Read Online Found Money by James Grippando - Free Book Online Page A

much sense. Let me just start at the top, and you can decide what’s going on for yourself. You see, I got a package a couple of weeks ago. It didn’t have a return address, but I’m certain it came from either your father or your mother. I know your father passed away recently, and I didn’t want to trouble your mother.”
    Ryan’s voice suddenly lost its edge. “How do you know it came from my parents?”
    “That’s just something I figured out.”
    “What was in the package?”
    “A gift.”
    “What kind of gift?”
    “A totally unexpected one. I don’t really want to get into it on the telephone. Could we maybe meet somewhere and talk about this?”
    “I’d really like to know more about this gift.”
    “And I’d be more than happy to tell you,” said Amy. “But please, not on the phone.”
    “Where do you want to meet?”
    “Just someplace public, like a restaurant or something. Not that I don’t trust you. I just don’t know you.”
    “Okay. You want to meet here in Piedmont Springs? I can do it tonight, if you like.”
    Amy hesitated. It was a five-hour drive from Boulder each way, and she had just made the trip yesterday. Long trips in her clunky old truck were a complete roll of the dice, especially at night. And another day off from work was pushing it. “That’s kind of far for me.”
    “Where are you coming from?”
    “I’d rather not say.”
    “Well, tomorrow I’ll be in Denver on a personal matter. Is that any better for you?”
    Amy was sure she could think of some computer-related excuse to go to the firm’s Denver office. “Yes, as a matter of fact it is. Do you know the Green Parrot? It’s a coffee shop, dessert place at Larimer Square.”
    “I’m sure I can find it.”
    “Great,” said Amy. “What time is good for you?”
    “I have an appointment at two. Not sure how long it will last. Let’s say four o’clock, just to be safe.”
    “Four it is,” she said.
    “Hey,” he said, catching her before the hang-up. “How will we know each other?”
    “Just give the hostess your name. I’ll ask for Dr. Duffy when I get there.”
    “See you then.”
    “Yes,” she said eagerly, “definitely.”

11
    Ryan ate an early lunch on Friday and drove alone to Denver. The radio was playing, but he hardly noticed. This afternoon’s property settlement conference with Liz and her lawyer was enough to keep his mind whirling. Now he could also look forward to the mystery woman and her four o’clock surprise.
    Ryan had phoned Liz the morning after their Tuesday evening talk on the front porch. Having slept on it, he’d decided to feel her out before telling her about the money. He offered to ride together to Friday’s meeting, hoping she’d suggest they simply postpone the whole divorce thing, maybe start talking reconciliation. But she declined the ride. Seemed she had to be in Denver three hours ahead of time to prepare with her lawyer.
    Three hours? Who the hell did they think he was, Donald Trump?
    His heart thumped with a sudden realization. Technically, he was a millionaire. But how would Liz know that? Ryan hadn’t even told his own lawyer about the two million in the attic, which raised another set of problems. Eventually, the divorce would force him to disclose his net worth under oath, either in sworn deposition testimony or in his sworn statement of assets and liabilities. For the moment, however, he didn’t consider thetainted cash an asset. At least not until he decided to keep it. Today, he would just have to finesse things. Later, if he did decide to keep it, he could figure out a way to tell Liz.
    Unless she already knew. Somehow.
    Seventeenth Street was the lifeline of Denver’s financial district. Amid the shadows of more than a dozen sleek chrome and glass skyscrapers, Ryan drove slowly in search of parking rates that didn’t cause cardiac arrest. It was futile. He parked in the garage of a forty-story tower owned by the Anaconda Corporation, an