Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
T he door opened, then closed. Getting up, she locked it again. After making herself a cup of tea, she sat back on the couch. There had to be a logical way to figure out what had happened.
Number one, her career. She had been in the top five percent of her graduating class.
Number two, A prominent vet, David West, had extended an invitation for her to join his practice. Wait, she was being too generous in her assessment of him. The county had only had one vet, and it was him. So he had been prominent only by virtue of the fact that he had no competition. Even so, she’d felt it was an honor to be asked.
Number three, she’d gotten the money to buy in to the clinic from her grandfather, who had claimed it was money sitting in the bank. There was something amiss about that. Why borrow against his house when he had money in the bank? Had he instead given her money from a loan he’d obtained? But even if he had, she had been helping with loan payments. Thus, it logically followed that the loan was used to purchase half of the veterinary practice for West, paid for by Lynne and her grandfather.
In any case, when her grandfather had become ill, there had been no financial reserves to help with medical needs. But it mattered that David West had benefited from her grandpa’s generosity.
After Grandpa’s passing, the loan repayment was never questioned. The option of selling property to settle the loan hadn’t been raised with her. The sale of the property should have at least given her some money. Why had she been so na?ve?
Heck, with numbering her problems. Stewart's refusal of access to his property was also a key factor. It became common knowledge around Tyrone that she was incompetent. Though she lived in a small town where gossip spread quickly, she was innocent. Yet no one had questioned Stewart's decision to exclude her. West was rarely around, so she ran the clinic. He took all the house calls. When they did interact, he’d made comments suggesting she limit herself to cats and dogs. He’d also checked the daily patient list, and his remarks had implied that certain pet owners would not let her near their animals.
Groaning loudly, she punched the couch cushion. She had played the perfect victim to whatever West had been planning, most likely the new clinic. But he’d also said she wasn't up to par for the McKeegans.
With a shaky breath, she inhaled and then slowly exhaled. Many times, she had wept alone, believing herself a failure, that she was disliked and didn't fit in with others. It had been done over two years, and she had obviously been too stupid to put the pieces together. Well, to be exact, her problem wasn't stupidity, but gullibility.
It wasn’t so surprising that she’d formed her own band of merry animals. They’d become her family. And now, she could only hope that Reilly could get her some type of settlement so she could relocate her trailer and her animals. A clean slate, someplace where her heart would be safe.
Reilly waited in the bank parking lot, anticipating its opening. He had some unfinished business with Carl Rodgers. A grin tugged at his lips. He excelled at this. Or at least he’d used to. His plan was to inspect the property once he had the paperwork. A visit to David West would cap off his day, should he have the time. He was certain to have an interesting day.
Finally, the bank security guard unlocked the door. Whistling a happy tune, Reilly leisurely got out of the car and walked into the bank. He didn’t say a word, just went to Carl’s office door and opened it.
“McKeegan, you're not allowed in here. I'm about to join an online meeting.”
“There’s still time to send your apologies for not attending.” His grin returned. “We have a lot to discuss. We’ll begin by addressing how you acted toward Miss Walsh yesterday.” With a tilt of his head, he squashed the grin and scrutinized the banker. “Is the board cognizant of your habit of belittling customers? Your behavior was highly unprofessional. Not only were you rude, but you also refused to help Miss Walsh. Well, I’m Miss Walsh’s representative, and I prepared Mr. Walsh’s will. That was among my initial tasks as a lawyer. A good man, Mr. Walsh. And now, I require all documentation pertaining to the Walsh accounts, loans, mortgages, and the property sale. I'd like to see payment history. In addition, I need copies of all checks issued in the last ten years.”
“Some of that will need time, um, to be addressed. I told Lynne?—”
“Miss Walsh to you.”
A bright red flush seeped into Carl’s face. “I explained to Miss Walsh that not all the papers were present. She understood.”
“You're now up against me, Miss Walsh’s lawyer,” Reilly reminded him. “Most of the data is saved on the computer and easily accessible. Are you familiar with how to use one?”
It looked like Carl Rodgers’ face was on fire. “Each check, transaction, loan, and mortgage inquiry will incur a fee.” A glint shone in the man’s eyes.
“Mr. Rodgers, do you recognize me? I imagine landing the McKeegan ranch as a client is quite substantial.”
“Stewart's in charge of the finances,” Rodgers maintained through clenched teeth.
Reilly got his phone and hit a button. After one ring, his brother answered. He set his cell phone on speaker.
“Hey, Stewart.” Reilly kept his gaze on Rodgers. “I’m at the bank, and Mr. Rodgers is giving me a hard time. What other bank should we move our business to?”
“I prefer local banks, but I'm open to switching. I can arrange the transfer—” Stewart said.
“Wait! There is no need. Mr. McKeegan, I will gladly provide you with your information by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, Stewart.” Reilly pressed end.
Standing, Reilly fastened his suit jacket. “I will see you before you close.” He picked up his briefcase and walked out of the office without closing the door behind him. He briefly nodded to the gawkers before departing.
How uplifting this investigation felt in contrast to his last case. He was giving help to someone who truly deserved it.
David West was out of his office all day, and no one at the clinic seemed to know where he was. Reilly shrugged. He’d catch up to the vet, eventually. He wouldn’t be able to hide indefinitely.
His next stop was the community center, where he hoped he could ask Joanne Sumpter to collect the bank papers for him.
“Is the world coming to an end? You're here!” Joanne exclaimed, rising from the reception desk to embrace him.
“Good to see you too, Jo.”
She took a step back. “I go by Joanne now. It’s more professional, or so I was told.”
“Let me guess that old wind bag Ethel Homes made you change it?”
Joanne made her way behind the counter. “Something like that.” She smiled.
“No ring on your finger?” he asked.
“Just like you,” she said. “Remember when we were kids? We said we’d never get married. And here we are. What can I do for you? Incidentally, I like your suit.”
He grinned. “I was hoping you could do me a favor. I asked Mr. Rodgers to pull information for me, and I told him I needed it today. The bank is open for seven more hours, and I really don’t want to wait around.”
She answered with a chuckle. “Yes, I’ll get the information from Mr. Grumpy.”
He laughed, and it felt liberating. “Thank you. I’ll let him know to expect you and I’ll stop by in the morning to pick it up.”
“Go on, enjoy your day. Honestly, it’s so good to see you, Reilly.”
“You too.”
He climbed into his car and made a call to the bank. Rodgers was not available, a secretary told him, so he left a message to expect Joanne Sumpter to collect the information he’d requested.
He and Jo had been the best of friends during their childhood. Jo was such a tomboy and so much fun. The trouble they used to get in had probably given both sets of parents gray hairs.
Those memories stayed with him on his drive home.
He emerged from his car to find Lynne speaking with the wolf. What was its name? Lefty? He walked to the barn.
“How’s Lefty?”
Her lips twitched. “ Lucky is ready to be released. I need to call Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission first. They’ll probably want to take care of it themselves.”
“Lucky sure is lucky he found you.” A lighthearted feeling settled over him. “I went to the bank. Carl promised all the information and paperwork by end of day.” He grimaced. “I’d forgotten how pompous he can be. I had to go so far as to call Stewart and ask him to change banks. Stewart went along and Carl caved. Unfortunately, West wasn’t at the clinic and no one knew where he was since he’s almost never there. He’s got them all trained to lie for him. That’s probably why your friend from the tavern wasn’t offered a job at the new clinic.”
“You can check again after you go to the bank.” Lynne had moved on from Lucky and was doing something to the hawk. Left Wing?
“How’s the bird doing? Left Wing?” he asked.
A smile lifted her lips. “ One Wing is improving rapidly. He probably wants to go where his name is known.”
He chuckled. “Well, I remember people’s names. And I know a few of the animals. There are Paint and Bay. Piggly Wiggly and?—”
A tinkling giggle burst from her lips. “You’re full of laughs today. Her name is Tuni. The other horse, who isn’t named after its color, is Spike. Of course, the horse you are standing in front of is Mini.”
“Wait, I do know the llama’s name Spitten.” His pride at recalling the llama's name is inexplicable to him.
“I recognize that smile. It’s the Reilly well done smile.”
“I ran into Joanne Sumpter today. She’s going to pick up the papers from the bank for me. She looks the same.”
“Still beautiful. I remember when you gave a kid at school a black eye for calling her your girlfriend.” Lynne laughed.
“Jo was never called my girlfriend after that.” His grin grew wider remembering those times.
His phone vibrated. After answering it, he had the response he’d wanted.
“We have permission to inspect your grandfather’s property.”