Junior,” Dad said, looking to Uncle Jack. “He was in town on business, so I asked him to do a little tracking for me. The catfish sent Alison money through his crypto exchange. He was able to locate the wallet but not the identity of the owner. Whoever they are, they’re extremely tech savvy.”
“I wonder who matches that description,” Angus muttered, gazing narrowly at Shannon. “And who also just conveniently figured out what Jay was doing.”
“Don’t you dare,” I said. “I know you’re upset right now, but don’t you fucking dare start in on Shannon.”
Shannon’s eyes flicked up at me for a fraction of a second, and for that heartbeat, she gave me a tiny, grateful smile before looking away again. My jaw clenched. How fucking dare Angus make her feel cornered? I knew he was mad, but laying his frustrations on Shannon was completely uncalled for. She was innocent in all of this.
“So, you’re fine with us being suspects but not her?”
“No, I’m not fine with any of this, but—”
“Listen to me,” Dad interrupted. “You can all quit finger pointing because you’re in the clear.”
“What do you mean?” Aunt Lille asked, speaking for the first time. She’d been quietly standing back, observing the confrontation. Mam was out back on a work call and had no idea of the drama that was unfolding in her front hallway.
“Under my instruction, Oliver sent money to the catfish’s crypto wallet. It would’ve come with an email alert, and if any of you had seen the alert when you opened your inboxes, you would’ve displayed obvious shock or surprise. Both are easily read, especially in an uncomfortable environment like, say, the cold. None of you did.”
“The cold? You had us outside on purpose?” Kami accused. “That’s so fucking sneaky and, sure, smart, but mostly sneaky.”
Dad shot her a mildly apologetic shrug.
“Why would they be shocked? How much did you send?” Uncle Jack asked.
“Ten grand worth of cryptocurrency.”
“What the actual fuck?” I demanded of my father, angry now. “This person has been scamming people using my identity, and you just sent them ten bloody grand.”
“Relax,” Dad said. “I needed it to be a large enough sum to solicit a visible reaction. Besides, we didn’t actually send them money. Oliver has some clever ways of making it look like we did. He’ll be sending another alert shortly informing them the transfer was a glitch in the system.”
“This is messed up. I think of you all as my family,” Angus gritted out, emotion catching in his throat. “I don’t care if I’m not a suspect any longer. The fact that you’d even—” His words fell off, his hurt clear as day.
“Son, please just let me explain,” Dad said, finally having the decency to sound guilty as he stepped towards Angus, but my bandmate, who I considered a brother, moved away.