by Ingrid Thoft
“You don’t have to do anything. Just let someone follow you around.”
“That’s what I couldn’t do. It was irritating, and it slowed me down.” Fina watched him. He was licking his cone with more concentration than the task required. “Is there something you want to say?”
“I’m not going to argue with you about this, Fina.”
“Okay.” She wiped some salted caramel drizzle off her hand. Fina found his unwillingness to comment unsettling. She was used to Carl, who never held back when he disapproved. “I’m just asking you to trust me on this.”
He gazed at the statues of the three women in front of them.
Fina decided it wasn’t the moment to tell him about the poison pen letter she’d received. “Have you guys found anything?” Fina asked. “Related to the contract?”
“Pitney’s got some feelers out, but nothing so far.”
“What do you make of Gabby Gatchell?” Fina asked, changing topics.
Cristian wasn’t thrown by the shift, good cop that he was. “She and her husband seem well-suited to each other. Why? What do you think?”
“I agree. They both strike me as opportunists who use religion for their own gains.” She licked a jimmy from her hand.
“Anything else you want to tell me about your investigation?” Cristian asked.
Fina thought about the crime scene inventory she’d seen, her conversation with Ronnie, and Gabby’s young friend. For all she knew, he was aware of all of it, but if not, she wasn’t ready to share just yet.
“Nope. I’m just plugging along.”
“You free tonight?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, no. I’ve got a family thing.”
“I thought you just had a family thing.”
“I did, but Matthew needs some backup. He’s introducing his new girlfriend to Elaine and Carl.”
“What’s the problem? Is she Latina or something?” He grinned.
Fina looked at Cristian. “She’s a Jewish single mother, and she has a young daughter.”
He exhaled deeply. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.” They sat quietly for a moment. “Maybe my wannabe attacker will show up at dinner tonight and I could redirect his energy.”
“It’s the Ludlows; you never know what might happen.”
“A girl can dream!”
Cristian leaned over and kissed her.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said.
“Finally, something we can agree on.”
They pitched their sticky napkins in the trash, and Fina scanned the area.
She was glad to be rid of Chad, but didn’t like having to assume his workload.
• • •
Fina called Evan and offered to drop off the boxes containing Nadine’s belongings. Since he agreed, Fina assumed the cleaning coupons and her disposal assistance had softened his attitude to her.
At the house, Fina hauled the boxes onto the porch and rang the bell. A girl with long, curly black hair who looked to be around twelve opened the door.
“Is Evan around?” Fina asked. “I’m Fina. I’m dropping off some boxes I borrowed.”
“One second. Uncle Evan!” she hollered. “Fina’s here.”
She opened the door wider, and Fina brought the boxes into the entryway. Through the kitchen door, Fina spotted three girls playing a board game at the table.
“Is Christa your mom?” she asked the girl who lingered next to her.
“Yup.” She nodded. “I’m McKenna.”
“Nice to meet you, McKenna. I recognized you from the photo in your dining room. Those are your sisters?”
“Nicole and Tamara.” She walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. “And that’s Molly.”
“I know Molly.”
Evan came into the room. “You’ve met McKenna?”
“Yes, she has very good manners and introduced herself.”
He grabbed the two boxes, one stacked on top of the other, and headed for the stairs.
“Do you want help with those?” Fina asked.
“No, I’m good.” He nodded at the load in his arms. “I found some more stuff like this. Did you want to take a look?”
“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”
“Give me a minute.”
Fina sat down across from McKenna. She was settling on a question to ask, but McKenna beat her to it.
“Did you know Aunt Nadine?” the girl asked.
“No, I didn’t. I wish I had.”
Her face sagged.
“It’s hard when someone dies unexpectedly,” Fina offered. “Someone in my family died not so long ago, and I’m sad when I think about it.”
McKenna nodded. “We’ve been looking at scrapbooks at home. Mommy’s got lots of pictures from when they were young.”
“It’s nice to remember happy times.” Christ, she was turning into a human greeting card.
“And there are some of Nadine and Daddy.”
The statement gave Fina pause. “At family gatherings?”
“And at the prom.”
Fina felt something shift inside her—that blip in her nervous system that told her to pay attention.
“Your dad and Nadine went to the prom together?”
“It was an under-the-sea theme. The decorations were pretty lame.”
“Do you guys decorate for dances these days?” Fina asked, not wanting to spook the girl. “Do you even have dances?”
“We’ve had one. I thought it was stupid.”
“So did Nadine and your dad dress up for their dance?”
“He had a hideous blue suit, and he got her a blue carnation corsage to match. My mom says it was the ugliest thing ever.”
“Who’d your mom go with?”
McKenna shrugged. “I don’t know his name, but he was kind of a dweeb.”
“Did your dad and Nadine date for a while?”
A dispute broke out in the kitchen related to Lollipop Woods and Gumdrop Mountain. McKenna pushed herself off the couch and went in to referee, just as Evan came down the stairs with two new boxes.
“It’s the same kind of stuff as the others,” he said, “but give it a shot.”
“Thanks, Evan. I appreciate it.” The voices had settled down in the kitchen. “It’s nice of you to have Christa’s girls over.”
“They’re the closest thing to siblings that Molly has, and Christa needed a break.”
“Do you have a minute to answer a couple of questions?” Fina asked.
His shoulders sagged, but he joined her on the couch.
She wanted to question him about this newest twist in the family history, but needed to digest it first. “What can you tell me about Nadine being ill?” Fina asked instead.
“She was sick on and off for a couple of months.” He placed his feet on the coffee table. “She went to the doctor, but they couldn’t find anything obvious.”
“Did she miss work or other commitments because of it?”
“Sometimes. She’d get sick to her stomach, which limited her activities. Other times she was dizzy or just out of it.”
Giggles floated in from the kitchen. “Was there any pattern to her being sick?” Fina asked. “Certain days of the week or time of day?”
“That’s what the cops asked.” He frowned. “I know I’m a suspect.”
“The spouse is always a suspect. Don’t take it personally.”
“Kind of hard not to.”
“They wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t investigate you, too. So was there an obvious pattern?”
“Not that I could tell. I tried to piece together a timeline, and I gave it to the cops.”
Fina started to rise from the couch. “Do you mind sharing
it with me?”
“I guess not. The sooner someone solves this case, the sooner I’ll be cleared of any involvement. I’ll e-mail it to you.”
He followed her out to her car and helped her load the boxes into the trunk.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything,” Fina said, climbing into her car.
As was usually the case, Nadine’s familial relationships were more complicated than Fina had been led to believe. Nadine, Christa, and Paul made an interesting triangle indeed.
• • •
The Whittaker Club was in Chestnut Hill, and if Carl tried to become a member today with his booming personal injury practice, he’d probably be rejected. Luckily for the Ludlows, he’d joined decades earlier when he was an up-and-coming attorney without television ads or sensational cases.
Fina often felt out of place at the club. Not because of the family business, but because the net worth of the members was so immense, and there was a caste system between the members and staff that was straight out of Gone with the Wind. That didn’t stop her from having lunch at the pool during the summer and attending compulsory family gatherings, but she felt like a canary in a coal mine; she knew her discomfort was an indicator of an intact sense of justice.
Walking through the front door, Fina was greeted by the manager, an obsequious man with a foreign accent who always made her skin crawl. She followed him to the bar.
The room was all dark wood and leather, and two large TVs were mounted on the wall, one tuned to ESPN, the other to CNBC. Rand was leaning against the bar talking to Carl. The others were sitting around a table. Matthew saw Fina and beckoned her over.
Greetings were exchanged, and Scotty pulled a chair over for her.
“Sydney, this is my sister, Fina.”
Fina shook hands with the woman. She had long brown hair and was exceedingly pretty. She was wearing black pants and a fitted jacket and perched on her knee was her pint-sized twin.
“Is this Rachel?” Fina asked.
“Yes,” Sydney said, smoothing the child’s hair. The girl buried her head into her mother’s chest. “She’s shy.”
“That’s understandable. There are a lot of new faces.”
Patty engaged Sydney in conversation, and Fina watched her mother’s reaction. Sydney’s arrival could go one of two ways: Elaine could contend that no one—including Sydney—was good enough for her son; or she could embrace her as the daughter she never had. Fina found both options galling.
Fina got up to fetch more drinks, and Carl intercepted her before she got to the bar. He made a show of looking over her shoulder.
“Where’s your bodyguard?”
“I gave him the night off.”
“I like saving money, but that seems like a bad idea.”
“It’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m carrying.” She pulled back her jacket to show her father her gun.
“Christ. Don’t let your mother see.”
Fina planted herself at the opposite end of the bar from Rand and ordered another round. She pretended to pay close attention to the stock market report, but he wasn’t dissuaded and sidled over to her.
“You going to give me the silent treatment? Is that the plan?”
“I’m just doing what I was told—to steer clear of you.”
Rand turned and leaned his back against the bar so that he had a clear view of Matthew and the others.
“She’s beautiful, don’t you think?” he asked.
It took Fina every ounce of effort not to smash his teeth in with her fist.
“I’m talking about Sydney, of course.” He rattled the ice cubes in his glass. “Did you think I was talking about the little girl?”
“Could you bring those over when they’re ready?” Fina asked the bartender, and returned to the group.
The conversation gave her time to take some deep breaths and reclaim her equilibrium, but when she looked up, Matthew was studying her.
“Why do you two look so serious?” Elaine asked.
“It’s nothing, Mom,” he said, and Fina nodded in agreement.
She looked at Sydney and Rachel, and her stomach turned.
TWENTY
This time, Fina let herself into 56 Wellspring Street without waiting for permission. Frank was in his recliner, his nightly bowl of vanilla ice cream on the side table next to him.
“I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.”
“I am. Where’s Peg?”
“There was some puberty thing at the middle school. She should be home soon.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“Somebody’s got to teach them that stuff.”
“Well, at least it’s not me. That’s something, I suppose.”
“Does that mean things have gotten worse?” Frank asked.
“I’m making progress on the case, but the family situation is not good.”
“Anything I can do?”
“Not about that, unfortunately.”
“Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream.
“Do you have any interest in a job?” Fina asked.
“Depends on the job.”
“There’s a woman I suspect is up to no good, and if she is, I’d like photographic evidence of it.”
“A domestic?”
“It’s part of the church case. I think the pastor’s wife is getting to know a congregant in the biblical sense.”
“If you need 24/7 coverage, I can’t do that.”
“Nah. I was thinking just start with a few hours and see if anything materializes. She’s pretty sloppy.”
“What do you know about the suspected boyfriend?”
“Nothing at the moment, but I should have his info on Monday. Tuesday at the latest.”
“Why aren’t you doing the surveillance yourself?”
“My plate is full, and Carl is footing the bill. Hiring you is a win-win.”
“Let me check with the boss lady, but it sounds like an entertaining diversion.”
“I can’t imagine the boss lady will object,” Fina said, smiling. “There’s nothing dangerous about it. You can relive the good old days.”
“The good old days of leg cramps and peeing in a cup?”
“The very ones.”
“Why don’t you stay here tonight? I don’t like the idea of you heading home at this hour.” Frank and Peg had a finished basement with a couple of guest rooms, one of which was Fina’s de facto bedroom. She stayed there on occasion when she needed a change of scenery or wanted to feel like home wasn’t just a high-rise condo borrowed from a dead grandmother.
“I don’t want to put you and Peg in danger.”
Frank looked offended. “You think I can’t hold my own?”
“Of course you can, but you shouldn’t have to.”
“Wait until Peg gets home. You can decide then.”
Fina contemplated fixing herself a bowl of ice cream, but she’d already maxed out with the salted caramel. Instead, she got a diet soda from the fridge, snuggled into the corner of the couch, and watched the headlines with Frank.
She felt safe, something that even Chad couldn’t deliver.
• • •
Fina woke from a deep and dreamless night in Frank and Peg’s basement guest room to the reality that she wasn’t making much progress on Rand’s case. Her conversation with Sally Cramer had gotten her nowhere and though she had another lead to chase down from Rand’s college pics, it wasn’t much to go on. She was starting to feel desperate and knew that she would have to shake more trees in an effort to flush out her brother’s victims.
After eating breakfast and helping Frank with his honey-do list, Fina made a plan to meet Risa at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for her friend’s daily constitutional. Fina swapped the low boots she w
as wearing for a pair of sneakers she kept in her trunk and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
Risa was waiting at the water’s edge, wearing fancy workout gear and marching in place.
“This must be important if you didn’t want to discuss it over dinner,” Risa commented as they started around the loop.
“It’s not really a family-friendly conversation.”
Risa eyed her. “That doesn’t sound good.” She began walking at a brisk pace.
“First of all, thank you for taking good care of Haley. I know you didn’t sign up for an extra kid, but we appreciate your involvement in her life.”
“Of course. I love Haley, and I loved Melanie. I’ll do whatever I can to be supportive.”
“I need to tell you something, but it’s incredibly sensitive and needs to stay between us.”
“What’s going on, Fina?”
“Ugh. I hate this.”
“Just spit it out.”
“Rand has done some stuff, and I’m trying to get dirt on him.”
“What kind of stuff?”
A young woman was running toward them, her face contorted in discomfort. If running were really a good idea, people doing it wouldn’t look like they were being tortured.
“He hired prostitutes, and he molested Haley.”
Risa froze in place and gaped at Fina. “What?”
“He paid for sex, and he sexually abused Haley.”
“Wait.” She grabbed Fina’s arm. “What are you talking about? And why are you telling me this here, now?”
“Easy, killer,” Fina said, peeling Risa’s fingers from her arm. “There’s no good time or place to spill these beans, Risa. I’m telling you now because he’s back in town, and I want him to leave for good. I think his presence is the reason Haley is going off the rails.”
“Does the family know about this?”
“The adults and Haley, obviously.”
“And your parents have welcomed him back?” Risa wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off the chill of the disturbing news.
“Yes. I got him to leave town for a while, but now he’s back.”
“How can they allow that?”
“Well, according to you, Rand was my mother’s miracle baby, and he can do no wrong. As for my father, I don’t understand why he’s willing to turn a blind eye. I think there’s something going on between my dad and Rand.”