by Mary Frame
The music ends and the dancers all halt as Tabby gets up on stage.
“Hey, everyone! The silent auction winners are about to be announced!” There’s a smattering of applause from around the room.
“First, the people who donated their prizes are going to come up and talk about their donation and any other goods or services they offer. Then we’ll announce the winners. If your name is called, head to the table in the back where our good friend Deputy Reeves will be collecting the money.”
Jared gives me one last squeeze around the waist and kisses my head before heading to his post near the back.
The auction begins.
The first prize is from Tabby’s hardware store, so she kicks it off by describing the store and what it sells. Her prize is a steep discount on supplies and a consultation for any home remodel or improvement project. I can’t help but remember her up on Ruby’s roof, tool belt strapped around her waist, patching a stranger’s roof. That’s what friends are for, she said. Whoever wins her prize will be in kind, skilled hands. I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. I can’t think about that now.
Once she’s done announcing the winner, a name I don’t recognize, she moves on to the next donor, some kind of wedding planner.
Another shot to my heart.
I phase out, glancing at the clock and scanning the crowd. My mind buzzing, my stomach already churning with thoughts of how this night will end. How Jared will react. What’s going to happen?
Mother stops next to me. “You have thirty minutes.”
“I know.”
“Meet me out front by the fountain and don’t be late or this folder will find it’s way into your boyfriend’s hands.”
She has the folder they brought to the shop the other day, the one with all the evidence against me.
I nod and she disappears.
Shutting my eyes for a moment, I take a deep breath. I can do this.
And then the face of the unknown man flashes in my head, and suddenly I remember.
It’s him.
The big-shot attorney my parents were friends with. The one that Paige served drinks to.
Why is he here? Is that who my parents need the money for? Is he here to collect Jared’s account numbers, and not them? Are they just the middlemen?
Tabby announces the next silent auction winner, everyone claps, and the crowd shifts, making room for the winner to walk to the back to pay up and collect their certificate. The crowd around me shuffles and parts, and I catch a glimpse of yet another familiar face across the room.
It’s not the big-shot attorney.
It’s Jackson Murphy.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jackson Murphy is here. Ruby’s accountant. The one I keep blowing off because I keep forgetting he exists. Not that I can blame myself, he’s way less scary than the parents and not worth nearly as much time and energy . . . unless he were to show up at an inopportune moment. Like now. I only see him for a second, a glimpse of his features between the shifting crowds.
I stretch up on my toes, scanning faces, searching, searching. Where is he going? He heads to the back of the room.
He stops. Next to Jared.
He’s talking to Jared.
What is he saying?
I glance over at the clock. It’s eight forty-five. I only have fifteen minutes until the parents make good on their promise.
And they’re going to give my intel to the big-shot attorney guy. I can’t possibly turn it over now. If they have this guy in on their scam, he could run off with Jared’s money before I have a chance to tell him the truth.
What do I do?
“Our next prize is a reading from our one and only resident psychic. Ruby, get up here,” Tabby calls into the microphone. The spotlight swings in my direction, unerringly finding me in the mass of bodies.
I can’t run. I can’t hide.
It’s too late.
Heart thumping over the cheering of the people around me, I move through the parting crowd up to the stage at the front of the room.
I stand next to Tabby, keeping a smile on my face while my eyes scan the audience and the applause fades out.
The light is too bright. My racing pulse is too loud.
What is Jackson saying to Jared? Will he know everything before I have a chance to confess it all?
Tabby is reading something off a notecard. “Ruby’s Readings and Cosmic Shop is more than just your run of the mill new age store—”
“Wait.” I step in front of her, cutting her off and speaking into her microphone. “I have to tell you something.”
I glance uneasily back at Tabby before turning to face the crowd.
I can’t make out individual faces under the glare of the lights, just blobs of dark, shifting figures. I take a deep, steadying breath. The adrenaline racing through my veins makes me both shaky and alert.
I have to do this. Now.
They’re all going to hate me.
But I can’t turn back.
Keep Paige safe.
“I’m not Ruby.” Feedback distorts the last word.
Miss Viola pipes up, way too loud. “Did she say booby?”
“Um.” Tabby laughs, the sound a bit strangled. She steps to my side, using one hand to shade her eyes from the spotlight. “No, Miss Viola. She said she’s not Ruby.”
She turns her confused gaze in my direction.
“Of course you’re Ruby.” She gestures toward me, her brow furrowed. She covers the mic with one hand. “Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m not. I’m not drunk and I’m not Ruby.” My voice is shaking. I nudge her hand off the mic, clear my throat, and try to breathe. I have to get this out. “The truth is, I’ve been lying.”
The words leave my mouth, as does the crushing weight on my shoulders. No more trying to hide the truth. “I’ve lied to all of you. I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”
The pervasive silence in the room speaks volumes. No one is moving. No one is saying a word.
I can’t stop now. I have to finish this, finish everything.
“The real Ruby left for India months ago. She was here less than a day. She hired me to look after her shop and . . . but then this girl showed up asking for a reading and we had no money. I shouldn’t have done it. I knew it was wrong. But I didn’t know what else to do. So I lied. To all of you. ”
I swallow even though my mouth is as dry as the sand on Castle Cove beach at low tide. But just like the tide, the words are coming faster now, unstoppable, rushing in to fill the silence.
“I pretended to be Ruby. I thought it would only be the one time, but then there was the mugging and Jared,” I gesture in his direction, even though I can’t see him, “and—and I have no excuses for what I’ve done. But I had to tell you all now, because the truth about what’s happening here tonight, this charity,” the word tastes foul in my mouth, “is more important than my lies. Out of everything I’ve done and said, I regret more than anything coming to Castle Cove, because that brought the Hamptons here, too. You see, that’s not their real name and they don’t run any kind of charitable organization. The reason Paige and I came here in the first place was to get away from them. They’re con artists and swindlers, and it’s my fault they came here and took your money for this farce. There is no charity. Your money will be going to line their pockets.”
There’s a collective gasp from the crowd.
“This is better than my stories on the TV,” Mrs. Olsen stage-whispers from somewhere near the front.
More gasps, startled murmurs, people shifting and glancing around.
There’s a slow clap from somewhere in the crowd.
The bodies shift out of the way. I put a hand up to try and block the bright stage light.
Father.
“It’s a nice story, but it’s obvious this is just more lies. Why should anyone believe you?” His voice booms out over the crowd, strong and full of conviction. “You’ve already admitted to lying and stealing their mo
ney long before we arrived. Now you’re trying to blame us to get the attention off of you. We aren’t the con artists here,” he says.
All eyes swing in my direction.
“I’m not lying,” I say. “Well, I was . . . I mean, I’m not any longer.”
This is ridiculous. I barely even believe me.
There’s a loud shout near the front door and the crowd turns again. Murmurs begin building in the back of the room.
I brace myself for what’s coming. It doesn’t matter. Even though it does. I can’t see anyone in the crowd anyway, no point in looking there. Besides, Tabby is staring at me, curiosity and uncertainty warring in her expression.
But I don’t have time to say anything else.
The crowd is shifting and restless, the voices rising in the small space, and then someone jumps up on stage.
It’s Jared, in his tux, his hair a bit ruffled. His eyes are bright and his jaw is clenched. “I’m afraid I have to take you in.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You can’t arrest her.” Tabby’s voice echoes over the microphone, above the crowd’s growing hum.
She’s watching us, her eyes wide and shocked.
My heart both fills and hurts. She’s still defending me.
But I have to go with him.
“Stay out of it, Tabby.” Jared takes my arm and pulls me off the stage.
We go through the back behind the curtain, away from the anxious audience.
We’re in a back hallway when Tabby catches up with us. “You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“You shouldn’t defend me. I’ve been lying to you this whole time.”
“No you haven’t.”
Frustrated, I come to a sudden stop, halting Jared’s forward progress.
I swallow and look her in the eyes. “I have.” She deserves the truth. “I’m not a good person.”
She’s stunned into silence, something I’ve never seen before.
I jerk out of Jared’s grasp. “I’m not going to run. You don’t have to hold me.” I keep walking in the direction we were going, Jared keeping pace behind me.
I don’t look back.
In the parking lot, I follow him to his Jeep. He opens the passenger door for me. The ride to the station is tense and silent. I want to ask him what’s going on, what he’s thinking, but I don’t. I can’t look at him. I don’t want to see how much I’ve hurt him.
Once at the station, I’m cuffed and taken into a small interrogation room, and still without saying a word, he leaves.
I don’t know how long I’m left there, but it feels like at least an hour.
Long enough for me to replay the scene from the gala in my mind, the words Father shouted, the evidence they surely have against me.
But I have a little hope. Even if I’m locked away, I can tell them about Paige and make sure she’s safe and away from them.
When the door opens, it’s Jared again.
He’s still dressed in his tuxedo from the gala, but it’s significantly more rumpled since the last time I saw it. His tie is hanging around his neck and the top buttons of his shirt are undone. His hair looks as though he’s been running his hands through it. It’s the least put together I’ve ever seen him, but his eyes find mine unerringly.
They aren’t the same eyes that have been watching me for the past three weeks. Not the eyes full of laughter, shared jokes, and comfort. His gaze is as enigmatic and inscrutable as when we first met, when I was sure he hated me, when I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
We stare at each other in silence, eyeing each other up.
I have no idea what to say. His eyes continue to search mine, as if seeking the truth, but I don’t know what truth he needs.
I wasn’t expecting him.
I thought once he discovered the truth, at best he would leave me to my fate. Have one of the other officers interrogate and book me. Ignore me completely like he did on the drive over. It’s what I deserve. I don’t deserve his regard or even his anger.
He doesn’t say anything. He enters the room, leaving the door open behind him. But he doesn’t come in any farther, lingering near the exit instead.
I stand but I don’t know why. Where am I going to go?
“Hi,” I say. Brilliant.
“Hi,” he repeats. “What’s your real name?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Charlotte.” Finally. My name. I’ll never have to hear him call me Ruby again. Well, more than likely I won’t hear him call me anything again. But still, the relief is acute.
He nods. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
I sigh and slump back down in my chair. So this is what we’ve been reduced to. Cops and robbers. He’s here to act like he cares so I’ll open up and confess to everything.
I could say yes, ask for food to go with the drink, drag it out and see if I can get any information or anything out of them in return. Cut a deal. But I’m not that person anymore.
“Why don’t we dispense with the interrogation tactics and you just tell me what you want from me?”
He doesn’t say anything for a few long seconds. Then he shuts the door softly and sits in front of me. He pulls his little black notebook out of his pocket, the same one he used when we worked together on the Castle Cove Bandit. “Information.”
“What kind of information?”
“How much do you know about the Hamptons?”
I smile, even though I don’t feel like it. The motion is reflexive. This is what I wanted—to come clean. But at the same time, I know the truth is going to hurt. Me. Him. It’s all the same thing. “First of all, they aren’t really the Hamptons. That’s a fake name.”
There’s no hint of surprise. He already knows. Interesting.
How much does he know? About them, and about me? Obviously not enough if the need for information is there.
“What are their real names?”
“I’m not sure. They never told me.”
His brows furrow. “You don’t know your own aunt’s and uncle’s names?”
I chuckle a bit. “They aren’t my aunt and uncle. They’re my parents.”
His expression doesn’t change but he rocks back in his seat a couple inches.
I’ve surprised him. So this much he didn’t know.
“How can you not know your parents’ names?”
“Trust me, that’s not even close to the strangest part of my childhood. You want to hear about it?”
He nods, the movement quick and small.
And then I open my mouth, and out comes the truth. About my childhood. About Paige. I don’t tell him everything I know about Paige, yet. Just about how I raised my little sister amongst thieves and scoundrels, about how we eventually had to escape.
At first, I try to be brave and watch him while I tell the story, but I can’t. My eyes stray to the table in front of me and stay fixed there. On my own hands, which are clasped together.
“I didn’t mean to be Ruby. We were running out of money, and this girl came to the shop asking for a reading. She offered me two hundred dollars. I just . . .” I shrug helplessly. “I took the opportunity that presented itself. But then she was robbed. And you came to the door.”
“And you kept up the pretense that you were Ruby.”
“I didn’t see another way out.”
“You could have told me the truth.”
“I didn’t know that. I didn’t know you. My whole life I’ve learned to trust no one. Especially cops. All I’ve known is lies and deceit. I’m not a good person.”
The truth is almost freeing.
The words keep tumbling out. I tell him everything. How we set up the cameras around town to get intel, how I used him when we were investigating the break-ins to see if the parents were involved. Then probably the worst part, how I stole the jewelry from Pearl to try and frame the parents, how it got turned around on me, setting it up for Jared to find the jewelry.
He doesn’t seem terribly surprised
to learn I’m the Castle Cove Ninja. “That night . . . you were using me then, too?”
“Not using you.” How can I make him understand? “I tried to protect you. I told you I’m no good for anyone. I didn’t want to hurt you. Or Tabby or anyone else. But I did. I shouldn’t have let anyone get so close. And then the parents were here and they wanted to run a real con, not the small potatoes I’ve been running. I wanted to take Paige and run, but they took our car and our money. They wanted to take Paige too but they told me they would sign her over to me and disappear if I helped them. I bugged the shop, I trailed them around town, I framed them for robbery, I stalled, stalled, stalled. But nothing worked. I even—”
I look up into the harsh fluorescent lights above us, not letting the tears escape. I have to tell him this part.
“I hacked into one of your bank accounts. Once they realized you had significant assets, they wanted to steal from you, too. I didn’t want to do it, but I gave them one of your account numbers. A small one. It was just to stall them, put them off until I could take them down.”
His brows are drawn together but he’s otherwise blank as he watches me for a few, long moments. I expected an outburst. Some yelling or pacing or slamming of doors. Instead, he surprises me.
“Where’s Paige?”
I swallow. “I kept her safe. She’s okay.”
“I’m sure she is, but we need to know where she is.” His eyes aren’t so hard anymore. They’ve softened a bit.
Does he believe me? Does he blame me? He should.
Especially if he believes me.
“I don’t . . . I can’t tell you unless you promise you won’t give her to them. They aren’t good people. I . . .”
And now I have to give him the full truth. My last card. “There’s another reason you can’t let them have her. Paige isn’t their real daughter.” It almost hurts to admit the truth out loud. Paige isn’t really my sister. Except, she is.
His eyes sharpen. “Why do you say that?”