“No one was looking at the Surace’s.” Lily caught up to him. “I went because Dad talked to Mr. Surace the day before he left for Green Bay. And I became even more curious after I saw the limo at Dad’s funeral.”
“Did they tell you anything?”
“Just that they didn’t do it.” The rest of the conversation with Vic stalled in Lily’s throat. Letting others know that the mob promised to let her know if they found out who killed Collin would have started a whole new round of questions. Why would the mob care about what happened to a cop? Was Collin working for them?
Sarge shook his head. “This is your last warning, Lily. Stay away from Evan’s case. I don’t want to give I.A. a reason to think any of my detectives have gone out of the lines, especially with regards to what’s happened here.
“It’s not looking good for your Mother. First Collin. Now Montejack.”
“Wait. What?”
Sarge stopped short of the sidewalk leading up to the side entrance. “We’re going to bring Deena in for questioning.”
“Is Mother a suspect?”
Sarge jammed his hands into his pockets. “Out of respect to your dad, I’ll let you deal with this one.”
“Should I bring her to the station?”
“Let’s see what Deena has to say first.”
“Thanks. Am I cleared to go inside and find out what’s going on with my case?”
“Yeah. And while you’re in there, thank Alec for driving by here before heading home. I don’t want to lose another detective.”
Lily nodded, but regretted it immediately.
Her head pounded.
Sarge was right. She could have been killed. And she carried that fear with her as she entered Montejack’s house.
*
When Lily approached the study inside Montejack’s home, she noticed the body had already been removed and taken to the morgue.
Evan and Alec stood off to the side, talking to Nick.
She glanced at the chaise chair where her counselor’s body had been. What did you want to tell me?
As Lily stepped back to snap a picture, Evan approached and handed her his phone. “Whoever killed him was angry. Recognize the handle on the knife?”
She took the phone and zoomed in on the knife sticking out of Landon’s mouth. “Jesus.”
“Deena gave Montejack, Sarge, and your dad matching hunting knives two years ago.”
She handed Evan back his phone. “To celebrate their twenty years of service to the department. Mother had their initials inscribed on the handles. That’s Montejack’s knife.”
“I’m waiting to hear back from Hauser and Pete. The crime lab said they’re putting a rush on the prints.”
“Mother is many things, but she’s not violent.”
“Montejack’s wife told me about the off and on affair he had with Deena. It was only a few months ago they started meeting for lunch again.”
*
“What the hell, Mother!” Lily screamed as Deena opened the front door. “I’ve just spent two hours at a crime scene. And the last hour was spent defending you.”
“Get inside! You want the neighbors to hear?”
Lily stormed past Deena and spun to face her. “My department has a video of you, Montejack and Julius having an argument on the same night Dad was killed. Do you know how this looks? And now the man you let into our lives is dead.”
“This can’t be,” Deena said, staring blankly at Lily.
“Mother! Are you hearing me?”
“Yes, I heard you.”
“Sarge wanted you to come down to answer some questions, but he put his loyalty to Dad first, allowing me to talk to you instead. I can tell you this, I’m done shielding you.”
“Shielding me? Don’t you dare talk to me about what you’ve done to 'protect' this family. Yes, I had a lapse in judgment years ago, and I’m still paying for my sins. The past several months spent with Landon had nothing to do with sex or me loving him.”
“Fine. You can tell your sordid story to my boss,” Lily said, moving toward the door.
“Wait! Give me a minute to think.”
Lily stopped short of the foyer. “You’ve got one second.”
Deena glanced up at her husband’s picture, and then looked back at Lily. “I’ll start by answering your question from Thanksgiving.”
“Which one?”
“The only one that was important. The identity of your biological father. It’s Landon.”
Deep in Lily’s soul, she had already accepted the possibility that her genes pulsed with Montejack blood. But to have it confirmed by the woman who had lied to her over the years was like scratching open a closed wound with sandpaper. “In Dad’s journal, he referred to a man by the name of Doc. I’m guessing that was my counselor.”
“You’re correct,” Deena said in a low tone.
“And did Montejack know that I was his daughter?”
Deena didn’t respond. Her silence was all Lily needed to confirm her fears. It was best to do what she came here to do. “Are you going to talk to me about Celine?”
Deena walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench. “Before Celine left for the party that night, she overheard Landon and me arguing about whether or not we should tell your dad about our indiscretions.
“Of course Celine was understandably upset, but when she learned that you were Landon’s daughter, she flew into hysterics, threatening to tell your father. There was no reasoning with her. I couldn’t have that little tramp airing my dirty laundry to which she hadn’t been privy to in the first place.”
“You had her killed?”
“No! I threatened to take her out of my will if she continued with her rant. That didn’t dissuade her. Although I’d tried to reassure her I’d stopped, she told your father everything. After that, Collin had the paternity test done. It wasn’t until recently that Landon and I have been seen in public. He was trying to help me plan what steps to take next. My world’s been so hectic—”
Lily clenched her fists. “That man shouldn’t be making decisions for this family.”
Deena squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, tears welling up in the corners. “I um…learned through Landon that Ibee had given your dad a tip regarding Celine’s case.”
“No one trusts Ibee.”
“Landon trusted her. They used to date.”
“I know. Julius told me.” Lily looked at the picture of the man hanging on the wall; the one she knew as dad staring back at her. Had all of the ugly truths that had been revealed stripped away a world she once knew?
Her dad and sister.
Did the ones who claimed to love her really care?
Mother.
How about the one who knew she was his biological daughter? Did he ever ask Mother to meet her?
Montejack.
Three out of four people that Lily knew as family had been murdered. And if it was all related somehow, she needed to find out what was going on. “What can you tell me about the video?”
Deena rose from the bench and faced Lily. “Not long before Collin arrived, Julius and Landon had gotten into a squabble. They’d had too much to drink. Landon wanted to make sure that Julius was being a good husband to you. Julius got offended and things escalated.
“What else, Mother?”
“That’s it.”
“That’s not it. Why was Celine’s name dragged into the conversation?”
A moment of silence hung between the two women.
“A while back, Julius came to me and mentioned that you were having difficulty getting over your sister’s death. He stated he’d asked you to get counseling. I told him to give you more time.
“Before your dad stormed out of McGinley’s, Julius brought up counseling again, which infuriated me. He was making you sound like some incompetent fool who was having difficulty handling the pressures of work. I mean, you’d just lost your sister.
“That’s why I pleaded with Kevin to have you ta
ken off the case. Not to mention I was worried about your safety. Landon and I were going to tell you everything today, but that was interrupted by a client who needed a session. I was waiting for Landon to call me back when you arrived.”
The pounding in Lily’s head worsened. Julius went to my mother behind my back. Did he do this before he talked to me?
Lily walked toward the door. “Pack a few things. You’re not safe here.”
Deena shook her head. “I’m staying here.”
“If the person who killed Montejack feels you might know something, he’ll come find you.”
“I’ve got protection.”
“Of course.” Even during a time like this, Deena Blanchette still needed to be in control. “I’ll ask Sarge to put a car outside around the clock.”
Lily left, slamming the door behind her.
*
“Did you tell Lily what happened at McGinley’s that night?”
Deena stared out her living room window upon the circular driveway where Lily had sped off only minutes ago. “Not all of it. Telling her you slept with her sister would’ve devastated her.”
“That was before I knew Lily. I cared for Celine, but I love Lily.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Deena asked, securing her grip around the handle of the thirty-eight revolver. “Sleeping with one Blanchette heir wasn’t enough. So you sought out the next available one. Lily.
“Don’t get too comfortable. The Blanchette women aren’t pushovers. Once Lily realizes what you’ve done, she’ll end the marriage.”
Julius moved toward Deena, narrowing the small gap that existed between them. “I know my wife. She wouldn’t do that.”
“And I know my daughter. If there’s one thing she despises; it’s liars. I should know shouldn’t I? Lily tolerates me because I’m her mother.”
“You’re a fucking bitch.”
Deena spun on her heels, brandishing the revolver. “I’m aware of your bad temper, son-in-law. You will not get out of line with me as you did with Lily.”
Julius fixed his gaze on the gun and backed away. “I love Lily. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove she can trust me again.”
“If you’re trying to prove something, you should’ve done it while Lily was here, instead of waiting down the street in your car.”
“I had no choice. She doesn’t want to see me.”
As much as Deena wanted to divulge what she knew and break up the marriage, Lily’s happiness had to come first. “For Lily’s sake, I’m good at keeping secrets. But if you hurt my daughter again, you won’t live to see another day.”
“I made a mistake,” Julius said, turning to leave.
You didn’t make a mistake. You knew exactly what you were doing.
The wheels of Julius’s truck squealed out of the circular driveway as he sped away and through the opened iron gates, his taillights fading into the blackness.
*
“How did you know Julius was going to be here?” Evan asked Lily, as they waited in the darkness on the side of the road, the lights of Deena’s house just visible behind them.
“The video at McGinley’s. When mother hates someone, she won’t give them the time of day. Yet, she’s managed to give Julius just that.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Julius’s truck flew down the street where the Blanchette estate rested. As he came to a stop sign, he barely paused before continuing straight ahead.
“Put a car on him,” Lily said, starting her truck’s engine. “I want to know what the hell is going on.”
“We should talk.”
“Make it quick.”
“I had Gus run a background check on Julius.”
“And you dug up the incident about his mother.”
Evan blinked. “You knew?”
“Julius told me the night before we got engaged.”
“Don’t you have questions?”
“I have one for you.”
“Okay.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you talked to Celine the night she died?”
Evan leaned back in the passenger seat. “She asked me not to.”
“What did she want?”
“Celine wanted to speak to your dad, but he was out on a call. Celine was upset about Deena’s affair and the fight with her boyfriend.”
Lily glanced up at her childhood home. The lights in Celine’s old room clicked on. “I miss her. We seldom fought, but when we did, it was one of those rare moments we actually looked forward to. Sounds odd, I know, except growing up in the Blanchette household was a daily challenge.
“Mother wanted us girls to be perfect on all levels. Our hair, posture, education, and yes, after we turned eighteen, the men we dated. We used the fights as a way to remind us we were normal. And it was okay to not be perfect.
“At the party I could tell something was wrong. I tried to get her to tell me what was bothering her, but she’d only say that there’d been another blow up with Mother.
“Celine called Mother a liar and said Dad needed to know she was ruining our family. That was the extent of our conversation. She went off with some of her guy friends, but I wasn’t aware she was seeing anyone.
“I saw no reason to hang around and left. So whoever she was seeing must have come after I left. Maybe he’s the one we’re looking for.”
“What time did you leave?” Evan asked.
“A little after ten o’clock.”
“Celine called me ten minutes before midnight.”
“I should’ve stayed.”
Evan shook his head. “You didn’t know.”
Chapter 35
An hour later Lily signaled to turn onto to Kentshire Drive. As she drove south toward her home, she tried to process the recent revelations about Julius. She found it difficult to move forward and impossible to forgive him.
What am I doing, staying with him? If she was honest with herself – and she was always honest with herself – she knew she had married him on the rebound.
Uncensored images of Evan, and the time they’d shared together before Julius came into her life, flickered through her thoughts like scenes from a favorite movie.
Julius broke my heart when he choked me. He did it once, he’ll do it again. And now I find out he’s going behind my back, to my mother, claiming I have issues strong enough to warrant counseling. What was so important that Julius dared to visit the woman who hated his guts? He couldn’t come over for Thanksgiving, but he was comfortable enough to visit her alone?
The movie in Lily’s head vanished. Memories of the love she and Evan shared melted away, to be replaced by a nagging doubt that rapidly grew into suspicion. Maybe Deena’s prediction at Thanksgiving was coming to fruition. Or maybe she knew something Lily didn’t. Frustrated, Lily mashed down on the accelerator, welcoming the burst of power that slammed her back in the driver’s seat.
Watching her parents live what she thought was the perfect marriage, only to see thirty something years torn apart because of what her Mother did was heartbreaking. The dream of having kids and raising them in a stable home was beginning to feel just what it was, a dream.
Lies and betrayal are not what I want in a marriage. I’ve had enough. I’m filing for divorce.
When Lily arrived home, she saw Julius’s truck sitting in its spot. She went inside and up to her room. A few seconds later, she heard a soft rap on the door.
“Can I come in?” Julius asked.
“Yes.”
Julius opened the door slowly. “Do you trust me?”
Lily stripped the bedding off the mattress. “I trust you enough.”
“There’s no excuse for what I did to you, but I’m hoping what I came to say will help you to understand.”
“I’ll never understand, Julius. My life is at risk every day I leave this house for work. I shouldn’t have to feel that way in my own home.” Lily looked at her husband warily. What on earth could he say that would “excuse” his behavior? Was
he going to try and lie his way back into her bed, like the countless bad guys she’d put behind bars in an attempt to protect other victims like the one she had now become?
He started to step toward her.
“Stay by the door. If you try to hurt me again, I’ll use my gun.”
He nodded. “I never got to thank you for keeping me out of jail.”
“Don’t thank me. Say what you need to say and leave.”
“I haven’t told you everything about my past involving Mama.”
Lily’s cellphone vibrated on her hip. Without checking to see who it was, she pushed the silence button. Evan’s words echoed in her head.
‘“Don’t you have questions?”’
She had tons of them.
Julius said, “The five minute rule. Mama used it during bath time. I remember hearing the loud ticking of the cooking timer as I stood by the bathroom door and waited. The same cooking timer she used to keep track of when the meals were ready.
“Once it dinged, it was my signal to come in and wash Mama’s back. Or whatever else needed washing. On that afternoon, Mama started her bath, the timer dinged and I went inside. Only this time I cooked one of her favorite dishes: Latke. Sometimes she had me bring her a snack or meal with a tall glass of whiskey and ice, which I did.
“This latke I made with Jerusalem artichokes. I figured they made more sense than potatoes for a Jewish dish. I soaked them in cold water like I did potatoes, but didn’t know that they had to be dormant—cold and mid-winter dead — to be digested.
“My point is I cooked the meal wrong. I didn’t know that if the artichokes were not dormant when cooked, the inulin in the tuber causes significant gaseous eruptions and noteworthy intestinal distress. They’ve been nicknamed the ‘Fartichoke.’
“Anyway, I remember her being surrounded by bubbles and singing along to a country song that played from the beat up radio sitting on the corner of the tub when I brought her food in on that stupid bamboo tray.
“I remember saying that I didn’t want to do those dirty things anymore. Mama began yelling, ‘I birthed you and I can damn well get rid of you. I’ll take you away from your daddy and send you to a special place for dumb boys like yourself.’
“Scared, I ran out of the bathroom and hid in my room, crying myself to sleep. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I woke up to Mama moaning. When I went in to check on her, she was naked, rolling around on the bathroom floor. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to call for help, but I felt like there was glue holding my feet to the floor. Finally, Dad came home and told me to call for help.”
Promised Lies (A Detective Blanchette Mystery) Page 24