Double Take (35 page)

Prepaid first-class plane tickets were interesting enough, but Chevalier and Lefevre were even more compelling with their brief letter. Apparently he and Max were required in London to attend a highly secret meeting at the firm's office in two weeks' time. Trent rang his brother but the ensuing conversation did not go the way Trent intended. While he wanted to learn more from Chevalier and Lefevre prior to flying halfway around the world, Max was childishly excited about the first-class flights.

And so it was that two weeks later, Trent found himself sitting beside his overexcited brother in the oversized leather chairs at Chevalier and Lefevre's waiting room, 16,500 kilometres away from Brisbane.

The attractive woman at reception came out from behind the antique mahogany desk and directed them to the boardroom at the end of the hall. “Mr Chevalier will see you now.”

At the door they were greeted by Granville Chevalier. Trent knew his name because he'd studied the company profile while he'd been made to wait an unacceptable seven minutes in the waiting room.

They entered the glass-panelled boardroom and were greeted by the other senior partner, Mr Rupert Lefevre.

“Would you like something to drink, gentlemen?” offered Chevalier. “Coffee, tea?”

“No, thank you.” Trent just wanted to get to the point.

“Do you have Coke?” Clearly Max didn't have the same agenda.

“Please take a seat, gentlemen.” Chevalier clicked a button on a black box on the desk and spoke into it. “Elizabeth, can you bring in a Coca Cola for Mr Max Hinds, please?”

The immense boardroom table could accommodate sixteen people. Trent felt insignificant as he and Max chose seats that afforded them a magnificent view over the London Eye.

“Gentlemen, thank you for coming today,” said Chevalier.

“We didn't want to waste first-class tickets,” Max said.

Right now Trent wished he'd reminded Max to let him do the talking. He had made the mistake of assuming Max would know the protocol. He secretly admonished himself. He rarely made mistakes.

“Do you have any idea why we brought you here today?” Chevalier flicked his eyes from one brother to the other.

“How about you tell us?” Max at least got that question right.

Chevalier cleared his throat and bounced paperwork in front of him before he began. “Do you know of a woman named Tiffany Delacroix?”

Trent's heart leapt to his throat. Had they linked Tiffany to their father? Were they in trouble? The thought made him instantly ill. Now he wished he'd asked more questions before they boarded the plane in Brisbane. Damn Max and his naive eagerness.

Max nodded, and reluctantly Trent did too.

“Did you know she was the sole beneficiary of her husband's will?”

Trent frowned, curious about why the lawyers would be sharing information that would be considered highly sensitive. “How or why would we know that?” he finally said.

“Yes, well I guess you wouldn't.” Chevalier chuckled to himself.

“Why are you telling us about Tiffany Delacroix?” Trent had to ask, before his insides burst from worry. “What has she got to do with us?”

“Did you know Tiffany had a daughter?”

“Yes, I did.” Trent had seen the girl on the news several times.

“Ironically it was your father's recent death that made it easy for us to find you.” Lefevre said it like it was the most wonderful of coincidences.

Trent was beginning to dislike these men. “Umm…why did you need to find us?”

Chevalier's smile bordered on creepy. “The father of Tiffany Delacroix's daughter is your father. Murray Hinds.”

Trent and Max gasped in unison.

“Brace yourselves for another shock, gentlemen.” Now both Chevalier and Lefevre were grinning. “Because when Tiffany Delacroix died, your half-sister inherited thirteen billion dollars.”

A
s Candice put the finishing touches to her salad, she giggled at Jack. He only needed a couple of beers to get happy and Montgomery was always quick with the refills. The smell of the barbeque cooking made her stomach rumble.

“Hey, Candy.” Jack was on the verge of laughing again. “Ask Steel how he got his first name. Tell her, Steel.”

“You don't want to hear it. It's a long story.”

“Come on, Montgomery.” She winked at him.

“I've told you I hate that name.”

“I like it.”

“Well, I don't.”

Steel gave her the evil eye. But she saw right through his burly facade. It hadn't taken long to crack open his rough policeman exterior. In the last year, Montgomery had spent almost every Friday night with her and Jack. As far as she was concerned he was a big old softie.

It was funny how things turned out. Who'd have thought a criminal could become friends with the man who put him behind bars? The way they carried on, you'd have thought they'd known each other for years. To some degree, they had. Just not on a social level. The two of them together were like an episode of
Starsky & Hutch
. The sarcasm was loaded, the name-calling prolific and the badgering comical. But one thing was certain; these two were going to be friends for life.

“Your parents must have chosen Montgomery for some reason.” She carried the salad to the table.

“Not a lot of thought went into it, I'll tell you that.”

“Come on, tell me, it's such an unusual name.”

Montgomery rolled his eyes and Candice tossed the salad as she watched him squirm. She knew he'd give in to her.

“Apparently—and this is just hearsay 'cause it never actually came from her—Mum fell in love with the actor in a movie called
The Lady in the Lake
.”

Candice racked her brain, but she couldn't say she'd ever heard of it. She shook her head.

“It was a murder mystery starring a guy called Robert Montgomery. He was a detective.”

“How's that for destiny, Monty?” Jack slapped him on the back.

“I'll give you destiny.”

The ring of the doorbell saved Jack from an all-out brawl. He dashed off to the front door.

“You hungry?” It was a silly question. Montgomery was always hungry. Candice was pretty sure he barely ate anything all week, just so he could fill up when he visited each Friday. Fortunately she always cooked more than enough. She didn't like to think she was catching up on lost time, but maybe she was.

“So hungry I could eat the hind leg—”

“—off a three-legged dog.” Candice finished his sentence for him and then flashed him a smile.

Jack stepped onto the veranda. “Hey, Steel, look who's here.” He moved aside and Candice frowned at the lanky man who came into view. She didn't recognise him.

“Candice, this is Trent. He's…um…” Jack seemed lost for words.

She knew exactly who he was. “Trent and Max, right? Please join us. We have more than enough food here.”

Trent held his hand forward and Candice shook it. “It's lovely to finally meet you. But sadly I cannot stay. I just came to give Jack something. And I'm glad you're here, Mr Steel, because you were next on my agenda.”

Trent removed two envelopes from his top pocket. After a brief look at the front of each envelope he handed one to Jack and one to Steel. “I'm sure I've covered all the details in the letter. It was nice to meet you at long last, Candice—”

“Please, Trent, won't you at least have a beer with us?”

“I don't drink beer.”

Candice stifled a giggle at the look on Steel's face.

“We have wine,” Jack suggested.

“I don't drink before dark.”

“Come on, Trent, please sit down,” Candice urged. “I'll pour you an orange juice.”

“Okay, but I won't stay for long.” As Trent took a seat next to Jack she tried to ignore Steel's overemphasised eye roll.

Jack flipped the envelope over, but didn't open it. She guessed he was waiting for Steel to sit back down.

“How's Max?” Jack asked.

“He's really good, thanks.”

Trent was much older than she'd pictured. Ever since Jack told her the whole story, Candice had maintained a mental picture of Trent as one of the two kids who hid under the boatshed. It didn't matter that that was now over a decade ago, she'd never pictured a grown-up Trent.

Jack stood up and strolled to the barbeque. “Give me that.” He snatched the tongs from Steel's hand. “Don't you know it's a felony to touch another man's barbeque?”

“Come on, you two. Trent is waiting for you to open these envelopes.”

“Oh, no, I'm not. It's not necessary to open them now.”

“Yes it is!” She frowned. “Besides, the suspense is killing me.” She gathered both envelopes off the tablecloth and waved them at the men.

Obviously Steel was curious as well, because he was quick to move back to the table. Trent watched intently as Jack opened his envelope. When he unfolded the typed letter, Candice read over his shoulder.

“Candice?” Candice tried to catch Jack's eye but they were glued to the page.

Candice gasped. Her jaw fell open. She blinked, unsure if she was actually seeing the figure correctly. Blood rushed to her cheeks. A hot flush was on the way. And the napkin was of little help when she fanned herself.

“Holy hell.” Steel held his page further from his eyes, clearly he was trying to see if he'd read it right. He looked at Jack. “Are they giving you money, too?”

“I can't take this.” Jack shoved the letter over the table towards Trent as if it were poison.

Trent did a double take. “Why not?”

“Because it's wrong.”

Trent blinked a few times then shook his head. “No it's not.”

“If the money came from Tiffany, then it's corrupt and I don't want it.”

“Max and I will be eternally grateful to both you and Superintendent Steel for not dragging our father's name through the mud. And now that Candice”—Trent looked at Candice—“my sister, is an orphan, it means everything to her to know that at least one of her parents was a decent person. This money is from Candice. She inherited it from her stepfather, Jacques Delacroix. Not from Tiffany.”

Jack shook his head. His hands were trembling. “I don't know.”

Candice was unable to speak. She tried to swallow back the shock, but it was impossible.

“Getting to know my sister has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life, Jack. She's so much like Dad, even though they never met. Candice lives with Max and me now, and we want her life to be as normal as possible. Given the circumstances.”

Candice reached for Jack's hand and he turned to her. The green in his eyes dominated.

“It still doesn't feel right.”

“I know, babe.” This needed to be Jack's decision. She had no intention of leading him either way. “It's your choice.”

Trent finished his glass of juice. “I'm going to leave you with that letter, Jack. My phone number is at the top of the page. You can call me whenever you want.” He leant over to shake Jack's hand.

Jack took it, and blinked up at him.

“You're a decent guy, Jack. Thank you.” Trent shook Steel's hand. “As are you, Mr Steel. And it was lovely to meet you, Candice.” He embraced her hand within his and smiled at her.

Trent turned on his heel and walked up the back steps. Nobody followed him to let him out.

“Holy hell,” Steel said. Seconds later he was rubbing that little rubber fish he called his lucky lure like it was some kind of magic lamp.

Maybe it was.

To my wonderful husband, thank you for believing in me.

To my sons, who I'm so very proud of.

To my sister and mum, who provide endless encouragement.

To my father and step-father, may you both rest in peace.

To my girlfriends and our Friday afternoon cuppas where we never boil the kettle.

To my writing buddies who provide inspiration, hope and honest feedback.

To my readers, thank you for making this dream a reality.

Thank you all.