Chapter Eight
By the time the ship pulled into position for the day, Reed was up, showered, and logged in. He started with Shannon Redding-Wentworth. From mainstream media to gossip magazines, Shannon was everywhere. She came from a wealthy family, married Paul Wentworth while he was campaigning for the governor’s office in California. He had brought himself up to speed on her story before he arrived on the ship. His client knew about the cruise but didn’t have knowledge of who she was sailing with. Reed knew his client was looking for something scandalous by way of a romantic interlude with the former first lady and would be disappointed that wasn’t the case.
Reed backtracked through her life by looking up the private details of the governor. He found a wedding photo of the couple, and then another few sprinkled in at the reception. He clipped them into a file and moved forward to the announcements of the divorce.
Public records determined irreconcilable differences caused the divorce, much like nearly all divorces in the state of California. No one had to take the blame for a marriage gone bad in a no-fault state. There was mention of a prenuptial agreement removing any ability for Shannon to ask for more during their divorce. None of this was new news.
He clicked around until he pulled up a statement from the attorney mediating the Wentworth divorce.
He smiled. The law office of Lori Cumberland gave the official press release in regards to the high profile divorce.
He found an image.
Lori wore her hair up, and the tight black skirt and office jacket with crisp lines were nothing like he’d seen her in since they met.
He followed the ball and searched for recent mentions and images of Lori Cumberland. The one that caught his eye he’d seen before, only it hadn’t meant a thing to him until now.
Trina. The quiet beauty who hid behind massive Kardashian-style sunglasses was none other than Katrina Petrov. New York stood in the background of the picture he found, which had been taken less than a month earlier. Katrina in widow’s black, at the cemetery where she buried her husband. At her side were Lori and another woman Reed took a second look at. He switched back to Shannon’s wedding photos.
A petite woman with auburn hair was the same woman flanking Lori and Katrina at the funeral. Dark glasses, her hair pulled tight to her head. Reed took a closer look. Designer red soled shoes, a dress that belonged on a fashion runway even if it was appropriate for a funeral.
Money.
Lots of money.
Why were Shannon and Trina vacationing with Lori? Were they simply friends, or was Lori there as their lawyer? So far, Lori had hovered over the three women as if they needed constant supervision for fear of saying the wrong thing. He couldn’t help but think he was onto something there. Lori was reluctant to tell him what she did for a living . . . was that on purpose?
Something smelled funny. And while he might learn a thing or two about Paul Wentworth through his ex-wife, Reed didn’t think getting Shannon to open up was possible.
Lori, on the other hand . . .
He saved the file, the pictures, and turned his computer off.
With his cell phone, wallet, and sunglasses, Reed left his room in search of his travel companions.
Lori should have woken rested and ready for the day. Unfortunately, she’d tossed and turned most of the night. She wondered what Reed’s goal was. The man seemed to have one, and so far, keeping her attention on no one but him stood out. She hadn’t so much as looked at another man since they’d met.
When she and the other women found Reed, Rogelio, and Miguel waiting on the dock in Naples, she wasn’t surprised.
“Good morning, ladies.”
Avery and her all telling grin slid into Rogelio’s arms and kissed him like they’d been lovers for longer than one day. “Hola,” she said to him.
He said something slow and sultry, and Avery giggled.
“Do I want to know what he just said?” Lori asked.
Trina and Miguel both said no at the same time.
“So what will it be today? A walking tour of the city? A trip to Pompeii? The catacombs underground?” Reed asked the group.
“Where is Antonio?” Shannon asked.
“He has friends here, said he’d see us back on the ship tonight,” Reed said.
“I’m game for anything,” Trina said.
“Careful with that statement, Trina. Reed will have us jumping out of planes if he had his way.”
Trina lowered the sides of her big, floppy hat. “No way in the world I’m jumping out of a plane.”
“Sounds like a challenge,” said Reed.
“I was a flight attendant for years. Staying inside a pressurized cabin is the only place to be while in the sky.”
Reed shook his head.
“You’re outnumbered,” Lori told him.
“I’m a patient man,” he offered with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
She was sure his statement had more than one meaning.
“Let’s walk the city, drink wine, eat pizza, and save the touristy stuff for Rome,” Shannon suggested.
“Sounds perfect.”
“So no scuba diving?” Reed asked, a hopeful lift in his voice.
“Oh my God, where did you find this guy, Lori?”
“At the bar.”
They walked into the center of the city and weaved their way through the steep hills and narrow streets. The stench of fish was everywhere, and merchants sold their wares from baskets on bicycles and folding tables.
Above their heads, clotheslines littered with laundry were strung between buildings. A woman who had to be in her sixties stood on a balcony screaming at a man below.
Lori stopped to watch. “What’s going on?”
Trina started to laugh.
“She’s saying something about today’s fish.”
The woman spoke with her hands.
The fisherman on the street yelled back, turned to walk away, and then back around.
Still complaining, the woman lowered a basket from her balcony with a long rope.
The fisherman removed the money from the basket, and for a moment Lori expected him to taste it with a quick bite to make sure it was real. Instead, he filled the basket with loosely wrapped fish.
Once the entire melodrama was over, Avery started to clap.
The Italian woman waved a hand in the air.
“I think she just told you off,” Shannon said.
“Yep, she did!” Trina added.
Sometime before lunch, Reed reached for her hand and ran his finger along her palm.
Why handholding flipped her nerves, she didn’t know. But it did. And for the rest of the day, he made a simple statement of ownership by holding her hand.
On one breath, she cautioned herself. On the other, she reminded herself that this was only a week of her life. Might as well enjoy it and not think too hard.
Buzzed on espresso, Lori and the others found lunch overlooking the sea. Hundreds of boats dotted the water as the midday sun warmed the ocean air. “Watered down wine and a five-course meal,” Shannon said.
“Heaven,” Avery added.
“Have you ever been here before?” Miguel asked them.
Lori lifted her hand. “I have.”
Shannon chimed in, “I have, too.”
“Not Naples, but I’ve been to Rome,” Trina told them.
“First time in Italy.” Avery sipped her wine. “Won’t be my last.”
Miguel glanced at Reed.
“First time for me too.”
“Americans don’t venture far from home, I’ve noticed,” Miguel said.
“It’s expensive for a lot of people.”
“But not for you, ladies . . . eh?” Miguel questioned. “All of you in private penthouse rooms. Even on board most people share.”
Lori felt the weight of Trina’s eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, focused on her.
Avery came to the rescue. “We knocked over a liquor store for the travel funds. We’re all on the run.”
Shannon laughed.
Lori found Reed staring at her.
Rogelio said something to Avery in Spanish. Lori waited for Trina or Miguel to translate.
“He said he’s delighted Avery had the funds to travel.”
Avery animatedly batted her eyelashes.
Rogelio kissed her briefly.
“Do you two work together?” Lori asked them, doing her best to switch the subject of how the four of them could afford to travel the way they did.
“No, no. Friends from our school days, eh, Rogelio?” Miguel translated again, Rogelio nodded, and the two spoke of their college days.
Lori caught Reed watching the two men closely, his expression unreadable.
He caught her staring and smiled. From under the table, he reached out with the back of his hand and brushed her thigh.
The Italians loved their carbs. Small plates of pastas, breads, and cheeses littered the table. They grazed their way through lunch and rolled out of the restaurant and back toward the ship.
At some point between lunch and returning to the ship, Reed reached for Lori’s hand and held it. A teenage memory of a boy holding her hand in the halls of her high school surfaced and brought with it tiny butterflies in the pit of her stomach.
Some of the merchants were rolling up their wares for the day. The streets started to empty as the cruise ship filled.
“I need a nap,” Avery told everyone as they took the stairs to their deck.
Rogelio said something and Trina nudged him. “I think she means to sleep!”
Rogelio pouted, and they laughed.
“Are we doing the Cirque show tonight?” Trina asked.
They discussed their evening options as a group. Somewhere between Barcelona and Naples, the group had become travel buddies.
“And dinner?” Miguel asked.
The women moaned and grabbed their full bellies.
“We’ll meet up with you in the dance club.”
“I could use the workout.” The words left her mouth and Reed’s smile spread.
“On the dance floor.”
They turned the corner to their bank of rooms. “I’m with Avery, I need to rest before turning the next page of tonight’s activities.”
Reed held back when the others disappeared behind stateroom doors.
“Italy agrees with you.” He brushed the side of her face with his index finger.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, you dropped your protective armor for a good hour today.”
“I don’t have protective armor.”
Reed stared into her eyes. “You hover over these women like you’re their mother.”
“I-I . . .” She wanted to deny him. “Whatever.”
Reed stepped aside when another passenger passed by them. “I’ll see you at the club. Maybe by midnight you’ll be ready for dinner.”
“I can’t eat another thing.”
“Or we could just turn in early.” His gaze lingered on her lips.
She laughed and pushed against his chest. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He didn’t attempt to kiss her before walking away. Once she slipped behind the door, she leaned against it and muttered, “You’re wearing me down, Reed.”
Lori glared at her dusty computer. Instead of dropping in bed for a much-needed nap, she made use of the proximity of land and higher speeds of the Internet and logged into her e-mail.
Over two hundred unread messages.
She moaned.
After skimming the names and the glimpse of the messages, she opened the one from her paralegal marked urgent.
Lori
I hate bothering you; however, the executor of Alice Petrov’s will has contacted the office saying it was urgent that we speak with them. I made the call, explained you were out of the country.
Yours,
Vivian
Lori calculated the time back home and dialed her office. A quick platitude with her secretary and the call was transferred.
“Hey, Vivi.”
“You received my e-mail.”
“What’s up?”
“The short answer?”
“Why say five words when two will do?” Her courtroom mantra.
“Alice Petrov met with her attorney one month before Fedor’s death and changed her will.”
“I’m listening.”
“That’s all I have. You have to call her lawyer and Trina needs to be at your side. I told him you’d videoconference so he can confirm Trina’s identity.”
These kinds of requests were always followed with a big punch, leaving Lori wary of what was coming. Lori wrote down his number and told her paralegal to let him know they’d be calling in the next ten minutes.
Lori knocked on the adjoining door to Trina’s room. A dead bolt and a simple door lock later and Trina opened. “Missed me already?”
“Come in.” Lori set her computer up for a video call. They needed to do this quickly or miss the window of time where reception would play a factor.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure anything is wrong. My paralegal informed me about a change in Alice’s will.”
“What kind of change?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What do I have to do with Alice’s will?”
“Let’s video call her attorney and gather the facts.”
They both glanced in the mirror, smoothed back the day’s mess in their hair.
“Whatever,” Trina said. “It doesn’t matter what I look like.”
Lori set her computer up to where both of them would be seen in the picture.
Their image stared back at them until the office picked up their call. “Mr. Crockett?”
“Yes, hello.”
“I’m Lori Cumberland, and this is Katrina Petrov.”
“Good morning.” The man staring back at them was in his early sixties with salt-and-pepper hair and a kind smile. He sat in an office decorated in dark wood and leather chairs. “Thank you for getting back to me so far away.”
“We called as soon as we could.”
“Getting away from such tragedy was a wise plan, Mrs. Petrov.” Mr. Crockett spoke to Trina.
Trina fidgeted. “It’s been a hard few months.”
Mr. Crockett’s lips pulled into a soft smile. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Let me start by saying I’m greatly sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“I attended Alice’s funeral. She would have been pleased that you saw to all her requests.”
“Alice was a lovely woman. I regret that I didn’t know her longer.”
Lori grasped Trina’s hand and found it cold.
“She told me the same thing.”
“Mr. Crockett, in an effort to keep this connection, the ship we are on will be pulling away from the mainland anytime, and I can’t guarantee it will last. My paralegal said it was urgent that we speak. I’m assuming since you requested Trina here, this has something to do with Alice’s estate.”
“Yes, yes . . . Alice specifically wanted her will read a month after her burial.”
“That would have been yesterday.”
“Correct. But since you’re out of the country, I had to hold off.”
“Why?”
Mr. Crockett ruffled through papers on his desk before removing his reading glasses and staring at the camera.
“As you know, Alice’s only child was Fedor. Who she cherished with all her heart.”
“They were very close. I don’t think he could have lived through her death.”
“Unfortunately you are right about that. Alice also knew that Ruslan would have done everything in his power to obtain her estate through Fedor.”
Trina nodded. “The man is evil.”
“I won’t argue that.”
Lori glanced out the balcony, noticed the shoreline moving.
“Mr. Crockett, the ship is pulling away . . .”
“Of course, Counselor. Trina . . .” He hesitated.
Trina squeezed Lori’s hand.
“Alice left her estate to you and you alone.”
Trina sat speechless.
“When exactly did this change in her will happen?” Lori asked.
“One month before Fedor took his own life.”
“Did Fedor know?” Trina asked.
“Not unless Alice told him. Which I don’t believe was her intention. We had a very lengthy conversation when she changed the will.”
“I don’t understand, Mr. Crockett. Why me?”
The screen started to sputter.
“I’ll have my secretary arrange a time for us to come in when we return to the States.”
“Of course. I wanted to let Trina know what she was coming home to,” he told them. “We are talking in excess of three hundred and fifty million dollars, depending on the price of a barrel of crude oil.”
“I’m gonna be sick.”
“Thank you, Mr. Crockett.”
Once Lori managed to redirect Trina to a shower, she called Sam.
“We have a problem.” In a few sentences, she explained the change of events.
“How is Trina?”
“Shell-shocked.” Lori glanced at the clock.
“How much money are we talking?”
“Three fifty.”
“This is going to be a big story when it breaks.”
“With lots of people seeping from the walls to try and get their share.” Large estates drew out roaches, poaching off the wealthy.
“And here I thought she’d be able to find some normal when she returned,” Sam said with a heavy sigh.
“We need our PI to look into the family, see if there are any players that are going to attack. Ruslan won’t take this sitting down.”
“And I’ll have Neil arrange security for Trina in New York.” The Alliance team was tight. Woven from family and lifelong friends. Neil and Rick worked security for Alliance and were physical roadblocks who brought their A game when it came to protecting their charges. “Outside of this, how is the trip?”
Lori instantly thought of Reed. Her smile wavered. “Avery is hooking up with a Spaniard by the name of Rogelio. Doesn’t speak a word of English.”
“Sounds like Avery.”
“Trina is starting to smile. And Shannon . . . I’m worried about her.”
“I feel responsible.”
“We both do.”
“Try and have fun. I’ll let you know if anything is leaked to the media so you know what you’re coming home to.”