Flash

the small, choppy waves of Elliott Bay and put his questions into an orderly pattern. "How do you think your uncle found out about Logan and Nina?"
    "In a lot of ways, Uncle Rollie was an old-fashioned patriarch."
    Jasper was briefly amused. "
Patriarch
is an odd word to use to describe a man who was happily gay."
    "I know." Olivia carefully unsealed the triple-shot latte she had purchased from a sidewalk espresso stand. "But it was the truth. He was the oldest of his generation and the first really successful member of the Chantry clan. He had a very strong sense of family responsibility. He provided jobs for relatives who needed them and summer employment for their kids. He helped finance first homes and first cars. Established college funds. Never forgot birthdays. Etc., etc."
    "I get the picture."
    "He always seemed to know what was going on in everyone's life. He kept track of things. He was obsessive about his files." She took a quick sip of her latte. "Both verbally and in his will, he gave explicit instructions to me to destroy all of his personal records after his death."
    Jasper glanced at her. "Did you carry out those instructions?"
    "Didn't have to." She took another sip. "There was a fire in Uncle Rollie's study the day after we got word of his death. It took care of everything."
    He came to an abrupt halt. "Arson?"
    Olivia nodded. "The police said there had been a rash of trash bin fires in the neighborhood where Uncle Rollie lived. They think the arsonist got especially bold that night and tried to burn down a whole house. He probably chose my uncle's because it was vacant."
    "I see." Jasper resumed walking. "Back to my question. How did Rollie learn about the affair?"
    Olivia made a face. "If you want to know the truth, I suspect he hired a private investigator. Pretty tacky, huh?"
    That brought Jasper to another halt in the middle of the path. "Why in hell would he do that?"
    She sighed. "Uncle Rollie never approved of my marrying Logan. He told me that Logan was using me right from the start. He had the decency to shut up about it after the wedding, but I know that he was still worried."
    "So he kept tabs on Dane?"
    "I wouldn't put it past him," Olivia said. "All I know for sure is that one day Uncle Rollie took me to lunch and asked if I knew that Logan was having an affair with Nina. He was furious, not only on my behalf, but on Nina's. She was young, inexperienced, and out of her league. Logan took advantage of her naïveté and innocence."
    "What did you say?"
    "I admitted I'd had some suspicions and that I was already considering a divorce. I never asked Uncle Rollie outright how he had learned about the affair, however."
    "You just assumed he'd used an investigator?"
    "It was a logical assumption. I knew that he hired a firm from time to time to, uh, check out stuff."
    "What kind of stuff did good old Uncle Rollie check out?"
    She looked at him over the rim of her latte cup. "Potential business partners, for example."
    "Me, for instance?"
    "Uh-huh."
    Jasper whistled softly. "Makes sense. I had Rollie's background investigated before I signed the contract to finance Glow's expansion."
    Olivia rolled her eyes. "Sheesh. Lord save me from obsessive-compulsive information types."
    Jasper ignored that. "The bottom line here is that Rollie and at least one other person besides yourself knew about the affair."
    Olivia looked briefly baffled. Then she nodded. "Oh, sure. Of course. The private investigator—" She broke off. "Hey, do you suppose the investigator is using the information in his files to blackmail people connected to some of his former clients?"
    "Unlikely. Too obvious. And too easy to check out. Besides, I'm sure your uncle used a first-class firm." Jasper considered the possibilities. "There's another interesting question here, though."
    "What's that?"
    "Any chance that Rollie knew about Zara's former career in X-rated films?"
    Olivia mulled that over briefly. "Sure. In fact, I'd bet he did know about it although he never mentioned it, of course. Like I said, Uncle Rollie knew just about everything about everyone in the family. Why?"
    "It gives us a link. Don't you see? Whoever is blackmailing you and Zara knows information that only Rollie Chantry knew, right?"
    "As far as I'm aware, yes."
    Jasper paused to connect a few more facts. "You said there was a fire in Rollie's house that destroyed his personal files."
    "That's right"
    "Did his bank register and credit card statements