A Mother's Lie

by Sarah Zettel

  “Where are you?”

  “Some big house in the suburbs. I don’t know exactly.”

  Suburbs. Beth’s mind raced back to her conversation with Amanda. “Could it be Schaumburg?” Amanda had said Dad was house-sitting for her. Beth slapped her hand across her mouth. How perfect would that be? Nice house, nice neighborhood, nice big lots with privacy fences…

  He’d been setting her up for a long, long time.

  “Maybe. I don’t know,” Mom was saying. “I haven’t been outside. Listen, Beth, we’re not staying here for long. Todd…he says we’re going to Detroit, and then down to Cincinnati. I think he wants to head for Miami eventually. When he’s got the money. He’s actually talking about maybe going to Cuba. Cuba, can you believe it?” Mom paused, like she actually expected Beth to laugh along with her.

  Beth ignored this. “Is Dana okay? Can I talk to her?”

  “She’s still asleep, poor kid. I don’t want to wake her.”

  You’re lying! She clenched her phone until she thought it would shatter in her hand. Let me talk to my daughter! You have to let me talk to her!

  Beth squeezed her eyes shut. “But she’s okay? Nobody hurt her?”

  “She’s fine. Completely fine. I checked.”

  “Okay. Okay. Uh…where is Dad now?”

  “Coming to you. Because…well…you know…”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. How long has he been gone?”

  “I don’t know. I…I didn’t have a good morning. Maybe fifteen minutes? Maybe more.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Her mind was racing as fast as her heart now. “Look, Mom. I think I know where you are.”

  “You…know?”

  “Yes. You’re in one of Dad’s girlfriends’ houses. She told me he was watching it for her. Get Dana ready to go, and get out. Go…There’s got to be a coffee shop or something. A gas station. Library. Strip mall. Anything. I’ll leave right now. I can be there in an hour.”

  “I can’t, Beth.”

  “Why not?!”

  “This place…it’s one of these really fancy houses with security cameras and alarms in all the rooms and shit. Your dad has it all hooked up to his phone so he’ll get an alert as soon as anybody undoes one of the locks.”

  Of course. It was all planned. Every detail. He’d had weeks.

  Except it might not be true. She only had Jeannie’s word.

  “Okay. Then call the cops,” she said. “I’ve got the number right here for you. I’ll pay for all the lawyers. I’ll pay for everything. Whatever you need. Just—”

  “Dana killed him, Beth.”

  Beth’s mouth closed.

  “I know you don’t want to believe that, but I was standing right there. It was an accident, but it was her.” Jeannie paused to make sure that had time to sink in. “And Todd’s already told her that he’ll tell the cops on her the second she tries to step outside the door. Do you still want me to call them?”

  Say yes. Call the bluff. Do it. But the words would not come. Because she could not turn her daughter in.

  “No,” she whispered. “No, don’t.”

  “I don’t want to do any of this. I just want to get us underground. Jesus, if anybody can hide her, I can, but…you know your dad’s not going to go for that, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” Beth leaned back, tired beyond endurance. Why were they even bothering?

  “Beth, you’re going to have to kill him.”

  Beth said nothing.

  “There’s no other choice. He’s not going to just let her go hide out. He’s not going to let any of us go. He’s going to use what she did to keep yanking money out of you.”

  “I know,” said Beth.

  “I’m keeping her as safe as I can, but I don’t know how long that’s going to work. He’s already suspicious. That’s why this stuff with the cameras.”

  Beth’s thoughts felt frozen. She beat the heel of her hand against her forehead, hard, like that would break them loose.

  “Beth, there’s something I need to know,” she said. “He told me…he told me you paid him to get me out of the way. He showed me that cashier’s check, and…is that true, Beth? Did you do that to me?”

  Beth’s hand fell, useless, numb.

  “No,” she said. “No, of course not. I was just trying to get him to go away.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know how he found you.” She didn’t give Jeannie time to think about that. “What happened, after he got you out of the hospital?”

  “He took me out to the hotel, and he put me in the bedroom, and then Doug showed up and…and then it all went to hell.” She gulped. “Beth, I’m so sorry. I never meant for it to be like this.”

  Despair was deep, thick, gray, and filthy as slush in the winter streets. It filled Beth’s lungs and her veins. “Will you at least take care of Dana?” she whispered. “Please. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “I’m doing my best, Star.”

  At the sound of her old name, Beth’s thoughts shifted. Slowly, painfully they broke through the filthy slush, and she was able to understand them.

  Jeannie will take care of her because Dana’s the hostage. Without her, what has she got to keep me on the hook? This is the ransom call. Jeannie’s ransom.

  “Beth, you have to hurry. He’s really frightened. I don’t know what he’ll do next.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I hear you.” I hear you. And I know what you want. “Mom…tell Dana I love her, okay?”

  “I will. And I’ll call back as soon as I can.”

  Jeannie hung up, and Beth was alone again, except for the echoes of Jeannie’s words left inside her.

  Dana killed him, Beth…It was an accident, but it was her.

  That could not be true, but it didn’t matter what Beth believed. If it became necessary, Todd would lie and condemn his granddaughter to save himself.

  He would not stop until he was dead.

  And if he was dead, Beth would have only her mother left to worry about.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  For a long time after Todd left, Dana just sat in the kitchen, her mind blank. Eventually, she got up and went and opened the fridge. Maybe if she could cook something, or at least chop something, her mind would start to settle down.

  There was a carton of egg substitute, a pack of soy cheese, some silken tofu that had gone fuzzy, and a carton of oat milk with a dubious gray crust around the spout.

  Three deflated oranges huddled together in the fruit drawer.

  She tried the freezer. It was a whole different world in there. Piles of burritos and frozen dinners and minute steak. Boxes of toaster waffles and bags of French fries.

  Dana closed the door. She walked back to her stool and picked up her jacket and hugged it like it was Cornie Bow. She didn’t know why. But it was hers and she wanted to hold on to it. She felt in the pockets and came up with a Kleenex and a tube of mascara.

  She checked the hidden pockets. One was empty. The other had a twenty. Mad money. In case shit went wrong and she needed to get herself home. Shit had gone very wrong. And she couldn’t go home. Smoothing the jacket over her arm, she went out to the foyer. The stairway was empty—so was what she could see of the upstairs hall. She looked out through the sidelights at the empty street again.

  I have to do something.

  There was nothing keeping her here. She could just walk out that door.

  I cannot just sit here and wait for…him to come back.

  Even if she could figure out where to go to catch a bus or the train without being seen and stopped, where would she go? She couldn’t go home. And she didn’t have enough money to go anyplace else.

  She stared at the door.

  Why would Jeannie even believe he would help? Why didn’t she…find somebody else? Like Mom?

  Fresh goose bumps crawled across her arms, because she realized that was a really good question. Why didn’t Jeannie call Mom when she knew things were going bad? She had Mom’s number. And sure, Mom would be mad. But she was sti
ll better than Todd.

  Jeannie said she was trying to protect Dana and keep her safe.

  But…but…

  But there was something else too. Something trying to dig itself out from the back of Dana’s brain but that hadn’t quite made it yet.

  Where is Jeannie?

  Todd had said, Don’t think this is gonna be one of her good days.

  She shook her head. Don’t think about that either. Think about what you’re going to do. There has to be something. There has to be.

  And there was.

  Chelsea.

  Dana could call Chelsea right now. There was a phone in the kitchen. Nobody would be watching Chelsea, would they? Dana could let her know she was okay but that she had to say good-bye.

  Chelsea could tell Mom Dana loved her. And that she was sorry for everything. That she wasn’t vanishing. Just…leaving.

  “Hey, hon-bun.” Jeannie’s voice cut through her thoughts. Dana spun around to see her grandmother walking silently down the stairs. “What’s going on?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Beth dashed back into her bedroom, or at least she tried to. She was tired. She hadn’t eaten, hadn’t slept. Her brain felt thick, and her body ached. But she couldn’t stop. Not yet.

  She changed into jeans and a green T-shirt. She found a floppy beach hat in the back of the closet and jammed it over her hair.

  The cops had searched through her go-bag, but they hadn’t taken anything. They’d taken Dana’s away, sealed in plastic, carefully tagged and photographed.

  Beth slung her bag over her shoulder along with her purse.

  The question was how to get out of the building without being seen. A quick glance out the balcony doors showed that the media were downstairs in force. Mr. Verdes would at least try to keep them cleared out of the lobby, but there wouldn’t be a thing he could do about the crowd on the sidewalk.

  It was entirely possible Patel had left somebody in with the crowd to keep an eye out for her.

  Beth drummed her fingers for a minute on her purse’s shoulder strap. Then she picked up the landline and dialed.

  “Desk,” Kendi answered. Voices buzzed and muttered in the background. The media were definitely there—with or without a cop hidden in the pack.

  “Kendi,” said Beth. “I need to get out. I’m going down the service stairs.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered calmly. “That has been taken care of.” He paused. “Yes, Mr. Verdes will have that ready for you.” He added, “Garage, yes.”

  “Thank you, Kendi.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, and hung up.

  Beth headed out the door. She didn’t check the locks or reset the alarm. If she and Dana came home, she’d deal with anything that happened then.

  If they didn’t…then what did it matter?

  Most people looking for a luxury home wanted the highest possible floor. Upper floors were quieter, with better views and more sunlight.

  Beth had deliberately chosen a lower floor, because she knew there might be a day when she’d need to get away down the stairs. She pounded down the chipped, gray steps and pushed through the fireproof door labeled PARKING.

  As Kendi had promised, Mr. Verdes was waiting for her. He stood between the tiny office and the white maintenance van. Verdes had removed his uniform blazer for the occasion and donned a baseball cap with the building logo instead.

  “I thought the back…” he said. “It won’t be comfortable…”

  “Thank you, Mr. Verdes.” Beth tossed her bag into the van’s cargo hold and hoisted herself in after it. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  Mr. Verdes waved her words away. His face spoke volumes about what he thought of the people up front disturbing his building’s peace and quiet.

  Beth climbed into the back and waited for him to close the doors. But he hesitated.

  “There is something you should know, Ms. Fraser. Kendi says there was an old man here a few days ago. He tried chatting up Kendi about you, and then Carla on the night desk. Kendi says he thinks he saw him back today.”

  Beth sat down, far more abruptly than she meant to.

  “When?”

  Mr. Verdes shook his head. “I don’t know, but recently.”

  She gathered her knees under herself. Could he be here already? Maybe. Jeannie said she didn’t know exactly when he left…

  “Okay,” she said. “Thank you, and thank Kendi.” Again.

  “Let’s get you out of here.”

  Mr. Verdes slammed the doors shut, leaving Beth sitting alone in the dark.

  The crowd in front of Beth’s building parted grudgingly for the van as it eased up the parking ramp. Cameras swung in their direction and reporters craned their necks hopefully. Others held their phones up over the heads of those who were just gawking.

  Mr. Verdes leaned on the horn and muttered some Spanish curses. Beth clutched her go-bag with one hand and the rack bolted to the side of the van with the other.

  Mr. Verdes kept making hard use of both the horn and the curses as he negotiated the street traffic trying to thread between the news vans. At last, he got them around the corner and hit the gas. Beth jerked backward and banged her head against the roll of hose hanging behind her.

  At the end of the next block, he stopped and nodded to her over his shoulder.

  “Thank you.” Beth grabbed her things and ducked out the cargo doors.

  “We are praying for Dana,” he said, and Beth found herself wondering what she had done to earn that very human mercy.

  She would have to try to understand that later.

  Her initial plan had been to head straight to her safe-deposit box. But that had to change now. As soon as Mr. Verdes’s van was out of sight, Beth swung around and started back toward her block and her building. If Dad was out in that mob, she had to know.

  If Dad was in the mob…

  She sprinted down the sidewalk but slowed as soon as she got to the corner. She could not call attention to herself. She had to see him first.

  It took all of two seconds.

  Todd Bowen leaned against a WGN news van. He’d dressed for this occasion too—that same button-down shirt he’d worn to her office, but this time he had a nylon messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He looked like he could be working for a newspaper. He looked like he could be anybody at all.

  Todd was busy cracking jokes with a burly man in black jeans and a T-shirt. She was too far away to hear what he was saying, but the WGN guy laughed and jerked his chin at the chaos across the street. Dad laughed too and shook his head. He was doing what he did best—making friends. Getting all the latest news about the ruin of her life. About what was happening to her while he held on to her daughter.

  All she wanted to do was throw him to the ground, kick him bloody, hear him scream, hear him beg for his life for what he had done.

  They’ll be on me in a hot minute. Arrest me. Leave Dana with them.

  This thought cleared the red haze inside Beth. Not much, but enough to let her think. Dad wanted her money and her fear. He wanted to be in control of her again.

  Do you know Jeannie’s finally had enough? she wondered. Do you know Jeannie is helping you hold on to Dana so I’ll kill you first?

  Probably not. Because he had his blind spots, just like everybody did. And if the other person was paying out, well, they couldn’t possibly have a plan of their own, could they?

  Beth gripped her purse strap and stepped out into the street.

  Come on, Dad. Over here. Look over here.

  Todd talked, and Todd laughed. Seconds ticked by, and Beth felt every fiber in her body clench. Over here.

  Todd slapped the other man’s arm, and his gaze drifted for just a moment. Just far enough.

  Their eyes locked.

  Beth pressed her hand over her mouth, all surprise and fear. She whisked around and jogged away.

  Okay, Dad—it’s you and me now, she thought as she rushed straight down the
middle of the sidewalk. Follow the leader.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  “You weren’t thinking of running, hon-bun, were you?”

  Todd had been right. Jeannie did not look good. Her tanned face was taut and pale. The bruise around her right eye was a tattered ring of black and velvet red. Looking at it, Dana felt an answering pain in her own face.

  “I’m sorry,” Dana breathed.

  Jeannie put her hand on the jacket Dana had looped over her arm and squeezed. “Dana, I know you’re scared, and I know you’re confused, but you cannot just walk out of here. Never mind that every cop in the state is looking for you, when Todd catches you, he’s going to be madder than a wet hen, and you’ve seen how he gets. One of us will end up beaten to a pulp.”

  “I said I’m sorry!”

  “Yes, you’re sorry. Now you have to be smart! If you make too much trouble, he can always just call the cops. He can turn you in any minute, Dana, and he will!”

  It was too much. “Why are you still here?” demanded Dana.

  “I’m trying to keep you safe, honey.”

  “What is safe about this?” She threw her arms out to encompass the whole huge, empty house. “With him in it!”

  “We’ve got to keep you hidden,” Jeannie told her. “We’ve just got to stay…”

  Dana did not want to hear it. She didn’t believe it. She didn’t understand it. Fear and confusion overwhelmed all the other memories. “You said they arrested my mom!”

  “I know they did, but you can’t—”

  “She’s taking the blame for what I did!” We did.

  “Not for long, honey. Her lawyers will get her off. I’m positive.”

  “How can you be so sure? What if…what if she confesses to protect me?” Guilt pressed down, smothering her. One more thing and she’d be crushed for good.

  Jeannie took Dana’s face in both her hands. “Your mom is really smart. You have to let her play this out her way. She can’t be worrying about you right now.”

  Don’t you understand anything?! “Worry about me? She’s going to be fucking hating me! She’s going to think I’m dead, Jeannie! Or worse! And he’s just going to keep…Shit, how do you even live with it?!”