CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (15 page)

“
Yes, speak.” His manner of
drawing things out was getting to me.

“
Did your father ever speak of
Mr Lithgow?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“
No, never.”

“
Well it turns out they knew
each other for quite some time and used to do some business together
many years ago. That eventually turned into something or a rivalry.
Lithgow would often try to finance ventures in competition with your
father, and vice versa.”

“
But why?”

“
It seems they fell out over a
business deal. I looked at some of your fathers old files, and a plan
he had for a new venture was quashed by Lithgow just before he began
putting it into action. Lithgow, seemingly, outbid your father and
financed another project.”

Well that sounded fucking
familiar.

“
And what was the plan for?
What was the project?”

“
A set of apartments. Real
estate. By the looks of things it would have made your father a lot
of money.”

“
And Lithgow took that away
from him?”

“
Yes. He and a pool of
investors outbid your father and cashed in on his plan themselves.”

I shook my head. The devious
cunt. It looked like he was willing to fuck anyone over to make more
money for himself.

“
So how does this relate to my
fathers death? When did it all happen?”

“
Oh, years ago, when you were
still a teen. The thing is, it wasn't just Lithgow providing
investment. There was a cartel of them, and this is where things get
interesting.”

My pulse began to race. “Go
on.”

“
Well, one of the major
investors was a certain Michael Cooper. You asked me once why Charles
may have wanted to have him killed. Well, this is the reason. Your
father held a serious grudge against him, one he kept hidden from
just about everyone. He kept doing business with him, kept up a front
for many years, all until recently when he had him killed.”

He took another puff of his
cigarette as the information began to settle in my head.

“
Your
father was extremely Machiavellian,
Crash. He never let those who wronged him get away with it. He'd
bottle things up, wait for the time to strike. That is what happened
with Cooper.”

“
So
you
do
think that Cooper's people killed my father? In retaliation? As
revenge?”

He shook his head. “No, I see
no reason why they would assume your father was to blame. Your father
hid his hatred for Cooper from everyone. The only reason I found out
was by tracking down that girl, Jenny, the one who killed him.”

“
Soooo, who then?”

“
Lithgow.”

A silence filled the air for a
moment as Jones took a sip of whiskey. His face remained detached,
watching me closely for my own reaction. He'd worked for my father
for years, yet acted like he was just another client.

Deep down, I knew he wanted
revenge as well.

“
Lithgow and Cooper were the
two main investors,” he continued, “the two men with the most
power. Your father killed Cooper, and it would only be a matter of
time before he took out Lithgow as well. I'd imagine Lithgow knew
this, and feared what Charles would do. I believe he took pre-emptive
action, killed your father before he killed him.”

I slumped now into a seat in the
corner of the room, the news so heavy it drove me off my feet.

Lithgow. I couldn't believe it.
Maybe that was why he pulled my out on my project. He still had this
resentment for my father, even after he'd put him 6 feet under. The
snake, he'd get what was coming to him.

But not yet. No, I still needed
him. He'd make amends for what he did to my father, he'd back me with
the project.

And, poetically, that would be
the last fucking thing he'd ever do.

Elle

I didn't want to use the word
awkward, but this was kinda awkward.

He reminded me a little bit of
Brad actually, slightly serious and quiet, a little unsure of
himself. Then again, I was the same, or at least used to be. I think,
though, over the last couple of years, I'd changed quite dramatically
as a person.

“
So, Ray, what do you like to
do outside of class?”

Ray
was my date, a guy who Tess had set me up with. He was on her course
and was apparently a nice guy.
A
safe pair of hands
.
That was the phrase she'd used.

Wow, so hot.

“
You need to get yourself onto
the dating scene Elle,” Tess had said. “Seriously girl, you've
been here months now. It's time for you to explore some of the guys
out there and get some action.”

I'd got some action. Not that
anyone knew about it.

It still bothered me, the way
Crash had just run off like that. He'd gone all weird and distant and
then suddenly marched off. “I'm done here.” That's what he said.
As if I was some fucking toy to be played with and discarded.

I had been so tired that evening
but could barely sleep at all. It just infuriated me how he acted. I
mean, did he think he was better than me or something? Just because
he ran a casino he thought he was the bees knees.

Well, screw him.

“
I guess I like films,” said
Ray. “I watch a lot of movies. And books, I like reading.”

Yep, he really did seem like a
safe pair of hands. Exciting stuff.

“
Oh, OK. What sort of genres?”
I had to try to make an effort at least.

“
I like superhero films
mainly. And Dan Brown, he's my favorite author.”

“
Oooo, OK, so if you were a
superhero, what power would you most like to have?” I asked it
excitedly, trying to inject some energy into the conversation.

He seemed almost shocked by the
question.

“
Er, I suppose flight would be
fun.”

“
Oh come on Ray, what about
invisibility so you could spy on all the naked girls in the changing
room.” I plastered a cheeky smile onto my face.

Frankly, I'd gotten bored of
small talking.
Enough already.

“
Um, yeah I guess.” He
seemed embarrassed by it. “Sorry, but I need to use the bathroom.”

He stood immediately and paced
quickly off to the bathroom at the back. I mean, seriously, the last
thing I needed was another Brad. This guy was boring with a capital
B.

A waiter walked by and I grabbed
at his arm to get his attention.

“
More drink please.” I said.

“
Um, yes miss. What kind?”

“
Anything. Wine. Another of
these.” I lifted up the empty bottle of Chardonnay from its cooler.

“
Yes miss, right away.”

Maybe if I got drunk I'd have
more fun? I don't think I could have less.

....

Ray didn't get any more
interesting to me as the meal went on. He was cute, and appeared more
so after a few large glasses of vino, but that wasn't enough. If he
harbored any sort of ambition that I was going to put out, he'd have
to reset his expectations quick-fire. That wasn't going to happen.

I
ended up having the lions share of the next bottle of wine. I mean
come on, if there was one thing college guys could be guaranteed to
do, it would be to drink. Not this guy. He just sat there nursing his
wine as he mumbled on about his course and ambitions for what was
probably a very dull office-based job.

Truth be told, I'd stopped
listening by the time the desserts came out.

No, I began filling my mind with
other, more interesting things. Like the fact that I had another
dance performance coming up. One on an actual stage at an actual
event. OK, so I was pretty stricken with nerves by the prospect, but
that's what life's all about, right? Stepping out of your comfort
zone and doing the things that scare you?

And yeah, I loved dancing. I
loved it so much I'd begun to go to classes on the weekend as well as
several week nights. The expense of it grew, but I didn't care. I'd
sooner spend my money on dancing than drinking or going out. It's
what made me really happy.

Tonight, though, the drink was
making me happy. Or, at least, it was distracting me from the
downright awkwardness that was infecting this night.

I'd have words with Tess when I
get home, that was for sure.

My eye was caught as the door to
the restaurant opened up. An elderly man walked in, greeted by a
concierge who hurriedly took his coat. He looked contemptuous, his
eyes full of disdain as he glanced around the restaurant.

I don't know why my eyes stuck
with him but they did. Probably because not much else of interest was
going on right now. The concierge pointed towards the back corner of
the restaurant and the man starting making his way there.

I arched my neck, watching as he
went. When I saw who he was meeting I felt a surge of lust and anger
at the same time. It was a bizarre mix that I hadn't experienced
before.

Sitting in the corner of the
restaurant was Crash. He sat with a glass in front of him and look of
pleasure on his face. I hadn't seen him come in, no doubt off on one
of my many trips to the bathroom to escape from an awkward silence
with Ray.

He stood as the man approached,
a snide smile on his face as he reached out his hand.

“
What's so interesting back
there?” Ray asked.

I spun my head back around
towards him.

“
Someone you know?”

“
Erm, kinda.” I said, caught
out.

“
I know him too.”

Huh.

“
Who?”

“
The old guy. His names Walter
Lithgow. He's a wealthy investor. I've read about him on my course.”

“
Really?” Suddenly things
were getting a bit more interesting.

I wonder why Crash is meeting
with him. Probably expanding on his oh-so-wonderful business.

“
You know the other guy don't
you? I can tell by the way you're looking at him.”

“
Um, yeah I guess I do.”

“
Ex boyfriend?”

I laughed. Well, huffed would be
more accurate. “Not exactly.”

“
But you like him, don't you?”

Wow, he was being very forward
all of a sudden. Maybe the modicum of wine he'd actually drunk was
having an affect.

“
Pffft. No.”

He chuckled lightly. “It's
obvious you do Elle. You keep glancing over at him.”

I had nothing to say.
Was I
that obvious?

“
So who is he?”

“
He's no one. Alice's
boyfriends brother.” I knew Ray knew Alice from his course.

“
Right. Another Logan
brother.”

“
You know the Logans?”

“
Not personally. I've just
heard about them.”

My interest levels for the
evening were at an all time high. And it was about Crash.
Fucking
typical.

“
What have you heard?” I
asked casually, trying not to show my obvious interest.

He smiled, seeing right through
me. “Just that their father died a while ago and they run multiple
businesses. I heard about Charles Logan when Michael Cooper died not
too long ago.”

“
And who's Michael Cooper?”

He
huffed. “You really are new around here aren't you! He
was
a billionaire investor. Charles Logan did business with him for
years, or so I heard. And then, weirdly, he died not long after. I
can't remember the details. Think they were both murdered.”

I knew that about Crash's dad
but hadn't heard about this Cooper guy.

“
Jesus, that's crazy.”

“
Yeah, crazy suspicious.”

“
How'd you mean?”

“
Again, I'm not one to spread
rumors, but these Logans aren't the shy and retiring type. Bit weird
when Cooper and Logan both get murdered within a month of each other
in the same sort of way. It's all underground stuff, all very cloak
and dagger.”

He stopped, taking a rare sip of
wine.

“
But if you know the guy you
probably know more than I do. Like I say, it's all just rumor.”

I
sat back in my seat, Alice's words of warning from before rattling
around in my head. She'd also banged on about Crash and his father,
in particular, and how reprehensible they were.
Well
it was probably a good thing that nothing happened between us after
all.

But something had happened. I
couldn't get that out of my head. What the hell was it about this guy
that sucked me in? We seemed to run into each other all the time, as
if the fates were teasing me and trying to piss me off, dangling this
Adonis in front of me like a carrot on a stick.