by M. Z. Kelly
Joe’s deep voice grew softer. “I’m afraid there’s no easy way to say this, Kate. A man claiming he was the only surviving relative of your father closed the account and took all the money. If it’s true, it means your adoptive father had a son. His name is Daniel.”
***
There were tears in my eyes as I left work and drove to my mother’s house. Joe’s words reverberated in my mind. Your adoptive father had a son. His name is Daniel.
I slammed my fist onto the dashboard, screaming, “How could my mother have kept this from me?”
Bernie was in the back seat. He whined, no doubt sensing my rage. My thoughts were consumed by the lies, betrayal, and deception my mother had engaged in my entire life. Now this. My father had a son. Why? Why would she keep that from me?
Maybe it was a good thing that the drive to Mom’s house took twenty minutes. It gave me time to calm down and regain some measure of control. As I walked up the front steps to my mother’s house, I was determined to remain composed and try to get to the truth about everything.
I had a habit of walking into Mom’s house without knocking or ringing the bell. As I opened the front door, an alarm sounded. Mom hurried over from the kitchen and punched in some numbers on a wall unit as the alarm continued to wail.
“Sorry,” she said over the noise. “I had it installed right after...” The blaring alarm finally ended. “...you know.”
After I took a moment to assure Bernie things were okay, we made our way into the kitchen.
“I’ve baked some muffins, if you’d like to join me,” Mom said. I took a seat at the table and accepted her offer of tea, as she went on. “I haven’t felt safe in my own home since...since that woman was here. Have they caught her?”
“Not yet.” I waited while she poured the tea, telling myself to remain calm. I decided to begin our conversation by telling her what Harlee had said.
After explaining a couple things, I said, “She claimed her grandfather had photos of me from when she grew up. She also said something about maybe I should think of her as family.”
“Family?”
“That’s what she said.” I set my cup down. “I need to ask you something and I need you to be honest with me. Is Harlan Ryland my biological father?”
She sighed. “I’ve told you before, I don’t know.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“Of course. Why would you say that?”
I started to tell her that I had every reason to question whether she was being honest with me, given her track record, but thought better of it.
Mom went on. “As I’ve told you before, I don’t know who your biological father was, but, the more I think about it, I doubt it was Harlan Ryland.”
“Why is that?”
“I just don’t...” She shook her head. “You don’t even remotely look like him.”
I exhaled, still trying to keep my composure. Ryland was in his eighties, I had no idea what he looked like when he was younger, and I doubted that my mother did either.
I took a breath and decided to tell her about what Joe had said. “Do you remember me telling you that Dad had an offshore account?”
“Yes, did you find out something about it?”
I nodded. “The money was in a bank in Singapore, a total of ten million dollars.”
“Are you kidding?”
“It was claimed a couple years ago. Dad’s son, Daniel, took it.”
“Oh.” She shook her head and looked away from me.
“Why, Mother? Why didn’t you tell me about him?”
Her gray eyes found me, before her gaze moved off again. “It was a long time ago, when your dad was a teenager. He and his girlfriend...” She took a breath. “...they realized they were too young to raise a child, and put him up for adoption.” She finally looked at me. “Maybe that’s why he adopted you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think he felt guilty about Daniel. Raising you made up for that.”
My anger finally surfaced. “I can’t believe you never said anything to me before now.”
Mom’s voice pitched higher. “I never even met Daniel. Everything happened years before we got together. I never thought it mattered.”
“Just like you never thought telling me that I was adopted mattered.” My voice rose and shook with fury as I said something I knew I would later regret. “You disgust me.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t deserve that.”
I stood. “I’ve spent my life living a lie, because you concealed the truth from me. And now this. I have a brother I’ve never known.”
I got Bernie and headed for the door as Mom followed us. “Kate, please. You don’t understand.”
I stopped at the door and turned back to her. “I understand a lot of things. I’m just not sure that I can ever forgive you for any of them.”
THIRTY-NINE
“We got us a Code K-911 emergency,” Natalie said to Otto, seeing my depression when I got home. “You need to whip up a batch of them P ‘n’ Ps I showed you how to make.”
“I’ll serve them up forthwith,” Otto said with a bow, and disappeared into the kitchen.
I took a seat on the living room sofa and broke down, telling my friends about my father’s offshore account, the brother I never knew about, and my conversation with my mother. I ended by telling them how I told my mother that she disgusted me and said I didn’t know if I could ever forgive her.
My friends looked at one another. Mo then said to me, “Sounds like you finally let her have it with both barrels.”
“There’s no excuse for her not tellin’ you ‘bout this Daniel bloke,” Natalie said. “You ask me, your mum has kept a boatload of stuff from you over the years, and it’s bloody wrong.”
I went on. “To make matters worse, Mom made it sound like my dad adopted me only to make up for the fact that he put Daniel up for adoption. It makes me wonder if he ever really loved me.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Natalie said. “Your daddy loved you, regardless of what your mum said.” She sipped her drink. “I hope you don’t mind me sayin’ so, but your mum is bit of a nutter. Me and Mo think she’s been ‘bout a dozen liters short of a full tank of petrol for years.”
I took a breath and released it slowly. “I’m just really stunned and disappointed by her actions, especially her knowing that I had a brother all these years that she didn’t bother to tell me about.”
“Not only that,” Mo said. “He got your share of what you had comin’ to you.”
Natalie agreed. “How do you suppose Daniel found out about the money?”
I sighed. “I don’t have any idea. Maybe my dad knew he was in trouble with Ryland and the others and gave us both the information about the account in case something happened to him.”
Mo grimaced as she thought about what I’d said. “Seems like he woulda given the account info to your mother.”
“My dad and Mom had a falling out shortly before he died. I don’t think he would have trusted her with the information.”
“And maybe the money.”
“So your brother took all the loot for himself and never tried to contact you,” Natalie said, the outrage in her voice apparent. “That’s as wrong as the queen wearin’ a thong. We need to find him and get your money back.”
Otto appeared from the kitchen with a tray full of drinks. He set the cocktails on the coffee table, telling Natalie, “I made them with extra tequila, just as you instructed.”
“Good man,” Natalie said before he disappeared back into the kitchen. She handed me and Mo a drink. “Otto and me call these P ‘n’ Ps, ‘cause they’re made with Prozac and Patrón.”
Mo sniffed the drink. “I don’t take nothin’ with drugs in it.”
“It’s not really Prozac. It’s just Tequila and a bunch of herbs that are guaranteed to cure depression.” She looked at me. “Bottoms up.”
It was against my better judgment, but I was so low that
I took a big gulp of her concoction. It was warm and soothing as it went down. “It’s really good,” I said, after draining half the glass.
Mo also downed half her drink and agreed with me. “I don’t got me many worries these days, but if I did, they’d be floating away ‘bout now.” She looked at me. “So, what you gonna do about this Daniel fellow?”
“I’m not sure. I have no idea where he’s living.”
“Why don’t you run some record checks, try and find him?” Natalie suggested. “Maybe he’s livin’ nearby. We can go shake him down and get your quid.”
“I doubt that he’s living around here, and I doubt that he’s willing to share the money, not that I’m even sure that I want it, given the source.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “I need to give this a lot of thought.”
Mo shook her head. “Now you’re startin’ to sound like the Kate we know and love.” She finished her drink. “What’s the latest with them killers you been chasing?”
“Not much, but Olivia wanted me to ask you about Lazarus. Were you able to ask around about where he might be staying?”
She nodded. “I don’t know exactly where the place is, but, from what I found out, it’s way off the grid.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’s in the middle of nowhere with his followers. I’ll keep snoopin’, see what I can turn up.”
“I appreciate that.” I set my empty glass on the tray. “I’m going to walk Bernie, then turn in.”
I spent a half hour walking my dog down the block and thinking about what my mother had said. Despite Natalie’s cure for depression, I felt as low as I had in years. No matter how I tried to dismiss what she’d said about my father adopting me to make up for giving his son up for adoption, it felt like a betrayal—maybe the ultimate betrayal. No, I decided, that was wrong. The ultimate betrayal was a mother who not only never told me I was adopted, she kept the fact that I had a brother from me. That fact cut to the bone, and I didn’t know if I would ever recover.
FORTY
The wire made of barbs and hooks was cinched tighter, cutting deep into Haley’s open wound. The pain was intense. Over the years, she found it was the only way to focus her mind and keep away the sorrow over what had happened to Lizzy.
The photos of the two men, her victims, were spread on her dining room table. She’d taken them without their knowledge when they were preoccupied, filled with lust for her. The first man was about thirty, she decided. He was rather ordinary looking, but she had instantly despised him. Haley knew that if she’d consented to what he had in mind, he would have hurt and abused her. She had no remorse for killing him.
The other man, the one who had tried to impress her by taking her to the glass house on the hill, was another matter. Carson was older and intelligent, an architect. As they’d walked through the house, he’d told her about some of the houses and buildings he’d designed. It was all very impressive, until they got to the pool. Just like the other man, he’d told her what he wanted to do to her. The thought of it had sickened her. When she’d killed him, she made sure that her scalpel severed a couple of major arteries. He never had a chance to fight back.
After the killing, she remembered going back through the house and finding the viewing deck above the upstairs bedroom the architect had told her about. It was spectacular, with a view of the stars, like something you would see from a mountaintop observatory. She was about to leave when she’d heard Lizzy calling out to her. She’d found her sister staring back at her from the bathroom mirror.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” her sister had said to her.
“I’ve avenged what happened to you. You should be happy, the transformation is complete.”
“You’re wrong. He’s not the man who hurt me, just like the other man you killed.”
What she’d said had shocked her. She had argued with Lizzy, insisting that she’d done the right thing. Her sister had become increasingly angry with her, insisting that she leave the message. She’d found herself reaching into her purse, finding the lipstick, and writing the words, almost like it was Lizzy moving her hand.
Haley clutched the side of her head and tumbled to the floor. The doubt and guilt over what she’d done assailed her. It was so bad that she knew there was only one thing that would help. She found her bag from the hospital on a chair. In a moment, she had a syringe full of morphine, and plunged the sweet substance into a vein.
The world Haley knew fell away, replaced by the sensation that she was floating. The pain and loss that had consumed her life was somewhere far below the place that was now her world. Haley Robinson would stay here as long as the drug allowed. It was a place where the awful pain of what had happened to Lizzy could not enter.
A long time later, as she lay on the floor and felt the effects of the drug beginning to wear off, Haley heard a voice. It was distant and muffled at first, but then it became clearer. It was Lizzy, telling her that she must never hurt anyone again.
Haley closed her eyes and tried to drown out her sister’s voice. She knew that she would have to kill again, but this time she would make sure Lizzy’s transformation was complete.
It was the only way she could be free.
FORTY-ONE
I dragged myself into work the next morning with Bernie and took a seat at my desk across from Leo.
“I need coffee,” I grumbled.
“Don’t tell me, there was a man hiding in your attic again.”
“I’d call it more of a haunting, as in something from the past.” I took a couple of minutes filling him in on what Joe had told me about the offshore account, the brother I’d never known, and my mother’s reaction. “I’m not sure if my relationship with my mom will ever be the same after last night.”
Leo rubbed his jaw. “Give it some time, maybe things will look different.”
I heard the edge in my voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He softened his tone. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I’m just saying if you give things time, it sometimes makes a difference in how you look at them.”
I was still upset by what he said, but tried to move past it. “Tell me something. You knew my adoptive father when he was a young man. Did he ever mention having a son he put up for adoption?”
“No, but it’s not the kind of thing most cops work into the conversation.”
“What about after work, maybe when you, him, and Pearl were out for drinks?”
“There’s nothing I remember, but maybe Pearl knows something. He and your dad were pretty close.”
I sighed. “If Pearl ever surfaces, I’ll ask him.” I stood, and Bernie also got to his feet. “I hope there’s coffee in the breakroom. I need about a gallon if I’m going to make it through the day.”
My gloomy mood brightened when I saw that someone had left a container of Starbucks coffee on the breakroom table. I poured myself a cup, turned, and almost bumped into Jessica Barlow. So much for my mood improving.
“Sorry,” I said.
Jessica smiled, a rare sight. “No worries. Before long our paths won’t be crossing again.”
“Why is that?”
“I guess you’ve heard about my engagement.” She held out her hand. There was a ring the size of a small planet on her finger. “After Boris and I tie the knot, I’m quitting.”
“Congratulations. I heard that Nana’s planning an engagement party.”
“Yes, and it better not be one of those shoddy little affairs like that high tea she put on a while back. My fiancé and I deserve something grand.” She looked down at Bernie, who had followed me into the breakroom. “And, if you and your wretched friends show up, I hope you have the good sense not to bring him.”
I started to take exception to what she’d said, but a plan was already formulating. I pushed down my anger. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the event will be unforgettable. And don’t worry about Bernie showing up. He isn’t fond of ghouls.”
I turned and left the room as she called after me, demanding to know what I meant. I ignored her, sipping my coffee as my mood lifted again. I promised myself that I’d make sure Jessica’s engagement party was something that she and Boris would never forget.
At mid-morning, Olivia got back from a meeting and gathered everyone in her office. Woody then took over, telling us some additional details he’d pieced together about the Robinson family that had once occupied the property on Wonderland Drive.
“Yesterday, I told you that Bruce and Marianne Robinson owned the Wonderland house at one time and they had twin daughters, Elizabeth and Haley. As I mentioned, Bruce was murdered in the house, and the killing was never solved. I did a little more research and found out that Elizabeth was also murdered a year later, when she was twelve years old.”
“Did it have anything to do with her father’s homicide?” Olivia asked.
“There was nothing definitive the investigators were able to piece together. According to the reports, Elizabeth and her sister, Haley, were swimming off Newport Harbor. The girls saw a boat in the water, a small yacht, that they thought was abandoned. They swam out and got on board to check it out. Haley was looking for occupants when her sister was murdered.
“A man, someone Haley was unable to describe, committed the crime. It was pretty gruesome. The girl’s head was severed during the attack. When Haley later reported what happened, the boat was gone. The authorities later found her sister’s body and severed head in the water, but the crime went unsolved, just like the father’s.”
“That would leave some pretty deep scars on the surviving sister,” Leo said.
Darby scoffed. “It’s interesting, but what’s it got to do with our current case?”
Woody nodded at Molly, who used her remote to activate one of the monitors. “Maybe nothing, but I pulled this up from the St. Regis Hospital website. This is Dr. Haley Robinson, the surviving twin. She’s an ER physician.”
“She looks nothing like our suspect,” Darby said.
I studied the photograph of the smiling physician for a moment. She was attractive, with long dark hair and blue eyes, but Darby was right, she didn’t resemble the woman in the security camera photos. Then I remembered what Dr. Randolph had said about kill points.