by Shay Savage
Threes walks up, confirming the end had arrived.
“What should I do with him?” Threes asks.
“Call Reid. He can help clean up the mess and get rid of the body.”
“With or without evidence?”
“With. I want everyone to know how I deal with those who cross me.”
Threes nods and starts tapping on his phone. He has a quick conversation with Reid and then comes back. Within a couple of hours, Aaron’s body has been tossed on a walking path in a west side park, and we’re all back in my office.
“What do we know now that we didn’t know before?” I ask my cousin.
“We know that Aaron only recently started working for the Ramsays,” Antony says, “which means him going out with Cherry is pure coincidence. He said he didn’t know her before he ran across her online.”
“Do we believe that?”
“I don’t think he was lying, boss,” Threes says. “I’m pretty good at spotting lies, and he’s not bright enough to lie to me. Well, he wasn’t, anyway.”
“So he didn’t know her, and she didn’t know him. He just turned on us because he got pissed about being thrown out of Big O.” I shake my head. “What an idiot.”
“Considering how he acted at the club, I think that falls in line with his character. Classic douchebag.”
“Definitely.” I laugh, trying to find some humor in all of this, but it’s short lived. “And all they told him was to report on where she went and with whom?”
“That’s what he said. Really, boss, he’s not the undercover type. I mean, he did a shit job of it all. Hardly subtle.”
“But Cherry didn’t notice him,” I say. “If she had, she would have said something to me, right?”
“Would she?” Antony shrugs. “I don’t know how she could have missed him.”
“What are you saying?” I ask.
“Well, he didn’t know her before, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t know he was there and why.”
“You think she knew Aaron was watching her?” Once again, my stomach tightens into a knot as some of what Antony and Threes have been saying starts to make sense. Even if Aaron was truthful, that didn’t mean Cherry didn’t know he was there.
“Can’t be sure,” Antony says. “But it fits.”
“And what about Micha? He said he knew nothing.”
“He wasn’t in the picture back then,” Threes says. “Boss, this guy was a stooge. The Ramsays are bastards, but they aren’t so stupid that they’d trust information like that to some fucking dickhead they just hired.”
“If he is to believed, we still have no idea what Cherry knows about Micha or why he was checking into her.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Antony?” I look over at him. “Give me your best theory.”
“I think she has to know more than she’s letting on,” he says. “Maybe she doesn’t know everything, but this is all just too coincidental for my taste.”
“You think my Cherry has been playing us all this time? You think she’s been, what? Manipulating me to get close to the family?” I consider the irony, but I don’t find any of it funny.
“Maybe,” Antony says with a shrug.
“Hear me out, boss.” Threes takes in a long breath before he continues. “Let’s say for a moment that Cherry does know who her birth parents are. If she knows that, and she’s even been in contact with the Ramsay family, she could have been shoved into your life to do just what she has done—get under your skin. The Ramsays would have known you’d be looking for a marriage soon, and they might have jumped at the chance to get one of their own into our family.”
“You couldn’t plant a more perfect spy,” Antony says. “She’s so sweet and innocent on the outside, but…”
I stand, pull back my arm, and punch Antony in the jaw. He goes flying back, and Threes reaches out to steady him before he lands on his ass.
“Enough!” I yell. “I can’t stand all the fucking speculation!”
“You have to at least consider it, Nate!” Antony yells back as he straightens himself. “We have to think about the family first—always! I know it fucking sucks, but you have to consider it!”
I ball both hands into fists and take a step a closer to Antony, but he stands his ground.
“Family first,” he says again, softer this time. “You know it has to be that way, Nate.”
My chest tightens up, and I drop my hands. I take a few deep breaths and look from Antony to Threes and back again.
“There is only one way I’m going to get to the truth.” I turn to grab my phone. I quickly text Cherry, asking if she’s done with work. When she replies that she is, I tell her to get over to the house. She questions me, which nearly causes me to throw the phone against the wall, but I manage to restrain myself.
Just get over here.
“You just showed your hand,” Pops says.
“I don’t care. I need to get to the bottom of this.”
“Sometimes there is no bottom.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“What is what supposed to mean?” Antony asks. “Boss, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Not talking to you.” I nod my head in Pops’ direction as I keep staring at the phone.
Antony and Threes glance at each other, clearly confused. Once I tell them that I’ve told Cherry to come over here, they both nod slowly.
“Do you want us to be here when she comes?”
“No. I want you both to keep digging. There has to be more information out there, and I need it immediately. I’ll talk to Cherry.”
“Whatever you want, Nate.”
“Do you want me to keep close?” Threes asks.
“I…I don’t know.” I shake my head. The only reason to have Threes remain nearby is if I’m going to do something…drastic. I can’t think about that—not now. Not yet.
I wait, still looking at the phone, but Cherry doesn’t reply to my last text. I hope that means she’s on her way over to my house, not to the west side of town and the arms of the Ramsays.
I look over to the wall near Pops’ portrait, but he’s managed to leave the room without my seeing him.
Apparently, I’m on my own for this one.
Chapter 18—Confrontation
Eyes closed, I coil my fingers around the velvet box and try to keep myself from hurling it across the room. I can’t stop myself from thinking about proposing to her. I keep seeing the image of myself holding out the ring and the look on her face when she realizes what’s happening—an image that may now be a fantasy never to come to fruition.
Cherry is on her way here now, and I have no idea how to confront her with what I’ve learned. Where do I even start? Her internet date, her connection to the Ramsays, or the fact that I feel like she’s ripped open my chest and carved up my heart with a razor blade?
“Just lay it out there,” Pops says. “Tell her you know everything, and let her condemn herself.”
“Shouldn’t I give her a chance to explain? What if she doesn’t know?”
“She knows. She’s a Ramsay, and she’s known it all along. It all makes sense to you now; you just don’t want to admit it.”
I swallow hard. It does make sense. Cherry is a Ramsay. She knows she’s a Ramsay. She came here to get under my skin. She came here to infiltrate my family.
“Micha died because of her,” Pops whispers in my ear, and then he’s gone.
My limbs turn to ice, and a shudder runs through me. I try to swallow again, but my throat tightens up on me. Nora was right. I was really falling for Cherry, and I’m already starting to feel the loss of her on top of Micha’s passing and…
I blink, trying to figure out where that last thought was going, but I can’t seem to remember what was happening in my head. I need to focus on the here and now, not the past.
Antony sticks his head into the office and gives me a nod.
“She’s pulling up now,” he says.
I clear my throat and shake my head to clear it.
“Get the door,” I tell him. “Bring her back here.”
“Sure, boss.”
I move around the desk and sit in Pops’ chair, staring at the documents in front of me. Maybe there is some way that all of this doesn’t tie Cherry to the Ramsay family, but I can’t see it. Clearly, my brother had suspicions about her, and those suspicions might have been the prelude to his murder.
I tighten my grip around the velvet box once more before shoving it back into the desk drawer. A moment later, Antony and Threes walk in with a confused-looking Cherry between them.
“I do know the way,” Cherry says with a scowl in my cousin’s direction. “I hardly need an escort.” When Antony doesn’t reply, she turns to me. “Nate, what is going on?”
“Leave us.” I wave my hand dismissively. “You both have work to do.”
Antony and Threes nod before they exit the office, shutting the door behind them. I stare at Cherry, trying to find something in her expression that tells me she’s faking this—something that tells me she knows exactly why she’s here.
I find nothing in her expression but confusion.
I gesture to the couch on the other side of the desk, wanting to keep my distance, but Cherry ignores me and stays where she is. She places her hands on her hips and scowls at me.
“Nataniele, what is going on here? Why did you order me here like this?”
Without a word, I push the copy of her birth certificate found in Micha’s file toward her. She takes a step forward to peer at it, and I see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes.
“What is all this?” she asks. “Who is Cherice Montgomery?”
“That’s the birth certificate used to create your forgery,” I say bluntly. “You haven’t seen it before?”
“Of course I haven’t seen it,” she says as she examines the document a little closer. “Is this a…a relative of mine or something? Like, a real relative?”
I narrow my eyes at her, studying her face and trying to interpret her reaction. She sounds excited, as if she’s thrilled I might have found a clue to her parentage, but it could also be nervousness about the discovery. Though Antony and Threes have provided me with the clues, I need Cherry to put it all together. It’s time to confront her directly.
“Why are you here, Cherry?” I stare at her as she turns her gaze to me.
“What do you mean?” She takes the paper from the desk and sits on the couch.
“Why did you move to Cascade Falls? I know you didn’t just choose it at random, so why here?”
“You know why I came here.” Again, I see only confusion in her expression. “I came to find my birth parents.”
“When did you first come to Cascade Falls?” I ask.
“In February. You know that, too. I met you the first week I was here.”
“How many times were you in Cascade Falls before then?”
“None. I wasn’t in Cascade Falls before then. What are you talking about?”
Pops comes up behind me, pressing both palms to the surface of the desk as he glares toward Cherry. I stand, mimicking his pose.
“What about your apartment?” I ask, more forcefully now. “You had to come and secure an apartment before you moved here.”
“I did it online.” Cherry shakes her head. “Reid should know that. I looked at online pictures, signed a temporary lease over email, and sent my deposit while I was still in Accident. I signed the permanent lease after I got here, the same day I moved in.”
“Isn’t that convenient,” I mutter.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Cherry stares at me, and I start to see anger in her eyes. “Why the interrogation, Nate? What is it you think I’ve done?”
I look at her and try to see what’s behind the anger in her eyes. Does she know what I suspect? Is she feigning anger now to throw me off the trail? Has her apparent innocence all this time been some kind of act? Could anyone really pull that off for so long? I have no idea, and that scares me.
I also have no idea how I should approach this. Should I just come right out and ask her? Maybe I should start with some leading questions—questions she’ll try to answer based on her cover story—and try to catch her in a lie. If she isn’t lying, she won’t trip up.
“She’s lying. You know she’s lying.”
“Shut up.” I glare at Pops.
I hear Cherry’s sharp intake of breath.
“Nate, you’re really scaring me,” she says softly. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“Tell me how you met Aaron Hunt.”
“Who is that?”
“Stop it, Cherry!” I slam my hand on top of the desk, and Cherry jumps at the sound. “You know who he is! You went on a date with him, for fuck’s sake!”
“The guy I met at Big O?” Cherry looks at me incredulously. “I completely forgot about him!”
“Convenient,” Pops sneers. “She’s probably been fucking him on the side, too.”
I clench my hand into a fist as the images of Cherry with Aaron parade around in my brain. My legs cramp up and start to shake.
“Why was he following you?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Following me?”
I stare hard at her, my jaw set. I’m not about to repeat the question.
“I have no idea,” she finally says.
“When did you first meet him?”
“Online first and then that night at Big O. You know that.”
“And how many times did you meet with him after that night?”
“What the hell, Nate?” Cherry stands, placing her hands back on her hips. “Is that what this is about? You think I kept seeing that jackass after we met?”
“I know he saw you.” I grab the photo Antony left of Aaron sitting in a car outside Cherry’s apartment and toss it at her. Cherry grabs it reflexively and stares at the image.
“The fire hydrant guy,” she says quietly.
“The what?”
“The guy who keeps parking in front of the fire hydrant.” Her eyes go wide. “You…did you come and pick him up? Was that you?”
Clearly, she had seen Antony pick up Aaron, and she did not call the police. If she were innocent, she would have called and reported the crime.
“So you did know he was there.” I give her a knowing smile. “What was he doing? Watching out for you? Protecting you? Just waiting for me to leave so he could come in and get information from you?”
“Nate! You are being ridiculous!”
“Am I? You already admitted that you knew he was there.”
“I most certainly did not! I saw the car, not who was inside. I never talked to him! I don’t know what you’re thinking exactly, but I swear to you, I never saw Aaron after that night at Big O—never!”
“But you already told me you saw him get picked up today! You saw someone abducted outside your apartment, but you didn’t call the police? Why didn’t you call the police, huh?”
Cherry looks away, and I see her shoulders move up and down as she breathes deeply. She glances back at me for a moment, nervously biting her lip. She’s clearly hiding something now—I’m positive of that.
“Nate, I—”
The door opens before she can finish.
“Nate?” Antony says as he pokes his head through the crack in the door. “Sorry, but I need to talk to you for a sec. It’s urgent.”
“What is it?”
“Privately, please.”
I sigh loudly, close my eyes for a second, and then look back at Cherry.
“Stay right there,” I tell her. “I’ll be back.”
I watch her press her lips together, clearly holding something back, and then nod slightly. I step out of the office and into the hallway where Antony and Threes are waiting.
“Look at this.” Antony hands me a piece of paper, obviously fresh from the computer, with a photo printed on it.
The ink is still a little wet and smear
s when I take it from him, leaving a streak on my thumb. The photo shows an older woman waving at the camera from a sailboat docked at a marina.
“Who is this?” I ask.
“That is Virginia Bay,” Antony says. “The real Virginia Bay.”
“What?”
“Virginia Bay is in the Virgin Islands, living a plush life in a condo overlooking the ocean and going by the name Jenny Baylor. However, Jenny Baylor didn’t exist until twenty years ago. She grew up in the town of Accident, Maryland, moved to Philadelphia in the eighties, and suddenly came into a lot of money while she was living there. That’s when she moved to the Virgin Islands under a new identity. Shortly after that, the woman who raised Cherry moved to Accident under the name Virginia Bay and with a newborn. That’s the person who died a few months ago.”
“Who?” I ask. “Who was she?”
“Not Leanne Ramsay,” Antony says. “She was here, in Cascade Falls. Could she have paid someone to raise her child?”
“Why would she do that?” Threes asks. “Why wouldn’t she keep the child here?”
“Maybe it wasn’t Roland’s kid,” Antony suggests. “Maybe she had an affair, and he made her send Cherry away.”
“That makes sense,” I reply with a nod. “Cherry is Leanne’s daughter by another man. Maybe Virginia Bay knew that man.”
“That would tie her into all of this,” Antony says.
“So Cherry is a Ramsay.”
“That’s still my best guess,” Antony replies. “If Janna Ramsay knew she had a sister out there, it would explain why the Ramsays had someone following Cherry. The question is, does she know about the connection?”
“That bitch knows,” Pops says. “You know she’s hiding something from you.”
“Something doesn’t add up,” Threes mutters as he reads through the printout about Virginia Bay.
“What?”
“I dunno. It just doesn’t sit right. If the real Virginia Bay is in the Virgin Islands, then who raised Cherry? Who would the Ramsays trust to raise one of their own, illegitimate or not?”
“If Leanne had an affair, Roland wouldn’t consider her a Ramsay at all,” Antony says. “He wouldn’t have cared who raised her. He’d just want her out of the picture.”