The Orphans (Orphans Trilogy Book 1) by Matthew Sullivan Read Free Book Online Page B

genetics and poor dietary choices. He wanted to take the summer internship with Terry. He wanted that to be the launching pad for achieving all of the goals that he had laid out in his notebook. And so, Charlie did what many people do when caught between the pull of the universe and their own worldly desires: He became his very own devil’s advocate.
    Charlie rattled off every possible explanation he could think of for not believing Walter. Charlie told himself that Walter was just acting crazy in the video because he had clearly broken into Abbadon’s headquarters—that had to be why the package was sent from their office—and, well, because Walter was kind of crazy. Walter always had a thing for conspiracy theories, whether it was the government or just competing companies, and he rarely trusted anyone outside of his very small circle.
    Charlie also noted that Walter had even said in the video, “If I’m right,” which meant he wasn’t 100 percent sure that he was right. He was basically guessing. He had no proof that Charlie’s parents had died of heart attacks. If that had been the case, the police would have said something. It would have shown up in the autopsy.
    As persuading as each rebuttal Charlie had conceived was, the most compelling piece of evidence Charlie presented to himself was the lack of motive. There was no feasible reason Terry would want to kill his parents shortly after investing in their business. If their company failed, something that was almost certain to happen now, Terry stood to take a huge financial hit. No one as successful as Terry, or really even anyone who had ever had the slightest hint of success whatsoever, would ever intentionally sabotage their own investment. It went against everything Charlie had ever learned about business, as well as everything Charlie had ever read about Terry.
    “Maximizing profit is the most important objective, the second most important objective, and the third most important objective in business,” was the line Charlie recalled Terry saying in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
    By the time Charlie had finished his closing arguments, he had successfully swayed his internal jury. Not guilty would be the verdict they would return, without any need for further deliberations. That is, if not for the lone dissenter, the voice in Charlie’s head that was still causing a stir. It refused to go away. It needed more evidence before it could reach any judgment.
    Charlie pleaded to the little doubt left in him.
    It responded with Walter’s words, “Your parents died of heart attacks. That’s why they crashed.” The words kept repeating, turning jurors with each iteration until the jurors in Charlie’s court were split down the middle.
    Frustrated, Charlie chewed on his lip with such force he nearly broke skin. He had been so close to putting it all behind him, but in the end, he had come up short. There would be no quick and easy way out. Charlie was forced to come to terms with the fact that there was only one way that he could close the case and move on.

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    Before setting off for the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office, Charlie did a quick scan over the contact spreadsheet on Walter’s flash drive. He surmised that in his worst-case scenario—the one where Walter was correct about Terry—it would be much better to be safe than sorry and know for a fact that the coroner wasn’t secretly a member of this alleged conspiracy prior to asking for his help.
    Charlie didn’t find the coroner’s name on the contact list; however, there were a handful of the names in the spreadsheet that he did recognize. He had heard some of them in his Civics class, and a few others were prominent business leaders that he had come across while doing his own research. Of all the names Charlie skimmed, there was one in particular that stood out among the others: James Podesky.
    It wasn’t the name itself that caught Charlie’s