“No.” He said it softly as though it were a caress. “It’s done. It was done over seven years ago.” He stepped to me, lifted my chin, and brushed his mouth across mine. “No more crying. And I think she might need medical attention,” he said before grabbing his jacket and walking out.

It took another three cups of coffee to settle my nerves. Once Cookie came to, we went over the papers she’d brought. It was all the news articles she could find on each death at the children’s home.

“Charley,” she said, still unable to wrap her head around what had happened, “he put your name on the accounts even before he met you? Before he got out of prison?”

I nodded and closed my eyes, trying not to think of the injustices that had been done to him all his life, including this one. “What would possess him to do such a thing? That’s his money, Cook.” Tears slipped between my lashes, and Cookie grabbed me up again.

“He loves you, hon. He’s always loved you. Even if you’d never met, he was looking out for you.”

“But I don’t deserve it.”

“Charley.” She set me at arm’s length. “He believes you do, and quite frankly, so do I. That money will come in handy. And if nothing else, Beep will be an heiress.”

A hiccup of laughter escaped me. “Okay, that makes the whole thing worth it. But I’m still not comfortable with it.”

“I doubt you ever will be. I can’t even imagine that much money.”

“Right? So, seriously, how many Dumpsters do you think that would fill?”

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!” I yelled. “It’s your ball and chain.”

“Ah.”

Uncle Bob walked in, looking very masculine in his brown suit and tie. “Looking good, Ubie.”

“Thanks, pumpkin. Court,” he said by way of an explanation.

“Up for murder again?”

“Not my court. I have to testify in court.”

“Oh, of course. Sorry.”

“I just wanted to let both of you know, I’m going to ask you one more time who hired you before I get a warrant and/or have you arrested.”

“Aw, thanks for the heads-up, Uncle Bob.”

Cookie simply raised her brows at him, completely content in the knowledge that she would win in the end.

He let out a frustrated sigh. “I’ll do it.”

“I’m sure you will. But if Joplin is so worried, why hasn’t he asked me himself? And if he’s harassing you about it, why don’t you tell him to fight his own fights?”

“Because I’m not in the third grade, and he’s a control freak. He is very, very interested in who hired you and why.”

“That’s strange. Why don’t you tell him to mind his own bees wax and ask him why he’s so worried?”

“Because I’m not in the third grade, and he’s a control freak. Are you even listening to me?”

“Maybe he doesn’t want Team Davidson showing him up.” Cookie and I high-fived, we were that good.

He shrugged. “He said something about you blowing the case.”

“Sounds to me like Joplin is worried he doesn’t even have a case and he’s trying to blame it on someone else.”

“You’re probably right. Still, the two of you might want to pack an overnight bag.”

“As if they allow those in jail.”

He leaned down to kiss his wife, then walked out.

“See you later, hon,” Cook said. “If I go to jail, don’t forget to pick up Amber from school.”

When she received nothing but a grunt and the sound of a door closing, she giggled. “It’s driving him crazy that we won’t give him a name.”

“It’s the little things.” I thumbed through the papers. “The nurse at the home?” I asked, steering her back.

“Okay.” She pointed at one paper in particular. An employment record for the nurse in question. “She’s worked there for years, but check this out. She left for several months to take care of her ailing mother. While she was gone, there were no deaths. Now, I know what you’re thinking,” she said before I could say anything. “The deaths were spread out over years. But as soon as her mother died and she went back to work at the home, another child passed away of an asthma attack.”

She showed me an article.

“She’s the common thread. Well, one of them. The home still has the same director, a few of the house parents, and a groundskeeper that it’s had since the deaths began. I just found it odd that a boy dies right before the nurse goes on leave, and then another one a week after she comes back.”