Too Far Gone by John Ramsey Miller

have to have known her to understand. Nobody said no to my grandmother without regretting having done so.”
    â€œDo your aunt and uncle have children?”
    â€œUncle William and Aunt Sarah had a son. He died when he was an infant. Sarah couldn’t have another child, and she was very kind to me. She has Alzheimer’s now and lives totally in the past. She doesn’t even know my uncle’s name, or who he is. It’s been hard on him.”
    Alexa imagined that
hard on him
was a relative term, since Dr. LePointe had the ability to pay others to do any necessary caretaking.
    â€œCould your uncle dislike Gary enough to do something about him?” Alexa asked.
    Casey smiled. “Unko wouldn’t harm anyone. He tried to buy Gary off at the beginning, and failed. The only way Unko could understand a man refusing a great deal of money is he wants a lot more. The idea that anyone could be uninterested in wealth makes wealthy people suspicious. Gary doesn’t like my uncle, and he doesn’t like for Deana to be around Unko, because he thinks Unko will warp her somehow, and my uncle resents that. Not that Unko is comfortable around a child, but he hates it that Gary makes it obvious he isn’t welcome in her life, or mine, in any meaningful way—or in the way he chooses to be.”
    â€œWho would have a motive to harm Gary?”
    â€œNobody.”
    â€œObviously Gary would be an attractive target for a kidnapper looking for a big score. Unless there’s a motive I’m not aware of. Except…” Casey started to say something, but stopped.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œGary is not a threat to my uncle, but it’s possible others might not know that….”
    â€œWhat does that mean?”
    â€œWell, someone else might take it upon themselves to do something that they thought would please Unko. Especially before Tuesday.”
    â€œBefore the prenuptial agreement expires. Who else knows about the prenup?”
    â€œVery few people. Aside from Grace, just lawyers for the trusts, bankers, people running the companies I own who might be affected by Gary’s participation—if he ever chose to become involved in any of those businesses, which I seriously doubt. And there’s Unko, of course, and maybe whoever he’s told, but he would never hang family laundry in the open. His investigator, Kenneth Decell, is the closest thing to a confidant Unko has, but I don’t know what he tells him. Unko compartmentalizes every aspect of his life. Sometimes people do things because they think they will be rewarded for it one way or another. It’s possible, isn’t it? If Gary was kidnapped for a ransom, that’s federal, isn’t it? You could become actively involved, couldn’t you? Please?” Casey’s moist eyes—the eyes of a child in pain—plucked at Alexa’s heartstrings.
    â€œYes,” Alexa answered. “In the case of a kidnapping, the locals could ask for our involvement, but they don’t usually do so if they can avoid it. And in the event they do, I might or might not be assigned to the case. There are a lot of variables and politics at work within the Bureau, and the friction between federal and local authorities is often the least of it. If you think of law enforcement as parts of a large complex corporation with all the red tape, rules, competition between employees, and cliques, you begin to see it as it is.”
    â€œYou would be assigned to us,” Casey said, beaming. “I know you would. I mean, you’re an expert and you’re here already, so you’ve got a head start. And you have a wonderful track record.”
    She stood, extended her hand, holding Alexa’s hand for what seemed to Alexa a very long time. “It will work out, I know it will. You are our only hope.”
    â€œI truly want to help you, Casey. If this does turn out to be an abduction, I’ll do