He glanced at the couple nearest to him. They sat a good six tables away and weren’t paying attention to anything other than the steaks in front of them. “Politics requires sound bites these days. Easily digestible pieces of information that people can believe in. Thoughts delivered in a few words that play well on social media and the news.”
“Lies. That’s the word you’re searching for.”
“The people who vote for me believe in me.”
Because they weren’t biologically related to him. “Then they should do the press conference with you. Let them be your cheerleaders.”
He sat back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. Took on an informal, carefree affect. “I could just tell everyone who you are, name you and your mother without your permission, and ask my constituents for forgiveness. Explain that your mother wouldn’t marry me and talk about how embarrassed I was for having a human failing.”
He would do it, too. Throw her mother under the bus, then back over her. Ruin their privacy and drag them into the public eye with him in the worst possible way.
“You never asked her, but I’m sure you remember that. Though I doubt she would have said yes. You inadvertently convinced her marriage was not a great thing.” Her mother confirmed that once, not long ago, when Tessa had talked to her about marrying Ray. Her mom had been asked by exactly one man to marry her, never by the man in front of Tessa right now.
“She’s not currently married to . . .”
“Ray.” That was as much as Tessa wanted him digging around in the part of the family that made her whole. The one that didn’t hide her. “Did you think about us at all over the years?”
His shoulders fell as the breath ran out of him. “Now is not the time. After we have this issue settled, then yes.”
“It’s the only time I’ve had the chance to ask.” And that reality still had the power to drop her to her knees. She felt the pain run straight through her.
“You’re old enough to understand it—the thing with your mother. It was a youthful mistake. She was a hostess at this restaurant. So beautiful.” He shrugged. “I was tempted and she liked the idea of being with a man who could pay for dinner.”
He wore a smile as if he were lost in a memory. Tessa had no idea what to do with that information. She’d always assumed he viewed her and her mother as horrors better left buried. But the look on his face, the rush of nostalgia that seemed to come over him while talking about the old days, threw Tessa off.
For a second, and not much more than that, she felt a whiff of a connection to him. “That’s all very human.”
Her voice snapped him out of his memory. He cleared his throat before talking again. “Well, yes.”
“You made a mistake and I’m the result.”
For the first time a flash of guilt moved over his face. “That’s not what I meant.”
“But it’s true. People fail. Birth control fails.” She wasn’t blaming. She was trying to make a point for the other women out there who paid for the way he voted and the laws he supported.
“I can’t change who I am, Tessa.” His voice was softer now. Less “on” and more genuine.
“But you don’t believe in the crap you spew.” Part of her wanted that to be true.
“It’s a persona, and I need to protect it if I want to be reelected.” He sighed at her. “You may not believe this, but I’m able to create change. Bring good things to people.”
“But reelection is what matters to you.”
He hesitated, as if trying to figure out how much to say. In the end he went with the simplest response. “Yes. Everything else flows from that.”
She didn’t agree with him and sure didn’t respect him, but this one time, he didn’t try to dress up his deeds, package his ideas, and sell them to her. He admitted what she’d known all along—it was an act. His whole life was.
She wished she could go back and tell her younger self how lucky she was not to be wrapped up in that. “At least you’re being honest.”
“Neither one of us wants family holidays.” He stared at his water glass. “That sounded harsher than I meant it to.”
But he wasn’t wrong, and for whatever reason, that harsh slap of truth didn’t sting. “I don’t want to get together for family time, but the problem for you is I’m not going to pretend that I do.”
Quiet descended between them. She wasn’t sure what to say. She just wanted to leave, go find Hansen. For the first time ever, she was happy to see Kerrie when she stepped into the dining room with her brother.
Tessa waved to them. Called them over when they didn’t see her.
“Hello again.” Tessa pointed from her father to Allen. “You remember Allen.”
“Hello.” Allen gave them a little wave as he shifted his weight. “Don’t want to interrupt.”
Then they shuffled off without saying anything else. Tessa assumed her father intimidated some. Not her. Not anymore. Kerrie’s interest waned when Hansen wasn’t with her. They actually walked right back out of the dining room.
Her father gave them a quick look, then went back to the menu. “I guess they’re not staying.”
“He’s here for tonight, like you. I’m not sure if he’ll fly back with you tomorrow.” She drank her water. It took her a second to notice her father was staring at her. “What?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You and Allen.”
“Who is Allen?”
“The man we just . . .” The entire conversation flipped, and she didn’t know what was happening. Probably said something about how much she sucked at small talk. “He was on the plane with you from Seattle.”
Her father slowly lowered his menu. “No, he wasn’t.”
What was happening right now? “Allen Bernard.”
“I’m not sure why you keep saying his name, but you’re wrong. The weather is still rough in Seattle. We didn’t have permission to take off, but I called in a few favors.”
“Despite the danger?”
“I didn’t have a choice. The press refuses to let the scandal go. Some members of my party, in particular a certain senator from Texas who is looking to climb up the ladder, are on television, questioning my integrity. And the opposition? They would love to see me fall.”
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to feel bad for you?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
“The owner of a biotech company let me borrow his plane and I was the only one on it other than the pilot and copilot.” Her father made a noise that sounded like humph. “I’ll likely need to pay a fine when I get back, or he will, but that’s the point. That’s how important it was to see you. I risked upsetting the ground crew and the FAA to get to you and get the truth out.”
When he started to pick up the menu again, she pushed it back down to the table with her hand. “He wasn’t on the plane.”
“We’ve been over this. Only one plane came in. I was on it. That man was not.” He finally leaned in as if he realized something had happened. “What is wrong with you?”
Allen hadn’t been on the plane—the only plane to land since the storm. The same plane he’d insisted he arrived on. She tried to remember what he said . . . something about her father working during the flight.
The liar.
She didn’t know what this meant but it meant something.
She took her hand off his menu and stood up. “For the first time since you stepped into the lodge I’m happy to see you.”
He did a quick look around before staring at her again. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need to find Hansen.”
“No.” When she didn’t sit down he took the napkin off his lap and put it on the table. “Fine. Then I’m coming with you.”
Lord, no. “That’s not necessary.”
He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I still have about fifteen hours left to change your mind and I’m not wasting them.”
“Lucky me
.”
Chapter 25
Hansen wanted to be anywhere but here. He thought the conference room with Ruthie was bad. Being in a car, conducting surveillance with Ben was worse. Ten times worse. They sat in relative silence, watching Ruthie’s car on the other side of the marina parking lot.
“She’s been sitting in the front seat for twenty minutes.” Hansen glanced at his watch. Debated texting Tessa with a renewed apology and a promise he’d be there very soon.
Ben’s attention didn’t waver from the window in front of him. He stared at Ruthie’s car. She’d turned it off a few minutes ago and now just sat there with the windows fogging up.
“You’re late for your date.” Those were the first words Ben had said between all his off-key humming.
Understatement. “I promised her.”
“You don’t want to disappoint her dad.”
Hansen could see why this sort of thing ticked Tessa off. It was annoying. “She doesn’t consider him that, and I don’t care what the guy thinks. He’s a jackass.”
“Her jackass.”
Hansen knew Ben was trying to make a point, but he had no idea what it was. “Explain.”
Ben shifted in his seat, not far but enough to sneak peeks at Hansen in between watching over Ruthie. “Be careful. She may hate him, but there could be a time, far in the future, where they reconcile. What you say about him now will matter then.”
That sounded . . . personal. Hansen understood the no-background-questions here and Ben’s reluctance to share anything about his romantic life before or during his military years, but he asked anyway. “Are you talking from experience?”
“Comments can have more than one meaning.” Ben tapped his fingers against the wheel, then stopped. “She’s moving.”
They watched as she shut the door, then stood at the side of her car. The brake lights flashed, then flashed again as she aimed her key fob at it, as if she were trying to decide whether to lock it or get back in. After a few minutes, she pulled up the collar of her jacket and did a quick scan of the lot. It was dark and Ben had parked away from a light, so Hansen assumed they were safe.
Ruthie didn’t do a thorough look. She started walking toward the slips. She walked past the docks with the sailboats and the smaller motorboats. She kept going until she reached the gated area on the far left side.
She stopped under the light because she didn’t have a choice. It hung over the locked entrance. A few seconds there, then the gate opened, and she stepped through.
“Does she have a boat?” Hansen asked.
“She sold it a few months ago, but that’s not the pleasure boat area. That’s the houseboat section.” Ben tapped his fingers on the wheel again. The thuds matched the song he hummed. “That’s why it’s locked. Gives those who live there an extra bit of protection.”
The answer hit Hansen then—Ellis and Arianna. “This is interesting.”
They lived in that section. Ruthie’s presence could mean a friendly visit, but he didn’t have the impression they all got along. Ellis and Arianna weren’t the easiest people to like.
Ben’s fingers froze in mid-tap. “Let’s go.”
They eased their car doors open, then shut them and started walking. The sounds of the marina covered their footsteps: the boats bobbing in the water; the creaks of the dock and the slips as the water rushed in and out.
It didn’t take them long to find the houseboat. There weren’t any lights on, only the quick beam of a flashlight zipping past a window now and then. Ruthie was inside and searching for something. The darkness inside gave it away. Whatever she was doing, Ellis and Arianna didn’t know about the visit.
Ben ducked as they got closer, and Hansen followed his lead. The faint sound of movements and a soft bang inside the house welcomed them as they sneaked onto the boat’s small front porch. If Ruthie heard or saw them, she didn’t come out. The scratches and thuds continued.
A few more steps and Ben opened the door, not bothering to keep their final entrance quiet. They got halfway through the main area, past the couch and the kitchen, before Hansen saw her. Her back end stuck out of the closet as she pulled on something inside. Something heavy by the sound of her grunting.
Ben leaned over the sink and flicked on the light. “We have a problem.”
The scream came before the fall. Ruthie fell back on her ass and stared up at them with a face gone pure white. “What are you two doing here?”
Wrong question.
She dropped the flashlight and it rolled next to her. That’s when Hansen saw her hands . . . and the safe. A break-in didn’t fit with what he knew about her, but then nothing on Whitaker matched up cleanly at this point. “Watching you break in to someone else’s house.”
“Care to explain that?” Ben asked.
She sputtered for a few seconds. “You followed me.”
That seemed obvious, so Hansen responded. “We did.”
“I don’t have to—”
“You actually do, Ruthie.” Ben gestured for her to get up and come out of the closet. “Let’s sit out here.”
He guided her out of the bedroom and into the living area. She sat on the love seat and they stood over her. All of her usual bravado failed her. Her shoulders slumped and her hands fell on her lap. Hansen didn’t know what was going on, but seeing her fold in on herself like that made him think tonight and this errand were bigger than simply Ruthie thinking she had the right to know everyone’s business.
“Something is going on with you, Ellis, and Arianna?” Ben held out his hand as he looked around. “Obviously.”
But that was only part of it. Hansen had so many more questions. “Your conversation with Kerrie.”
Ben looked at him. “What?”
It wasn’t until right then that Hansen realized he hadn’t told Ben that part. About how Tessa had told him that Kerrie had met Ruthie at the lodge yesterday.
“Those are two different things.” Ruthie blew out a heavy breath. “You don’t understand.”
Ben shrugged. “Fill us in.”
“This is a misunderstanding. I was looking for—”
“Don’t.” Ben stopped her with one curt word. “We can call Ellis and Arianna. Get them to come back here and help clear this up.”
She shifted to the front of the small sofa. “You can’t trust them.”
Ben grabbed the only other chair in the room and dragged it over to sit in front of her. “Tell me why.”
“They know things.” She looked like she was going to give him a list but then she shut down. Folded her arms across her chest and slipped back into the cushions.
Ben balanced his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, got closer to her. “Where is Daniel?”
“His ass should be in jail.” The words burst out of Ruthie. Not in her usual lecturing way. This was an emotional explosion. Her hands shook at the mention of her husband and she practically spit the comment out. “This is all about him, covering for him.” She rubbed her hands together. Kept rubbing them. “I don’t know what their real names are, but that money Ellis and Arianna live off of? It’s mine.”
The story started to make sense. Ellis and Arianna not being what they seemed was no big surprise. How this all fit together and pointed back to Judson . . . Hansen had no idea.
Ben being Ben, he stayed calm. Pitched his voice low and soothing. “What did Daniel do?”
“Stole money. Original, right?” She swiped at her eyes as soon as the tears formed. “Apparently it costs a lot to have a family here and then go spend days with your girlfriend in Seattle.”
That was the piece Hansen saw coming. Daniel the asshole, leaving his wife and son. Screwing up in a way that emotionally sliced her in two. “Oh, Ruthie. I’m sorry.”
“He stole from the ground rents. He was Board treasurer and siphoned off the money. I figured it out and we fought . . .” She swallowed a few times before continuing. “I have no idea how Arianna and Ellis learned about it.”
The
mechanics of home ownership on the island were so odd to Hansen. He’d forgotten about the ground rents, the quarterly amount each house renter paid above the actual rent to cover the fact that none of the land belonged to anyone living on the island. The ground rents literally covered the use of ground. In legal terms it was called a leasehold and it had been the practice on Whitaker forever. The owner—one very private and mysterious person—leased the land, people built houses, they paid to use the land, and then renters paid the usual rent to live in them.
It all worked, until the treasurer ran off with the funds. As the board president, everyone would look to Ruthie for answers. As the wife of the man who stole the money for personal use, she could be hit hard with the blame.
“They’re blackmailing you.” That was the only answer that made sense, so Hansen threw it out there.
She nodded. “It’s what they do. They’re grifters. They bragged about how they collect information, and information is valuable.”
“What happened?” Ben asked.
“Apparently Daniel’s girlfriend is part of their setup. She met him, showed him attention. They had sex and he thought he was in love, so he started taking the money for her. Then Arianna and Ellis moved here to finish the deal.”
“They threatened to let everyone know what Daniel did and you paid them to not say anything,” Ben said, filling in the blanks.
She leaned back and let her head rest against the window. The words flowed easily now. All her usual defiance and anger faded into monotone answers. “We hold the ground rents and pay them quarterly into an account held by the island’s owner.”
Ben didn’t move from his position in front of her. “The corporation.”
“Right.” She shut her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and answering. “They’re due in six weeks. I don’t have the money. What I did have in savings, I paid to Ellis and Arianna to keep them from saying what Daniel did.”
Hansen felt sorry for her. “It’s his crime, Ruthie. Let him fix this.”
“I’m in charge. I run the board. I oversee the accounts.” She exhaled. “I failed to see what Daniel was doing and it was my responsibility to watch.”
Her Other Secret Page 24