Naomi smiled. “I’m so glad to see you, Sadie. Come in.”

Sadie had never liked her first name—mainly because her father had picked it out—but she didn’t mind Naomi using it. Most anyone else would get their ass kicked for calling her anything other than Cross.

After the expected discussion about tea, Sadie followed Naomi into the kitchen and watched while she prepared the kettle.

The older woman announced, “Asher’s parents are in town.”

Sadie imagined they had come to ensure their son’s case was being investigated properly—the old man was a lawyer, after all—and to make arrangements for his body. Asher and his father had had the sort of relationship Sadie had with hers. He hadn’t talked about the reasons, and she hadn’t asked. She’d learned long ago that when you asked personal questions, you generally ended up having to answer the same.

Sadie cleared her throat. “Are they taking him back to Boston?”

“I imagine so.” Naomi sighed. “I’m certain he would prefer to be buried here, but his father will have none of that.”

“Has your sister called you?” Despite their differences, one would think Asher’s mother would want to be with family now. Particularly considering how much Asher had loved his aunt.

But not Lana Walsh. All the more reason Sadie did not like the woman.

“She won’t call me. I won’t even be invited to the funeral.” She sighed. “But that’s fine by me. I’d rather remember Asher as he was.”

“Has anyone come by to speak with you besides the two detectives, Devlin and Falco?”

Naomi shook her head. “Not a soul. Should I be expecting someone?”

“Not that I know of. I was just wondering.” It seemed Falco and Devlin had stuck by their word and kept Naomi, as well as Sadie, from the task force. Maybe one day her confidence in humankind would be restored.

She mentally smirked. Not likely.

“Did the detectives take anything from his room?”

Naomi shook her head. “They took photos but didn’t take anything else. I was glad. I think they recognized that I really wanted to keep everything possible. I’m sure his parents will be taking all his things from his condo.”

“There’s one thing they won’t be taking.”

Naomi’s eyes widened in expectation as Sadie reached into the bag she held. “I dropped by his condo and got this for you. I knew he would want you to have it.” She passed the framed photograph of Naomi and Asher to the lady.

“Oh, thank you so much.” She clutched the photograph in both hands and smiled sadly. “This is my favorite picture of us together.” She lifted her gaze to Sadie. “I’m certain they would have tossed it out.”

Sadie smiled too. Something else she rarely did. Naomi made her want to smile. Asher had, too, for that matter. He was the first person she had allowed so close in a very long time.

“Is there anything new on the case?” Naomi held the photograph to her chest as if she were hugging her nephew.

“Nothing yet. A task force has been set up to work on the investigation. Hopefully things will move along quickly. The parents coming will put a living face on the loss and prod the efforts—particularly if they go public. Asher’s father is a powerful man. The people in charge will not want him suggesting they aren’t doing anything other than a stellar job.”

Naomi gave a little nod. “At least the bastard is good for something.”

“Did you ever like him?” Sadie couldn’t help being curious. Besides, maybe there was something in that broken relationship between father and son that pertained to her investigation into Asher’s death. There was definitely something off with the mother.

“I tried to in the early years,” Naomi admitted. “But it was clear he didn’t care for me right off the bat. I think he was intimidated by my credentials.”

“Really?” A frown furrowed across her brow. “But he’s a Harvard-educated attorney. Rich. Powerful. Well respected.”

Naomi held her gaze for a moment. “I think because he recognized I saw through him.”

“Saw through him how?”

“I did a little research on Leland Walsh. His academic record is quite impressive, but I spoke with a good number of others who attended Harvard at the same time as he, and they couldn’t believe he’d done so well. They insisted he wasn’t nearly so brilliant as he would have the world believe. He’s built his empire on the backs of others, my friend. He is an evil man. Asher despised him.”

“Do you have any proof that he’s involved with anything shady or illegal, or are we talking about evil in the sense that he’s ruthless and will do whatever necessary to win?” She’d never met a really good attorney who wouldn’t.

“Probably the latter. I know how ruthless he is. He turned my sister against me. Tried to take Asher from me. His firm has quite the reputation for winning. Their record appears to be unblemished, and we both know you don’t win like that without crossing certain lines. It’s the corroborating it that most often proves impossible.”

Sadie recognized part of Naomi’s hatred for the man was nothing more than the fact that he had stolen her family. But Sadie also knew Naomi had a keen, highly intelligent mind. She was no fool. There was likely some merit to her claim.

“Do you feel his sheer ruthlessness is what ruined his relationship with Asher?”

Naomi nodded slowly. “I do. Asher was a kind, loving soul. He was one of the rare few who truly believed in justice for all. The older he got, the deeper his hatred grew for the mentality of people like his father.”

“Would you like me to have his ass kicked while he’s here?”

Naomi laughed so hard she lost her breath. “I suppose not, since I would surely be blamed. But the thought is marvelous.”

Now for the part she dreaded. “Naomi, I’ve looked into your sister and her husband a bit. Like you, I couldn’t find anything off about Leland, but I did discover something odd in Lana’s activities over the past year or so.”

Naomi’s eyes lit with hope. “Please tell me that she’s been cheating on the bastard. That would make my day.”

“Afraid not.” Sadie wondered if this lady would be hurt by what she was about to learn and if it mattered in the grand scheme of things. She couldn’t risk that it might. “Did you know Lana has been coming to Birmingham once a month for a day, sometimes two, for the past fifteen months? Maybe longer, but that was as far back as I could find data.”