Chapter 60

"Nancy?" Howard gave my sleeve a little tug, snapping me out of my daze. I realized I was drenched in sweat.

"Why'd you suddenly stop talking and zone out? Have you been overworking? Maybe you should see a doctor," Howard said.

I shook my head, my thoughts finally clear. I didn't know the whole truth, but Lally must've told me this stuff on purpose, and Tony did too.

In Tammy's investigation, the testimony seemed fishy, and I never saw Tony. Most of what I knew came from Lally, and then Tony showed up, knowing I was tracking him.

My suspicion of Tony started from my first visit to Tammy's house. I knew Tony was there on the day of the incident, and then I found a copy of an insurance policy slipped into the Sand Village demolition fight case file. That copy made me even more suspicious of Tony.

Tammy, Lally, Tony, and Zack seemed to be in cahoots, all tied to Sand Village, but there was one exception: Frank.

After getting in the car, I sat in the back seat while Howard drove me home.

On the way, Howard marveled, "I can't believe Tom is actually Zack. Back then, he had two identities for the Sand Village compensation scheme. Who knows how much money he embezzled? No wonder the accounts didn't match up."

"The accounts didn't match up?" I asked.

"Yeah, there was a discrepancy of nearly $500,000," Howard sighed. "Tom's really bad, making dirty money."

"Why didn't they match up?" I already had an idea and said calmly, "Do you know why he came here today to handle business?"

Howard looked puzzled and shook his head, not getting my point.

"Remember when I asked if anyone had been in our archives?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" Howard replied.

"When Zoey and I were going through the Sand Village fight case materials, we found a copy of an insurance policy. It was a joint policy taken out by Tony and Zack, also known as Tom, for Tammy. If Tony died accidentally, his mother Tammy would get a big insurance payout. Tony insured himself for $500,000, which was actually his compensation. I was curious because Tony's injury, while emotionally significant, wouldn't warrant such a high payout. Now it makes sense. Tom went even further, insuring for $1.5 million," I explained.

As I spoke, I laid out the whole story to Howard, including Zack being from an orphanage and his relationship with Lally.

"Tom... well, he loves his mom. If he's not involved in this, I should still help him," Howard said.

I was about to say he was loyal to his family, but seeing Howard's eyes darting around and muttering numbers, I changed my mind.

Suddenly, Howard gasped and chuckled, "Tom invested about a third of his assets. He's really a good son. As an adopted son, he's no different from a biological one."

"Nancy, I may not have a lot of money, but I'm not poor. Do you think Zoey will treat me the same way in the future?" Howard asked out of the blue.

I rolled my eyes at Howard. He wasn't poor at all. Just from the Silverlight City Legal Journal, he made millions annually. In recent years, with his investments, his wealth probably surpassed Tom's.

Thinking about Zoey and Howard's relationship, I nodded, "She will. Zoey's a lucky girl."

"Lucky? Her parents, one only knows how to make money, and the other is a workaholic. They neglect their daughter and look down on each other. They're both the same!" Howard said, clearly upset on Zoey's behalf.

"Very lucky," I said, looking at Howard. "Zoey has two fathers."

Howard was stunned, his mouth opening and closing without saying anything. But the smile on his face didn't fade, and his eyes reddened, tears almost falling before he blinked them away.

This might be one of men's talents. It wasn't that men didn't cry; they merely concealed their emotions so well that even they couldn't find them.

"I like hearing that. I'll give you a raise, shares, and make you a partner!" Howard laughed heartily, unexpectedly in a good mood.

I smiled, "Did you hear the manager say someone else was going to insure?"

Howard, seeing I didn't respond, didn't press further. He nodded, his eyes shifting slightly, "Frank?"

Frank was more familiar to him. It seemed he didn't expect a business friend to be so deeply involved in this case.

"What has Frank been up to lately?" I asked.

"Not sure. Frank's health isn't good, and he rarely socializes. I don't usually call him out." Howard shook his head slowly, "I'll give him a call."

He opened the car phone, found Frank's name, and dialed, putting it on speaker. Soon, the call connected.

Howard said, "Frank, where are you? Let me guess, counting your heartbeats at home again? What's there to be afraid of? Come fishing with me. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and even the winter fish are coming up to sunbathe. You and I... did I say something wrong?"

Howard was like this, never giving the other person a chance to say "hello," always talking. Even teasing Frank, who was seriously ill, about counting heartbeats at home.

"Is this Mr. Martin? Hello, I'm Mr. Thomas's secretary." The voice came from the other end.

"Why didn't you say so earlier! Wasting my feelings. Where's Frank? Is he so important now that his secretary answers his calls?" Howard continued to grumble.

"Mr. Martin, I'm sorry. Mr. Thomas is asleep," Frank's secretary apologized.

"Asleep?" Howard and I checked the time, 4:00 PM, and his tone turned sour, "What's he doing sleeping now? Sleeping during the day, writing poetry at night, and calling me to talk about poetry and drama. Damn, how am I supposed to understand that?"

"It's 8:00 AM here. Mr. Thomas is at the Edria headquarters." Frank's secretary replied.

"What? When did he go back?" Howard asked.

"He arrived in Edria the night before last. There's something at the headquarters. I'll let him know when he wakes up. Don't worry." Frank's secretary said.

Howard hung up the phone. Frank went abroad? Howard and I exchanged a look, and he turned the car around, stepping on the gas.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Frank's company! If he's not there, we'll go to his house and break the door down!" Howard said angrily.

I understood. Frank and Howard were close. Howard was helping me and also helping his friend. But why was Frank involved in this case? Now, not only I but even Howard wanted to get to the bottom of it.