by H. P. Bayne
Eva seemed to sense Dez’s intent. “You know where we keep it, K. Why don’t you go and pop a couple of bags for us?”
“O-kay,” Kayleigh huffed as she headed for the stairs. “Just don’t make out while I’m gone.”
Once Kayleigh had disappeared up the stairs, Eva turned back to Dez. “Are we going to make out while she’s gone?”
He chuckled. “I wish. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Sully and I went to the acreage to see mom last night.”
“Oh, wow. How’d that go?”
“Really well, actually. She was almost on the floor, seeing him, but it was awesome.”
“And he did okay? He wasn’t angry with her or anything?”
“It’s Sully. He doesn’t stay mad at anyone. Not for long, anyway. Well, except for Lowell, but I can’t blame him for that. I’m pissed at him too.”
“Count me in on that. You’re wondering if this is the time to tell Kayleigh?”
“Sully really wants to see her, and I would love for her to know.”
“She’s not going to be happy we kept this from her.”
“I know. But we were going to have to say it sometime. Now that she won’t have to keep it from her grandma, it would be easier. I mean, we can trust her not to say anything to anyone else, as long as she knows Sully would be in danger. Even if she’s pissed at him, she loves him too much to risk something like that.”
“She talks about him a lot,” Eva said. “I don’t think it would take her long to get over being angry.”
“So we’re going to do this?” Dez asked.
“Yeah, I’d really like to. I’ve hated not telling her.”
“And we’re absolutely certain she can keep it to herself? She wouldn’t be able to tell anyone. Not her friends, not her other relatives. No one. Do you think she could do that?”
“Yep, I do. She’s got your fiery temperament, but she’s got my smarts. If it’s explained to her what’s at stake, she’ll guard the secret with her life.”
Dez blew out of breath between pursed lips. “I don’t want her to be mad.”
“This is her favourite movie. By the time it’s over, she’ll be ready to forgive us.”
“Okay,” Dez said. His daughter’s footsteps thumped down the carpeted stairs, slower than usual as she no doubt carried two bowls of popcorn.
Truth time.
“Hey, Kay-bee,” he said as she settled back into her place between the two of them. “There’s something we need to talk about.”
Having handed the bowls of popcorn to her parents, Kayleigh peered up into Dez’s face, eyes wide in her little face. “Something bad?”
His heart almost broke. The kid had suffered through a lot of bad for someone her age, and it showed in her expression, a look of dread that didn’t belong on the face of a seven-year-old.
Dez sought to erase it immediately.
“No, kiddo. Something good. Something really good.”
He paused to offer her a smile, was relieved to see her mirroring him.
“Are we getting a dog?” she asked.
He laughed. “In a way, we kind of are,” he said. “Pax is part of the package deal.”
“Pax? You mean the big, black dog you brought here that one time? I loved him.”
“I know you did. And I’ll be able to bring him around a lot more in the future.”
“His owner wouldn’t mind?”
“Not a bit. Thing is, his owner would like to come over too.”
“That’s okay.”
Dez had looked forward to this ever since Sully had returned. But now he couldn’t figure out the right words. How did you spring it on a kid that their supposedly dead uncle—their beloved uncle—had faked his own death and allowed his family to believe him gone?
Eva laid a hand on his shoulder and took up the task of explaining.
“Honey, do you remember what happened to your Uncle Sully?”
“He died.”
“But we never found him.”
Kayleigh shook her head.
“We all thought he was gone, that he died. But we found something out recently. He didn’t die, sweetie. Uncle Sully is alive.”
Kayleigh took a little breath. Then, “How do you know?”
“He came back,” Eva said. “Your dad was in trouble, and Uncle Sully came back to help him. Your dad’s okay now because of your uncle.”
“Where is he? I want to see him.”
“He’d love that,” Dez said. “He’s busy working tonight, but I’ll bring him over soon, okay? I promise.”
An excited glow coloured Kayleigh’s features, the look of Christmas morning. It faded as the thoughts played out across her face.
“What are you thinking, kiddo?” he asked.
“He lied to us. He let us think something bad happened to him, and it didn’t.”
“That’s the thing right there, Kay-bee. Something bad did happen to him. That’s why he left and didn’t tell anyone.”
“Not even us? I thought families were supposed to tell each other everything.”
Eva took over. “That’s true. But sometimes when bad things happen, it gets complicated. Do you remember when you were having all those nightmares after Grandpa Flynn and Uncle Sully were gone? You remember how scared you felt? That’s how Uncle Sully felt. But it wasn’t just at night. It was all the time. Every day and every night.”
“But you helped me when I was scared. We could have helped him.”
“This is hard to explain, but he felt like we would be better off if he wasn’t around us,” Dez said. “He thought he’d be protecting us.”
“From what?”
“From what he was afraid of.”
“What was he afraid of?”
That was a good question, and it left the problem of how much to tell Kayleigh. These were adult problems, and Kayleigh had been exposed to too many adult problems already.
Eva wasn’t as concerned. “You know how I told you I arrest messed-up and bad people at my job as a police officer? Uncle Sully was afraid of some very bad people.”
“You could have put them in jail.”
“It’s not always as easy as that. There are laws, and we can’t arrest people unless we’re really sure they’ve broken a law. Sometimes it’s hard to prove a law has been broken, so there isn’t much we can do. Not right away, anyway. Uncle Sully did what he did to get away from those bad people because he didn’t think anyone could help him, and he didn’t want to put anyone he loved at risk.”
“But he’s back now?”
“Sort of, but not really,” Dez said. “Only a few people know he’s alive, Kayleigh. And it has to stay that way. You can’t tell anyone, not even your friends or anyone else in the family. Your mom and I know, and your Grandma Mara. Oh, and your Uncle Bulldog. But no one else. Uncle Sully could be in really big danger if anyone else finds out.”
“What kind of danger?”
Dez exchanged a glance with Eva, who provided what she could of an answer. “The bad people I told you about. They’d try to find him if they knew about him being alive.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise. But I really want to see him.”
“Soon, okay? Promise. He’s excited to see you too. He really, really missed you.”
“I missed him too. Can we watch the movie now?”
And just like that, the conversation was over, Sully’s secret revealed to one more person.
As the movie started, Dez met Eva’s eye over the top of Kayleigh’s head. She smiled. He smiled back.
He had never once not been grateful for his family, but there were moments like this that reminded him exactly how lucky he was.
11
Sully got a text from Dez before he reached Tinford, added instructions on how to find Eleanor’s house as provided by Lachlan.
Just as well, too, because from what Sully could tell, very few of the houses were properly marked in this small town. During his years in foster care before
the Braddocks had taken him in, Sully had lived in a couple of small towns, enough to know directions were more about landmarks than numbers. Dez’s text—Turn left at the bank and right at the road repairs, then look for a blue house with white trim and an arbor in front—actually made the task easier than if he’d been given nothing but a number.
Located midway down the block, the house had no number, and neither did the neighbours. The sun had set, and Eleanor had left an outside light on next to a side door. More lights were on inside the house, giving it a welcoming look.
Sully reached into the back seat to scratch Pax’s ears. “Got to leave you here, buddy. Sorry.”
Pax whined a little, but otherwise didn’t protest as Sully extricated himself from Emily’s borrowed car. The dog was getting used to it, being left behind while Sully talked to people. Not everyone reacted well to the presence of a huge, black dog, particularly one prone to growl at strangers.
His decision proved a wise one. Not only did the woman who answered the door not look like a dog person, she had a cat besides. Pax didn’t hate cats exactly, but he wasn’t a big fan either. Sully and Pax had first met each other in the abandoned Forks shortly after Sully had faked his own death. The place was crawling with feral cats, and Pax had a few reddened stripes across his nose that showed they’d likely been competing for the same food. It wasn’t a memory the dog was likely to soon forget.
Eleanor’s face registered surprise as she took in her visitor. “I was told to expect a tall, red-haired man.”
“That’s my friend, Dez,” Sully said. “He had something else to attend to tonight so he sent me. Is that all right?”
“Do you have a photo of the two of you together? Lachlan sent me one of the man who was supposed to come.”
That was a good question. Sully and Dez weren’t exactly the selfie types, and he couldn’t think of anything on his phone that would fit the bill. It occurred to him he had an old family photo tucked into his wallet, one taken when he and Dez were teenagers. Hoping it would do the trick, he fished it out, unfolded it and handed it over to her.
“Sorry,” Sully said. “It’s a little worse for wear. I’ve been carrying that with me for a few years and I took it out a lot. And it’s had some water damage besides.”
Eleanor squinted at the picture beneath the light from the front porch, then compared it to a photo from her phone. Narrowing her eyes again, she at last handed the photo back while offering a tight smile.
“It looks like the same person, all right,” she said. She studied Sully a moment longer before seeming to decide he was safe. For his part, he was grateful he’d trimmed his beard recently, and had thought to pull his hair back into a knot. He didn’t think there was anything much about him that came across as intimidating even when he tried. When he went for this look, he appeared more college student than homeless scruff.
Having been invited into her home, Sully took the chair she motioned to at the kitchen table. She didn’t offer coffee or tea, and that didn’t bother him in the slightest. With Dez away for the night, Sully had plans of his own, ones that had formed while he was driving out here. No way Dez would want to spend the night on a haunted road; no way would he give his blessing for Sully to do it on his own either. Sully knew this might be his one chance at searching for Sadie without Dez’s worries getting in the way.
For now, though, there was Eleanor.
Nothing about her screamed “murderer” to Sully; nothing suggested she might have orchestrated the disappearance of her former coworker. He had no problem guessing why everyone had overlooked this tiny, mousy creature as a possible suspect in Lonnie’s disappearance. She looked to be the kind of person who would need help emptying a mouse trap; the idea she might have the appetite for murder seemed inconceivable.
“Were you told why we wanted to talk to you?” he asked.
“Mr. Fields said it had to do with Lonnie Debenham. I’m not sure what you want from me. I spoke to police at the time—all of his coworkers did—and I don’t know any more than I did then.”
Dez had filled him in on the conversation he and Lachlan had with the Debenhams, particularly the parts concerning Eleanor.
“His dad isn’t well, and his parents want closure, if they can get it,” Sully said. “They’ve asked us to make sure all of the T’s were crossed during the investigation, and to check into anything that might have been overlooked. I know you talked to police back then but, as I understand it, information came to light afterward that you were saying things against Lonnie. You lost your job because of it, we were told.”
“I did, and that was my own fault. I was bitter I was turned down for the promotion. I can’t deny it, as much as I would like to. I’m ashamed now of how I acted. I was much younger then, and I hadn’t been out in the workforce long enough to understand how things worked. There was no question Lonnie was going to advance in his father’s company. That I expected anything different was simply a sign of my naïveté. But even if the decision was the wrong one—and I’m not saying it was, mind you—it was childish of me to speak out against him. Particularly after what had happened.”
“Do you think the fact he was chosen for promotion over you was just because of who his dad was?”
“In part, I’m sure. Part of it might have been that I was a woman, and a young one at that.”
“But you think you deserved the promotion?”
“I was working very hard, putting in long hours. It wasn’t unusual that I would be the last one out of the office every night. And I’d taken three training courses just within the six months leading to that promotion. I lost a boyfriend over that job. I missed family birthdays, and I even worked through Thanksgiving to sort out a client’s file. Lonnie was very smart, don’t get me wrong. And he was good at his job. But it wasn’t his life. When the bank closed each day, he was out the door just as soon as he could get his jacket on. I know he had a young family, but he liked to party too. You probably heard all the great things about Lonnie, but I’d imagine no one told you he liked to tie one on with the boys after work.”
“How do you know that?”
“One of them invited me along one night. By the time I met them at the bar, Lonnie was very drunk. They all were. I didn’t stay long, as I didn’t enjoy their company with them in that state. But Lonnie left before I did, him and this creepy buddy of his. Neither of them was in any state to be behind the wheel, but Lonnie drove anyway. Probably figured his dad’s money or influence would get him out of an impaired driving charge.”
“This creepy buddy. Did he work at the bank?”
“No, I think they went to high school together, maybe university. I don’t know which. I just know the guy rubbed me the wrong way, drooling down my neck and getting a little too handsy.”
“How long was this before Lonnie went missing?”
“Oh, I can’t remember exactly. Maybe two or three months?”
“From what we were told, Lonnie was a family man who kind of went off the rails a couple of months before he disappeared. Did you notice anything like that?”
“He seemed quieter at work, I think. But he’d gotten the promotion he’d wanted, so I assumed he was either trying harder or his father had told him to grow up. I noticed he wasn’t out the door as fast anymore, and he didn’t go out with his friends as much—not the ones from work anyway. I’d see them ask him to join them for an after-work drink, and he’d usually say no. I just thought his father or his wife must have tuned him in.”
“If you had to guess, what would you say happened to Lonnie?”
“I wouldn’t know, would I?”
“I’m just asking for your best guess.”
“Looking back on it, it’s possible he killed himself. As I mentioned, he seemed quieter at work, not happy. At the time, it didn’t bother me enough to put any real thought into why. I didn’t care if it was because he hated his job or because he was having trouble at home. Lonnie and I had nothing to do with each other.”
“Would he have had reason to kill himself?”
“I’m not the right person to ask. Like I said, we weren’t exactly friends.”
“Would it surprise you if you were to find out he was actually murdered?”
“I can’t imagine why anyone would have wanted to kill him. He was well-liked, popular even. Even his dad was very well-regarded. Both of them involved themselves in charity, helping special causes and people in need. They had their faults, of course, but as far as I know, those faults weren’t known to the world at large.”
“But they were known to you.”
“I’ve watched enough television to know what you’re about to say. And, no, I certainly didn’t kill Lonnie. I’m not capable of such a thing. I was angry at the time, bitter even. But I’m the sort of person who stews in my own negative emotions. I don’t act on them.”
“But you kind of did, didn’t you? You were fired for saying things against him.”
“For saying things, yes. As I said, I was childish back then, and I dealt with my hurt in a childish way. I would do things differently now. Lonnie and I were never friends, but if something truly bad happened to him, I can honestly say he didn’t deserve it.”
Eleanor wasn’t much more help when it came to naming possible suspects.
She admitted she’d been the only one at the bank with any real dislike for Lonnie, making her the only logical suspect in the mix.
But the conversation had given Sully something else to think about. Lonnie hadn’t apparently been the wholesome family man his loved ones had suggested.
“Not really a surprise, though, is it?” Dez said when Sully called with his report. “No one ever thinks the worst about a loved one after they die. People always remember the good things, and conveniently forget the bad. I’ve lost track of how many murdered gangster thugs and convicted killers were described as good, respectful kids by their mothers.”
Sully agreed with a dry chuckle.
“What kind of feeling did you get from Eleanor?” Dez asked. “Do you think she’s capable of having done something to Lonnie?”
“Honestly, no. I mean, it could be she’s just really smart and knows how to run a good coverup. But she seemed on the level to me. She wasn’t talking Lonnie up or down. She was just being frank about what he was like, and she admitted she wasn’t exactly Mother Teresa either.”