Against the Wind by Kat Martin Page B

wanted.
    â€œAndrew was blackmailing someone, Stan. We think it was Martin Kozak. Do you know anything about that?”
    â€œOf course not. You know I would never do anything illegal.”
    Sarah refrained from rolling her eyes. “I’ll need a copy of the probate documents. I need to find out what was going on.”
    â€œAre you sure you should be involving yourself in this, Sarah?”
    â€œInvolving myself is the last thing I want. I don’t have any other choice.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œI need a copy of the probate, Stan.”
    â€œThat shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll ask Rosemary to mail you one. Just give her your address before you leave.”
    â€œI’ll just wait here while she gets it.”
    It was clear he wasn’t pleased. Still, he leaned over and pressed the intercom button, instructed Rosemary to get the information Sarah had requested. Though she had signed a lengthy prenuptial agreement before sheand Andrew were married, giving him sole rights to the companies he owned, she was his widow and a party to the probate proceedings.
    She just hoped the information would help.
    â€œThe copies will be ready for you when you leave,” Stan said. “Thank you.”
    He walked behind his desk, sat down and opened the file in front of him.
    â€œThere’s just one more thing,” Sarah said.
    He looked up. “Which is…?”
    â€œI need to talk to Mitzy. Maybe she knows something that will help us.”
    His face colored slightly. “I didn’t realize you knew.”
    â€œI’ve know for years, Stan. Before Mitzy, it was Gloria, and let’s not forget Susie. The list goes on and on.”
    Stan flipped open the card file sitting on top of his desk and dug out the information. “Her name is Mitzy Bender. Unfortunately, she left town just after you did. I tried to call and check on her—as Andrew would have wanted—but I never reached her. She seems to have disappeared completely.”
    â€œI think I know why,” Jackson said softly.
    â€œAre you sure there’s nothing you can tell us that might help us find the disk?”
    Stan shook his head. “I wish I could. If anyone comes to me asking questions, I’ll tell them you have no idea where to find whatever it is they’re looking for.”
    â€œThanks, Stan.”
    They left his private office. Sarah collected the probate paperwork from Rosemary and they carried it downto the garage. Sitting in the front seat of the Infiniti, she began to skim the documents, paying particular attention to the page listing the companies requesting payment of debt from the estate.
    â€œGod, there are dozens,” she said, a sick feeling in her stomach.
    Jackson leaned over to examine the list. “Looks like your late husband owed money to half the people in California.”
    â€œAnd most of the people in Nevada—though his gambling debts don’t appear on the list.”
    She turned to the page showing his current assets. “Andrew’s been selling off his father’s businesses for years. Here’s a list of the businesses he still owned when he died. Doesn’t look like there’s that many left.”
    â€œRead off the names, tell me what you know about each one.”
    â€œNot much, I’m afraid. Andrew wasn’t very forthcoming when it came to his business dealings.” But she looked down and began to read. “Blacktop Tires. That’s a chain of retail tire stores located throughout the West.”
    â€œI’ve seen them.”
    â€œSpeedway Manufacturing—a small company that makes specialty racing tires. It’s kind of an offshoot of Blacktop.”
    â€œWhat else?”
    â€œAxis Mining. As I recall, they closed down operations a couple of years ago. Andrew used to own a company that made ore crushing machines, but he sold that sometime back.” She looked at another name on the list.