by Blair Young
“You think so?” I asked, trying to hide the excitement I felt. I had hoped that my mother would be willing to give Dean a second chance. I wasn’t at all happy with the fact that they had broken up, and I wanted her to tell me why it happened, but she wouldn’t.
So, I went to Dean instead. He didn’t have any more answers about the why than I did, but I was confident if he were to really try, he would be able to get her back. My mom loved Dean, I knew she did. She had told him so often when they were together, and there were many ways I considered him to be the father I never had.
Then, when he was suddenly ripped out of my life, I felt that a large part of my heart was gone. I didn’t know how to handle it, and it threw a huge rift between me and my mother.
I demanded answers, but she wouldn’t give me any, so I had to just deal with the loss as though it wasn’t a big deal to me.
The biggest thing I could do to try to help how I felt about the situation was get a job at the shop he owned, which I happily did. Of course, my mother wasn’t too happy when she found out that I had gone behind her back and got a job working for her ex, but I managed to convince her it was better than the underground fighting she wanted me to stop.
I had a feeling that was the only reason she really went along with the idea, but I didn’t care. As long as it wasn’t going to be a fight for me to go work with Dean nearly every day, I was happy. She never had to see him. And, to my knowledge, they never did see each other.
So, it caught me off guard when I found out that the two of them had been going on dates again. My mom was good at hiding things from me, but that was better than anything else I could think of.
“So when are you moving back in?” I asked with a grin.
“That all depends on what I can get your mother to agree to,” Dean said with a wink. “I’m sure it’s not going to be too long if I have my way, and I’m going to start pushing for it as soon as I’m sure I have her back in my life.”
“How many dates have you gone on?” I asked.
“Four, and, in my book, that means we’re back together. Though I’ll admit, she’s still rather reluctant to say so, to my face anyway,” he said with a shake of his head. “Has she said anything to you or Sutton?”
“Not to me, and I’m sure she wouldn’t say something to Sutton she wouldn’t also say to me,” I said with a grin. “But she did say something the other day about going on a date, and she wasn’t going to tell us who it was with until she knew for sure she wanted to be with them. I’m guessing if that’s what the two of you are doing then it’s not going to be long before we all hear the good news.”
“I’m glad you see it that way,” Dean said with a smile. “I’ve missed you and your mom both, and I’m looking forward to Sutton being part of the family, too.”
“We don’t see her as often,” I said with a shake of my head. “I would like to, but she’s a little reserved, and with what happened to her parents, it makes it even harder to get close to her.”
“I can imagine. But, I’m sure she’ll come around with time. Susan says she’s a lot friendlier now than she was when she moved in a couple months ago,” Dean said with a nod.
“I’m sure you could put it that way,” I grinned. “I’m glad to have you back. If you aren’t careful, I’m going to start calling you dad.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that. I’m ready to be a happy family again,” Dean said again.
He turned his attention to work, and I grinned. It was hard to imagine life without him going on forever, and I was thrilled to think that he and my mother might be really getting back together. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high, but I did want to talk to my mom about dating him again.
Maybe if she knew how much it meant to me she would be more likely to let him back into the house. It was hard to tell with my mother, but I knew I could at least try. And, when it came to having Dean back in the house, I was going to try my absolute hardest.
I wanted a father figure in my life, and I knew Sutton could use one, too. I was worried about her. She had been acting strange lately, even before we went to see her parents’ grave.
There was something about her that just seemed to be nervous. Off. She was more outgoing than when she first moved in, I couldn’t argue with that, but she still seemed jumpy.
There had to be something that was bothering her, and I had a feeling I could get her to tell me what it was – especially if I offered to share with her one of my many secrets she so desperately wanted to know.
The day passed quickly enough, and I didn’t feel the same sense of sadness when I told Dean goodnight. For all I knew, he might be coming over to the house later. If he was, I’d tell my mother that he had told me they were dating again and I didn’t have to leave the house to give her secrecy.
But, when I got home, Susan wasn’t there. I was glad to see Sutton was in the kitchen when I walked through the door. And, for the first time in a long time, she seemed like she was actually happy to see me.
“You’re late,” she said as she walked quickly over to me.
“For what?” I asked. “I didn’t know we had plans to do anything.”
“We didn’t, but I thought you were going to be home an hour ago, and I wanted you to be here before your mom got back,” she said. I grinned. Part of me hoped she was going to want to have sex again, but she quickly shut that idea down when she pulled a small key out of her pocket.
“There’s somewhere else we need to go, and I need your help,” she said quickly. “Can we get out of here now? I really need to get this done before your mother gets home, and that could be any minute.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m just going to grab a clean shirt and we can get going,” I told her. She nodded and headed for the door, leaving me very confused. What the heck was that key in her hand, and why did we have to get out of here right now?
And what did my mother have to do with anything? I knew Susan and Sutton didn’t always see eye to eye, but neither did my mother and me. Then again, with all the questions my mother was notorious for asking, I didn’t blame Sutton for wanting to get out of the house before mom got home. So, I’d give her the respect of hurrying.
I headed up the stairs and grabbed the first clean shirt I could find, yanking it over my head on my way back down. I found Sutton in the driveway already ready to go, and I climbed on my bike.
Sutton was looking around, as though she was worried my mother was going to pull up as we were on our way out of the driveway. I wanted to tell her to relax, but once again she was showing the same nerves that she had been for the past couple days.
I wanted to ask her about that, too, but I knew better than to drag out any conversations with her in the moment. I could talk to her when we got to where we were going, and maybe get some answers about what was really going on with her, even if I didn’t want to find out what they really were.
“So where we headed?” I asked. I was still curious, and I wasn’t afraid to show it. I didn’t care where she wanted to go, but I needed to know where we were heading. I had a feeling she would tell me what was going on with the key when we got there, though it was going to drive me crazy in the meantime.
“Just drive,” she said with a shake of her head. I got the strongest impression she didn’t want me to ask too many questions, so I just started the engine. “I’ll give you directions on the way.”
Chapter 24
Sutton
I hung onto the back of the bike, but my mind was on what we were going to find when we got to our destination. I was nervous, but I felt we were on the verge of finally finding out answers. And those were what I wanted. I might not learn everything, but I knew I was going to at least find out something.
The hesitation I had was whether I was going to find out something that was only going to add to the intrigue of what was going on in my life. Since my dad was a P.I., he had all kinds of connections to people I didn’t know, and he was careful to keep them out of my
life as much as possible.
Of course, I figured a lot of it was for the privacy of the client, but there was something about what was going on lately that made me figure there was something far more sinister to what was going on.
We got about halfway there when Damon suddenly pulled to the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “I told you we need to go!”
“You need to tell me the truth about what is going on with you,” he said. “I’m sick of seeing you acting so nervous all the time and not telling me what’s really going on with you.”
“I can’t tell you what’s going on because I don’t know. I want to find out and I think we might have the answers right here,” I insisted. “But we’ve got to get there, really.”
“You need to tell me why you’ve been so nervous and jumpy lately,” Damon insisted. “Or we aren’t going any further.”
“Look, I’ve got the address right here. It’s somewhere my dad used to go when he was working. I followed him once, so I know where it is. I think there might be a few answers in there,” I told him.
“Answers about what?” he asked.
I sighed. “I got another note in my locker the other day, and it said something about going to my parents’ grave. I want to find out who it is, and I think if we go there we might get at least a clue.”
“How do you know it wasn’t just Molly?” he rolled his eyes. “That sounds like something she would do to you just to mess with you all over again.”
“I talked to her about it, and she denied it,” I said. “She really seemed genuine about this one.”
“She’s a liar and she can’t be trusted. You of all people ought to know that,” Damon replied this time with even more frustration in his voice.
“Yes, I know, but I also know when she’s trying to be annoying, and she wasn’t. She told me I was probably trying to set her up for something or that I was being petty. I don’t remember exactly what she said. I just believe she was telling the truth about this one.”
I tried not to let the annoyance show in my own voice, but it was hard for me not to. I wanted Damon to listen to me, and I had a feeling he didn’t believe me. He was one of the only people on the planet who would take me here, and that’s all I wanted.
I didn’t want to go to the police when I didn’t have anything to give them. I just wanted to find out if there was some clue as to who might send the note and what they really wanted. If it got to the point where I could accuse someone, then I would think about going to the police over it, but not until then.
“You know if we were to tell Susan about this, she would want to call the cops, and they aren’t going to do anything but take the note and put it in a file and just leave it at that. They all but gave up looking for who killed my parents as it is,” I said.
“And what are you going to do if you walk in on a den of murderers?” Damon replied.
“That’s not going to happen,” I insisted. “I know the place. Like I said, my father used to use it a lot when he was working, and I know there has to be a reason for that. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but I’m sure he’s got a lot more on the inside.”
“Wait, you’ve never even been in the place?” Damon shook his head, and I could sense the judgment coming from him all over again.
“You’re my only hope in this,” I said. “I would have asked Abby for her help, but she’s going through so much right now, I didn’t want to get her involved in something like this.”
“And you thought I would be the better person to bring along in your little sleuthing act?” he asked as he crossed his arms. “Look, Sutton, I know you want to find out who killed your parents, but I don’t think some note in your locker is going to put you on the right path for that. For all you know, it could be another prank.”
I winced, and he seemed to cringe at the sight of it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way, but you now what I’m talking about. Everyone at school is getting off on the fact they can make fun of you, and they might be sending you off on a wild goose chase.”
“They might be,” I admitted. “But to tell me something that only few people on the planet would know means they are either stalking me, or there’s something more to this.”
Damon hesitated. I knew he wanted to help me. Shoot, he would do just about anything to make me happy, and I knew it. But, I knew he didn’t want to get me in any trouble in the process, and with the strange address on the envelope, I knew he wasn’t entirely comfortable taking me to the location, either.
But, I was my father’s daughter, and I wasn’t going to let this lead go by the wayside. It was far too important to me to find the person or people responsible for the death of my parents for me to just ignore the fact that this note was put in my locker.
“I’ll admit, it was probably meant to scare me, but that might mean that going near that grave made them nervous. Maybe there was something there we missed and this person wants to make sure we don’t get too close,” I encouraged. “If there is any way I could find the person who killed my parents, I’m going to try.”
Damon sighed. “All right. But if there is any chance you’re going to be in danger when we get there, we are getting out of there immediately. If this is real, and this is the person who murdered your parents, then there’s no telling what they will do if they think that you are getting too close, too.”
“I’m going to need you to cover for me in case Susan calls,” I said. “You know I’m normally home at this time, and if she can’t get a hold of me, you are likely going to be the next person on the list.”
“Or Abby,” Damon said with a shrug.
“Abby doesn’t know where I am, either, so I know she’s going to end up calling you,” I insisted. “I need you to tell her that we’re out on a ride or at the bay or something, I don’t want her to know about this place, at least, not until I know what’s going on here.”
Damon shook his head. I knew he wasn’t thrilled with the situation, but he was going to go through with it to make me happy. And it did make me happy. I had been bullied so much in my life, I didn’t want to be bullied by someone I didn’t even know, too.
If this note was real, then I was going to find out who wrote it, and I was going to figure out what they wanted, not just from me, but from my parents. Who knew, it might be the link that I needed to find out who my real parents were, too, and why they wanted to give me up for adoption in the first place.
I might even find out why I was given to Susan when my adoptive parents passed. There was so much potential in what the note might mean, and what this key might provide, I wanted to be sure for myself. I wasn’t going to trust anyone to do this for me. I was going to be the one to look through the place with my own eyes.
Of course, I knew it might not be anything, but that didn’t stop me from at least trying.
We arrived at the building. It looked like an abandoned, two story hotel. Clearly, no one had used it for a long time, but that didn’t stop me. It was all the more reason why my father might have used it to meet up with his clients.
“Well, this is it,” I said as we got off the bike.
“I can’t say that I like it very much,” Damon said as we crossed the street and headed for the old building.
“Me neither, but if you look at it, you can see why it would be the sort of place a P.I. would want to meet with his clients,” I agreed.
“Let’s just hope that you find what you’re looking for,” Damon said as he looked around. “I’m not sure how I could explain this one to Susan if I had to.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to,” I replied as I walked up to the door. My heart raced as I pulled the key back out of my pocket. I really didn’t know if it was the key to the door or what it was for, but since the address was on the envelope, I knew it was worth a shot.
Besides that, we had come too far now to turn back. I wasn’t going to chicken out at the last second and tell him I wanted to get o
ut of there, even if my heart was racing and my palms were sweating.
“Well,” I said. “Here goes nothing.”
I slid the key into the lock and turned. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I prayed to God the entire time this was what we needed.
We both heard the click as it unlocked.
Chapter 25
Sutton
We pushed open the door together, bracing ourselves for what we would find inside. I had to admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect myself. But, finding an office wasn’t what I had in mind.
“This must be my dad’s office,” I said as we walked inside. “It’s cleaner than I thought it would be.”
“Someone might have cleaned it since his death,” Damon said. He looked around the place, and I couldn’t help but notice he appeared to be rather nervous. I looked around, too, but I was more curious as to what I would find than anything.
There was a picture of me and my mom on the desk, and there were papers scattered about, but flipping through them didn’t make any sense to me. They seemed to be bills more than anything.
“Was your dad some sort of cop or something?” Damon asked. I had mentioned more than once that he was a P.I., but Damon didn’t seem to know the difference.
“I guess you could say that. He worked with the cops, though he himself wasn’t one,” I said. “He would be what you would call an informant. He would look up the information on people, then he would turn them into the cops if need be. It saved them a lot of time in investigations, and it largely kept him out of danger.”
“Clearly it was still a dangerous job,” Damon said, and I nodded.
“I guess when you mess with the wrong people it doesn’t matter who you work for. But he wasn’t ever into the drug scene or anything like that, so we always thought he was safer than most,” I told him. “And I still want to know why my mom was killed, too.”
“She might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Damon said. “I know that’s terrible, but there are people who will just clear out the house to make sure there aren’t any witnesses.”