“Howard put a rush job on the autopsy. We should know within the next couple of days.”
“What about my dad? What’s going to happen to him?”
Brandon tipped him back over his arm so he could look into his eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you, Nate. There’s enough evidence for a good prosecutor to put him away. Are you going to be okay with that?”
Nate’s face hardened. “Yeah. Before, when it was just me, I had mixed feelings, but with you getting in Wilson’s way and Amy gone. . .” He trailed off as tears filled his eyes.
Brandon brought him against his chest again. “Shh, baby. We don’t have to talk about this right now.”
Nate shook his head. “Actually, we do. Now that my father is in custody and the investigation on what’s left of my office has been concluded, the insurance agent is anxious to settle. He called me yesterday afternoon. Apparently Howard filed his report and my insurance company wants it all over and done with.”
Brandon kissed Nate’s forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
Nate leaned back and gave him a grin. “If you’ll remember, I had other plans last night.” His expression grew serious again. “Then Howard called, and you had to leave. This is really the first chance I’ve had to discuss it with you.”
Brandon studied his face. “Something about this is bothering you, I can tell. What is it?”
“Just a weird feeling I got from talking to the agent on the phone. His name is Ralph Tatum. He seems like a nice enough guy.”
“But?”
Nate looped his arms around Brandon’s neck. “Tatum was really nervous on the phone. Kept talking about the importance of settling this right away. He’s coming out to the house this afternoon.”
Brandon raised a brow. “On a Saturday?”
“That’s what I thought, too. He said it was of the ‘utmost importance that we reach an understanding as soon as possible,’ whatever the hell that means. When I bought the policy, I thought the whole thing was pretty cut and dried. I bought the building because Amy and Mike had just purchased a house, and she and I thought it would be easier if it was only in my name. Since my name is on the deed, I bought the insurance. My policy was all inclusive, so what’s there to settle?”
Brandon leaned his head against the couch. “What time is he coming?”
“Three.”
Brandon glanced down at his watch. “It’s just after eight now.”
“Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? You’re dead on your feet.”
Brandon hated to admit it, but Nate was right. “Promise you’ll get me up in a few hours so I can meet this Tatum guy with you?”
Nate gave him a soft kiss on the lips and smiled. “I promise. Now get that sexy butt of yours in bed.”
A few minutes later, Brandon went, thinking about all the things he wanted Nate to do to his butt, sexy or otherwise.
* * *
Ralph Tatum was a jittery little thing. Nate guessed him to be about five-four, five-five, tops. He was paper thin and almost bald with just a touch of bright red peach fuzz on top of his head. Nate surveyed the twitch in his jaw and figured it was probably a permanent affliction.
Nate and Brandon sat on the couch together, while Mr. Tatum took one of the easy chairs. He put his briefcase on the coffee table and cleared his throat. “Dr. Morris, perhaps it would be better if we discussed this in private.”
Nate shook his head. “Brandon is my fiancé, Mr. Tatum. Whatever you have to say to me concerns him, too. Frankly, I’d like to know why you’re giving us the old cloak and dagger routine. The policy I bought from you is ironclad. Why the big production over a straightforward insurance claim?”
Tatum shifted in his chair. “There is no insurance claim, Dr. Morris. Your policy was canceled five weeks ago.”
Nate felt like he’d been slapped. “I beg your pardon?”
“Five weeks ago, you came into our office and canceled your policy. I have the papers right here.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
Tatum shook his head. “The agent who handled the cancellation said you were adamant about severing all ties with our company.”
Nate stared at him in stunned disbelief. “What do you mean, severing all ties? Chicago Security has handled all my policies since I moved up here. You paid my claim when my apartment and office were trashed, and again when I wrecked my car. Are you trying to say that I came in and cancelled everything, even after all that?”
“Are you saying you didn’t?”
Nate was doing his best not to get angry. “Hell, yes, that’s what I’m saying. And if you’re going to deny my claim, you’d better have proof that I did.”
Tatum opened his briefcase and pulled out a termination-of-service form. He handed it to Nate with shaking fingers.
Nate moved the paper so that Brandon could see it, too. Brandon was the first one to speak. “That’s Nate’s name, but it isn’t his signature.”
Tatum looked like he was about to cry. “Are you certain?”
Nate got up and started pacing the room. After a minute, he turned back to Tatum, trying hard not to yell. “Don’t you think I would remember canceling my own damn insurance policy?” A sudden thought crossed his mind. “Did you say I canceled everything, even my malpractice insurance?”
“Yes.”
Brandon caught on. “So you would have had to issue a refund check, right?”
Tatum nodded and pulled another document out of his briefcase. “Yes. Dr. Morris, or whoever he was, wanted the money right then. The young agent who handled the transaction offered to mail it to him, but he demanded it be given to him immediately. Since I was out of the office, my secretary wrote the check. She assures me that the young man showed the proper ID and had all your policy information. Here’s the photocopy of the cancelled check from the bank.” He handed the paper to Nate. Brandon came over to stand behind him and look over his shoulder.
Nate stared down at the endorsement on the check. It was blurred and hard to read, but Nate was sure he could see a difference. He compared it to the signature on the termination agreement. “I’m no expert, but these signatures don’t match each other any more than they match mine.”
Brandon said, “It’s hard to tell, but the bank that cashed this check should have video surveillance of the transaction, and the check is time stamped. Shouldn’t be too hard to track it down.”
Tatum was still sitting in the chair, looking up at both of them. “If you can prove that the claim was cancelled under false pretenses, of course, our office will pay for all the damages.”
Nate saw the expression on Brandon’s face and felt a chill go down his spine when he said, “We’ll prove it, Tatum. You can count on it.”
* * *
Brandon hung up the phone and came back into the living room where Nate and Tatum were sitting. He took his place by Nate on the couch and said, “I just talked to Clive Rogers, manager of the Carlin Bank and Trust in Chicago, the place where that check was cashed. They send all their security tapes to the main office in Cleveland. He’s calling now to ask them to be shipped back here, but it will take until next week sometime to get them back.”
Tatum stood up and grabbed his briefcase. “Until this matter is settled, there’s nothing my office can do.”