In This Town

by Beth Andrews

  Her teeth clenched, her hands fisted, and she nodded sharply once. “You want a fight? Fine. Because I’m not giving up my son without one.”

  Greg sighed and led Colleen to the door. Colleen stepped out but Greg turned back to Tori. “I’m sorry it has to come to this.”

  The worst part? He meant it. He was nothing if not sincere and so good she’d often felt lacking next to him, being with him. As if she was holding him back. When he’d held her back just as much.

  He shut the door quietly behind him and she stood in the kitchen, her arms crossed, her heart pounding as she listened to them drive away.

  “You can’t make me stay here.”

  She whirled around to find Brandon standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, his face flushed, his shoulders hunched.

  “You live here,” she said. “When we split up, your father and I agreed you’d live with me.”

  “You didn’t split up,” her son spat at her. “You kicked him out. You didn’t want to be married anymore so you just quit.”

  “It’s not quite as simple as that,” she said, fighting not to lose her temper. “Your father and I care about each other very much but that’s not enough to make a marriage work.”

  “It worked until last year.”

  God, if only life was as simple as a preteen saw it. “It wasn’t enough, what Greg and I had wasn’t enough for either of us.” She softened her tone. “I know it’s hard for you to understand now, but when you’re older—”

  “I’ll never understand,” he yelled. “And I don’t want to live here. I don’t want to live with you.”

  Temper began to simmer in her veins. “Well, let me give you a hard life lesson. You don’t always get what you want.”

  His eyes flashed, but his bottom lip quivered. “I hate you.”

  He stomped off, his feet too big, his arms and legs too long.

  “Yeah?” she muttered, her heart breaking. “Well, I’m not too crazy for you at the moment, either.”

  * * *

  TUESDAY AFTERNOON, Walker sat behind Chief Taylor’s desk as Tori entered the office.

  As in the first time he’d seen her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. In a pair of loose, faded jeans and a sweatshirt that fell off one shoulder, her face clean of everything but the barest of makeup, she looked approachable and…real.

  And she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Something wrong, Detective?” she asked, sitting in one of the chairs he’d set up across from him. She lifted her gaze to his for the briefest of seconds. “You’re staring,” she said flatly.

  “And here I thought that’s what you wanted. Attention.”

  “Well, I certainly seem to have captured yours.”

  That was truer than he wanted to admit. Even to himself.

  “You’re here,” Nora said to Tori as she and Layne came into the room. “You’re early.”

  “Don’t sound so shocked, baby girl. I have been known to be punctual every once in a while.”

  “Right, but only when it’s about you.” Layne took the seat farthest from Tori then looked to Walker. He didn’t like the calculation in her eyes or her smirk. “Did you enjoy your first weekend in Mystic Point, Detective?”

  He glanced at Tori. “Excuse me?”

  “Aren’t you the polite little cop?” Tori muttered.

  “Just wondering if you had fun at the Yacht Pub the other night and whatever you—” she sent Tori a pointed, accusatory look “—did…after.”

  Tori’s shoulders went rigid but she didn’t defend herself, didn’t tell her sister to mind her own business or to go to hell.

  He wished she would.

  Walker drummed his fingers on the table. “Word gets around fast here.”

  “That it does. Small town. Plus, when you’re a cop, people love to spread tales about what’s going on, especially if it involves your family or a sister who has decided to sleep with the enemy.”

  Nora stared at the ceiling as if God Himself had carved a message for her there. Tori said nothing.

  He found himself wanting to defend her, wanting to protect her.

  Hell.

  “I’d think you’d be used to rumors,” he said. She and her sisters had spent their entire lives being talked about, their family fodder for gossips and speculation.

  “I don’t think it’s something you ever get used to,” Layne said. “Then again, if people wouldn’t make such stupid decisions, there wouldn’t be as much to talk about.”

  “Have you ever made a mistake, Captain?” he asked, feeling Tori’s eyes on him. “Ever do something you wished you could take back?”

  The captain’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I’ve made mistakes. But I try to learn from them, not repeat them endlessly in the hope that the outcome will be different.”

  “If I’d wanted your opinion,” Tori told her sister, her voice giving none of her thoughts away, “I would’ve asked for it.”

  “You don’t ask because you know I’m not going to agree,” Layne said.

  Walker knew he shouldn’t get involved but he didn’t like hearing Layne’s not-so-subtle inference that Tori was somehow less than her sisters. Less bright, less virtuous, less worthy.

  Damn, but he was losing his footing with Tori. He needed to keep his emotional distance. There were too many unknown variables and too many connections, things were too intertwined for him to start to question his initial judgment of her.

  Besides, he hated being wrong.

  “Look,” Layne said, glaring at him as if he was a bug she’d like to stomp on, “can we get on with this? You insisted we all drop what we were doing and meet you so let’s hear what your big secret discovery is so we can all go on our merry ways.”

  “Fine by me.” He was starting to doubt the wisdom of calling them. Yes, they were all involved in his investigation but that didn’t mean he had to keep them abreast of every development. But he’d wanted to see their reactions when he told them what he’d found. “I thought this might interest you.”

  Walker handed a piece of paper to Layne, noting the emotions flicking across her face as she read the information. Confusion. Surprise. Denial.

  “What the hell is this? Where did you get this?” she demanded, slamming the paper down.

  Tori picked it up, frowned as she read it. “I don’t get it.”

  “It says a large sum of money was deposited into an account Dale used after he left Mystic Point all those years ago. And that the money was traced back to Uncle Ken.”

  “What?” Tori scanned the paper again. “That’s ridiculous. There’s a mistake.”

  “No mistake,” Walker assured them. His buddy in the Boston office had uncovered the real name behind the mysterious account. “I double-checked and had other sources verify the information. Two days before your mother disappeared, Kenneth Sullivan transferred half a million dollars from an off-shore account set up under a dummy corporation to the account of Joel Cannella. Mr. York has been living as Joel Cannella for the past eighteen years. We also found that the initial account was set up under two names, the other one being a Whitney Williams.”

  Layne and Tori exchanged a look, while Nora stared at her hands.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Whitney was our maternal grandmother’s maiden name,” Tori said.

  “Tori,” Layne warned.

  “What does it matter? The truth’s going to come out.”

  Nora made a sound like she’d been hit in the stomach.

  “You okay, Miss Sullivan?” Walker asked.

  She nodded, still wouldn’t lift her head.

  “I had your uncle brought in for questioning a few hours ago but he wasn’t cooperative.” Sullivan had refused to answer their questions and had told them that if they wanted to talk to him again, they could do so in the presence of his attorney. But Walker had noticed that Mr. Sullivan had seemed nervous and on edge. He was hiding something.

  “There could be any number of reas
ons that Uncle Ken’s name was on that account,” Layne insisted. “He could have been set up by someone, maybe even Dale. York was a sneaky bastard.”

  From what Walker knew, that was true. York had been mean and violent but more than that, perhaps what made him more dangerous, was that he was also smart. Clever.

  “It’s possible that’s the case,” Walker agreed. Hell, anything was possible, though it wasn’t likely. “Or maybe your uncle knew exactly what was going on.”

  Tori moved to the edge of her seat. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying, it’s just as possible Ken Sullivan paid Mr. York to kill your mother. From all accounts your father and his older brother are close. Maybe Ken found out about your mother’s affair and figured the best way to solve that problem would be to pay York and your mother to leave town. Or to kill your mother. Or maybe your father went to him—”

  “He didn’t,” Nora blurted, her face red, her eyes wet. She looked at Layne then Tori, desperation on her face. “He didn’t. Uncle Ken didn’t pay Dale to kill Mom. That’s not what happened.”

  Walker’s instincts told him she knew something but he didn’t rely on instincts, he relied on facts. “Miss Sullivan, how can you be so sure?”

  “I…” She stared at her sisters, her eyes bleak. Swallowed visibly. “Uncle Ken wouldn’t hurt anyone.” She looked to Tori. “You know he wouldn’t.”

  “Of course he wouldn’t,” she said, reaching over to take her sister’s hand which Nora gripped like a lifeline.

  “If you know something pertinent to this case,” Walker said, using his best cop voice, all hard-assed and controlled, “then you need to tell me.”

  Nora shook her head.

  Tori scowled at him. “What could she possibly know? You’re upsetting her.”

  But Layne was watching her youngest sister and he saw on her face the same thoughts, the same questions going through his own mind. The same suspicions.

  She crouched next to Nora’s chair. “Nora, if you know something, you have to tell us.”

  “I’m sorry,” Nora said barely above a whisper. She met Tori’s gaze then Layne’s. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, hey,” Tori said softly, rubbing her arm, her other hand reaching for Layne. They linked their hands, fingers entwined. “It’s okay. Just tell us so we can fix it.”

  They were a unit. A shaky one, one they probably weren’t even sure they wanted or needed but he saw in them the same bond he’d seen his entire life between his own four sisters. The love and connection despite the arguments and personality conflicts. And these three women had taken care of each other, had only each other to rely on so that bond was doubly strong.

  But he didn’t have time for them to get their stories straight, didn’t want to admire them or like them. He had a job to do.

  “Miss Sullivan,” he said, a snap to his tone, “tell me what you know.”

  “Quit yelling at her,” Tori told him. He had a feeling if he’d been closer to her, she would’ve kicked him.

  “It’s okay,” Nora said. “He’s right. He needs to know. You all need to know the truth.” She trembled and Walker could see her sisters’ fear and worry for her on their faces. “I’ve been keeping something from you both, from everyone. The truth is…” She inhaled deeply then said in a rush, “The truth is I’m not your sister.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  TORI SQUEEZED NORA’S hand. “Honey, what are you talking about? Of course you’re our sister.”

  “I’m not,” she said hoarsely. “Not fully.”

  Unease prickled the base of Tori’s spine. An idea, a crazy, unbelievable idea, formed in her head but she pushed it aside before it could take shape fully.

  “Tell us,” Layne ordered softly.

  “A few days before he died, Dale came to my house,” Nora said in a robotic monotone.

  Layne bristled. “He came to see you again? And you didn’t tell us?”

  Tori shook her head at Layne. Now wasn’t the time. But she, too, wondered why Nora hadn’t reported Dale’s visit. When Dale had come back to Mystic Point, one of the first stops he’d made was to Nora’s office. He’d wanted to intimidate her, their family, by visiting the youngest. But if he sought her out maybe there was more to it than that?

  “I couldn’t,” Nora said.

  “Do you have any idea why Mr. York sought you out a second time?” Walker asked, all unemotional and detached. Of course he was—this wasn’t his sister, his town and family and life.

  “At first, I thought it was because of what happened at the bar, the fight between him and Griffin. I thought Dale was trying to use me to get back at Griffin. But that wasn’t it. He wanted me to help him blackmail Uncle Kenny.”

  “What did he say exactly?” Layne asked, sounding as much like a cop as Walker did. Thank God Ross wasn’t here or Tori and Nora would be outnumbered.

  “He said…he said he had a proposition for me, a way for us to help each other.” Nora spoke flatly, her gaze somewhere over Tori’s shoulder. “He said that Mom had an affair years ago, a one-night stand. With Uncle Ken.”

  Layne’s face went white. Tori felt cold all over. Oh, God. She held on to Nora tighter for both their sakes, felt Layne’s grip on her shift and tighten, too.

  “Was that all he said?” Walker asked.

  Tori almost snapped at him to shut up, to go away and leave them be. She didn’t want him around, didn’t want him watching them with his cool eyes and judgmental attitude.

  She didn’t want to know anymore. Didn’t want to know the truth.

  “I didn’t believe him at first,” Nora said. “Couldn’t believe that Ken would hurt Dad that way. But Dale said he had proof.”

  Tori let go of Layne’s hand and tucked a stray piece of Nora’s hair behind her ear. “Honey, you don’t—”

  “Yes. She does,” Layne said. “It’ll be okay.” She looked at Tori. “No matter what, it’ll be okay. We’ll get through it.”

  Nora nodded at Layne. “He said…he said I was the proof.”

  Tori’s thoughts spun. Denial whipped through her, fast and furious. No. God, no. “He was lying,” Tori said, knowing she sounded desperate. “He was a liar. A criminal.”

  “He was both of those things,” Nora said. “And I didn’t believe him but he had a copy of my medical records from when I had my tonsils removed. It lists my blood type. Dale said Mom didn’t know I wasn’t Dad’s child until she saw that form but then she realized that I had to be Ken’s daughter.”

  “Wait,” Tori said, holding up a hand. “I don’t understand.”

  “Mom was type O and Dad’s B. I checked,” Nora said as if she could barely get the words out. “I went to your house,” she said to Layne, “that night after you went to work. I used my key and went through the papers in the attic. I found a copy of Mom’s medical records and a blood donor card of Dad’s. I’m type A. I even went to a doctor a week after Dale died, just to make sure he hadn’t falsified the record in some way.”

  “What does that mean?” Tori asked.

  “Any child of your parents, any biological child, would have to have either type O or type B blood,” Walker explained, like some damned biology professor.

  “I’m B,” Layne said, obviously as stricken as her sisters. She glanced at Tori.

  “I have no idea.” She’d never known her blood type. Was that something people did, something they had to know? She supposed it was in her medical records somewhere.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

  “I don’t know if Ken is my biological father or not,” Nora said, “but I know that Dad…that Tim Sullivan isn’t. Dale gave me until that Monday to convince Ken to pay him or else he was going to expose not only the secret about the affair, but about me, too.”

  “Ken Sullivan isn’t aware that you could possibly be his biological child?” Walker asked, taking notes, observing them dispassionately, as if he witnessed families being torn apart every day.

  Basta
rd.

  Nora rubbed her palms up and down her thighs. “According to Dale, the only two people who knew were Mom and him. They must have blackmailed Ken eighteen years ago, had planned on using that money to start a new life.”

  “That’s why he came back,” Layne said, almost to herself. She stood and began to pace. “He was safe. He knew we didn’t have enough evidence to even bring charges against him for Mom’s murder so he saw an opportunity to make more money off Uncle Ken.”

  “Miss Sullivan,” Walker said, his voice softer than before, his expression kind. Seemed there were times when he wasn’t a complete jerk. “Did Mr. York tell you how he came into possession of your medical records?”

  Nora raised her hands in a helpless gesture. “He didn’t say and I didn’t ask. I figured Mom had given him a copy when she told him all of this.”

  “God, it all makes sense now,” Layne said. “Mom and Dale blackmailed Ken eighteen years ago. And he paid. He paid knowing they’d planned on leaving Mystic Point.”

  “Or else he paid to have your mother killed,” Walker pointed out.

  “Stop saying that,” Tori snarled. “We don’t know why Uncle Ken paid.”

  “Eighteen years ago, Uncle Ken was heavily involved in local politics, he’d even considered running for state attorney general,” Layne said thoughtfully. “He never went through with it. At the time I didn’t think anything of it, and later when I overheard Dad bring it up to him, Ken said he wanted to help his local community, focus his efforts here. Any hint of scandal would’ve hurt him. By paying Mom and Dale, he got them out of his life forever. His secret was safe.”

  “Is this why you’ve been avoiding us?” Tori asked Nora, not caring why Ken had done what he had, not caring about anything except her baby sister. “You’ve been holding on to this secret.”

  “I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t tell anyone.” Nora flushed, dropped her gaze. “Except Griffin. He knows.”

  Before Tori could lay into her about trusting a man over her own sisters, Layne lightly touched Tori’s arm. “You should’ve come to us,” Layne said to Nora. “You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”