Chapter 4
After a long, hot shower and a quick lunch, Bonnie retrieved Peter’s letter from where she’d left it in his office the night before. She was determined to prove she could figure out the list of passwords and usernames and solve the problems Peter had left her. Who, exactly, she was proving it to was another matter. But she wasn’t about to waste brain power on that—she needed all her focus on the mission.
She headed up to the balcony outside her bedroom and settled into the lightly upholstered deck chair. Just because she had an unpleasant, daunting task didn’t mean she had to be miserable while doing it. Bonnie hoped the pleasant scenery could bring her closer to the feeling of exhilaration and hope she’d had this morning before she’d gotten lost. She had felt so strong for a while, and she needed that strength to power through this list.
With a cool breeze and a cooler iced tea to bolster her, Bonnie took the papers out of the envelope. She hoped that it would make more sense this time since she was more alert than last night. But the string of logins was no more logical in the sunlight than it had been in last night’s storm. None of the sites were familiar, and she was hesitant to run them through a search engine.
The words could’ve been scrambled into some kind of code. That would explain why she couldn’t make sense of them. Since Peter was so adamant she not trust other people with the list, it wouldn’t surprise her to learn he’d put some sort of plan in place to make sure it was unreadable to anyone but her.
The only problem was she couldn’t read it, either.
Even if she knew what these sites were, she wasn’t sure how they could help her. She imagined that, if he had the money to pay off his debts stashed somewhere, he would have used it. That would’ve been the easiest, fastest solution. But if these websites didn’t lead to some secret treasure trove, she had no clue what on Earth they could lead to.
Bonnie sighed and looked out at the lake. She knew this was beyond her skill set. It didn’t matter how smart she was or how resourceful, she simply didn’t know enough about Peter’s businesses to guess what might be going on. The only way she’d get any answers without some sort of seance was to talk to Mike.
Bonnie knew Mike had worked with Peter the longest. They’d been business partners for many years, not just associates. At the very least, he could tell her more about the business’s day-to-day operations, and at best, he could explain what had happened to make all of the money disappear so quickly. He could give her insight, and she wouldn’t necessarily have to reveal the list of logins to him to get that information.
He definitely had at least an idea of what was going wrong with Peter’s affairs because they were so closely tied to his own. Her stomach tightened a little thinking about that. Peter had always trusted Mike, but maybe Mike was the reason for the reversal in the Wilkins’ fortunes. If he had betrayed her husband, it would explain all the secrecy and distrust.
Bonnie dialed his number anyway. The only way out of this was through. She held the phone against her ear and listened to it ring, hardly daring to breathe. Right before she expected the call to click over to voicemail, Mike picked up.
“Bonnie, hello.” The familiar I’m-so-sorry-you’re-husband-died and I-feel-awkward-about-it tone was crystal clear in those four quick syllables.
“Hi, Mike, I’m so relieved I finally got you on the phone.”
“I apologize about that, really. For all of it—for your loss, and for missing the funeral. What a tragedy to lose Peter so young. I know we’re not exactly spring chickens, but it was still such a shock. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news.”
A lump formed in her throat—not from grief this time, but from anger. She hadn’t thought too hard about it before, but now that he mentioned it, she couldn’t remember seeing Mike at the funeral. She couldn’t imagine how was that possible. Nothing on Earth should’ve been more important to Mike than Peter’s funeral. And if something had come up, whatever conflict he’d had wouldn’t have prevented him from sending flowers or an email, or making a phone call.
The more she thought about it, the more convinced Bonnie was that Mike was up to something nefarious. He must have been part of the problem with the businesses, or he wouldn’t have been too cowardly to show his face in public. But she also knew better than to lash out at him about this on the phone. He was the only one who could help her right now, and it wouldn’t do her any good to alienate him right out of the gate.
She cleared her throat to make room past her anger to say, “Thank you so much. It was so unexpected. I know it was difficult for many people to make it to the funeral with such last-minute notice.”
“I’m so relieved you understand, Bonnie. I’ve been heartsick over it.”
“Is everything all right with you? There’s nothing too terrible going on, is there?”
“Oh, the usual.” Mike’s voice was calm and casual as if this were any ordinary phone call. “I was away on business. Things are quite busy these days, as I’m sure you can imagine. You know how busy Peter was. The wife’s been on my case about it.”
Bonnie’s heart sank. He was lying to her—or, at the very least, not telling her the whole truth. His vague, small-talk answer was designed to shift the conversation away from business and into the realm of their personal relationships. If he had his way, Bonnie imagined Mike would turn the conversation to reminiscing about dinner parties and cocktail hours rather than anything to do with the businesses.
She refused to let that happen, though.
Confronting Mike made her nervous. Bonnie wasn’t the kind of woman who rocked the boat or started fights if she could avoid them. But this time, she didn’t think she had a choice in the matter. Her heart pounded heavily against her sternum, and her lungs shuddered as she took a breath, steadying herself to show her hand.
“I went by the office yesterday, Mike…”
The line went quiet. Other than the sound of his breathing, nothing came from the other side of the phone. It was all Bonnie needed to confirm that he’d been lying to her about something.
“Mike, tell me the truth,” she insisted. “What’s going on with Peter’s businesses?”
He cleared his throat uncomfortably a few times, but she wouldn’t budge until he answered. She’d ask him again and call back a hundred times if she had to because he knew something she didn’t.
“What did Peter tell you before he passed?” Mike asked finally.
“Clearly not enough. I had no idea things were dire.”
“Honestly, Bonnie, I don’t know how dire they were, either.”
“You worked side by side with him for years, Mike. How could you not know?” She took a breath to rein in her frustration before she lost her temper and pushed him to end the call. “I need you to tell me everything you know. When did all of this start? What exactly was going on? Frankly, I think you ought to explain it all to me, bit by bit, because I don’t have the faintest idea how we can go from champagne toasts at the Christmas party and long speeches about what a banner year it was, to being unable to pay the rent for the office space.”
Mike cleared his throat again, and the noise grated on Bonnie’s nerves. Every delay in his answers set her teeth on edge. She couldn’t fathom what kind of secret he could be holding onto that would be so difficult to admit.
“Listen, I know Peter and I were in business together for a long time and that, over the years, our relationship extended beyond that. Even our children are close. Those relationships mean something to me. I’m not doing this to hurt you or frustrate you, but I’m afraid I don’t have the answers you’re looking for.”
“You haven’t given me any answer at all! How can you say you don’t have the ones I want when you’ve barely given me any at all?” Much like with Joseph Crowder at the office building, she’d lost her patience.
“I don’t have any because I haven’t been involved in Peter’s business affairs in more than eight months.” The only sound through the line for a moment was his heavy exhale. “We severed our business ties, and I haven’t had any contact with him since. I’m sorry this is how you’re hearing about it, and believe me when I say I don’t take any pleasure in the situation you’re in.”
“How do you think I feel, Mike?” Her frustration quickly turned to desperation. “I’ve got nothing but questions, and every word out of your mouth only confuses me more. I swear, Peter talked about having meetings with you as recently as a month ago.”
Another long stretch of silence filtered through the line. Anxiety clawed at Bonnie’s throat and chest. Every silent second was excruciating. She had an overwhelming feeling in the pit of her stomach, telling her that whatever Mike said next would knock her world off its axis yet again. She wasn’t ready for that. She still hadn’t found her footing after the last catastrophic shift.
“Yes, I suppose you can say we had a meeting. But we didn’t speak to one another.” Mike spoke slowly as if choosing his words with careful precision. “In fact, I’m not really supposed to be speaking to you now—or ever. I answered this call as a courtesy.”
Nothing he said made any sense. Bonnie clutched the phone tightly, her palm sweating. Every time she thought the situation couldn’t slip further out of her grasp, something happened to rattle her even further. The questions kept stacking up, but so far, she hadn’t been able to secure a single answer to any of them. Even the ones she’d asked herself went unanswered.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to explain that a little more thoroughly.”
Mike sighed, but rather than dismiss her, he answered her as much as he could. “I’m not supposed to speak to either you or Peter without my attorney present. Talk to Peter’s lawyer—I’m sure he’ll give you similar advice at this point. Peter wasn’t communicating with me directly, either. Everything went through the attorneys, for everyone’s sake. It’s what I recommend you do as well. I wish you well, Bonnie, I really do. Goodbye.”
He hung up before she could find the words to reply.
She set the phone down on the table next to her chair, her heartbeat thrumming and her head spinning. Every one of her instincts screamed at her to call him back and demand more clarity. A wild, hysterical feeling brewed in her chest, born of two days of being tossed around inside an unfamiliar world, unable to get a grip on anything.
Adding legal trouble to her list of woes wasn’t something she was eager to do. Every time she turned around, her situation went from bad to worse. Bonnie didn’t know where it would end or how much more she could take before her nerves snapped.
Her stomach rolled, and she rushed inside, worried she’d be sick. Instead, she sank to the carpeted floor by the bed and dropped her head into her hands, where she stayed until the dizzy spell passed.