The park was quiet this morning, deserted. The skies were cloudy and dark. Rain was coming, forcing its way into town, keeping people inside. He stepped over a small pair of yellow rubber boots that had been left behind, wondering if the child who’d left them was barefoot now.
Allen didn’t smile. “Have I made my point yet?”
“You have. What the fuck is this? You followed me?”
“Oh, not me. A private investigator. You’ve been under scrutiny for a while now.”
Josh collapsed against the stone wall. “Why? Why me?”
Allen shrugged. “Because no one will ever believe you could do something illegal. You have the face of an angel. You’re connected, and you already have a path in. You shouldn’t break the law, Josh. Bad things happen.”
“And if I don’t agree?”
Allen did smile now, wide and amused. “What would Aubrey think if she knew you’d been with another woman?”
“I don’t remember anything about last night.”
“And you think that will make it okay for her? You’ll lose her, and I don’t think you want that to happen. I’m not asking for much. A few pills. And you get the money to move into a surgical residency and live the life you want. Simple. Easy.” He snapped his fingers, then stood up.
“You’ll show up here on Wednesday nights with the product. Eight p.m. You might want to up your jogging program so it will be a regular thing. Drop them in the old oak tree over there, it has a nice hole for them. And don’t get caught.”
“What about the money?”
“I’ve opened a bank account for you.” He handed Josh a checkbook. “Don’t spend it all in one place.”
“How am I supposed to explain this money to Aubrey?”
“You’ll figure it out. You’ve been lying to her for years. What’s one more?”
“You’re a son of a bitch.”
Allen smiled cheerily. “I am at that. But one who’s going to make you rich. So play nice, there’s a good boy.”
Josh bit back a retort. “And the picture? Is that the only one?”
Allen just laughed and walked away.
Josh collapsed to the ground. This wasn’t happening. He was dreaming. He was going to wake up, snug and toasty next to Aubrey. They’d make love and have breakfast, take Winston for a walk. He would stop taking the uppers, clean himself up. Spend more time with Aubrey.
And in his heart, the lies began to form, and he knew this was the beginning of the end.
CHAPTER 49
Aubrey
Today
Aubrey felt like she’d interrupted something when got back to the table. Meghan’s eyes were sheened with tears, and Cutter was staring at his lap.
“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s no problem.” Cutter gave her a brief smile. She sat back down, toyed with her straw.
“What can I expect from Derek Allen?”
Cutter shrugged. “It’s been my experience that he’s a dog with a bone. He’s not going to walk away, not until he’s satisfied Josh absolutely is dead.”
“But why now? Why start all this now?”
“The money, obviously. And he’s been in jail. He just got out. My guess is this is something he wants to handle himself. Otherwise, he would have told the police about Josh’s involvement in his business long ago.”
“You said he was shot the night my husband disappeared. Who shot him?”
Cutter didn’t answer, just looked at her.
“You think Josh shot him?”
“I think that’s a distinct possibility.”
Jesus. Josh, what did you do?
She slid the card across the table. “One last thing. Any idea who is behind DC Investigations?”
Cutter picked up the card, then turned white. Meghan said, “Is that you? DC—Daniel Cutter?”
He nodded. “I can’t believe he has that. It’s an old card. I changed the name of the business years ago.” He fished in his overstuffed wallet, pulled out a white rectangle, handed it over. “See?” The card was embossed with a large eye overlaid with a magnifying glass, with the name Sherlock’s across the top.
“Sherlock’s?”
“Get’s business like you can’t imagine.”
“So why does Derek Allen have your old business card, Mr. Cutter?”
He was still pale, and Aubrey wondered briefly if he’d been the one to take the picture. It made sense. But it didn’t matter. None of this mattered anymore.
“Like I said, I had a little problem back then. But I’ve cleaned myself up. I’m straight now.”
Aubrey looked at her watch. She needed some time alone. She needed to think. She needed to batten down the hatches and make sure Derek Allen didn’t ruin her life.
Damn you, Josh Hamilton, leaving me with this mess.
She stood up. “Meghan, do you think you can manage the rest of the day without me? I’d like some time to myself, if that’s okay. And Chase just called, he’s coming in early.”
Meghan shot a look at Cutter, then said, “Sure, sugar. I’ll go in search of the great mythological son of Daisy. Maybe Daniel here will help. You go home and get pretty for your boy.”
Aubrey smiled, trying very hard to make sure it was a sunny, happy grin. “You’re the best, Meghan. Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Cutter, for your insights. I appreciate your honesty.”
“Watch out for this guy, Mrs. Hamilton. He’s trouble.”
She nodded and left, mounting the stairs to the grand hall, out onto the street. She didn’t feel sunny. She felt overwhelmed. Too many decisions, too much happening. She ran down the street, back to the courthouse parking lot, drove home.
Tyler and Winston were perched on the front porch when she drove up—an eerie reminder of the previous weekend, when Daisy had pulled around the bend and seen Aubrey and Chase in the same spot.
The two were sitting in the sun, both sets of eyes closed. Tyler looked gray and unhappy but sober, and despite the spike of anger at his stupidity, she was glad to see him. She’d need his help to make all this work. Maybe a little deviousness would make him feel better. She wasn’t worried about tracking down Daisy’s other progeny, if there even was such a person. She needed to get all the pieces together from Josh’s puzzle first.
She left the car parked in the driveway and got out. The dog came to her immediately, tail wagging, the whole back end of him moving in time as he snuggled up next to her. “Winston. There’s my good boy.”
“I’m not your good boy?” Tyler said.
She laughed lightly. “Not even close. But I’m glad you’re here.”
Tyler nodded in acknowledgment that what she really meant was I’m happy you didn’t take the pizza money and fall off the wagon again and get yourself fucked up three ways to Sunday and betray me.
She sat next to him, took a stick from Tyler’s hand and tossed it into the yard for Winston. As the dog scampered away, she said, “I need to run something by you.”
“Anything. Within reason, of course.” He nudged her with his shoulder, and she smiled. God, they’d been through so much. He’d been a part of her life for nearly as long as Josh.
“I’m going to put a call in to my friend Arlo Tonturian. He’s with the DA’s office. He was a friend of Josh’s.”
“I remember. Why are you calling him?”
“I need to find out more about Derek Allen. He’s involved in Josh’s disappearance. I’m worried Allen’s going to try and intimidate me, or hurt me.”
Winston came back and gave Tyler the stick. He tossed it into the grass. “Allen is a seriously bad dude.”
“Badder than you?”
He laughed. “Badder than me. Aubrey, this is a can of worms you do not want to open.”
“I know you’re trying to protect me, and I appre
ciate it. But, Tyler, I’m starting to put this together, and if you know anything else, now would be the time.”
He scratched his head, his words measured. “Can’t you just take the money and get on with your life?”
“No.” She showed him the photograph. “I received this last night. The subject line said, ‘He’s alive.’ ”
He glanced at the photo, his face tight. “But you know Hamilton is dead.”
She shook her head, as if she could shake some sense into the situation. “I know it sounds insane. There was so much blood that night. So much. It was all over the place. He couldn’t be alive. But there was no body. And the police certainly put me through hell.”
“They thought you killed him, like everyone else. You had a window of opportunity. You were damn lucky the case fell apart during trial.”
“Did you think I killed him?”
He met her eyes. “I know you, remember? I know what you’re capable of. Murdering the man you love is beyond you.”
She fisted his hands on her knees. “What if he’d done something terrible? What if I found out everything about him was a lie? Do you still think I’m not capable?”
His tone was wary. “What are you saying, Aubrey?”
She waved her hand, took a breath. “Meghan was married to a private investigator. His name is Daniel Cutter. He said Josh was working with Allen, running drugs. He thinks Josh shot Allen the night he disappeared. That Allen is now out for revenge, and could be coming after me.”
“Whoa. Seriously?”
“That’s why I want to call Arlo. I want to protect myself in case something is about to go down. Protect us. You’re my family, Tyler. My brother. I may get mad at you sometimes, but I don’t want anything bad happening to either of us.”
She felt him puff a bit with pride at the title, but the tension continued.
“Still, the DA. It’s dangerous territory. And you haven’t exactly had good luck with the police in the past. Let me finish drying out. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Saving me again, Tyler?” She said it quietly. He didn’t answer right away, just draped a heavy arm across her shoulders. Winston quit worrying his stick and joined them. She petted his silky ears.
“Do you remember that night at all?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “Unfortunately, I remember all of it. Like it was yesterday.”
“I damn near killed you. Just the idea of it, what you were going through, I wondered for a minute if I should just snap your little neck, make it look like he did it, then I’d have a self-defense claim, and you wouldn’t have to live with it.”
Jesus. Unpredictable had nothing on Tyler.
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Me, too. Though now, looking at all you’ve had to deal with, I sometimes wonder if I did right by you.”
She shook her head. “You did the best you could, Tyler, and I’ll never forget that. But I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m capable of taking care of myself now. And I refuse to sit back and let Derek Allen take my life from me.”
“You don’t have to face the world alone, Aubrey.”
They sat there together on the step, each remembering, not speaking, until her stomach started to growl.
“I’m going to call Arlo. It’s the smart thing to do. And then I’ll make you some lunch.”
CHAPTER 50
Aubrey
Seventeen Years Ago
Aubrey was twelve when it happened.
Sandy had to work the late shift. Latesha and her latest beau were off somewhere. Julia was asleep in the upstairs bedroom, and Morgan was on a sleepover. Tyler was running on the streets with a bunch of his so-called friends. Aubrey was alone downstairs when the knock came on the door. She went to it, glanced out the peephole. Roger. Sandy’s most recent acquisition.
Sandy wasn’t all bad. She kept them fed and clothed, and Aubrey was grateful that she didn’t try to force them out on their ears when she found out about Latesha and Tyler and the bedroom reindeer games that the three had been playing. It was rare for children in the system to stick in one foster home for the duration, but Aubrey had been with Sandy and her foster siblings for four years now, and that was practically a record. After Sandy found out about Tyler and Latesha, the woman who’d taken Aubrey to McDonald’s and brought her to Sandy’s came for a visit. She counseled Aubrey, asked all sorts of questions with dolls and such—anatomically correct dolls—but Aubrey assured her nothing untoward had happened. Maybe Tyler had tried to feel her up once or twice, but that was normal, right?
The woman had pursed her lips and shook her head, then signed off on the house and went back to her own world. It was better that way. Things could have been so much worse. Sandy didn’t abuse them, or yell and scream. She basically left them to their devices so long as they obeyed the rules. Sandy didn’t necessarily love them, but she didn’t hate them either.
But Tyler and Latesha had upset the gentle balance, and now they all had to pay the price. Scrutiny from the system messed with their freedom. Better to keep their mouths shut and let the heat die down.
Sandy seemed to like Roger, so they all tolerated him because a happy Sandy was better for all involved. Aubrey didn’t care for Roger much—he had a lazy eye, and she never quite knew whether he was looking at her or not—so she avoided him whenever possible.
So when he came knocking, Aubrey followed the rules. She didn’t open the door. She knew she wasn’t supposed to. No one was allowed over when Sandy had to work at night.
She said through the crack, “Sorry, Roger, she’s at work.”
Roger gave her that lazy grin, the one Aubrey knew Sandy liked, a lot, and leaned against the door, pushing the wood against her.
“Come on, Aubrey. Lemme in. I’ll just have a beer and wait. Sandy knows I’m here. I just talked to her. She’s bringing home chicken after her shift. Someone covered for her, she’s getting home early.”
Aubrey cocked her head to the side and thought about that. Roger was Sandy’s boyfriend. He was over here several nights a week anyway. The kids weren’t allowed to have friends over, but no one said anything about Sandy’s lovers.
She opened the door.
Roger came in and made a beeline for the fridge, where he helped himself to the beer Sandy had bought for him. “Make me some eggs, Aubrey,” he commanded, and she did, knowing it was better to just acquiesce to Roger’s demands. She’d watched Sandy and Roger together over the past few months, and he certainly got whatever he wanted.
She cleaned up after him and started to the living room to finish her homework. Roger followed, sat in the chair by the television. He put on a baseball game, drank a couple more beers. Aubrey had no problem working in the noise—she was accustomed to the cacophony that came about from having kids and people around at all hours.
At the seventh-inning stretch, Aubrey closed her notebook. “I’m going to bed. You should probably head out.”
“I’m gonna wait for Sandy. Why don’t you come here and give me a kiss good night?”
“Why don’t you go jump, Roger?” She infused her voice with as much tone as she could, the sarcastic notes taken from Latesha and Sandy when they were annoyed. Roger just smiled at her. She started to walk by, but he put out his leg.
“Kiss me good night, Aubrey.”
“No. Let me by.”
He was fast. Before she could react, he’d leaped from the chair, grabbed her shoulders, and pinned her to the floor. He shoved his tongue in her mouth, and she nearly gagged on the taste of beer and eggs and man.
She pushed against him, but he was big, and heavy, and she couldn’t get any purchase. She knew what was going to happen next. She tried to fight him. She tried to scream. But he just clamped one hand over her mouth and used the other to rip her shorts open. He put his hand between her legs, squeezing and kneading and
pinching. That place was private, one she’d barely begun to acknowledge, and here he was, drunk and hot and moving on top of her like a wriggling bag of cement. She managed to get her mouth away and bit hard into his arm.
With a roar of pain, he smashed his forehead into her face. Her nose cracked; tears flooded her eyes. Blood began pouring down her face.
Roger slapped her, hard, then flipped her over, put an elbow into her back. “You little bitch. I’m bleeding. I’ll make you pay for that.”
He pulled her shorts down, knocked her legs apart with his knee, and she started to cry. Suddenly, his weight was gone. She got to her knees, then managed to get to her feet. The blood was everywhere.
Tyler was screaming at Roger. “I’ll kill you, motherfucker! She’s twelve. She’s fucking twelve, and you come over here, try to use her like she’s some party favor? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Fuck you, you little shit. She asked for it.” Roger smacked Tyler, knocked his head sideways. Tyler exploded.
Roger was bigger, but Tyler was quick. He danced around Roger’s body, fists flying. It didn’t take long for Roger to go down. Tyler straddled his chest, pummeling his face. Over and over and over.
“Tyler!”
He glanced up at her, his face a mask of fury, tears streaming down his cheeks. The sight of her did something to him. He stopped hitting Roger. He stood, panting, covered in blood, his fists red and slick, and advanced on Aubrey. She cringed, but he pulled her into his arms and held her.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” He said it over and over and over again, into her hair, and they cried together like that, sitting on the floor next to Roger’s unconscious body, until Sandy came home, and screamed and screamed and screamed.
• • •
The police came. The detectives had them separated. Aubrey didn’t want Tyler to get in trouble, so she told them she had hit Roger herself. Again and again and again. They stopped the bleeding and gave her ice for her nose and asked her why she hit him. She didn’t want to tell them. What happened was private, for her and Tyler alone. She didn’t want people to know and look at her with pity—she got enough of that already from her teachers, from Josh.
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