Lost Soul (Harbinger P.I. Book 1) Read Online Free

nodded. “When our business expanded, George’s father, Harold Robinson, and my father went into competition with one another and it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. But George and I saw past all that. We fell in love with each other, despite our family’s feuding.”
    I really didn’t need to hear her Romeo and Juliet life story, so I said, “Since the company is now called Robinson-Lubecki Lumber, I’m assuming it all turned out well in the end.”
    “Yes,” she said. “After our fathers died, we married and merged the two companies into one of the largest lumber businesses on the East Coast.”
    “All’s well that ends well,” I said.
    “Except it hasn’t ended well. Something has happened to James.” Her eyes got watery and she dabbed at them with the tissue.
    “Okay, tell me about that. What do you think has happened to him?”
    “To understand that fully, you would have to know what James was like before. George and I made sure our son never wanted for anything. We spoiled him from the day he was born. As a result, James grew up feeling privileged and entitled. He was the epitome of a rich brat, living off his trust fund, partying, and dating a string of women. He drank sometimes, and we suspected he was using drugs, but he was never hostile toward me or his father.”
    “And that all changed one day?” I asked.
    “Yes,” she said, nodding. “In early April, James and some of his friends went up to Dark Rock Lake for a weekend. There are cabins up there and I suppose it’s a perfect place for parties. You know, plenty of booze, loud music, and girls.”
    “Yeah, I know,” I said.
    “When he came back from Dark Rock Lake, James was like a different person. He lost interest in going anywhere. We always used to travel to New York as a family twice a year, and we had a trip scheduled the week after James returned from the lake, but he refused to travel with us. That wasn’t like him. He always loved our New York trips.” Her eyes drifted away as if she were reminiscing about past vacations.
    “Is that it?” I asked, bringing her back to the present. “He didn’t want to go to New York?”
    “No, of course not,” Amelia replied, shaking her head and frowning at me. “What do you think I am, some crazy old lady? James refusing to go to New York was just the start. There were other changes, too. He began asking about the financial arrangements we had set up if George and I should die.”
    “Your wills,” I said.
    “Yes, and also how our company shares would be allocated between him and Georgia.”
    “Georgia?” Felicity asked. She had already filled one page of the legal pad with writing and was moving on to a second.
    “Our daughter,” Amelia said.
    “James’s sister?” I asked.
    “Yes, of course.”
    “Younger or older?”
    “Georgia is his younger sister. She’s eighteen next month.”
    “Is Georgia James’s only sibling?” I asked.
    Amelia nodded.
    I leaned forward in my chair. “So how is the family fortune split between James and Georgia?”
    She looked shocked at the question. “Is that relevant?”
    “It might be.”
    “Everything is split down the middle. They each get fifty percent of all money and assets, as well as equal shares of controlling interest in Robinson-Lubecki Lumber.”
    “Okay, so you think James is taking an unhealthy interest in the family fortune and he doesn’t want to go to New York.”
    “It isn’t only New York. He hardly leaves the house now. It used to be that he would disappear with his friends for days. Now, he just stays home. Sometimes he goes walking in the woods around our house, but I don’t think he’s gone any farther than that since he came back from the lake party. I’ve spoken to George about it and he says James is just going through a phase. If he knew I’d come to see you about this, he’d tell me I was crazy.”
    “You’re not crazy,” I told her. “You’re a mother who’s concerned for her son. But why did