Ice and Fire novel Chapter 440

Jackson went straight to the bar, where Derek had been waiting now for a long while.

The second he entered the private room, he told Derek, "Tell me everything!"

Derek didn't speak until Jackson was sitting down, "We haven't learned anything beyond what I already told you. Nothing of value was recovered from the butler's body, and there were no clues discovered on his person. The police haven't learned anything either."

When Derek finished, Jackson just sat there, frowning. His eyebrows were furrowed, as he silently mulled the information over.

Derek thought about the crash site, the wreckage and as he pieced it together weighing the facts, "Jackson, I don't think the car accident was random. The truck that crashed into the vehicle with the butler in appeared to be planned and shot out suddenly, as though someone had timed it."

Considering what Derek observed, Jackson blurted out, "It had to be Mond!"

Derek looked at Jackson in bewilderment as he asked himself, 'Does Jackson have facts relative to the collision?'

Gleaning Derek's silent question from the puzzled expression, Jackson broke down his reasoning, "The butler had a secret, a valuable one, and we all wanted it. Mond didn't want us to find out what the butler knew. Consequently, it's logical to presume that Mond is tied to the crash."

Derek asked, "Wait! Do you mean to say, that aside from your shared past, there is more between you and Mond?"

"It's got to be related to the token." Jackson insisted adamantly, "All I know is, that Eric and Johnson take orders from whoever has the token. I surmise the token is worth a fortune."

"Fortune?" Derek looked over at Jackson, and immediately his eyebrows shot up, as his eyes widened in wonderment at Jackson's revelation. Derek's voice grew louder and went up a pitch as he said, "You are telling me the token is..."

"Well, right now, it's all conjecturing on my part, but, yeah, I guess, " Jackson elaborated, cutting Derek short, "I know the Chu Family's assets. However, even though there were funds, Grandpa struggled for many years. I believe he was stashing money, and the estate is far larger than the sum I control. I haven't completed a detailed inventory of the family's assets, yet, still, I am sure when I finish, I will find, that it isn't there in its entirety."

"Jackson? Did your Grandpa tell you anything, at all, while he was still alive?" Derek was trying to comprehend the situation thoroughly and mulled over the components he knew. He realized that it was one huge mess, and the longer this went on, and more he knew, the messier it seemed. Everything was confusing him, and he didn't know where to start. Grandpa Andrew died abruptly. It stood to reason that if he died of an illness, he would have told Jackson everything and even suggested what Jackson should do next. Grandpa passed away so unexpectedly that no one, not even Grandpa was prepared, and he hadn't disclosed anything to Jackson. Now, this whole ordeal was one of perplexing intrigue and the more time went by, the more twisted and strained it was all becoming. He was growing concerned and knew Jackson needed to find a way out.

Jackson frowned shaking his head as he responded, "No."

"Did your Grandpa ever give you any kind of hint about anything when you two spoke?" Derek raised more questions, probing deeper.

Jackson carefully reflected on discussions he and his Grandpa had recently and deliberated whether or not anything Andrew had said could have been a hint. After a while, he shook his head. There was nothing Grandpa Andrew spoke to him about that fit.

"I can't recall anything, " replied Jackson scratching his head.