Anxiety is no fun. It keeps you up to obscene hours and threatens to wreck the next day.
I am impressed so many people like this story! Thank you! I also didn't make it clear enough who Nico was to Jensen. This was a rush job. I admit it.
Chapter Two:
I arrived back at the sheriff's station with Lewis after examining the dump site. Prentiss was waiting for us in the conference room.
"Any new insights?" she asked.
"The victim was in a sheltered spot," I said. "The body would have stayed preserved there for hours if no one came across it."
"It's also isolated," Lewis said. "The hiking trail is recommended for only experienced hikers."
"What does that tell us?" Prentiss asked.
"That the unsub is gloating," Reid said. "By keeping the body preserved, the unsub is daring us to find evidence that will link him to the crime."
"Most likely he isn't in the system," Lewis said. "Not for any petty crimes or misdemeanors."
"So, we're looking at a professional who isn't used to being caught," Prentiss said. "I'll call Garcia and ask her to see if there are any cold cases in the surrounding states that match this MO."
There was a knock on the door. The sheriff appeared.
"I'm sorry to bother you," he said. "But the woman made it sound urgent. She is asking for Agent Reid."
"What is her name?" I asked.
"A Nico Cade," he said.
"What does the niece of a recently-deceased billionaire want with me?" I asked thoughtfully.
"Go find out and see me when you get back," Prentiss said.
"Sure thing," I said.
The sheriff led him to his office.
"I let her use it, as she said the conversation required privacy."
I opened the door and saw a woman around my age with, short curly brown hair pacing the small area.
"Dr. Reid," she said. "I am really sorry to take you away from your investigation. I assure you this matter is of an urgent nature."
"How can I help you Mrs. Cade?" I asked.
"Let's sit down first," she said.
She had a large file case with her.
"Do you mind if I ask how you found me?" I said.
"Jensen Tech employs technical analysts just like the CIA and FBI," she said.
"I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle, by the way," I said. "He seemed like a good man with brilliant ideas for what the future could look like."
"Thank you," she said and took a deep breath. "Dr. Reid, I have tried to figure out the best way to tell you this and I haven't found one. I thought I'd let the evidence tell you instead."
She passed me a file labeled DNA report. I opened it to find results dating back twelve years. A quick glance told me what I needed to know. Jacob Jensen was my biological father. Shocked didn't begin to describe how I was feeling.
"Do you know the story?" I asked weakly.
She nodded.
"On his deathbed, he told me about how your mother seduced him as he appeared to be among her brightest students. She claimed the father you grew up with was a good man but lacked the brilliance my uncle had. My uncle had agreed to keep his distance so long as he was alive, but he kept tabs on you. He was proud of you and I believe he loved you."
I could barely process the fact that my father was not the father I knew. I gripped the table. The world began to spin slightly.
"Can I get you anything, Dr. Reid?" she asked.
The woman sitting across from me was my cousin. Curly hair isn't most the common genome trait but it was a visible sign of our relationship.
"The urgency comes from the fact that the will is going to be read soon, isn't it?" I said as I tried to process everything.
"He left you everything."
This was the second shock to my system.
"Everything?"
"I don't know if you read the tabloids, Dr. Reid, but Carina and August treated your father with little respect. I guess the final straw involved crashing a Thunderbird into an occupied pool."
"I don't follow the tabloids," I said. "And call me Spencer, seeing as we're cousins."
"I know this is a lot to take in Dr.- Spencer," she said. "I really don't like doing this while you are working and I put it off as long as I could. The will reading is tomorrow at the Jensen estate in Malibu."
"You're a lawyer, correct?" I said.
"Yes."
"Two hundred fifty million," I said. "I'll give to Carina and August each if they agree to not contest the will."
"To a reasonable human, that is more than enough to live off for the rest of their lives," she said. "But August and Carina are not reasonable human beings."
I looked at her directly.
"If I might be blunt, how did you not succumb to the lack of empathy associated with extreme wealth?"
She smiled.
"After my father died, my mother never asked for a dime from her brother-in-law. She insisted on getting a job as a secretary and we lived modestly. I attended parties and received lavish gifts from Uncle Jacob, but I didn't want to end up like my cousins."
I didn't know what to say. It still felt like too much to absorb.
"Spencer, I will help you through this," she said. "I promised that on Uncle Jacob's deathbed."
"Don't you have school-age children?"
"And an overworked husband," she said with a laugh. "He's taking a break while I handle Uncle Jacob's estate."
"I need to tell my supervisor," I said.
She presented me with a business card.
"I'm leaving right now. When you're prepared to leave, call this number and a private jet will take you to Malibu. Then a private car will take you to the estate where you'll stay in the guest house."
"Okay," I said.
"You seem like a sensible person, Spencer," she said as she stood up. "I wouldn't have put this burden on you, but I think Jensen Technical Innovations will benefit with you in charge instead of Carina and August."
"Thank you," I said.
She took the DNA report and quietly left. I followed soon afterwards.
I walked back into the conference room where the whole team had gathered. Prentiss looked up and the expression on her face immediately changed to concern.
"Reid, what's wrong?" she asked.
"I am going to be a billionaire," was all I could say.