Abella went to sleep early, drunk and alone. She didn’t wake when Jasper came to bed, so she didn’t know about his bloody lip or the fight. The only other person who did was Flynn, and he’d deliberately hidden his knuckles from me. Flynn wasn’t stupid. If he’d told me from the start that he gave his brother a thrashing mere hours before Jasper went missing, the day would have gone a lot differently for him.
I asked Ned where Flynn went after the fight, but he didn’t know. “I slept down here last night.” He nodded at the library’s leather couch. “I didn’t want to see him.”
“You haven’t told me what they were fighting about.”
“Money. It’s always money with Flynn. He told Jasper he can forget about Abby coming to work for the company, no matter what Camilla says. There isn’t enough to pay her. Hell, there’s barely enough to pay me.”
“That’s why you’re leaving. Better opportunities, bigger paychecks.”
“I’m leaving,” said Ned irritably, “because I know I’m about to get hosed.”
“But Flynn wants you to stay.”
“Flynn doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. He thinks I’ll work for nothing. ‘I’ll support you,’ he says. ‘I’ll take care of you’.” Ned balled his hands. “I’m not his fucking pet.”
I could see how Camilla’s suggestion that Sinclair Fabrics should hire Abella would leave Flynn enraged. His boyfriend was leaving because the business offered no long-term prospects, but Jasper’s girlfriend was deserving of a corner office? Sinclair Fabrics was floundering, and Flynn was at serious risk of losing Ned. Throw in a few glasses of scotch and Flynn had to be out of his mind. “What else did Flynn say?”
Again Ned rubbed his thighs. There was always a beat of hesitation before he spoke, as if he was grappling with what to divulge. “That Jas isn’t doing his part.”
“How could he not be doing his part? Didn’t Jasper come up with a whole new marketing plan?”
“A plan they didn’t ask for that spent money they don’t have. They hate that he’s around now, and they hate that he’s trying to help them.”
“If Flynn and Bebe don’t want his help, what do they want?”
Ned looked at me like I was a moron. “His money,” he said. “Flynn and Bebe are vultures, and they think Jasper’s an easy meal.”
Where there’s money, there’s someone reaching for the pot. What I’d told Camilla was true. She and Norton thought a ransom note was on the way . . . but what if this attempt at extortion was an inside job? Jasper was careful with his finances, and according to his grandmother, he had savings to spare. But all three siblings had received an inheritance just two years ago. It didn’t add up.
“Why would they need Jasper’s money?”
“I told you, the company’s tanking.”
“Bebe implied it’s a temporary slump.”
“She’s lying. After Baldwin and Rachel died, Flynn found out the company was deep in debt. He had to pay off a bunch of suppliers and creditors. Bebe pitched in, but it wasn’t enough. Flynn’s trying to keep it quiet, but I’m pretty sure they’re gonna declare bankruptcy. Long story short, they’re screwed.”
The Sinclairs’ wealth, the posh apartments in the city, their status as the heads of an iconic Garment District institution, the family legacy . . . all of it hinged on keeping Sinclair Fabrics afloat, and by Ned’s account, it was sinking fast. They were the picture of prosperity, among the Thousand Islands’ most elite residents, on par with railroad tycoon George Pullman and Isaac Singer with his sewing machines—according to Tim. I couldn’t imagine them losing it all. Or how desperate they must be to keep it.
I looked around the library I’d spent so many hours in. With its rich wood built-ins and enormous collection of hardback books, the room was stunning. The whole island was. “There has to be more family money than that. This place must be worth a fortune.”
“Sure it is. It’s a goddamn gold mine. But Tern belongs to Camilla.”
“Can’t she loan Flynn and Bebe the money to get the business back on its feet?”
He flinched and said, “How should I know?”
Camilla. The previous day, when Jasper and Abella planned to play cards with Camilla, it was Ned they’d chosen to round out the game. In his interview, Flynn told me Ned encouraged him to drop in on Camilla. Ned knew she’d been waiting for Flynn to arrive at the island. That meant Ned had spent time with her already.
“I know Camilla’s sick,” I said. “There’ll be an inheritance soon. Why would Flynn and Bebe need Jasper’s savings if they have more money coming to them?”
“Not my family, not my problem. Look, that’s all I know.” Ned leaned back in his chair and tried to look confident. “We done?”
I’d gone into the interview believing Ned Yeboah was pivotal to the case. He’d been disingenuous with Flynn, and his behavior on the island was troublesome. Yes, he’d shown loyalty to Jasper and Abella, his besties from the city. As for Bebe, the woman he was sleeping with, he’d just called her a liar.
I wanted to believe Ned was an honorable person. I don’t know any hardened criminals who voluntarily spend their weekends cleaning up dog poop. I had to admit, though: the man was starting to piss me off. I’d waited all day to talk to him, and while he’d given me more to work with than the others, he was still holding out. Flynn, Bebe, Abella, Miles . . . every road led back to Ned.
“You wanna be done?” I said. “Okay, let’s finish with a recap. Jasper’s been missing for hours and that’s blood up there on his sheets, a lot of it. He was here last night, and now he’s not. This house is filled with his closest family and friends. I have a hard time believing not one of you knows what happened here.”
I tented my fingers and studied his face. “It’s been a long day, Ned, and I’ve conducted a lot of interviews. Would you care to know what I found when I grilled the others? I found you. You and Bebe.” I nodded at the window. “Out there, in that shed.”
Ned’s face opened up in surprise, and I felt a prickle of fear. Was it possible I was wrong? “You’re having an affair with her,” I said, pushing harder. “You’re sleeping with Bebe behind Flynn’s and Jasper’s backs, and yesterday somebody caught you. There was no mistaking what they saw. I have to tell you, Ned, it’s been suggested you might not have been so sorry to wake up and find Jasper gone. That maybe you had something to do with our missing person and his blood.”
“That’s bullshit. Who said that?”