The Sullivan Gray Series Box Set

by H. P. Bayne

  In the end, there was no eloquent way to put it, no words in the English language for what he needed to express. After all, how did you tell someone you were sorry for the role you’d played in their death? So he was forced to settle for the inadequate.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Betty shook her head side to side. Her mouth seemed to be moving once again but Sully, as usual, couldn’t make it out.

  “I can’t hear you, Betty, and I can’t read your lips. I can see you but that’s all. I just need you to know how sorry I am about what happened. I’ve been going over and over that moment in my head, and I keep thinking there’s something I could have done different. If I’d caught the guy from the break-in the night before, none of this ever would have happened. I just wish—”

  He broke off as, in the blink of an eye, she’d gone from standing near the bathroom door to directly in front of him. Her hand reached up to his cheek and she shook her head slowly as her eyes regarded him with something he could only describe as sorrow. The message was clear.

  She didn’t blame him and she didn’t want him to blame himself.

  The unspoken absolution tore a choked sob from his throat and he had to swallow it before continuing. “But Betty, I didn’t—”

  She glared at him now. His chuckle was an automatic response to that face, the one she made whenever she felt someone wasn’t listening to what she knew was very solid advice. She’d directed it at him more than once, and routinely wore that expression whenever Dez came around with his playful ribbing.

  The realization he’d never see that scowl again once he found a way to help her struck him like a physical blow, wiped the smile away almost as fast as it had come. He didn’t want to see the back of this woman, couldn’t imagine working in a Black Fox where she wasn’t. And yet he knew she needed a way to find peace. She might never allow Sully’s guilt, but he felt it nonetheless, and if giving her peace was the one thing he could do to try to make up for everything, he would find it for her.

  “Betty, I can help you, but only if you let me,” he said. “The thumb drive you were worried about after that break-in. It’s important, isn’t it? I mean, there’s more to it than just family stuff, right?”

  Betty paused and Sully waited for it, the moment when she came to a conclusion: whether to trust him with this or not. Sully knew it all came down to this. Thackeray, he was convinced, didn’t know where the drive was and wouldn’t show him even if he did. And Betty, having gone to great lengths to protect the drive, might never be able to work herself up to trusting someone, particularly a person who was effectively an outsider to whatever secrets that device might hold.

  Without Betty’s cooperation, there might never be a way to figure this out.

  As Sully was thinking up what to say to convince her, he got the reply he needed.

  She nodded.

  “I need to find out where it is.”

  Another pause. Another delay as she considered.

  Sully waited her out, hoping for a similar response. But this time she shook her head.

  “Please. I want to help you and I can, but I need to know about the drive. I mean, that is why you’re still here, right? You’re trying to keep it safe.”

  A nod.

  “Safe for what? If it’s not meant to be used, what’s the point in having it? I need you to help me find it, Betty. Please.”

  He wasn’t obeying her, was going so far as to argue with her. Ordinarily, that would have earned him one of her patented glares and a cuff on the arm, but this time, what he got was a warm smile.

  It was the last thing he saw before she disappeared.

  “Betty? Betty, please!”

  Dez’s voice drifted in from the other room. “Sully, you okay in there?”

  Sully ran from the bathroom and covered the entire interior of the Black Fox as well as the back parking lot with a confused and anxious Dez hard on his heels.

  At last, back inside the empty building, Sully dropped onto the stairs leading from the main floor to the apartments on the upper level.

  Dez stood in front of him, wide eyes scoping the room before returning to his brother. “What the hell, man?”

  “She won’t tell me,” Sully said.

  “Tell you what?”

  “About the thumb drive. She told me it’s important, that it’s why she’s still here, that she’s trying to keep it safe. But she won’t let me help.”

  “What was all that a second ago? Were you looking for it?”

  “Looking for her. She disappeared on me. And I’d imagine she’s going to go to some pretty great lengths to avoid my seeing her again.”

  “Why wouldn’t she show you?” Dez said. “I know she trusted … trusts you. If anyone could help her, it would be you. Why not give you what you need to do that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not about trusting me. Maybe she’s just kept it secret for so long, she doesn’t know how to do anything else.”

  “So, what? She’s going to stay here forever, guarding the thing?”

  “Some ghosts do that. There are stories about spirits that are hundreds of years old, ones where people have died and stayed to guard some family treasure or secret. When people’s lives are consumed by holding onto something, they don’t just let it go because the body dies. Nothing’s that easy, man. People are the same, whether living or dead. So are their hangups.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “She’s not coming back here, at least not while I’m around. I need to try to talk to her again, to convince her. I’m thinking my best bet is to look for her at her house. Anyway, I could search for the thumb drive while I’m there.”

  “I thought you’d given up on that because Thackeray wasn’t keen on letting you in. You can’t be serious about breaking and entering still.”

  “I need to get in.”

  “You can’t, Sull.”

  “If—”

  “No. Forget it.”

  “Dez—”

  “No! You’re already being investigated for a murder. How the hell do you think it’s going to look if you get caught breaking into the victim’s house? You know what Raynor will do with that? He’ll say you were in there looking for something Betty might have had on you, or for something you were after when you supposedly killed her. How are you going to explain that?”

  “I won’t have to explain anything if I don’t get caught. Can you do me a favour and check whether Thackeray is scheduled to go to the police station again at some point to give another statement? I was thinking they might want to talk to him about the possible connection to his charges and the poster you found.”

  Dez sighed, lifting a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose between his knuckles. “Damn it, Sully.”

  Sully waited, recognizing Dez’s most recent response for what it was—resignation. When Dez looked back up at him, he was no happier.

  “Let’s just go home for now, okay? We can discuss the rest tomorrow.”

  14

  If he’d gotten nothing else from the brief talk with Betty, Sully felt as if a small weight had dropped from his shoulders.

  Whether or not he deserved it, the knowledge Betty didn’t blame him for her death proved enough of a relief that Sully managed close to a full night’s sleep without one of Lowell’s pills.

  Wanting the comforts of home and contending with requests from Kayleigh to see Sully, Dez had opted to return there instead of heading back to their parents’ place for the night. But, as well as Sully had slept, he was left with a new measure of guilt as he looked at Dez’s face the next morning.

  “Didn’t you sleep?” Sully asked.

  Dez scrubbed a hand over his face and stopped to scratch at unshaven stubble as he watched the coffee perking. “Here and there. I was trying to listen for you, make sure nothing was happening that shouldn’t have been.”

  “I’m sorry, man.”

  Dez turned, jabbed a finger against Sully’s shoulder. “
Don’t. Not your fault.”

  Sully was pulling a few mugs from the cupboard when Dez cut in with the expected question. “No visitors last night?”

  “Not that I know of. I mean, I had this feeling right before bed like I was being watched, but nothing materialized.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing. Have you rethought your stupid plan for the day?”

  Sully smiled. “If you mean heading over to Betty’s house then, no, I haven’t. I need to get in there.”

  Dez huffed out a breath but said nothing, which Sully took as a win. It wasn’t that long ago his brother would have threatened physical confinement to keep Sully from doing something inherently stupid, so the lack of argument was a huge step forward.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t have to. And honestly, I don’t know what I’d think if you did.”

  Dez dropped Kayleigh off at school on his way to work the last of his day shifts this stretch, leaving Sully with Eva for the morning. Sully said nothing to his sister-in-law about the plan, wanting as few people involved as possible. The worst thing, if he got caught, would be to take anyone down with him.

  It was after eleven-thirty when Dez called Sully’s cellphone with news.

  “Raynor’s asked Thackeray to come in at one this afternoon to talk about the posters and a possible connection there. Apparently, he already talked to Terrence Waters about it, and Raynor keeps grumbling it’s a waste of time, following this line of inquiry. Anyway, just letting you know.”

  “Thanks, Dez.”

  “I’m not sure how I’ll manage it yet, but I’ll try to figure out a way to meet you there.”

  “Why?”

  “If you’re playing cat burglar, you need someone outside, standing six in case Thackeray comes back earlier than expected. And I wouldn’t count on Raynor to be interested enough to make it a long interview.”

  “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I don’t want you anywhere near there. If things go sideways, you’ll be considered an accomplice.”

  “I’m an accomplice anyway. I’m getting you the info you need to pull this off. That makes me a party to the offence, if not a co-conspirator. This is really stupid, Sully.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t see that I have much of a choice.”

  “Okay, look. I’ll stay away, but you still need someone there who can warn you and maybe stall Thackeray if he gets back before you’re out. I’ll see if I can reach Bulldog. Don’t move until I do.”

  Sully smiled. Billy “Bulldog” Bird had gone from being a street source for Dez to a friend in a short space of time, and he and Sully had bonded a couple years ago during the search for Bulldog’s missing niece. Somewhere in his mid-to-late forties, the guy had one of those hangdog faces that had helped earn him the nickname, and his appearance had been enough to cause a few people to seriously misjudge him. It belied the quick mind and ready instincts that made for a man who could talk his way around just about anything and, in the event that didn’t work, he was a solidly built miniature tank of a man capable of holding up his end of a physical battle.

  At one time, Sully had grumbled about Dez’s desire to send Bulldog with him as backup. Now, with a little more age and experience to guide him, Sully was grateful for the possibility.

  In anticipation of Bulldog’s presence at the house, Sully headed to the nearest bus stop. After the usual transfer into Riverview, Sully opted to walk toward Betty’s, happy to make the trip last as long as he could. Having grown up with a police officer as a foster father, Sully had been raised with a healthy and sometimes overly enthusiastic respect for the law. The idea of breaking it, whatever Dez might think, was nerve-wracking, causing him to regret the eggs and greasy bacon he’d eaten for breakfast.

  There was a park near Betty’s, close enough to afford a view of the house and large enough he could stand some distance away, ensuring he wouldn’t be easily spotted by Thackeray. Sully saw a car still parked next to Betty’s old beater and guessed it must belong to her son. A glance at the face of his cellphone told Sully there were still forty minutes before the interview time. If driving, it would take Thackeray only about ten minutes from here.

  Unfortunately, that gave Sully more time than he wanted to think, so he was grateful when he heard the gruff voice behind him.

  “You sure know how to find trouble, don’t you, kid?”

  Sully tilted his head up from where he sat cross-legged on the grass, squinting against the sun as he took in the stout form of Bulldog Bird. “Thanks for coming.”

  Bulldog grumbled a reply that was likely meant to signify a “you’re welcome,” before lowering himself and ultimately collapsing into a spot on the grass next to Sully. “Fucking hell.”

  “You okay?”

  “Okay? I’m bloody old, that’s what I am. Falling apart, piece at a time. Buggered up my knee.”

  Sully was happy for the change in topic, any excuse to think about something besides dead people and housebreaking. “How’d you manage that?”

  “Got in a fight. Asshole hit a woman, so I got one in for her. After that, guy refused to back down so I played it through.”

  “I thought you always said you were a lover not a fighter.”

  “Hey, in my twenties, I was one hell of a fighter, Sully. I was the Rocky Goddamn Marciano of Blackwater First Nation. People saw me coming, they moved the hell outta my way.”

  Sully might have laughed but for the fact he fully believed it.

  “So how’s the other guy?”

  “Unconscious, last I saw him. Won’t be picking on women for a while, tell you that much.” Bulldog grinned wickedly. “I made sure his dominant hand won’t be good for much for at least six weeks. So, what’s all this about today, then? Copper only gave me the Reader’s Digest version.”

  Sully had never been sure whether Bulldog’s nickname for Dez had to do with his line of work or the colour of his hair. Sully had always intended to ask, but never found the right moment. This wasn’t it, either.

  Instead, he divided his time between filling Bulldog in and watching what he assumed was Thackeray’s car. As soon as the guy pulled away, Sully would move in. Bulldog was one of few people who knew about the things Sully saw, and one of even fewer who believed it, thanks to the incident with Bulldog’s niece—which also involved the ghost of his murdered sister, Breanna. Since then, Bulldog had been full of questions on virtually every occasion the two of them had run into each other.

  Right now, though, his queries were focused on just one thing, and it wasn’t of a spiritual nature.

  “Just how the hell you planning on getting in there, anyway? Guy that paranoid, especially one who’s been to prison, he’s not leaving the place unlocked.”

  “If I’ve got to break a window, I’ll do that.”

  “Yeah? And I’m supposed to be your six on this. How’s that gonna look when the neighbours peer out their windows and see some Indigenous guy standing around? You think they’re just going to shrug their shoulders and go back to watching their soaps? Racist bastards will have the cops here for me so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

  Sully started to suspect his brother had an ulterior motive in sending Bulldog here. “Dez asked you to talk me out of this, didn’t he?”

  “You’re a wise one, grasshopper.”

  “It’s not going to work, Bulldog. I need to talk to Betty or just look for that drive.”

  “What makes you so sure either of them will be here?”

  “I don’t know about the drive, but I saw Betty here before.”

  “Okay. So why don’t you just ask her to let you in, then?”

  “Huh?”

  “I’ve been with you before when ghosts held doors shut and got them open, remember? My sister? Maybe Betty could do something like that too.”

  “I have a feeling she’d prefer it if I was nowhere near this place.”

  “Question for you: If no one wants you here, why are you here?”

  It
was a good question, good enough that Sully was still trying to come up with an answer when he saw Thackeray emerge from the house and slide behind the wheel of the car Sully had pegged as his. Sully and Bulldog lay back, obscuring their heads from view of the car passing this way. By the time they sat up again, Betty’s son had driven past.

  “Come on,” Sully said, standing and helping Bulldog to his feet.

  Bulldog wobbled a little but held his ground. “This is stupid. And you’re stupid for thinking it isn’t stupid.”

  “Look, I won’t break any windows, okay? I see your point. If there’s no obvious way in, I’ll think of something else. Maybe one of the neighbours has a key.”

  “This is Riverview, not Gladstone or Jasmine Park. People don’t share house keys around here. Neighbours are more likely to use them to go in and help themselves to electronics than to call the cops on someone burgling the place.”

  The pair made their way across the street, and Bulldog took a seat on a swing on the front veranda while Sully made a show of knocking. Unsurprisingly, no one answered and he took a moment to look around to see whether anyone was watching.

  “Stop it,” Bulldog said. “You look obvious. I’ll be your eyes. That’s the whole point of having a six.”

  “So I’m good?”

  “For now. Hop to it, kid. We don’t have all day.”

  Sully searched the areas beneath the mat, inside the outdoor light fixture and beneath several flowerpots, hoping Betty had been in the habit of hiding a spare key. But she wasn’t the kind of woman to misplace house keys, and he knew she was too cautious to risk leaving them someplace where a potential intruder would find them.

  Bulldog was just as doubtful. “You really think she’d just leave a key sitting around?”

  “I don’t know. I just thought—”

  Sully broke off mid-sentence, his attention caught by a gathering presence just the other side of the glass. He expected Betty. What he got was Mirror Man.

  “No.”

  “What?” Bulldog’s question sounded as alarmed as Sully realized his one-word statement had been, and it merited a reply.