by Carsen Taite
The words she’d read from the search warrant had haunted her every thought, the mention of the shooting especially. She’d scoured the online reports of the incident, but details were few and far between. When she searched the address she’d read in the report, it was indeed the address of a warehouse owned by Gantry Oil. If nothing illegal was going on, then why had someone shot at Peyton and Agent Nelson when they were there asking questions?
Frustrated, tired, and heartsick, she left the safe cocoon of her room, descended the stairs, and made her way to the dining room where the family was gathered for lunch. Her uncle Brock, aunt Clara, and her cousins, Lance and Darla, were already seated with her parents at the table. When she walked in, her father merely nodded, but Brock stood and gave her a big hug.
“Lily, it’s been a long time. I’m sure your family is very happy to have you home, and we’re very happy to see you.” He shot a look at his wife and children who murmured hellos before returning to the food on the table.
Brock had always been kind to her, but he seemed oblivious to the rest of his family’s icy reception of her. She’d learned early on that Clara and her offspring resented the fact her father, not Brock, had been chosen by Rufus to run the family business, and Clara hadn’t bothered to hide her anger that a non-blood relative was first in line to inherit it all. Lily had never let Clara, Lance, and Darla get under her skin, but today her skin was thinner than usual and she braced for what was sure to be an uncomfortable meal.
She sat in the chair nearest her mother, and Joelle appeared at her shoulder with a warm plate of food. At the scent of pot roast and gravy, she realized she hadn’t eaten since the grapefruit she’d had the morning before, and she dug in as the conversation continued around the table.
“Cyrus,” Brock said. “I can meet with our investors, help put their minds at ease while you work with Nester on a plan to defend whatever’s coming next.”
He slapped the table with his palm. “There’s nothing to defend. Besides, Gantrys don’t work from a position of defense. I’ve already made arrangements to go on the offense. Nester has hired a PR firm, and they’ll start providing statements to the press about how Hershel Gellar is a long time enemy of big business and he’s had his sights set on me for years. Took this long for him to find a way into my inner circle.” He stopped talking and shot a pointed look in Lily’s direction. “But that doesn’t mean that he’s got hard evidence that I or anyone else at Gantry Oil has committed any crimes.”
Lily put her fork down, her appetite gone. She knew that she was the path the U.S. attorney had taken into her father’s inner circle, and the accusing eyes of everyone at the table made it clear they blamed her for the mess that threatened to take down the family business. She stood and placed her napkin next to her plate. “I apologize, but I’m afraid I’m not feeling well. Please excuse me.”
She didn’t wait for a response before striding briskly from the room. When she reached the stairs, Joelle called out to her. “Miss Lily, you have a phone call. I didn’t want to bother you while you were eating, but…” She paused and her eyes were full of concern. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Or I will be. You said I had a phone call?” Lily rarely got calls on the residence phone since most of her friends chose to use her cell number. Of course, she’d turned off her cell phone yesterday afternoon after Peyton’s number showed up for the fifth time. She followed Joelle to the phone in the downstairs study and picked up the line. “Lily Davis.”
“Lily, it’s Skye. I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday. Is everything all right?”
In the chaos of the day, Lily had completely forgotten she had been on the phone with Skye when the federal agents burst into her father’s offices. Skye had said something about not being able to locate her mother’s death certificate. “Have you found it? My mother’s death certificate?”
“Look, I’d really like to talk about this in person. What are you doing right now?”
Lily glanced at the door to the study. What she should be doing is sucking it up and having lunch with her family. Acting like she was one of them even though they’d just made it clear that her actions had placed them all in danger. But what she wanted to do was get as far away as possible, from their accusing eyes and her regrets about Peyton. She made arrangements to meet Skye at Morgan’s office in an hour and prayed that whatever Skye had to tell her would make her feel better.
*
Peyton kept her voice low, but she leaned across Gellar’s desk and scowled to emphasize her anger. “Either I’m in charge of this task force, or I’m not. If you plan to cut me out of major decisions, then maybe I made the wrong decision taking this job.”
Gellar looked unfazed at her anger. “Come on now, Peyton, you should know sometimes we have to make decisions based on the climate, not just the facts.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“Don’t tell me you worked in Washington all that time and didn’t see any politics at play. I have a duty to protect the citizens of this district, but how I do it is up to me. Word is Cyrus Gantry has been talking to investors about diversifying into alternative energy sources—warm and fuzzy stuff. Better if we get this to a jury while he’s still just a big bad oil tycoon.”
Peyton shook her head in disgust. She’d watched Gellar’s press conference on the evening news last night, and she couldn’t believe the sweeping allegations he leveled at Cyrus Gantry, especially since they’d only just begun to review the evidence seized from his offices. She’d tried to get in to see Gellar several times yesterday afternoon, but he’d been too busy giving interviews to talk to anyone at the office. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any recourse to deal with Gellar’s methods. As a U.S. attorney, he was appointed by the president, and while main Justice in D.C. could make recommendations based on his performance, ultimately only the president could fire him.
Damn it. She was on the verge of telling him to shove his politics and quitting, but if she walked, Lily would be left without a safety net. In his zeal, Gellar was convinced everyone close to Cyrus Gantry must be guilty of something, and he wouldn’t rest until they were all convicted. As much as she loathed his showboating, she had to stick around, at least until Lily was in the clear. She owed her that much.
An hour later, Dale walked into her office and shut the door. Peyton could tell she was trying to mask concern, but she was doing a lousy job of it. “What’s going on?”
“You’re not going to like this.”
“I don’t like much today. Go ahead, spill.”
“I talked to Cohen and Jeffries, the agents who talked to Lily yesterday.”
“And?”
“Cohen says Lily didn’t talk much, that she seemed nervous. Based on what she did say, Cohen couldn’t really get a read on whether she knew anything.”
“So why do you look like whatever you’re about to tell me is going to set me off?”
Dale set an envelope marked evidence on Peyton’s desk. “Because they found this sitting on the floor right by her chair when she left. Their theory is that she left it behind by accident.”
Peyton reached over and picked up the envelope. Dread gnawed at her insides as she broke the seal and pulled out a stack of paper. She thumbed through the pages, but nothing she saw made sense. She held up the stack. “Help me out here. What am I looking at?”
“According to Agent Reed, what you have in your hand are records a lot like those they found at Gantry’s warehouse. Except these document recent transactions. As recent as last week.”
“And they were in Gantry’s office?”
“Yes. Jeffries is convinced Lily had them in her possession.”
“Based on what? The fact she was there?”
“They weren’t on Cyrus’s desk or in his drawers. They were on the floor, right next to where Lily was sitting.”
Peyton stood and started pacing. The idea that Lily would be complicit in her father’s schemes was incon
ceivable. Or was she so blinded by attraction that she couldn’t see the truth?
No, she was right not to jump to conclusions. So far everything about this investigation had gone against her instincts. Gellar may be in charge when it came to the showing off for the cameras, but at least for now, she was taking back command of what happened behind the scenes. She’d start by finding out who she could trust.
“What do you think?” she asked Dale.
Dale glanced at the envelope and then back up at Peyton. “I think we need a little bit more information before we start arresting folks.”
Satisfied with Dale’s answer, Peyton made a decision to confide in her. “You’ve probably already figured this out, but I have feelings for Lily. Up until yesterday, I think she had feelings for me too. Now what do you have to say?”
“Feelings are hard. They can cloud your judgment, but they can also sharpen your focus. Just depends.” She reached over and picked up the envelope and tucked it under her arm. “What do you say we play it by ear? I’ll go see Lily. If she’ll consent to talk to me, I’ll let you know what I think. Fair enough?”
“More than fair.” Peyton walked out from behind her desk and stuck out her hand. “Thanks, Dale.”
“Wait and see what I have to say after I talk to her before you go thanking me. And, Peyton?”
“Yes?”
“Watch your back. Not everyone around here has yours.”
Peyton watched Dale leave, certain she was right.
*
Skye was waiting in the lobby of the Bradley & Casey’s offices when Lily arrived. “I’m sorry I’m late,” Lily said. “There was a bad wreck on Central.”
There had been a bad accident, but she would’ve missed it entirely if she’d taken the right exit. She’d been so distracted by the events of the past twenty-four hours, it was amazing she’d made it here in one piece.
“Are you okay?” Skye asked. “I heard about your father.”
“Who hasn’t heard? I had to shut the radio off on the way over. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
“Good question. I can personally attest that principle is more theory than fact.”
“Oh really?”
“A story for another time. Morgan said we can use the conference room. Come on.”
Skye led the way, and a few moments later, they were seated at the spacious table. Lily remembered the first time she’d come here, a few weeks ago. If she’d known then what fate would soon befall her family, she never would have started this journey. Even now, she felt uncomfortable pursuing this track, but she needed some kind of distraction to keep her from thinking about Peyton and her father.
She’d ignored all of Peyton’s calls, and finally, she’d stopped calling. The messages had all been the same. Simple requests for a callback and nothing more. No clues to signal whether she’d phoned for personal or professional reasons, although it didn’t matter either way. Anything personal between them was over, and she had nothing to say to her about her father. Anxious to be immersed in something other than thoughts of her current troubles, she turned her attention to Skye who had set a small stack of papers on the table. “What are these?”
“First things, first. As I said on the phone, I’ve checked with every county in the state, and there is no death certificate for a Sophia Valencia around the time of your birth. I even checked for other first or last names. Nothing turns up.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, the obvious answer would be that she’s not dead.”
Lily felt a glimmer of hope before reality rushed in. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Are you saying that the nuns lied to my parents? If she’s alive and she gave me up, wouldn’t she have had to sign papers so my parents could adopt me? Wouldn’t those be on file somewhere?”
“Yes. If she gave you up for adoption, then there would be a record with the county where you were adopted.”
Skye’s tone was measured, and it only took a moment for Lily to pick up on the clue. “If she gave me up for adoption. Are you saying she didn’t voluntarily give me up? What do you mean by that?” She stood up for emphasis. “Skye, I’ve had a really bad couple of days, and I don’t have the patience for riddles. Whatever you’re trying to say, just say it.”
“I’m sorry. This isn’t easy, and I don’t know the why of it all, but here’s what I do know.” She reached over and picked up a couple of pieces of paper from the stack and lined them up on the table. She pointed to the first one. “Here’s your birth certificate.”
Lily looked down at a copy of the same document she’d shared with Skye when they first met. More confused than ever, she pulled the other document closer. “What’s this?”
“Most hospitals ask mothers to fill these forms out for newborns. It helps them with record keeping, so they don’t have a bunch of files labeled newborn baby XYZ. It’s also for security purposes—to make sure babies aren’t released to the wrong parents.”
Lily picked up the paper and scanned it. It was a fairly simple form with a few lines to be filled in and boxes to be checked off. Her mother’s name and date of birth were listed along with the address of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Her eyes moved to the other side of the page where she expected to see blank lines and empty boxes where the information about her father should be. But the entire form was filled in. She devoured the information. It wasn’t an official document, so there was no prohibition about including her birth father’s name without his permission. But it wasn’t the fact that the entire form was filled in that shocked her the most. What shocked her the most was that she knew the name listed on the line beside Father, and up until this moment, she’d thought she’d known everything about him.
She shook the paper at Skye. “Where did you get this?”
“From the hospital’s archives. Maybe your mother filled out the form without him knowing.”
Lily put her head in her hands and squeezed tight. It was too much. First Peyton’s betrayal and now this.
“Lily, are you okay?”
She looked up into Skye’s kind eyes and mustered a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? I just learned what every adopted kid probably wants to believe. I’m not adopted after all.” She picked up the form and read it again. Sure enough, Cyrus Gantry was listed as her father. It was his date of birth, and she had no doubt it was true. All the qualities they shared weren’t nurture after all. No wonder she’d always felt more of an affinity with him than with her mother.
Her mother, Rose. Did she know? Lily’s stomach clenched and she put the thought aside. There was only so much she could process in one sitting.
“There’s more, if you’re up for it,” Skye said.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be up for it, so you may as well go ahead and tell me.”
“I think I’ve located your mother. Sophia.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lily wandered through Klyde Warren Park. The food trucks had just set up, arriving early to beat the lunchtime rush. Young mothers pushed strollers along the winding paths and chased toddlers through the playground. A yoga instructor led a class on the lawn. Everyone she saw was acting like this was just a normal day. A bright, sunny day full of possibilities and promise.
She sank onto a bench and wished she felt the same, but for her this day was full of broken promises and betrayal. Cyrus was her father—that much hadn’t changed, but all her life he’d lied about their true connection. And what had her mother been to him that he’d let her think Sophia was dead all this time?
Lily knew her father and mother had been married before she’d been born. Had Sophia been a one-night stand? Her mother couldn’t have children of her own, so had he conveniently accepted what Sophia could give and then…
And then what? Whose decision had it been to let her father raise her? What kind of woman was Sophia that she could give birth to her child and then walk away, letting her daughter believe she was dead?
There was
only one way to get answers. Right now she wouldn’t trust her father to tell the truth, and Skye said she’d found Sophia. She could go see her, demand the truth. Hi, I’m the daughter you didn’t want, that you gave away. I thought you were dead and I loved these nice people who took me in, but now it turns out everyone is a liar and I’d like to know why.
She didn’t know what to do. So she sat on the bench and watched the world go by, drinking in the normal as if she could become it by osmosis. She had no idea how long she’d been sitting there before she felt the weight of another person settling in next to her.
“Lily Gantry?”
She turned toward the voice and looked into kind eyes that belonged to the woman who’d accompanied Peyton to her father’s office the day before. The same woman who’d picked Peyton up at the Adolphus the night of the shooting. She fished her memory and came up with a name. “Agent Nelson.”
“You can call me Dale.”
“Is that part of your shtick?”
“Pardon?”
“You know, good cop, bad cop? I already met the bad cops, so I guess that means you’re here to try and smooth things over and get me to talk.”
Dale laughed. It was full of genuine humor, and Lily almost caught herself smiling in return. “I won’t lie. We do use that routine on occasion, but I don’t work with those folks who talked to you yesterday.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Who do you work for?”
“I work with Peyton Davis and a team of other agents, and we’re investigating your father because we suspect he’s laundering money for a faction of the Mexican Cartel.”
“So I gathered.” Lily was torn. Common sense said she should get up and walk away, but instinct told her to hear Dale out. What harm could come from listening? It wasn’t like her father had been truthful with her before. “I suppose you think I can shed some light on that?”
“Actually, I don’t have any idea if you know anything about it. How about this? I tell you what I know and then you can decide if you want to talk to me?”