“I suppose that’s true.”
“Or even when you’re having a simple exchange of words with someone, and they’re not saying anything particularly aggressive or cruel. In fact, they’re acting very pleasant and friendly, but they feel angry and aggressive, that feeling comes across energetically.”
“I think I see what you mean. Do you think I should tell Jillian? Do you think she’s ready to hear about our relationship?”
I shook my head. “Honestly? I don’t. Not yet.” Not now. Not with what the girl had been and was still going through. ”But I do know that the more honest we are with our children, the more honest they are with us.” And Jillian needed that honesty. From her mother and from herself. “I do think it might be time for you to look at your relationship with Greg and Carter differently.”
Her eyes opened wider. I knew what she was looking for—judgment. “You think we need to change our relationship?”
“I think it’s important to recognize that it’s no longer the most important one. You have two children now. All three of you need to put them first.” I exhaled the breath I’d been reluctant to completely release, and I too relaxed into my chair. I’d found a way to get my message across without asking questions where I had no right to, and without exposing Jillian. Healthy or not, this family still had its share of secrets.
I was very glad MacGregor would be at Charlie’s for a while and I would have some time to myself after Shelby left. Knowing I couldn’t divulge this information that had been given to me in confidence, I would need some time to process it alone. A lot of time.
Chapter 19
With only the sound of the crackling fire, two puppies yapping playfully in the kitchen, a very large dog snoring at our feet, it was now oddly quiet in our home. Josh was back at Charlie’s. Matthew was across the street as well, struggling to finish a history paper before he headed back to his dorm, and Holly was floating over the countryside in an airplane, en route to the East Coast.
“You can’t tell me anything?” MacGregor asked.
“Not really. Shelby told me in confidence. Well, I can tell you that she agreed to let Jillian see me as a spiritual counselor.”
“Fair enough. Did you tell her about Drew?”
“No, I didn’t. I know I probably should—”
“As if you believed in living with ‘shoulds,’ McNair.”
I smiled. He got it. He got me. “As long as they get some professional help and begin to value themselves, I believe they’ll be okay. I will keep tabs on them both though.”
“I know you will. So, if you didn’t tell Shelby about that, what did you talk about?” His smile was impish as if that would convince me to betray a confidence.
I nudged him in the stomach with my elbow, causing an exaggerated moan of pain. “I did mention that Jillian needs her attention, that she’s still very much a little girl. She understood. Other than that, she basically explained her relationship with her two husbands.”
“You mean current husband and ex-husband?”
“Yes.” Freudian slip? Undoubtedly. But two husbands was more accurate. “So, did you have any success in your research?” Best to change the subject and avoid any more slips of the tongue.
“Aye, we did that, lass. I’ve already put in a call to a retirement home not far from here. I’m taking Josh over there tomorrow to look at it. Would you like to come along?”
“I’d love to. Tell me about it.”
“We looked at a few, quite depressing actually, but then we found one that caused me to consider retiring.” He chuckled. “It’s only ten miles away and the gardens are quite lovely.”
“That sold Josh?”
“That and the photograph of a jazz band on a stage. We don’t know if they actually have a group currently, but we’ll find out.”
“Cost?”
“A wee bit out of his grandfather’s price range.”
“How much is wee?”
“More than wee.”
“And?”
“I assured Josh that they sometimes make allowances, similar to scholarships.”
“Did he buy it?”
“Aye, he did indeed, lassie. I must be a better liar than I realized.”
I leaned against his welcoming chest, my eyes slipping out of focus as I gazed into the fire. Life was good. Two resolved cases behind us, peace and serenity in our own home—other than the squirming furry balls in our kitchen—the man I loved sitting beside me on the couch. What could be better?
“Sorry to interrupt your daydream, McNair, but Charlie wants to leave for the pub by six.”
“That early?”
“Aye, I believe he has a big day tomorrow.”
“Another case already?”
“He didn’t say precisely, but I detected that it involves a boat and a fishing pole, and a very attractive woman he met recently.”
I sat upright and turned to face him. “Charlie has met a woman? You’re telling me this now?”
“I’ve only just learned of it myself.”
“Is that the truth?” I zeroed in on his eyes, searching the brown spheres for a flicker of guilt. I found none.
“Aye, it is.” He broke my focus by kissing me lightly on the mouth.
“Her name?”
“I’ve no idea. I only suspect it, due to the blush on his face when he was talking on the phone, and his quickly leaving the room to speak in private. But not to worry, darlin’, I have Josh and Matt on the job. We’ll know more soon enough.”
Ah, another case to solve, only this one far more enjoyable than any that had gone before it.
I was happily wedged between Matt and MacGregor, and looking across at Josh and Charlie in the pub booth. We had finished our fish and chips and were enjoying another round of Belhaven. Matt and Josh were resentfully sipping sodas. I did notice that Charlie left his pint awfully close to his grandson each time he set it down. In Scotland Matt would be enjoying his own pint. Here he was still illegal.
“Ah, look who the wind blew in.” Charlie nodded toward the bar where a rather large man was climbing onto a barstool. “If it isn’t our friendly police detective himself.”
“Did you invite Ben Blaine, Charlie?”
“Och, no, lassie. I did not. He does enjoy a pint now and then though.”
“At our favorite pub?”
Charlie’s grin was sheepish. “I must admit I introduced him to The Shamrock and Thistle many years ago when we were working on a case together.”
“Working together?” Matt asked. “Was it like trying to get water and oil to blend?”
“I didn’t say we were working well together, laddie. I only said we were working together. Out of necessity.”
“So, are you going to tell us now, Charlie, what happened between the two of you?”
Charlie scowled at me. “There are some secrets it’s best to keep from your offspring, lassie. So, if you’ll excuse me, I think I will venture over and say hello to my old friend.”
Josh scooted out of the booth so Charlie could get up. Once he was out of earshot, I turned to the boys. “Do you know anymore? Who his big date is with tomorrow?”
Matt and Josh laughed and Josh said, “We think it’s a teacher from the college. He met her when he was questioning faculty members.”
Ah, it made perfect sense. “How old?”
They shook their heads.
“Subject?”
“I think she teaches art,” Matt said.
“I think it’s English,” Josh said.
“Based on what?” MacGregor asked.
The boys laughed again. “Pure speculation,” Matt answered. “The rest is up to you two. If you want to tail him early tomorrow morning to wherever he’s meeting her, you’ll have all your answers.”
Not a bad idea. “What time?” I asked.
“Five a.m.?”
I sighed. My curiosity could wait for another day. But there was one question that could go unanswered no longer. “If you gentle
men will excuse me, I have a little more detective work to do tonight.”
MacGregor stood up to allow me to exit the booth. I took my Belhaven with me and made my way through the crowd to the bar. Eavesdropping was definitely one of the skills Charlie had taught me well. I only hoped I could get close enough to hear my subjects above the clinking and clattering of dishes and the din of conversation.
I stood out of Charlie’s vision with my back turned to them. Ben seemed too absorbed in his conversation with his old buddy to notice me. They actually clinked their glasses together in a toast. To what, I wondered. Or was it to whom?
“She’s recently moved to Portland. She’s a wee bit lonely,” Charlie was saying. “It might be a good time to give her a call.”
Portland? Catherine? Why was he telling Ben about his ex-wife, my ex-stepmother?
I glanced over my shoulder to see Ben shrug, then take a large gulp of his beer. “It’s probably not worth the effort.” The longing in his voice contradicted his words. “She’s probably still smitten with you, Charlie.”
I didn’t doubt the truth of that statement, but I also knew Catherine and Charlie were wise enough to know when a good thing was over. They valued their friendship too much to risk a second serious relationship with each other.
“She’s available, Ben,” Charlie said decisively. “Excuse me a moment, would you?”
I heard him set down his glass, and I took a few steps away from my eavesdropping post. But when I heard Charlie’s chuckle, I knew I’d been busted. Not as skilled at this as I’d thought.
“Eavesdropping are you, lassie?”
I turned to face the music . . . and my father. “I figured it was the only way I’d find out about these ill feelings between the two of you. Apparently I was right. So, it had to do with Catherine, not a crime you solved and made him look bad.”
“Och, no, there were plenty of those over the years. He’s used to that. Have I taught you nothing, lassie? If it’s not about money, it’s usually about a woman?” He chuckled. “Or man.”
Or ego and pride, I thought, and jealousy and envy. “So, he’s smitten with Catherine.”
“Aye, always has been. Didn’t take too well to her choosing me over him, especially since I’m what, ten years his senior?”
“Did he introduce you to her, Charlie? Did you steal her away from him?”
“Och, there is that too.” Charlie kissed me lightly on the cheek and returned to the bar and his old rival.
So it all came down to jealousy. I shook my head as I realized how true that was. And I wasn’t only thinking about the crimes we had recently been dealing with. It was true of my personal life as well. Holly was jealous of MacGregor and Josh. For that matter I was jealous of Maureen and Jillian over Holly’s choice to lean on them instead of me. And now I understood why Ben was jealous of Charlie all these years. And there was Jillian who was jealous of the two men in her mother’s life and her baby sister. And like George Green when he saw his ex-wife Marsha with another man, my ex-husband Joe had suddenly become envious and jealous and possessive after learning I had moved on. Even after he had given up the right to be possessive of me.
Yes, jealousy and possessiveness and envy were powerful motivators. That thought had been triggered by my confrontation with Joe. It was stubborn, persistent, and still unwilling to abandon me. After I had realized the motive behind Ally’s kidnapping, I had thought it would fade away. But now it was ringing like a bell in my head, frantically, diligently tolling the time, the time for an execution.
My breath caught and I inhaled deeply. This time when I approached the detective duo, I was less subtle. “Sorry to interrupt, hello, Ben. Charlie, do you think you could get George and Judy Green down here?”
“You want them to join us? Here? Why?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. Can you get them here?”
“What do I tell them?”
“Whatever you want, that we’re at the pub, toasting their wellbeing, now that they’re safe. Or you could tell them the truth.”
Four furrowed brows faced me. “And what would that be, lassie?”
“That there is still the threat of danger.”
Charlie pulled out his cell, moved to a quieter location, and made the call. “On their way,” he said when he returned to us and his pint.
“What did you tell them?”
“I went with your first suggestion. Now, do you want to tell us what this is about?”
“Mike Green didn’t do it,” I mumbled.
Charlie and Ben leaned in and stared at me.
“What is it, lassie?”
“Mike is not behind this, any of this.”
“And you know this how?” Ben Blaine asked.
“I just do.”
“Oh. Excellent. Do you want me to drop the charges against him based on ‘I just do.’”
Charlie glared at him and I scowled. “Leave her be, man. What are you getting, Jenny?”
“It will all be clear soon.” At least I hoped it would.
Ben motioned for the bartender to pour him another beer. “Well, now that you have me waiting with bated breath, I suppose I’d better stick around for a while.”
Charlie’s glare had not softened at the sarcasm that seemed to ooze from Ben’s mouth. “I take it you haven’t gotten a confession from Mike Green?”
Ben groaned. “No, Charlie, of course not. And I doubt we will. Most criminals are reluctant to tell the truth, particularly when it means implicating themselves.”
“Did you interrogate him yourself?”
“I did. They called me in on the case. He’s given us a lot of information, but nothing incriminating about himself.”
“Such as?”
Ben slapped a ten dollar bill on the counter as the bartender set down his beer. “Nothing significant. Did you know that, according to him, his twin sisters Cat and Casey have never used drugs in their lives? Yet they were arrested for possession recently? They provide it for their party guests but never use it themselves.”
“Fascinating. What else?”
Ben gestured annoyance with his hand. “Nothing important, I’m sure. Mostly water cooler gossip. Judy Green was George’s secretary at one time and they had an affair. He did confess that he’d had one with his secretary as well. I told you, nothing significant.”
Judging from the piercing look in Charlie’s eyes, he disagreed as to the likelihood of the information being unimportant, but he chose not to push the man.
“So, I assume you trust your daughter’s assertion that Mike Green is not behind the efforts to cause the early demise of his brother and sister-in-law?”
“I trust Jenny’s intuition, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Ben put down his pint and looked from me to Charlie and back. Then he rolled his eyes in disbelief.
By the time George and Judy Green appeared, Charlie, MacGregor, Josh, Matt, and I had secured a table in the back of the room, one large enough to seat all of us comfortably. Ben had made the decision to stay out of our way and watch us do what we did best. Improvise.
Greetings and handshakes were exchanged before Judy and George joined us at our table. Matt and Josh sat at one end watching while MacGregor and Charlie selected seats across from the Greens. I sat at the opposite end from the boys. This was all on me, I realized. Charlie could not climb inside my mind. I only hoped the pieces of the puzzle fell into place before I opened my mouth. Or perhaps they didn’t need to. Maybe I only needed to let go and trust that even if I didn’t see the whole picture, a wiser part of me knew exactly how to guide the less conscious part of me.
I noticed Ben Blaine had moved close enough to hear the exchange, settling in at the nearest booth. I rested my elbows on the table, and Charlie took that as an indication that I was ready to get this show on the road. “Uh, I had hoped this would be a celebration that you’re both safe now, however Jenny and MacGregor have just discovered some evidence that would indicate that your brother Mi
ke is not actually the one behind this.” Good improvising, Charlie.
Judy flushed and George paled. Interesting contrast. Judy grabbed her water and took a large gulp while George downed half of his beer.
“What are you talking about? No one else could have set that bomb to go off on Judy’s car. No one else was there. Your men were watching the house the whole time. They as much as saw Mike do it.”
Charlie nodded. “Things are not always as they seem, laddie.” He looked over at me and waited for me to speak.
“We’ve found evidence that your ex-wife Marsha is the one behind these crimes.”
Judy flushed again, but this time it was from anger, not fear. “I knew it! I knew that bitch was behind this! Didn’t I tell you?” Her elbow jabbed her husband in the side.
“Shut up, Judy! That’s impossible. There’s no way Marsha could have done this! She’s been nowhere near the house.”
“How would you know that?” Judy asked, fury rising in her eyes.
George cowered and his eyes shifted from his lap to his beer to his wife and finally back to his lap. “Because Charlie’s men would have seen her, that’s how. She’s being followed, remember?”
“Unfortunately, it’s possible that she got wind of that and gave our man the slip. In fact, that’s exactly what did happen.” After working together all these years, Charlie was very good at filling in the spaces for me.
“I’m very sorry, but it’s my fault,” I said. “I was the one who let it slip to Marsha about the crimes and our investigation. That’s why we wanted you to come down here, so I could tell you and apologize.”
Judy looked around nervously. “But if she’s the one behind this, I may not be safe.”
“Not to worry, lass. Everything’s under control now.” Charlie’s soft voice seemed to calm her fears. She’d started breathing again. “Marsha is in police custody, and we’re certain they will not be releasing her on bail.”
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