Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
STERLING
B rax was nowhere in sight when I got to the lower level. I gave Finn a wave as I passed the kitchen, grabbed enough cat food to restock my supply upstairs, and fed Shadow.
“You’re going to give yourself a stomachache,” I told her as she gulped down her food. As always, she ignored me.
Her stomach satisfied, the two of us headed back up the stairs. My feet hit the hallway, and I heard Griffen call my name from his office. How he’d known it was me, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was his background in security, but I’d swear he could identify all of us by our footsteps. He was never wrong.
“Coming,” I called down the hall.
Shadow stayed by my side as I changed direction for Griffen’s office. I used to hate that room. When my father had been alive, his office was the scene of too many humiliations. I’d sit in one of the chairs in front of Prentice’s desk, eyes on my feet as he reminded me of all the ways I was a miserable disappointment.
The day he’d been murdered, I’d found him there, in his throne of a desk chair, a neat red hole in the center of his forehead. I’d screamed for help, but I’d been the only one home. In a fog, I’d called emergency services, wondering if it was all just a bad dream. The indomitable Prentice Sawyer couldn’t be dead. But he was. Relief tainted by guilt still overshadowed my grief.
For weeks after, the memory of my father’s body, so still and cold, had given me nightmares. Until Griffen came home, I would have sworn I’d never set foot in the office again. In those first few months after his return, we’d helped him redecorate by way of a bonfire in the yard, disposing of Prentice’s heavy, dark curtains, his hunting trophies, and that hated throne of a desk chair.
Now, the office bore little resemblance to the forbidding room it had been before. The tall windows filled it with light, and more often than not, the sound of laughter drifted down the hall. I pushed the door open to find Griffen behind his desk, as usual, his dark blond hair falling in his eyes, papers spread out in front of him. He usually worked with his wife, Hope, and our brother, Royal, but this morning it was just him. My heart warmed at the smile he gave me when I walked into the room.
Griffen and I had come a long way. Our adult relationship had started with me throwing up all over his wife. Though Griffen could be a hard-ass, he was also patient. And like Darcy, he’d met my belligerence with love until I didn’t want to fight him anymore.
I’d like to think I would have gotten myself on my feet on my own. And maybe, probably, I would have. Eventually. Griffen had sped up the process with a combination of his “take no bullshit” attitude and big brother hugs.
“What was that a little while ago?” he asked, leaving me confused until he clarified. “I could hear you in the library. Problem with Ford?”
“No, no,” I was quick to reassure. “Brax. He—” I stopped and mentally ran through the encounter. I debated what to share; Griffen didn’t need to hear me whine about my asshole of a half-brother. He knew what Brax was like. “He picked up Shadow and wouldn’t give her back. I think he came out of the billiards room. I think he was talking to Ford.” I sat in the chair opposite Griffen’s desk, scratching under Shadow’s chin, thinking out loud. “He’s been home a lot more since Ford got back. That’s weird. Isn’t that weird?”
Griffen shrugged. “I don’t know. I was gone a long time. I’m not sure I know what counts as weird around here anymore, but Brax always idolized Ford. You know he and I were never close. Maybe he feels more welcome now that Ford’s back.”
“Maybe,” I said. That didn’t feel right to me.
Griffen’s eyes softened. “Sterling,” he said gently, “I’m not sure you’re rational on the subject of Brax.”
I couldn’t argue his point. I most definitely was not rational about Brax, and we both knew it. But that didn’t mean I was wrong. I let it go anyway.
“Have you talked to Ford?” I inquired. I wasn’t the only one with brother hang-ups.
“About what?” Griffen asked flatly.
I decided to let that go too. It wasn’t for me to broker a peace between my two oldest brothers. The only one who could do that was Ford, and we didn’t have the kind of relationship that left me comfortable enough to interfere.
“Are you going to tell me about your trip to Willow Springs with Powell?” Griffen asked, interrupting my thoughts.
My eyebrows drew together, and I glared at my oldest brother. “How do you know I went to Willow Springs with Forrest? Do you and Hawk have a tracking device on me?”
“No comment,” was Griffen’s answer. That meant yes.
“That’s weird,” I said. “You guys are weird. You know that, right?”
“Not weird,” Griffen said. “Careful. And I think you’ll agree we’ve got reason for it.”
I couldn’t argue with that either. My father had been murdered, and his killer was still out there. And Prentice wasn’t the only one. Griffen’s former fiancée, Vanessa, who’d also been Ford’s ex-wife, had been murdered. Shot in the forehead, just like Prentice. Aside from those two murders, there had been plenty else going on. Someone had tried to kill Griffen twice. There’d been sabotage at the inn. JT, Royal’s girlfriend’s BFF, had been stabbed. The drama over the stolen Vitellius had involved everyone from the Irish mob to my cousin Bryce.
Then, my sister Parker’s husband had tried to murder her. Our housekeeper, Savannah, who was now married to Finn, had a former mother-in-law try to kidnap her son, Nicky. Just a few months ago, my sister Quinn had been kidnapped. I still hadn’t gotten the full story of why her kidnapper wasn’t in prison where he belonged. She and Hawk claimed he’d gotten away. I had a feeling Griffen knew the truth. So far, he was the only one.
But I had to wonder—how were they tracking me? I’d driven with Forrest, so it couldn’t be in my car. My purse? No, I sighed to myself. It was obvious. My phone. I always had my phone by my side, and it would be child’s play for them to track me that way. I found I didn’t mind that they had an eye on me. If anything, I was glad. With all the danger and drama, my brother and Hawk could be a little careful. As long as it didn’t mean I had to answer questions about Forrest Powell.
Griffen waited, his sea-green eyes patient and kind. I hated telling Griffen no, not when he was always so damn reasonable. And if I was being honest, I wanted to brag just a little.
“It’s nothing you have to worry about,” I said. “Actually, I cracked the code on the Vitellius.”
Griffen immediately knew what I was talking about. He sat back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, a wide smile spreading across his face. “No shit? Really? How?”
I explained about the hidden panel and the key. “I made a deal with Forrest. Twenty-five percent of whatever we find.”
Griffen’s smile was proud and completely genuine. I liked seeing it. He and the rest of my family rarely saw me for anything other than the pretty sorority girl I once was. Of everyone, Griffen was the most apt to expect me to be more than that, but even he underestimated me. It was by design. I didn’t want to let any of them down, ever again. If they didn’t expect much, it was harder to be a disappointment.
“That’s my girl. I didn’t know you knew anything about code-breaking.”
I swallowed, feeling suddenly tongue-tied. “It’s not a big deal. I had a math teacher in high school who was into ciphers, and I thought they were cool. I guess I remembered more than I thought I did.” I was leaving out a lot, but I wasn’t ready to completely come clean about my closet math nerd status.
“So, you’re a wealthy woman now?” Griffen teased with a raised eyebrow.
“I wish.” I explained about the bank in Willow Springs and where the code on the Vitellius had led us. As I told him the story—meeting Mrs. Grady and Mr. Webber, knowing the key to open the box—I watched Griffen’s proud smile turn into a grin.
“Sterling, nice job. That took some balls,” he said with admiration.
I shrugged. “I was so curious to find out if I was right, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be.”
“What was in the box?” he asked.
I sighed dramatically. “Another code, along with a clue to the key.”
“How close are you to cracking that one?” Griffen inquired.
“Not close at all,” I admitted, slouching back in the chair as Shadow jumped off my lap. “Forrest wouldn’t let me keep it, but I memorized the clue. I’m pretty sure the clue leads to the key. And once I have the key, I can crack the code and figure out where we need to go next.”
“What was the clue?” Griffen wanted to know.
I told him, and he shook his head. “ A mockingbird on my shoulder, singing with my strings in the Poplars. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Tell me about it,” I complained. “I’ve researched every angle I can think of, and nothing.”
Griffen repeated the clue to himself and shook his head once more. “If it sparks any ideas, I’ll let you know, but it doesn’t mean anything to me either.”
“Well, it only took me a year to figure out the Vitellius. So, you know—” I rolled my eyes. “I really thought that box was going to be it.”
Griffen crossed his arms over his chest, the grin fading. “How are things with Powell?” he asked, the flat tone of his voice heavy with disapproval.
“He’s a means to an end,” I said. “That’s all.”
“Royal and Tenn trust him,” Griffen said, “even though they’re still pissed about how things worked out with the two of you. They think he’s a good guy.”
“What do you think?” I asked.
Griffen’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “He was a huge, enormous jerk to my baby sister. I’m honor bound to hate him until you tell me otherwise.”
I grinned as I stood and crossed the room to give him a hug. “That’s why you’re my favorite older brother. I have to head into town to get some things done for Sawyer Outdoor Adventures. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Sterling,” Griffen said as I left the room, his voice stopping me in my tracks. “I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks, Griffen,” I said, my throat tight with emotion. “I’m proud of me, too.”
I’d be prouder if I could figure out the mockingbird clue. It had only been five days, but I wanted the answer to the clue now.
I started back down the hall, wondering if I needed to grab anything from my room before heading into work. I heard my name again, this time in a low voice, from the opposite direction as last time.
Ford, I realized, turning around and heading for the billiards room.
“I overheard your conversation,” he said bluntly. Not a surprise. Griffen’s office door had been open, and we hadn’t been whispering. “Will you tell me what the clue was?”
I stared at Ford for a long moment. Could I trust him? I knew he hadn’t killed our father. He was far too clever to have left such clumsy evidence behind—stashing the gun in his own closet and leaving the shoes that matched the footprints at the end of his bed. No, if Ford had killed Prentice, he wouldn’t have been caught. But that didn’t mean I could trust him.
On the other hand, even if he knew what the clue meant, he didn’t have the code that went with it. Only Forrest had that, and knowing Forrest, it was locked away somewhere safe.
I could use all the help I could get. I repeated the clue. Ford said it aloud slowly, twice, his eyes closed. “I don’t know anything about ciphers or code-breaking,” he said. “Less than nothing, really. But…is there any way your code could have something to do with Thomas Jefferson?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, intrigued.
“It’s just that…Jefferson had a mockingbird that sat on his shoulder. And the bird would sing when he played the violin,” Ford said, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
I squinted at Ford. “That’s the most random information I’ve ever heard. Why do you know that?”
Ford gave a shrug and held up the book in his hands. “I like biographies,” he explained. “They had a decent library in prison, and I did a lot of reading. Jefferson named the bird Dick, and it sat on his shoulder and sang along with the violin. And more than that,” Ford continued, leaning forward, his eyes suddenly bright. “Jefferson had a retreat he called Poplar Forest.”
“No shit,” I muttered, pieces falling into place in my brain. I sank into the armchair opposite Ford’s and did a quick search on my phone using the words Thomas Jefferson cipher . It felt like a stab in the dark, but I hit pay dirt.
I held my breath, scrolling through one web page, then another. When I’d learned what I needed to know, I looked at my brother. “Thank you. Thank you. It would have taken me a million years to put that together.”
To Ford’s obvious surprise, I threw my arms around him in a quick hug and dashed out the door. I was going to see Forrest sooner than I’d thought. But first, I’d have to go shopping.