The Inheritance Games, #2
The Hawthorne Legacy
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 73
Overview
Grayson locates Jackson Currie in Rockaway Watch, but Jackson proves paranoid, dangerous to approach, and unwilling to speak through intermediaries or by phone. Avery’s use of Hannah Rooney’s name breaks through Jackson’s silence, revealing that he may hold answers about Hannah, Toby, and what Toby entrusted to him.
The chapter shifts the investigation from remote questioning to a risky personal confrontation: Avery realizes Jackson will only talk to her face-to-face. Her call to Alisa signals that she is preparing to leave Hawthorne House despite the danger.
Summary
After an hour without word from Grayson, Oren calls in favors on the West Coast because Avery and the others fear for any Hawthorne near Rockaway Watch. When Grayson finally calls, he is annoyed that a security detail has found him, but he reports that Jackson Currie is real, hostile, and protected by booby traps around his shack.
Jameson presses Grayson about whether he found Jackson, while Zara warns that Tobias Hawthorne and his investigator once failed to get Jackson to talk. Zara urges Grayson to come home and suggests there are other leads, but Avery focuses on Toby having told Hannah to go to Jackson if she ever needed help. Avery reasons that Jackson might respond to Hannah’s daughter in a way he would not respond to the Hawthornes.
Grayson approaches Jackson’s windowless shack, which looks more like a bunker than a home. After Grayson knocks, someone throws a large rock at him from above, alarming Oren. Avery remains determined because Jackson may be her last chance to learn the truth about Toby, Hannah, and anything Toby left behind.
Avery asks Grayson to tell Jackson that Hannah Rooney’s daughter is on the phone, using her mother’s birth name aloud for the first time. At first Jackson does not respond, but then the metal door unlocks. Jackson opens it, asks where Hannah’s daughter is, refuses to trust the phone, and slams the door when Avery says she is there.
Jackson’s reaction confirms that he is willing to talk to Avery, but only in person. Avery immediately calls Alisa and points out that she is allowed three nights per month away from Hawthorne House and has only used one, signaling that Avery intends to go to Rockaway Watch herself.
Who Appears
- Avery GrambsSeeks answers about Hannah and Toby; decides Jackson must be confronted in person.
- Grayson HawthorneFinds Jackson Currie in Rockaway Watch and attempts contact despite danger and security.
- Jackson CurrieParanoid recluse with a fortified shack; refuses phones but reacts to Hannah’s daughter.
- Jameson HawthorneListens in on Grayson’s call and presses for information about Jackson.
- OrenArranges West Coast protection and worries about Grayson’s safety near Jackson’s property.
- Zara HawthorneWarns that past attempts failed and urges Grayson to abandon the errand.
- Alisa OrtegaReceives Avery’s call about using another night away from Hawthorne House.