Was this a trick to get me to open the door? She seemed sincere, and it was clear she was suffering. And my family was at least partly to blame for everything that had happened to her. Guilt, thick and heavy, clogged the back of my throat. I coughed. “Give me a second. I’ll bring it to you,” I said after clearing my throat.
“What’s going on?” Daniel hissed.
“Louise is crying,” I said, heading to the kitchen. “I’m bringing her some water.”
“I don’t think you should open the door,” he said. “The police will be there soon and I’m close.”
“I’ll just reach out and hand her the glass,” I said, filling it from the tap. “What is she going to do, shove her way in? She’s an old, sad woman who has lost her brother and daughter, and my family has certainly had a hand in her tragedy. The least I can do is give her some water.”
“Becca,” Daniel yelled, but I ignored him. I put the phone down so I could unlock the door.
“Here you go,” I started to say as Louise dropped her hands from her face and smiled at me.
It was a cruel smile, and there was no trace of tears.
Before I could react, she slammed her body against the door. I fell over, dropping the glass. I could hear it shatter.
“Louise,” I said from the floor as she stepped over me.
“You’re as dumb as your aunt was,” she snapped. “Where is the basement?”
I scrambled to my feet. “I’m not dumb enough to break into a house with cops on their way.”
Her face twisted in disbelief. “You didn’t call the cops.”
I shrugged. “You really want to risk it? This is breaking and entering and trespassing. And don’t think I won’t press charges.”
She glared at me before turning to tromp toward the kitchen. “No one is going to believe a liar and a murderer like you. Jesse is in that basement, and I’m going to prove it.”
“Louise, stop,” I said, running after her. “Don’t go down there.” The last thing I wanted was for her to start tearing through those boxes, potentially finding Aunt Charlie’s evidence before I did.
“Why? You don’t want me to prove your aunt killed two people?”
“Jesse isn’t down there,” I said. “And it’s all a mess. You’re just going to make things worse for yourself. Go home.”
“Screw you,” she snarled, reaching the basement door and tearing through the tape. I grabbed her to pull her away, but she was stronger than she looked, and we struggled.
“Louise, stop,” said a deep male voice behind me. My body sagged with relief. Daniel.
Louise’s face, however, twisted into an expression of disgust. “Oh. Of course she was talking about you. Her lap dog. I thought maybe she meant the real cops were on their way.”
Daniel’s face didn’t change, but I could feel his body stiffen. “Louise, you don’t want to do this.”
She squared her shoulders to face him. “How do you know what I want to do?” she snapped. “What do you know about anything? You and your cop friends. Ignoring me all these years. What did I tell you about Charlie?” She shook her fist in his face. “I told you she was a bad apple, and no one believed me.”
“Back up is coming,” I said, as the sound of sirens tore through the house.
She glared at me, but I could already see the fight draining out of her. “What is it with you Kingsley women anyway? Men seem to lose their heads around you.”
“Are you going to come quietly, or do I need to restrain you?” Daniel asked.
She gave him one last dirty look before striding past him, head held high. We trailed after her as she marched through the house and out the door. “I’m leaving,” she said to the two cops who were coming up the yard.
“Do you want to press charges?” One of the cops asked me as the other one blocked her path.
“Oh. come on Jeffrey,” she snapped. “I’ve known you since you were in diapers. Are you really going to stand here blocking my way?”
“Ma’am?” the other one questioned me.
I bit my lip. Louise threw me a defiant look over her shoulder, but I could also see fear lingering just beneath the surface.
“No, I don’t want to press charges,” I said quietly.
Louise’s expression transformed to triumphant, but there was a bit of relief as well. Along with, dare I say, a dash of shame. Maybe it was finally sinking in.
“Are you going to step aside?” she snapped at the officer.
He gave her one last hard look before moving to the right. She marched past him and headed to her car.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” the officer asked me.
I nodded. “She really didn’t do anything, so yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for getting here as quickly as you did.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” he said, and glanced pointedly at Daniel.
“I’ll be right in,” Daniel said to me. I nodded and went back into the house.
Feeling like I needed to do something with my hands, I started making a fresh pot of coffee. I was feeling on edge and out of sorts—like I was missing something.
Like I was running out of time.
“Coffee smells great,” Daniel said from behind me. I jumped, nearly dropping one of the mugs I had brought out.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just been a rough few days,” I said, running my fingers through my uncombed hair. It suddenly occurred to me that, while I wasn’t wearing my normal yoga pants, what I had on wasn’t much better—old, faded jean shorts paired with an oversized tee shirt. And Daniel and I were alone in the house.
I shot him an awkward smile while I filled both our mugs.
“I cleaned up your porch,” he said as I handed him his cup.
He must have seen the puzzled look I gave him, because he added, “The broken glass.”
“Oh, yeah. I dropped it when Louise forced her way in.” I blew on my cup to cool my coffee, not meeting his gaze.
“Maybe next time you won’t open the door,” he said.
“We can only hope,” I said.
He shook his head. “When someone shows up at your house this early in the morning yelling to get in, that’s a pretty good indication to keep the door firmly closed.”
“Duly noted,” I said.
“Also,” he hesitated. “It may not have been a bad thing to press charges.”
I looked at him, surprised. “Why?”
“Well, it may have stopped her from doing something like this in the future.”
“Oh Daniel,” I sighed, sitting heavily down at the kitchen table. “Do you think that matters?”
He sat down as well. “What do you mean?”
“This is all going to come to a head one way or another very soon,” I said. “Chances are I’m going to be arrested. If I am, she’ll stay away, because she won’t want to damage the case against me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re giving up?”
“I’m not giving up. I’m just trying to be realistic. I suspect the only way I won’t be arrested is if I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill Gwyn, or Ellen, or anyone else, for that matter. In which case, the real killer would likely be arrested. But, since Detective Timmons isn’t looking at anyone else other than me as a suspect, that’s likely not going to happen. So, until I can figure out how finding Jonathan in my basement is going to prove my innocence, Louise is the least of my concerns.”
“Well, that’s true about Louise.” He took a sip of coffee, his eyes never leaving mine. “How can I help?”
I could feel the tears forming in my eyes, and I quickly blinked to keep them from falling. He was still on my side. Until he said it, I didn’t realize how alone I had felt.
“I’m not sure,”
I said.
“Did you have another dream? About Charlie?”
I looked away. “I did.”
“So?” He looked at me expectantly.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It just sounds so ... ridiculous.”
“Try me,” he said. “Besides, I was thinking about your dreams, and they may not be as outrageous as you think.”
“What, you mean Aunt Charlie’s ghost is visiting me?”
“Well, she might be,” he said. “I’m not ruling that out. But it also could be something Charlie said to you years ago that you’re just remembering now. Or maybe something you witnessed or overheard. Your subconscious may be recalling these bits and pieces of information that meant nothing to you as a child, but they do now as things fall into place.”
I mulled that over. “Maybe,” I said. “That might be the case with some of the things I’ve dreamed, sure. But this last one? I think I would have remembered if she had ever mentioned a body buried in the basement.”
“You didn’t dream about finding a body in the basement,” he corrected. “You dreamed about finding the jade. Totally different. She could have easily said something to you about the jade before, but you didn’t pay any attention to it until now.”
“That’s true,” I said. “But last night, she confirmed it was Jonathan in the basement.”
“Well, that’s also really the only thing that would make sense,” Daniel said. “Did she say anything else? Like why he’s in her basement?”
I looked away, through the kitchen window, watching a butterfly land on a marigold and stretch its wings. “She did.”
“What did she say?”
Was I really going to tell him? Did I have any other options at this point? God, I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake.
“She said she killed him,” I said finally. “Because he killed Jesse.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “What?”
“She said he was turning into a serial killer and it was somehow her fault, which I don’t completely understand, and to keep him from killing again, she killed him herself and buried him in the basement.”
Daniel continued to stare at me. “I’m not even sure what to say.”
“I know. It’s crazy.”
“But ... why would he kill Jesse? They were best friends.”
“I don’t know. But Aunt Charlie also claimed there was proof here, somewhere. And I needed to find it, and fast.”
Daniel looked puzzled. “Proof? What proof could there be after all these years?”
“She didn’t say.”
“I mean ...” Daniel said slowly, as if he was thinking aloud, “I suppose it’s possible she had something with both Jonathan’s and Jesse’s prints on it … like the murder weapon. But even if that existed and forensics could somehow prove that Jonathan did kill Jesse, what does that have to do with you? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it would be great to solve that case and give Louise some closure, but there would still be huge questions. And even if all of those questions were answered, how could any of it help you now?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It doesn’t make sense to me either. But as I don’t have a clue where to start investigating either Gwyn’s or Ellen’s murders, I might as well see if I can locate this ‘evidence.’”
Daniel frowned. I could tell he was still struggling to piece together this new information. “Unless ...” he paused.
“Unless what?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Just ... a thought. I need to do more research before I say anything. Did you tell Mia about the dream? What does she think?”
I gave him an exasperated look. “You can’t try and distract me like that. What were you thinking?”
He grinned a little sheepishly. “It’s something that Louise said, actually.”
“What?”
“About Jesse having a secret girlfriend.”
“You heard that?”
“Yeah. So bear with me here. I know Louise has always blamed Charlie, and then you, for the tragedies in her family. But she’s always been pretty clear about her feelings. Not like she’s tried to hide them, you know? So why now? Why would she cook up this crazy, complicated scheme to get rid of you now? What if it’s NOT her? What if this secret girlfriend is somehow behind your setup?”
I thought about his reasoning. It made sense, in a sort of weird way. “But all of this happened so long ago,” I said slowly. “Wouldn’t you think this secret girlfriend would have gotten over it by now?” I asked. “I mean, I get that Louise wouldn’t have, because Jesse was her brother, but a secret girlfriend? This was all over thirty years ago.”
“Ok, maybe not the secret girlfriend. Maybe it was someone else who really liked Jesse. He was pretty popular.” Daniel leaned forward, his eyes lighting up as he became more animated. “Think about it, Becca. If someone is setting you up as revenge for Charlie doing something to Jesse, then if you can prove his death wasn’t Charlie’s fault, then maybe that’s also how we smoke out the real suspect.”
“I guess I should find that evidence,” I said.
“And I need to poke around and see what I can dig up about this secret girlfriend, and any other significant relationships of Jesse’s,” Daniel said, taking a long sip of coffee. “Now is a good time to ask more questions, with everyone buzzing about finding Jonathan.”
“We definitely have our work cut out for us today,” I agreed.
He sipped his coffee, studying my face. “I’ll probably spend some time at Aunt May’s today,” he said casually. A little too casually. “It’s a good place for gossip.”
“Okay,” I said, not sure what he was getting at.
“I’ll check on Mia as well,” he said. “See how she’s holding up.”
I nodded, studying the top of my coffee. I wondered if this was the beginning of the end of my relationship with Mia.
“Try not to worry,” he said quietly. “She’ll come around. She just needs a little time. It IS pretty shocking to find out you were living in a house with a corpse. And not just a corpse, but a murder victim.”
“Whose murderer was someone she had hung out with as a child,” I added.
Daniel gave me a sideways smile. “She’s not the only one trying to wrap her head around Charlie being a murderer,” he said.
“I get it,” I said. “I can’t believe it either.”
We sat there for a moment in silence. I looked around the kitchen, noticing how the sun lit up the clean, spacious room, the bright sunflower accents, the red teapot patiently waiting on the stove. It was just how Aunt Charlie had it. I could almost see her bustle in, asking Daniel if he wanted any breakfast as she made tea.
I blinked back tears. How could I both miss her and be afraid of her? How could I wish she was still alive, while wondering about my dubious judgement?
“It’s hard to believe she could kill someone,” Daniel said softly.
“And not just anyone, but her own lover,” I said.
Daniel shook his head. “I know. Which is why it does feel like there would have to be some sort of reason, something, that was so horrifying, it would justify murder.”
“Like Jonathan killing Jesse?”
“Yeah. Exactly like that.”
I put my coffee cup down. “That sounds like my cue to get started.”
Daniel put his coffee cup down as well. “Mine too.”
I stood up, feeling awkward and shy. The quiet of the house pressed against me, and I was reminded all over again that we were alone.
“Thanks for stopping by,” I said, wiping my suddenly sweaty hands on my shorts. “And for helping me with Louise.”
His eyes lingered on mine. “Anytime,” he said. He cleared his throat. “It’s a little ... awkward, for me right now,” he said.
I waved my hand, trying to lighten the
mood. “You don’t have to ...”
“I want to,” he said, interrupting me, taking a step closer. “Becca, I believe you,” he said. “But I’m walking a tight rope here. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“I don’t want you to lose your job either,” I said, glancing up and into his dark-blue eyes. He was much closer than I had thought, and I shivered. He reached for my hand, sending shock waves through my arm.
“As soon as we get all of this behind us, I think it’s time we make things … more official,” he said, bringing my hand up to his mouth. His breath was warm on my knuckles, and I could feel it shoot through me.
“My divorce still isn’t official,” I said, feeling a little lightheaded.
“I don’t care anymore,” he whispered and brushed his lips against my fingers. I thought my heart might stop. “I’m tired of our relationship always coming second to whatever craziness is happening. I want a chance to explore what this is between us.”
“I do too,” I said, putting one hand on the back of the chair to keep myself from dissolving into a puddle on the floor.
He released my hand (reluctantly, I thought), and took a step back. “I better go now,” he said. “We both have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I’m not sure where Detective Timmons is in the investigation, but I think we have to assume the worst.”
Mentioning Detective Timmons’ name was like a bucket of cold water to the face. “Yeah, that evidence isn’t going to find itself,” I sighed, rubbing my hands against my pants again.
Daniel gave me a sideways smile and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ve got my own marching orders as well. Keep me updated?”
“Only if you do, too.” I held up my hand. “Pinky promise.”
His face softened and his grin looked more natural as he linked his pinky with mine. “Promise.”
Chapter 31
I had absolutely no idea where to even begin looking, so I decided the best strategy would be to start at the bottom and work my way up. Assume nothing, I told myself. It was entirely possible I had come across the evidence at some other point in the past and simply overlooked it.
Secrets of Redemption Box Set Page 92