A Family of Strangers

by Emilie Richards

  I squeezed her hand—she had never moved it from mine. “I don’t know. She’s family. She’s my sister and my mother, and your daughter and the mother of two little girls I love, who are not my nieces but my half sisters. It’s as complicated as that. And I’m pretty sure she’s counting on our convoluted relationship to keep me from sharing what I already know with the police.”

  Mom was staring into space. Her eyes were glazed, not teary. I thought she was in shock.

  She finally met my gaze. “Your father.”

  I squeezed her hand once more, then sat back and folded my arms. “He’s not like you. He never saw our flaws, and if he suspected we had any, he protected us. He always adored Wendy. She could wrap him around her little finger.”

  “So could you.”

  “But he was grooming her to take over Gracey Group. And that means everything to him.”

  “His rehab’s gone better than anybody expected. He has more energy, and pretty soon he’s going back to work part-time, whether I tell him he can or not. I’ve asked the Gracey Group staff to stay away and not mention Wendy’s name if he calls them. But very soon I won’t be able to stop him from getting to the bottom of things. Maybe it is time for some professional intervention.”

  “If a private investigator found her, what would you do? Try to talk sense into her? Threaten her if she doesn’t come home? Help her escape somewhere she’ll never be found again?” I paused for emphasis. “Turn her in to the authorities?”

  Her head was turning side to side. I knew that feeling.

  “What do we tell your father?” she asked at last.

  “I think you should tell him about the divorce, and then tell him Wendy’s gone off on her own to think things over and doesn’t want anybody in the family involved. She especially doesn’t want Bryce calling or emailing, because she needs to figure things out without him. You can tell Dad she calls me whenever she has something to say, but otherwise we need to leave her alone until she’s ready to deal.”

  “I suppose that has enough truth in it that it doesn’t sound like a fairy tale.”

  “Sophie and I are doing everything humanly possible to find her and get to the bottom of what really happened.”

  “You’re looking for this Kearns creature?”

  “We’re trying.”

  “And what will you do if you find him?”

  I’d given that careful thought. “I’m going to talk to him on my own. I’m going to get his story, and then I’ll decide what to do.”

  “If you alert that man he’s been found, he’ll take off again. And I hope you don’t plan to talk to him in person. He could be dangerous. He could be the one who killed the doctor.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “You’ve said that before.”

  “I did learn a few things after John Quayle nearly killed me.”

  “What does Teo say about this?”

  She wasn’t asking because Teo was a man, which would have infuriated me. She was asking because Teo had been a cop and a good one.

  “We’ll talk it out,” I promised, “and I’ll listen to whatever he says as long as he listens to me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me all of this right from the start?”

  “Are you happier now that you know?” I waited. “That’s why,” I said when she didn’t answer. “I hoped she would come back quickly, and I would never have to explain. But honestly? As time’s marched on, everything has gotten uglier and more complicated. And now there’s no longer a way to spare you.”

  I glanced down at the fitness tracker buckled to my wrist and saw it was time to get Holly and Noelle. I got up to leave. “Think about everything, and we’ll talk again soon.”

  “You are going to let me know what else you learn.” Mom still looked dazed and unsure, but the last had not been a question.

  I leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for trusting me so far. I know it’s been hard. Just trust me a little longer. I’ll keep you in the loop whenever I can. I promise.”

  * * *

  Ten minutes later I was parked in the pickup zone at the girls’ school waiting for the final bell, when my phone rang. After our long conversation that morning, I was surprised to see the caller was Sophie.

  I spoke first. “I just told my mom what’s going on.”

  “How’d she take it?”

  “It’s hard to tell. She’s a Gracey. But two things stand out. One, she didn’t follow up on some of the things I hinted at. Maybe I hit her hard enough for one day, and she’d reached her limit.”

  Sophie made noises of sympathy, and I plowed on. “Two, she didn’t defend Wendy.” Mentally I backpedaled through the conversation. “I don’t think she did, not even once.”

  “What does that tell you?”

  “At the least? That Wendy hasn’t always been truthful with her. At the most? Mom isn’t discounting the possibility that Wendy really was involved in the murder.”

  “That sounds grueling.”

  From inside the school the final bell rang. The girls would be out in the next few minutes. Two teachers I didn’t know opened the double doors before they took their places on the steps.

  “I’m sure you didn’t call to hear my progress report,” I said. “What’s up?”

  “I hope you’re sitting down. Alabama bore fruit and I traced Kearns to a bar with the same hotel chain in Albuquerque. He was working there for six months or so before the murder, but he quit just before it happened. That means it’s possible he was still in New Mexico when your sister was.”

  “So now we know where he used to be.”

  “The trick was locating him anytime, anywhere, in the past year. The rest fell into place. He quit his job in Albuquerque because he got an offer to become the head bartender at an ecotourism resort near the Tortuguero National Park.”

  “Tortuguero?” It didn’t sound familiar.

  “In Costa Rica, on the east coast not far from Nicaragua. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere. Not a road to speak of that will take you all the way. You can fly in, but January’s a popular month and flights might be hard to get. The best way is by flying into San Jose, then booking a seat on a bus, followed by one of the resort boats.”

  “I guess if he wanted to be inconspicuous, that might be the place.”

  “Someone in his family owns the resort where he’s working, a brother-in-law or an uncle. I can’t tell. Anyway, Kearns is there now, and he’s going by Ex, not Milton. Get this. The resort has a Facebook page, and they update it every day, interviews, videos, photos. I’m going to steal their social media person for Out in the Cold. Last night they posted a photo of him with three other employees, mixing drinks on camera. It’s definitely him. I compared it to his mug shot.”

  “Why would he allow anybody to put his photo on the internet?”

  “He didn’t know? He figures he’s so far away, nobody who matters will see it? He doesn’t know Wendy’s looking for him? He’s assuming the cops won’t fuss with extradition unless they have proof he murdered Dr. Calvo? And maybe he feels safe because he didn’t do it.”

  Sophie’s lists of possibilities were even longer than mine, and today every one came with more questions. “He couldn’t be somewhere easy to get to. Like Key West.”

  “Nope. And if you’re going to Costa Rica, Ryan, I’d go soon. Anything could happen, and he could split. How’s your Spanish?”

  “Two years in high school.”

  “Bummer.”

  The girls were heading down the steps toward me now. I thanked Sophie and disconnected. Holly and Noelle looked worn out. A plan was forming in my head, and the first step was to skip going home for a while.

  “Is anybody in the mood for a milkshake?” I turned as I spoke, in case they’d relapsed to nonverbal responses. But “yes” was absolutely clear. We stopped at
my favorite local drive-in, one of the few that had remained after an eruption of chains.

  The girls still weren’t adventurous, but Noelle had graduated from vanilla to strawberry and now Holly asked for chocolate. I ordered pistachio for myself.

  “How about if we swing by the house, get Biz, and then go see Teo?”

  “Bismarck needs a milkshake.”

  “We’ll let him lick our cups. Deal?”

  Minutes later schoolbags were on the kitchen counters and everyone, including Bismarck, was back in the car heading toward Confidence K-9s.

  “Does Teo know we’re coming?” Holly asked. “Is Fiona going to be there?”

  “If she’s home from school, she probably will be.” I heard a loud rattle and figured that Bismarck was taking care of milkshake residue. “Tell me about school.”

  They did, and I managed to eke out details to keep them busy until we pulled up in front of the kennel. “We’ll go inside and see if Teo’s here, then you can find Fiona.”

  Teo’s SUV was parked to one side, so I was encouraged. One of the kennel techs let us in, and pointed toward a training yard. Janice was coming from that direction, and she volunteered to take the girls and Bismarck to her house to hang out with their new friend.

  Teo was alone in the yard with a massive black dog who I guessed might be at least part rottweiler. The dog was leashed and didn’t look happy. I stayed back from the fence so as not to distract them. As I watched, Teo said something and the dog raised its head to stare suspiciously. Teo’s next word was “now.”

  The dog stayed where it was.

  Teo patiently repeated the sequence. This time I realized the first word was the dog’s name. “Bluff.” Again the dog stared at him, but this time when Teo said “now,” the dog moved toward him. Teo reached in his pocket for a treat and gave it to the dog along with a “good dog!”

  They repeated the sequence four times. The fifth time when Teo said “Bluff,” he added “to me.” Bluff went to him immediately.

  I watched for minutes as Teo lengthened the leash until he and the dog were a good distance apart. Sometimes Bluff came and sometimes he didn’t. But by the end, Bluff was coming nearly every time.

  The young kennel tech who’d let us in went into the yard, and waited beside the door until Teo shortened the leash again and slowly walked Bluff toward him. The tech said his name and “to me.” Bluff went to him, and after the tech gave Bluff a treat, Teo gave the young man the leash.

  I waited until Bluff and the tech were gone before I moved closer. “That was interesting. You do basic training yourself?”

  “Only when a dog’s dangerous.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “Dangerous?”

  He came out and locked the gate behind him. “We take in the occasional death row dog when we can. Let’s just say Bluff had a particularly difficult life, and it showed. But Harry saw the great heart underneath and rescued him just an hour before he was due to be put down. If we can get him on the right track, he’ll make a great security dog.”

  “What if you can’t?”

  “I should have said when, not if.”

  Now I was worried. “Would he attack you?”

  “Ryan...” He smiled warmly, obviously a bit pleased at my reaction. “This is what I do. I’ve worked with plenty of aggressive dogs. I’m good at it, but it’s not always safe. We’re prepared if something goes wrong. You notice I had somebody nearby?”

  “I’m sorry, but, you know...”

  “I’ve lost enough body parts already?”

  “I was not going to say that!”

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

  Dogs were barking in the runs lining the walkway, and I wanted a quieter place to talk. “It’s kind of noisy.”

  We ended up at an outdoor table in the shade inside one of the play areas. It was quieter, even though a couple of smaller mixed breed dogs were chasing each other in circles.

  “So?” He lowered himself to the bench, and I sat beside him.

  “Sophie found Kearns.” I told him the details, ending with his new name.

  “Are you relieved?”

  “I don’t know what I am except positive I have to go to Costa Rica.”

  “You could tell the Santa Fe cops who he is, where he is and let them take it from there.”

  “And how can I do that without telling them how I know he’s involved?”

  “Make an anonymous call. Some departments have a hotline. Wasn’t that why Wendy said she wanted to find him? So she could turn him in?”

  “She called today.” I told him everything she’d said, and added that I’d finally told my mother most of the truth.

  “So what do you take from all that?”

  This was not the brash young man who had insisted he knew what was best for me. Both of us had learned a lot in the intervening years. For instance, looking at him now, I realized that I was in love with him.

  And wasn’t it just like me to realize it or, rather, to admit it to myself, when life was rapidly falling apart around me?

  I looked away and tried to focus. “I could talk to the police, but if I do, I’m out of it. I won’t be able to talk to Ex myself and figure out how much of Wendy’s story is true. And if she finds out I turned him in without alerting her, she might disappear forever.”

  “Not if the authorities tag him for the murder.”

  I met his eyes. “If it was that simple, Wendy would have gone straight to the cops the moment she heard Calvo was murdered. You figured that out a long time ago, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t deny it. “I had nothing to lose. You had everything.”

  “I need to talk to him myself. I know it might not be a hundred percent safe, and I know he might take off afterward. But unless I do, I won’t know the full extent of her lies, and I won’t know how best to protect Holly and Noelle and my parents.”

  “You’re assuming that Ex won’t lie. That whatever he tells you will be gospel.”

  “Okay, it sounds stupid. I get that. I told you I’d be up front. I just wanted you to know what I’m planning.”

  I waited for him to tell me I was walking into danger again, and that yes, the one thing I’d said that rang true was that my plan was stupid. Instead he took my hand, turned it over and lifted it to his lips.

  He kissed my palm before he spoke. “You want me to come?”

  “Pretty much more than anything.”

  “You want me for my language skills?”

  “That, too. But I want you because...I don’t want to go without you.”

  “You couldn’t ask?”

  “Are you kidding? You really should avoid me.”

  He squeezed my hand and dropped it. “I tell myself that, but it’s not getting through.”

  “You don’t have to come, Teo. Why should you? I’ll understand.”

  “You’re getting closer to asking me. Try harder.”

  I sighed. “Will you come to Costa Rica with me?”

  “When?”

  “You’re not teaching until the new term starts, right? So as soon as I can get reservations and make arrangements to get out to the resort where he’s working.”

  “Immediately then. Yeah, I’ll come.”

  “I’m not going to cry.” I sniffed. Hard.

  He put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Go ahead and practice. No matter what Ex tells you, you have more tears ahead.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  I had no doubt Costa Rica was charming, and I was sure we would see plenty of it on our way to the resort in Tortuguero tomorrow. But by the time Teo and I drove to Miami, went through body scanning at security where Peg was swabbed for explosives and drugs, and waited for two hours in the airport, I just wanted the trip over with. After we finally boarded, took a thre
e-hour flight to San José, stood for an hour to get through customs and headed outside to find transportation to our hotel, we were both so exhausted we could have been anywhere. San José was a metropolitan area with a population of more than two million, the usual traffic and congestion near the airport, and very little to distinguish it from other tropical cities I’d visited.

  Unfortunately, my own exhaustion was eclipsed by Teo’s. He was in pain. That was clear, even though he refused to talk about it.

  The trip had come together quickly. My mother agreed to take my nieces. I found two seats on a nonstop flight, and both Teo and I were able to dig out our passports and pack in two days.

  When I’d chosen a hotel by the airport, I’d gone for a well-known chain that probably had hotels in heaven and hell, since they had everything in between. I assumed we wouldn’t get into our room until it was nearly dark, and tomorrow we were leaving after breakfast to catch a bus to a boat to a... I didn’t want to think about traveling again.

  “Almost there,” I said, as we got out of the shuttle. “And into our room soon.”

  We were at the door by then, but he stopped. “Our room?”

  “The hotel is overflowing. I was lucky to book one.”

  “Did you try to book two?”

  I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or upset. “Well, it seemed silly. But, it’s a suite, so there’s a pullout sofa. That’s kind of like two rooms. I mean, I thought it was pretty darned close, to be honest.”

  “You can stop anytime.”

  “I can sleep in the lobby. Or the bathtub.”

  He looked pale and beyond caring. My heart sank. “Sit. I’ll register.”

  He didn’t argue. He took a seat on a chair in the center and closed his eyes.

  I didn’t try my pathetic Spanish. The clerk spoke excellent English, and she checked us in quickly. I’d put everything I needed in a backpack and handbag, but Teo had a rolling suitcase and a small pack. Before he could stand I grabbed the suitcase. “We’re on this floor.”

  I walked ahead of him and had the door open by the time he arrived. The suite was spacious enough. If sleeping apart really was in the cards, it could be done.