Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
I was about to explode when Butch finally looked up and leaned back in the chair, his face an unreadable mask. The chair made some awful squeak. I sat straight up, my mouth suddenly going dry. The pressure increased as Lex stepped beside me and grabbed my hand. I wanted to stand, but I knew it would only add to the stress.
Deep breath in, slow exhale.
Butch scratched his graying beard and nodded to himself. “The handwriting on the letter does not match Lloyd’s handwriting on the orders. It’s damn close, but it’s not a match. I would guess someone paid a lot of money to have this done.”
The air left me as I contemplated his words. Lloyd had not written the letter. His blessing stood. He’d wanted me to take care of Lex. He’d wanted her to be mine.
Without thinking, I stood and picked up Lex. The black cloud lingering over us disappeared. The weight lifted. We were free to love without any emotional consequences.
Lex let out a sob and clung to me as if her life depended on it. “It wasn’t my dad.”
“No, baby. It wasn’t.”
I held her tightly. We’d officially been set up. Anger at whoever did this surged from within. I would find out who. And once I did, it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Lex held me tighter. After a couple of minutes, I set her down. She hugged me, tucking her face into my side.
Turning to Butch, I asked, “Can you tell anything from the letter?”
“The person is primarily dominant with their left hand. When they signed Dad, there’s a slight lean to the left instead of the right, and the pressure of the pen changed minutely. It’s nearly insignificant. This forgery would likely go undetected by many novice and intermediate forensic handwriting experts. It’s most likely male due to the uneven, bold strokes. They appear to be natural
versus forced. But I’m only about seventy-five percent sure of the gender.”
Butch looked at the letter again. “Other than a left-handed male, I’m not sure what else I can tell you.”
That wasn’t much to go on at all. And the likelihood of the forger living in Skagway was slim.
“Thank you, Butch. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Glad I could help.” Standing, he put on his camo hat, which had been discarded on the desk while he’d studied the letters. It was something he wore every time I saw him.
It wasn’t much, but I offered, “Beer’s on me.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. That I will take.”
I nodded. “Good.”
“I best be headed out.”
“Give Kane hell for me.”
“Oh, I will.”
We shook hands and Butch left. Lex sat on the couch, looking at her hands. When the door closed, I waited to see where her head was. And when she looked up, what I saw broke my heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Drake
Her eyes were brimming with more tears. If only I could take away the pain. I stepped toward her, and she bolted upright and ran to me. Jumping into my arms, she cried, “It wasn’t him.” Her frame shook as she cried harder. “It wasn’t my dad.”
“No, it wasn’t, baby. He wanted you happy. He wanted us together.”