The Lost Equation - Chapter 5 snippet

5 THE AFTERMATH

As time passed, I followed Gemini from arm's length. Her

trying to fit into the McKinzie world was like watching a

square peg being forced into a round hole. Wyndworth meant

well, but his idea of making up for lost time involved throwing

money at every problem—designer clothes, luxury cars,

invitations to galas and soirées —as if these material things

could bridge the chasm of more than two decades.

I saw the strain in her eyes at every public appearance. The

pressure to be the perfect long-lost daughter, to live up to the

McKinzie name. It was suffocating her, slowly but surely.

And me? Well, I became the man who solved the

unsolvable case. My name was splashed across headlines

worldwide. Book deals, TV interviews, speaking engagements

- they all came flooding in. At first, Scotland Yard was pleased

with all the publicity for the agency and their work. Over time,

it became so invasive that my superiors at Scotland Yard "suggested" that it might be time to retire officially.

Once I did, Wyndworth's "generous accommodation" set me up for life in this Aspen retreat and a bank account. I can't even count the zeros, not that I bother. Wyndworth has all my financials handled

with "His" people. This is his way; he compensates for his inability to relate to people with his wealth.