A Sublime Casualty

by Addison Moore

Ashley and Thomas. I try the visual out, and I can’t even take it. “Ashley would never do that to Lizzy.” Or me. Thomas was like my brother. Hell, he is. That would be sick. It would be spiteful. I’ve never once sensed any attraction between the two of them.

  “It happened.” She shrugs. “You know, you’re a hard act to follow. Ashley was hurt. She was on a bender. Lizzy found out, and all hell broke loose.”

  “No way.” I take the tray and head for the stairs. “You’re hallucinating.”

  “Never mind about any of that. Tell Charlie I said hello. And I hope she doesn’t sue us for those skull fractures!”

  Charlie rolls over as soon as I close the door behind me, and her lips expand with wicked intent. “You brought breakfast.” She sits up, her T-shirt already back in place, but the V-neck dips low and affords me a view of her pale skin.

  I glide in next to her with a glass of OJ. “It’s officially brunch.”

  “Is that how you do it? Smooth, Stavros. Real smooth.” She leans over and plants a kiss on my cheek, and I turn my head and steal one from her lips instead.

  “Do you think I’m easy?” she breathes the words right over my mouth. It breaks my heart to hear her ask the question.

  “I think you’re beautiful, smart, talented as hell with that mouth of yours, and way too nice to ever be easy.” I pull back and examine her, that wide-eyed look of anticipation in her eyes breaks my heart. “Yes, you’re easy to get along with. You’re the most easygoing person that I have ever met. You’re easy to be with. What you are not is cheap. And if I did anything to make you feel like that, I cannot apologize enough.”

  She shakes her head and lands a finger over my lips. Her eyes sparkle with tears. “You said all the right words. You always do.” She takes a sip from her juice. “I have a confession.” Her lips press tight as she conceals a naughty smile. “I spoke with Miles Wallis, and you will never believe what he said—what I saw.”

  I land my glass back onto the tray with a thud, expelling a wave of juice over the lip. A part of me is shocked, a part of me wants to get upset over the fact she did this without me, but the wiser part says to hell with it. “Tell me everything.”

  And she does. Charlie fills me in on the fact she paid him a visit at Del Sol, told him she was a part of some paranormal society at Conrad, and he ate it up like a bag of LSD-laced Cheetos. She lets me know that he confessed to being Lizzy’s dealer, something I had confronted her about and she blatantly denied. Charlie says they had an open relationship that Miles implied there was someone else.

  “There’s one more thing.” Her eyes widen a notch, and I want to pause a moment from the heartbreak of talking about my sister and count the gold flecks in her eyes instead. She takes a deep breath, and her chest rises and falls. “He implied that your sister was short on cash.” She ticks her head to the side as if alluding to something.

  “Lizzy was rolling in it.” True. She was a walking bag of money for a while there. She was a clotheshorse who loved the high of new things.

  “Not according to Miles. He said she lost her position at the firm, then burned through her finances. In order to keep herself in handbags, she had to resort to something—something darker that he claims your mother knew about.”

  “What?” I bang my head lightly over the wall. “Charlie, this guy is a nutcase. He spread horrible lies about my sister. You can’t believe a word he says. I really wish you didn’t go.”

  “He wasn’t lying about the DMs. I saw them. They came straight from your sister’s account. It was her handle and her avatar. Anyone can steal an avatar, but her handle is unique. Trust me, it looked real, and Miles isn’t clever enough to fake it.”

  I shake my head. “Neil said it wasn’t there.”

  “No offense, but Neil probably isn’t as in tune to technology the way he should be. A third grader could have verified it. I bet he didn’t even know how to open them.”

  A groan comes from me. “Shit.” My stomach boils at the thought. I’m going to shake some sense into Neil when I get a chance. “It was probably an oversight.” But I don’t believe it. Charlie is right. He couldn’t figure out how to open the DMs in the first place. “What did Miles claim my mother knew?”

  Her mouth opens and closes as if she’s changed her mind. I reach over and take up her hand, kissing each of her fingers in turn without taking my eyes off her. “Tell me, Charlie. I’m dying here.”

  Her eyes close a moment, and if I didn’t know better, it’s regret I see sweeping across her face. “He implied that she was taking pictures of herself. You know, special pictures—for money.”

  “Shit,” I mutter. “I really am going to kill him.”

  “He called her customers dirty dudes. He said something about your mother walking in on her.”

  “No way. My mother would have ended my sister’s life if that were true.” I blow out a hard breath. Could that have happened? Was there even a remote chance that Lizzy would stoop so low?

  “Theo”—Charlie leans in with a pained look in her glassy eyes—“last night, while you were bedroom hunting, your mother said something to me. She said that after she and Thomas divorced, your sister hit hard times. She said she had disgusting habits and implied they sponsored her love of handbags.” She tries to get something else out but swallows it down instead.

  “No way.” I sink deeper into the mattress. “It can’t be true, Charlie.” I shake my head, trying to banish the thoughts, her words from my mind. “My God, if it is true, who was she?”

  “I don’t know.” She moves the tray farther down the bed and slides into my arms, her forehead wrinkled deep with concern. “But when I scrolled through Miles’ phone, I found a conversation Lizzy and he had about him delivering pot to the St. Regency—in Dunbar. Is that somewhere she was staying after her divorce?”

  “Dunbar?” My mind spins for a minute. “No. She came here right after she and Thomas split. She moved in with Miles for a short time, but that was just a few weeks, and then she split her time between here and a small apartment she rented in Wakefield. She was just getting settled there. I can’t imagine why she’d stay in Dunbar. It’s only an hour drive, less without traffic.”

  She glances to the window, her thoughts racing ahead of me. “So it splits the difference between Redgrass and Wakefield. Maybe she was splitting the distance with someone? Thomas maybe? How far is Dunbar from Des Moines?”

  “About that, halfway.” I grimace before telling her what my sister said downstairs. About how I didn’t believe a word of it, but now I don’t know what to think.

  “Ashley and Thomas?” Her affect smooths out. “I guess I don’t know him well enough to make a judgment. I mean, that’s pretty slimy, being with your wife’s best friend. What about phone records? Did Neil let you see them?”

  “He said they were unremarkable, and I didn’t press it.” Shit. And just like that, the hurricane that has always been my sister’s life starts blowing wildly once again, knocking down everything I thought I knew in the process.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” I say. “We’ve got some place to go.”

  “Where’s that?” We’re both on our feet in less than two seconds.

  “I think we should catch up with Thomas and see if he knows anything about Dunbar, see if he’ll cop to that thing with Ashley—and believe me, at this point, I don’t give a crap about my ego. All I care about is finding my sister.” I head over and land a warm kiss over Charlie’s lips, my hand cradling the back of her neck. “I want you to know, Charlie, anyone in my past is long-forgotten, inconsequential. Before I met you, I don’t even think I knew how to breathe.”

  Her lips curl as she gives a single nod, but there’s a layer of sadness in her eyes that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe I’ve read this all wrong.

  Wouldn’t be the first time.

  No sooner do I call Thomas than he agrees to meet up with us for coffee just south of Des Moines, at the neck of Dunbar, which raised a brow with
both Charlie and me. If my sister was meeting up with her ex, maybe they were about to kick their relationship into gear again? Meeting up at a hotel would feel exciting in that respect compared to the old house they rented in the country. He still lived there, but a hotel like the St. Regency is far more my sister’s speed.

  Charlie reaches for my hand as we head into the Endless Drip, the robust scent of coffee hijacking our senses. No sooner do we each order a cup of joe than I spot a familiar face scrolling through his phone near the back.

  “Hey, you,” I say as we come upon him, and Thomas is quick on his feet. He’s a good guy, lawyer by day, devout mourner of my sister by night. He’s been a wreck like the rest of us ever since she vanished. He offers me a firm embrace and pulls back to get a better look at Charlie. “You got a better half.” He smiles that same warm smile I remember. He’s not quite my height, brown curly hair that I always likened to wool, and an affable face that makes anyone like him instantly.

  “That I did, and she’s better indeed. This is Charlie Neville. Charlie, this is Thomas, Lizzy’s ex-husband.”

  Thomas flinches as I say that last part before shaking Charlie’s hand. “Please, sit.” And we do. He strums his fingers impatiently over the table, creating a horrible drumming. “Any word? Anything new?”

  “No, actually.” His shoulders sag before I can get the words out. Poor guy probably thought I was armed with good news. God, how I wish I was.

  “Is Miles still breathing?” he muses, and both Charlie and I share a light laugh.

  “Not for long, but I wouldn’t put a megaphone to it.” I take a quick sip of my coffee and burn my tongue. “My mom mentioned something last night, and I just thought I’d clarify a few things with you.”

  “Shoot. I’m an open book, and I will be until the end.”

  I glance to Charlie, and she gives a reassuring nod. “Did you and Ashley ever have a thing going?”

  His eyes close instantly, his chest bucking with a dry laugh. “First of all, I would never do that to you. Secondly”—he deflates once again—“I can’t say the same for Ashley. I don’t know what was going on. Those girls were closer than sisters, but once the divorce was final, she was sticking to me like cheap toilet paper. There was no escaping her. And believe me when I say she threw her back into the effort. I didn’t get it. I mean, she worked at the firm. We’ve been in a room alone together more than I can count, and not once was there remotely a spark between either of us. Then it was like someone flipped a switch. I didn’t even recognize her. It didn’t seem real. I’m sorry, man. I knew she was doing it behind your back and didn’t want to get caught up in anything by telling you. I figured it was her business.”

  Sucker punch. Not sure why it feels that way, just does.

  Charlie leans in. “Were you instrumental in her firing?”

  He groans at the thought. “Yes and no. I had no intention of her losing her job, but her behavior was so strange I brought it up to one of the partners one night over drinks. He turned human resources loose on her.” He spins his cup for a moment. “Not my intention at all, though. I would never want to hurt anyone’s job.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Crap, I don’t know what to say. The thought of Ashley doing this seems entirely out of character. I guess I didn’t know her as well as I thought.” I would have bet money it wasn’t true. This is precisely why I can’t trust my instincts when it comes to anything to do with my sister. I might miss the forest for the trees. “How did it end, or is this still going on?”

  “It ended right after Lizzy disappeared.” His head drops a notch in silent reflection. “It wasn’t long after she was fired. The events sort of coincided, so make of it what you will.” His eyes brighten for a moment as he looks to Charlie. “I’m sorry we’re boring you to tears. How did the two of you meet?”

  “Over coffee.” She raises her cup. “Much like how we’re meeting.”

  “Jackson’s girlfriend may have played a hand in it,” I offer and my hand bounces over her knee like a reflex. It feels like a relief to have her near me, to be free to express myself physically this way, in any way. “Can I ask you another question?”

  Thomas flicks his fingers in the air. “Anything. I’m all yours.”

  “Did you and Lizzy have something going on just before her disappearance? Have you ever met up with her at, say, a hotel?”

  His eyes stay trained on mine for a bit longer than I’m comfortable, far longer than it requires to answer the question.

  “No,” he flatlines. “I would have done anything to be with your sister again. When she walks back into our lives, and I do believe she will because”—his voice breaks, his eyes fill instantly with tears—“the alternative is unacceptable to me.” His lips quiver uncontrollably. “I will make every effort to restart what we once had and make it better. I love Lizzy. She has my entire heart. I haven’t been with anyone since the day she walked out, and I don’t foresee that changing in the future. I need her here with me to breathe. And I have been dying a slow death without her.”

  The entire establishment seems to hush for a moment.

  “So she was meeting up with someone.” He nods as if accepting the fact. “It wasn’t me, man. Wish it was.”

  His pain is palpable, enough to knife me in the heart. Thomas is the brother I never had, right along with Jackson.

  We wrap it up. Thomas and I hug it out, and I promise to fill him in on anything I might hear.

  No sooner do Charlie and I pull away from him than I dive right in.

  “Do you think he had anything to do with my sister’s disappearance?”

  She takes a ragged breath and sighs. “I didn’t until he paused when you mentioned the hotel. I guess I don’t really know. My gut says don’t take him off the table just yet.”

  That’s what I was afraid of.

  My gut says the exact same thing.

  I wish I could say I went straight home after I dropped off Charlie. We exchanged a heated kiss that made me want to haul her into the back seat like some sexed-up teenager, but instead, I watched as she made her way past the security gate and blew me a kiss. I should have gone home, defused, wrapped my head around things, but I found myself in front of the Wakefield Police Department, hands stuffed in my pockets while I stared down the sign.

  The inside of the precinct has always reminded me a little of a café. The scent of coffee permeates the place with undertones of sugar as boxes upon boxes of donuts rest every six feet. It’s true what they say—a cop loves his donuts, but in our case the local donut shop delivers as a gift for the extra patrol we give it during our night shifts. You might say what they’re giving away in confectionaries they are making up in savings on a private security firm. It’s the safest place to be in Wakefield after midnight, if you ask me.

  I give a quick knock over Neil’s door, and he perks up, waving me in and encouraging me to take a seat.

  “What’s going on? No offense, but you look like hell.” He looks chipper, well rested, and if I didn’t know better, like he was getting some action on the side.

  “I shouldn’t look like hell.” I manufacture a loose grin. “I got laid, so you’d think it would take the edge off.”

  “No way.” He leans over and high-fives me, and now I feel like an ass for even mentioning it. Being with Charlie was no frat house conquest. I wanted it. I needed her in every way. She’s all I think about, all I want to think about. “That’s great. I’m happy for you. I really am, but why the long face?” He leans back in his oversized seat and rocks back and forth, his eyes pinned on mine with concern.

  “Charlie mentioned she spoke with Miles. She said he showed her the DMs.” I brush my hand over my face in a fit of frustration. “Dude, did you even look?”

  His entire countenance shifts to something just this side of affronted. “Yes, I promise you, I looked.” He laughs at the thought. “Is that what this is about? Don’t worry, man. The investigation is still moving along. I’m not closing any door
s, and I’m certainly not leaving any stones unturned. I saw the messages myself. I checked out the account, and it was hacked. It was fake. They were not from your sister. The IP address led right back to Mumford Drive—that’s where—”

  “Miles lives.” I close my eyes, embarrassed as hell that I could have even thought Neil was dropping the ball. “I’m sorry, man. My head is everywhere.”

  “Don’t think about it. If it were my sister, I’d have done the same. You did the right thing. Besides, you’re in love, right? It’s still new. You want to side with her first. It’s only natural.” He flips a pen between his fingers. “I think it’s sweet that she’s trying to help. It means she cares for you, in the event you’re too dense to notice. Nurture that relationship. Leave the investigation to me. You still have access to anything you want. Just name it.”

  “Great. I want to see Lizzy’s laptop.” I throw it out like a stone, wanting to see if he’ll catch it. “It’s in evidence, and my mom is convinced she’s got prized family recipes on lockdown in there. She was downright distraught that she couldn’t find her mother’s recipe before the holiday, and a meltdown ensued. I told her I’d give it a look before Christmas.” It’s a lie, but I didn’t want Neil to think I came filled with doubts. I did, but that’s not the point.

  “Hell yes. Let me get it. It’ll have to stay here, but feel free to scour all the recipes you want, sweetcakes.” He offers up a cheesy wink as he rises from his seat. “In fact, I think I remember a file labeled just that.”

  I know they’re there. I happened to be at my mother’s while she was copying them out of a recipe book. I shoot a quick text to Jackson as Neil takes off.

  Call me in five minutes. Tell me you think someone broke into your car last night. Just do it. When I put Neil on the phone, talk his ear off for as long as you can. I hit send and hope to God this works.

  It takes a few minutes for Neil to come in. I pluck a pair of latex gloves off the box on his desk as he hands the thin metallic case over. He plugs it into the wall to wake it up, and my phone rings on cue.