Joe was about to become a father. Did he know anything about this? The Steels had connections almost everywhere. If Joe was any kind of target of a federal investigation, surely he’d be aware.
“I’m just trying to give you a heads-up,” Ted said.
“And I suppose you’d like to be compensated for this information?”
He scoffed and looked to the left. “If I wanted compensation, I’d have gone straight to Steel myself.”
Right. Straight to Joe, who he’d already tried to blackmail. I wasn’t buying it. But I wasn’t quite ready to let Ted know that yet.
“Good call,” I said. “Because you know I have nothing.”
“Not true. You have a house.”
“A house no one will buy because of my father’s exploits.”
“Maybe so.” He sipped his coffee. “I’m here solely as a Good Samaritan, to let you know.”
&
nbsp; “And how do you know all this?”
“Easy. The Feds talked to me. To me and my son. They asked a lot of questions about the two of you.”
I am not responsible for the sins of my father.
My mantra.
As much as I’d had to convince myself it was true, now Ted Morse was telling me it wasn’t. Why else would anyone ask about Joe and me?
“A Good Samaritan?” I said.
“Yes.”
You’re bluffing.
But I didn’t say the words aloud.
“They’ve spoken to Colin as well, you say?” I asked.
He nodded.
The server arrived with my coffee. I let it sit undisturbed. If I tried to put anything in my mouth, I might puke. Keeping this normal tone when I was raging inside was taking its toll.
“What kinds of questions did they ask the two of you?”
“I’m not at liberty to say. I’m taking a chance just telling you this much.”
“I see.” Though I didn’t see at all.
“You don’t believe me.” A statement.
This time I took a sip of my coffee—a small sip—and let it trickle down my throat. All for show. “Why should I?”
“What ulterior motive would I have?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you’ve got some”—air quotes—“friend in the FBI, someone who could bury this investigation. For a price.”
“If I wanted money, I’d have gone straight to Steel. Wait. I already said that.”