“That doesn’t seem like a lot of money,” Grady said. “I would think a hit would cost more than that.”
“It depends on who you get to do the hit,” Peter countered. “A professional costs much more. This was a homeless veteran with a specific knowledge base. Twenty thousand to him is going to seem like hitting the lottery.”
“Plus, he was probably getting another twenty grand after the job was done,” Sophie added. “He could have lived off of that money for years.”
“Very true,” Peter said.
“Does it say who transferred the money?” Grady asked.
Peter shook his head. “There’s no name. A name isn’t required for a financial transfer like this.”
“Crap,” Sophie said.
“There is, however, a location from where the money was transferred,” Peter said. “And I think this location is probably going to be just what you need to lead you to a name.”
“Why?” Grady asked.
“It’s your hometown, son,” Peter said, sliding the file across the table so Grady could look at it.
“My hometown?”
“You’re from Barker Creek, right? Well, according to this, that fund transfer originated in Barker Creek.”
Grady’s heart was thundering. They were finally getting somewhere.
Twenty-Four
“I still don’t understand why we’re driving up there?”
Sophie, sitting in the passenger seat of Grady’s truck, hadn’t stopped complaining since they’d hit the highway heading north.
“Because it’s easier to sweet talk someone at the bank into giving me what I want in person than it is over the phone,” Grady replied. “It’s a four-hour drive. It’s not like we’re going to Texas.”
“I know,” Sophie said, rubbing her neck where the seatbelt chafed against it. “I’m just not big on road trips.”
“I think you just don’t like sitting still for this long,” Grady countered. “You didn’t have to come with me, you know. If you’re really this antsy, you could have stayed home.”
“You would have missed me too much,” Sophie shot back.
The smile on Grady’s face was sly. He reached across the console, capturing Sophie’s nervous hand with his and bringing it up to his lips. “I think you’re the one who would have missed me.”
“Oh, please,” Sophie scoffed, leaning back in her seat. “You would have cried yourself to sleep.”
“While I would have missed some of your finer attributes – and sleeping without you wouldn’t have been fun – seeing my parents probably would have kept me from throwing myself off of a cliff because I was debilitated with sadness without you,” Grady said.
Sophie froze. “Your parents?”
“Yeah,” Grady said, not missing the terrified look that flitted across her face. “They still live in Barker Creek.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
Grady smirked. “Are you nervous to meet my parents?”
“No.”
“Oh, my, the great Sophie Lane is scared to meet the parents,” Grady teased. “As I live and breathe, I never would have guessed such a thing.”
“You’re such a pain,” Sophie grumbled, reaching over to turn the radio up.
Grady let her stew, but when the silence hit the half-hour mark, he turned the radio back down. “What are you scared of?”
“Parents don’t like me,” Sophie said. “I’m not … likable.”
“Why do you think you’re unlikable?”
“People think I’m cold,” Sophie said. “I was raised by a mobster, after all.”
“They’re going to love you,” Grady said. “You have nothing to worry about. Trust me.”
“They probably think I’m like Mandy,” Sophie said. “I’m not full of sunshine, and I don’t mix in with new people as quickly. She has a gift. Her they like.”
“They love her,” Grady agreed. “They’ve also known her since she was a teenager and they found her and Ally putting bright pink streaks in their hair in the upstairs bathroom. Mom never did get that color out of the towels.”
Sophie was silent.
“It’s going to be okay,” Grady said. “I promise they’ll like you. Plus, look at it this way, I’m finally going to get some action in my childhood bed. That’s been a dream of mine since I was twelve and I got my first erection.
“Of course, to be fair, the poster on my ceiling back then was Katie Holmes,” Grady continued. “You’ll do in a pinch, though.”