Chapter 6 - The Ledger with June’s Name
It wasn’t Ray.
June knew before the man fully entered.
Same coat.
Similar build.
Different eyes.
He collapsed.
Blood soaked through his shirt.
Cormac caught him.
The man whispered one word.
“Ledger.”
Then he died.
Police arrived.
Cormac’s connections kept June from being dragged into hours of questioning, though she resented needing them.
The dead man was Samuel Pike, a private investigator Ray had hired.
In his pocket was a receipt from Holloway House.
Table six.
June stared at it.
Booth six again.
Cormac’s usual booth.
They searched beneath it.
Nothing.
June sat down.
Then noticed a scratch beneath the table.
JH.
Her initials.
She pressed the carving.
A panel opened.
Inside was a thin ledger.
The first page read:
JUNE HOLLOWAY — BENEFICIARY.
The ledger documented money.
Not $2.4 million.
Forty-three million.
Cormac stared.
Ray had spent years diverting stolen criminal proceeds into shell companies designed to eventually fund neighborhood businesses, shelters, food programs, and legal-defense organizations.
June looked horrified.
“He stole forty-three million dollars?”
“From thieves.”
“That doesn’t make it legal.”
“No.”
“You sound impressed.”
“I am.”
June turned pages.
Then found a list titled FINAL DISTRIBUTION.
Her diner.
Mr. Alvarez’s shop.
The pharmacy.
The youth center.
Dozens of businesses.
Ray had planned to dismantle the financial network and return the money to communities harmed by it.
June sat back.
“He was trying to make things right.”
Cormac nodded.
“And he knew he might die doing it.”
June’s grief changed shape.
She still hated Ray’s lies.
But she finally understood their direction.
That evening, Cormac walked her upstairs to her apartment.
June unlocked the door.
“You can go.”
“I’ll check inside.”
“I’ve lived alone for six weeks.”
“And someone fired two bullets at you.”
“Fine.”
He searched.
Nothing.
June poured two glasses of bourbon.
Cormac accepted one.
They sat at her kitchen table.
For once, nobody talked about ledgers.
June asked about Evelyn.
Cormac told her the truth.
He had loved her badly.
Not cruelly.
But incompletely.
He had believed providing safety was the same as providing a life.
Evelyn had wanted out.
Cormac kept saying later.
Then she died.
Or disappeared.
“I spent eight years angry at a dead woman,” he said.
“And now?”
“Now I’m angry at a living one.”
June smiled.
“Progress.”
Cormac looked at her.
“You’re different from what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Ray described you as stubborn.”
“He was correct.”
“He neglected terrifying.”
June laughed.
Cormac smiled.
A full smile this time.
It changed his face.
June felt something inside her move.
She immediately disliked it.
“You shouldn’t do that.”
“Smile?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It confuses your brand.”
He laughed quietly.
Then his expression softened.
“You think you’re invisible.”
June looked away.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Analyze me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Cormac leaned back.
“Ray once punched a man for calling you fat.”
June stared.
“That idiot.”
“He broke two fingers.”
“He never told me.”
“He was embarrassed.”
“He should have been. I don’t need somebody breaking his hand because another man has eyes.”
Cormac smiled.
June looked at her glass.
“After forty, people decide women like me should be grateful for attention.”
Cormac’s smile disappeared.
“People are stupid.”
She glanced at him.
His gaze was steady.
“You’re not difficult to look at, June.”
Her pulse betrayed her.
“Careful.”
“I am being careful.”
The room became too quiet.
Cormac stood.
“I should go.”
“Yes.”
Neither moved.
Then someone knocked.
Three taps.
June’s expression changed.
Cormac drew his weapon.
“Who is it?”
A woman answered.
“June.”
Cormac went pale.
The glass slipped from his hand.
June whispered, “Evelyn?”
The woman outside answered:
“Yes.”
May you like
June reached for the door handle.
It was already turning from the other side.
