Flash

was, he obviously didn't think it was very important," Olivia said. "After all, he went ahead and signed that contract with you."
    "Probably because what he found was not directly related to me." Jasper gazed intently at the Needle. "It involved someone else. Someone who died over eight years ago."
    "I don't understand. If it didn't involve you, why would a blackmailer come after you with threats?"
    "For the same reason that he targeted you with threats that would hurt people in your family."
    She sighed. "He knows that you'll want to protect someone who would be hurt if the information were made public?"
    "Yes." He turned to find her watching him with her clear, perceptive eyes. "Eight years ago I went to great lengths to conceal some information about my stepbrother, Fletcher. I thought I had been successful. But obviously I was not."
    She watched him very steadily. "Now what?"
    He smiled humorlessly. "Now, I will have to tell you what I have told no one else in eight years."
    She tensed. "Jasper, maybe I don't need to know dais. If you'd rather not…"
    "You need to know," he said. "You told me your secrets. Now I'll tell you mine. We're in this together."
    She was silent for a moment. Then she nodded. "I'm listening."
    He sorted through the facts, searching for a place to start. It was strange, he thought. He had buried the information in the farthest corner of his mind, but when he went looking, he found it all too easily.
    "Fletcher was several years older than I was. I idolized him when I was a kid. He spent time with me. Showed me things."
    "What kind of things?"
    Jasper shrugged. "All the things my father never had the time to show me. How to fish. How to play basketball. How to wear a tux."
    "I see."
    "He was a natural salesman. People responded to him. He had a way of making the world seem like a more exciting place."
    "I know the type. Larger-than-life. Logan was like that."
    "Fletch moved from one job to another. He worked for Dad for a while. Then he went on to some brokerage and investment houses. He loved the adrenaline rush that goes with the financial markets. He was always chasing the next big deal. But adrenaline is like any other drug. Once you get addicted to it, you need more and more of it."
    "What happened?"
    Jasper went back to the window. "What happened was that when I got out of college, Fletcher suggested we go into business together. We formed Sloan & Associates. We were a good team. I had an instinct for selecting the right projects to back. Fletcher had a gift for talking investors into putting their money into the companies I selected."
    "Go on."
    "Things went well for a while. Fletcher married a woman named Brenda. They had two sons, Kirby and Paul. I married Rachel Sands. She was a vice-president in the firm."
    "That was the marriage based on business interests that you once mentioned?" Olivia asked.
    "Yes. It fell apart when Kirby and Paul came to live with me after Fletcher and Brenda were killed in a skiing accident. Rachel wasn't into motherhood, especially not with two young boys who were not even related to her."
    "How did you take to fatherhood?"
    He turned slightly toward her and propped one shoulder against the steel frame of the window. "It was a little rocky at times, but we all made it."
    She gave him a quick smile. "Know what? I'll bet you made a pretty terrific father."
    The comment startled him. "Why do you say that?"
    She hesitated, as if she had to search for the right words. "Because you're the type who sticks to things once you've made a commitment. Sticking to the job is most of what parenting is all about."
    He frowned. "There's a lot more to being a good father than just sticking to the job."
    "No," she said. "There isn't. I can't think of anything more important than just being there, day in and day out, come hell or high water."
    The directness of her gaze made him uncomfortable. Jasper was aware of an awkward heat in his face. He hoped he was not doing anything really dumb like turning red.
    He cleared his throat. "A few months after Kirby and Paul came to live with me, one of the investment projects for which Fletcher had had primary responsibility and which had been sold to a consortium of investors began to unravel."
    "What went wrong?"
    "It took me a while to find out," Jasper said softly. "Things nearly blew up in my face before I realized that Fletcher had scammed everyone, including me."
    "Oh, Jasper."
    "Yes." Absently, he rubbed the back of his neck.