“If she sees you there…we don’t want to risk that.” He takes a step away from the desk and holds up his hands. “I’ll get a couple of the guys together—people Cherry hasn’t seen before—and we’ll take care of it. I’ll stay out of sight. Once we have him, I’ll call you.”
I have to admit that Antony is right. I can’t risk Cherry looking out her window and seeing me grabbing someone out of a car. She’s far less likely to recognize Antony from that distance. As long as Antony stays out of sight, the risk is minimal.
“All right,” I finally say, “you go get him.”
“Boss, before we go pick him up, there’s more you should know.”
“Jesus, Antony—I don’t think I can take any more right now.” Giving up on trying to hide how this information is affecting me, I drop down into the chair and try to slow my breathing and heart rate. My hands are starting to shake, and I press them to my thighs to conceal their trembling.
“I know, Nate, but I need to tell you. I can’t walk out of here until you have all the information I have. It’s about where I found the original birth certificate.”
“Where?” I look up again, apprehensive.
“Right next to this one.” He places yet another copy of Cherry’s forged birth certificate on the desk.
“Where?” I ask again, knowing full well that I am not going to like the answer.
“In your business files,” he says quietly. “From the dates of the other documents, I’d say Micha placed it there about two weeks before we found him in the woods.”
“How do you know Micha put it there and not Pops?”
“Because it was in a file from March of last year,” Antony says. “Carlo was in Seattle, working out that document deal with Franks. Your father was out of town that whole month before Micha was found. Micha made sure the information was dated, and I think his handwriting is on some of it. There’s also some stuff about the club, and Pops didn’t give a shit about the club.”
“What? And he does now?” I look over at Pops and laugh.
“Who does what?” Antony narrows his eyes.
“You think he gives a shit about the club now that he walked in there once?” I point my thumb in Pops’ direction. Antony glances up, but instead of asking Pops outright, Antony turns back to me.
“When did he go to the club?”
I roll me eyes and stare at the ceiling for a moment before glaring at my cousin.
“Forget it.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Get back to Micha.”
“Okay.” Antony gives me a strange look before he continues. “The gist of it is, Micha had a copy of Cherry’s forged birth certificate.”
“So he had it, but why? Do you think…you think the Ramsays killed him because he was looking into Cherry’s past?”
“I think there might be a connection.” Antony rubs his jaw as he ponders. “The timing fits, at least. Why would Micha have a copy of this at all?”
“Did Cherry know Micha?” I can’t even believe I’m suggesting the idea, but my imagination is starting to run wild. Did my brother know Cherry before I ever met her? Did he figure out she was somehow tied to the Ramsays? “Do you think that’s why she’s here?”
“I can only look shit up, boss; I can’t read minds. It seems a little too coincidental though I suppose it could be an accident.”
“An accident,” I mutter and then laugh.
“Boss?”
“Accident, Maryland,” I say. “That’s the name of her hometown. At least, that’s what she’s told me.”
“Right. I remember that.”
“What else did you say was in there?” I ask.
“You mean in Micha’s file?”
“Yeah.”