Darkness Devours (42 page)

“Nadler agreed to pay them several million dollars each,” he said, “in exchange for them signing an agreement to accept the wills as they currently stand.”

And will those payments proceed now that Nadler is dead?

He frowned. “Of course. The heirs just won’t get the payment as quickly because it’ll be tied up until Nadler’s estate is sorted.”

And who is Nadler’s heir? He has no children and he divorced his wife a long time ago.
A fact that
hadn’t
stopped the fake Nadler from killing her.

“You know, there’s a good percentage of men and women who forget to change their wills even after a second marriage, and it’s not unknown for the first partner to get the estate over the second.” He paused, eyeing me critically. “Have you got a will, young woman? It’s never too late to start. I can offer you excellent—”

Thanks,
I interrupted quickly, and rubbed my imaginary arms. That vibration was getting stronger, and it was
not
pleasant.
But I’m good, will-wise. Now, Nadler’s heir?

“How am I supposed to remember?” His tone was cross. “I haven’t got the paperwork with me, and he’s not my only client, you know.”

I know. Just think back to the agreement. Imagine you have it in your hand.

He frowned and, a second later, ghostly paper began to
form between his hands. I didn’t move, not wanting to startle him and lose the moment.

Who is his heir, Mr. Logan?

He’s got three—Mr. Harry Bulter, Mr. Jim O’Reilly, and a Ms. Genevieve Sands.

A woman? One of Nadler’s heirs was a woman?
Are any of them related to Mr. Nadler?

“Not as far as I’m aware.” He glanced up. “I still can’t see why—”

Mr. Nadler was a very wealthy man,
I said easily.
And it’s not unknown for heirs to kill their benefactors to get hold of their money.

“That, unfortunately, is true.”

How was Nadler’s estate divided between the three?

He glanced at the paperwork again. “All three have equal shares in everything.”

I frowned. This wasn’t making sense. Why would the face-shifter go to all the trouble of killing off Nadler, then divide the estate for which he’d murdered to fully control between three people?

When was the will drawn up?

His gaze flicked down to the bottom of the paper. “The same day he signed the deal with Trilby’s and Appleby’s heirs.”

Which suggested an on-the-spot decision, but I very much doubted the man we were chasing ever did anything without forethought.
Is there anything else you can tell us about Nadler? Any reason you believe someone might want him dead?

He frowned. “Not really.”

I sighed. Logan hadn’t really given us anything we couldn’t have found out via a little subversive hacking, so maybe his death had been nothing more than the face-shifter leaving no threads behind, no matter how small.

Thank you very much for your assistance, Mr. Logan.

“You could repay me by finding my limo, you know. It seems to have disappeared.”

Just use your phone and call it, Mr. Logan.
He wouldn’t get anywhere with it, but hey, if it made him happy, then what the hell?

He made the right motions, and a somewhat fuzzy white limousine popped into existence. As Logan happily climbed in, I turned away. Time to return—

The thought was cut short by a scream.

A scream that suggested there was a woman on the astral plane in very big trouble.