Chapter 5 - THE BOOK THAT COST A LIFE
Eden took the photograph to Detective Ortiz.
The detective examined it beneath a desk lamp.
"Where did you get this?"
"Someone left it at my apartment."
Ortiz frowned.
"Again?"
Eden nodded.
The detective studied the date.
Then turned the photograph over.
"The wrong book."
Eden leaned forward.
"What does that mean?"
Ortiz looked at her.
"Did Evan keep records?"
"All the time."
"What kind?"
"Numbers. Names. Bets. Debts."
"Did he use a computer?"
"Sometimes. But he trusted paper more."
Ortiz considered that.
"Did he leave anything behind?"
Eden thought about the boxes in her closet.
Evan's old clothes.
His baseball glove.
A broken wristwatch.
A battered paperback novel.
And a blue spiral notebook filled with recipes.
She frowned.
"Maybe."
Ortiz leaned forward.
"What?"
"My brother used to write in a notebook."
"What kind?"
"Blue cover. Spiral binding."
"Do you still have it?"
"I think so."
Ortiz stood.
"Let's go."
The notebook was in the bottom of a cardboard box.
Eden recognized Evan's handwriting immediately.
The first pages contained ordinary things.
Phone numbers.
Grocery lists.
A drawing of their mother's dog.
Then the handwriting changed.
Columns of figures.
Initials.
Dates.
Amounts.
Ortiz studied the pages.
"These aren't recipes."
Eden shook her head.
"No."
Near the back, Evan had written a sentence in capital letters.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, FOLLOW THE MONEY, NOT THE MEN.
Eden covered her mouth.
Ortiz turned another page.
There were references to shell companies.
Bank transfers.
And a series of payments connected to shipping contracts.
Then she found a name.
VINCENT GALLO.
Beneath it:
RAYMOND PIKE.
And below that, a third name.
Eden stared.
NICO FERRARO.
Her heart stopped.
She looked at Ortiz.
"What does that mean?"
The detective's expression hardened.
"It means your brother may have been documenting a financial operation involving all three men."
Eden shook her head.
"But Nico said he was trying to help."
Ortiz looked at her.
"Maybe he was."
May you like
She closed the notebook.
"Or maybe there's more to the story."
