Standing in the Shadows

by Shannon McKenna

  “You don’t remember?”

  Barbara’s brow knitted. “I remember having”—her eyes flicked to Connor’s and quickly away—“a bad moment with the downstairs TV. But that’s all.”

  Erin got up and left the kitchen. Barbara and Connor stared at each other over the kitchen table as they listened to her light footsteps creaking on the stairs.

  “My life is falling apart,” she said, in a conversational tone.

  “I know exactly how that feels,” he said.

  “You are the very last person I would have wanted to witness it.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell you, ma’am.”

  “Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me.” Her voice was frosty.

  He wanted very badly to say that it wasn’t his fault, but that was debatable from several different points of view, so he kept his big mouth shut for once. Erin came back into the kitchen and spread out a bunch of photographs on the table. Connor leaned over and took a look.

  Baby pictures, family shots, graduation portraits. All with the eyes and mouths gouged out.

  Barbara lifted her hand to her mouth. She leaped to her feet and scrambled for the door that led off the kitchen. He glimpsed a utility sink, the corner of a washing machine, and heard a toilet lid flip up. Retching sounds came from the room. Erin moved to follow her, but Connor held up his hand.

  “Give her a minute,” he said quietly.

  The toilet flushed. Water ran in the sink. Barbara Riggs appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, dabbing at her face with a hand towel. “Not me,” she said. Her eyes darted wildly between Connor and Erin. “I did not do that. There are no circumstances under which I would deface a picture of my own children. I don’t know what is going on here, but it was not me. I swear it.”

  Erin picked up a photograph of herself in elementary school, holding the toddler Cindy on her lap. Her hands were trembling. “Well, Mom. If you aren’t doing it, someone else is. Any ideas?”

  Seconds ticked by, stretched into minutes of awful silence. Barbara Riggs covered her mouth with the towel and shook her head.

  Erin shoved her chair back. “I organized our negatives by year in the filing cabinet upstairs,” she said. “I’m getting the negatives of these photos, and we’ll get reprints made today. Every damn one of them.”

  “That’s not going to solve our problem,” Connor said.

  “I don’t care. It’s something to do, and I’ll make me feel better. Excuse me, please. I’ll be right back.”

  And she left him all alone with her mother. Again. Dear God, what had he done to deserve this? It was like being roasted on a spit.

  They eyed each other like boxers circling in the ring. “You’ve, uh, noticed no signs of forced entry?” he asked her.

  She shook her head.

  “And the alarm works? You always set it? You test it regularly?”

  She nodded. “Of course. I always check the locks and set the alarm. Religiously. Sometimes I check them over and over.”

  “Who else knows the code?”

  “My daughters and myself,” Barbara said. “I had the codes changed after Eddie…left. And the locks, as well.”

  “Hmm.”

  “You must think I’m crazy,” she said.

  It was a statement, not a question, but he took it at face value and slipped into net-and-fish mode to consider it. He cast out the net and threw everything that was happening to the whole family into it.

  Barbara’s face swam in his gaze while he tried to feel the shape of the ugly pattern that was forming. There was something shifty and corrupt, but the source of it was not the woman sitting across the table from him. The words came out with total conviction. “No, I don’t.”

  She looked almost offended. “Pardon?”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy,” he said.

  There was a flash in her eyes, almost like hope. Her throat bobbed several times. “You don’t?” she asked warily.

  “No,” he said. “I’ve dealt with crazy people before. I don’t get that feeling from you. You strike me as stressed out, depressed, and afraid. At the end of your rope, maybe. But not crazy.”

  “Not yet, anyway,” she said.

  His mouth twitched. “Not yet,” he agreed. “But if you’re not, that means that somebody with a lot of resources is messing with you.”

  She pressed her hand against her mouth. “Novak?”

  “He’s my first choice,” Connor said.

  “But he was incarcerated until just a few days ago!”

  “He’s still my first choice. He has an obscene amount of money, a very long reach, a grudge against your husband. And he’s crazy. This thing stinks of crazy.”

  “So somebody is trying to make me think that I’m insane?”

  He shook his head. “No. I think somebody is trying to drive you genuinely insane. Like the porno video trick. That could be rigged, and controlled from the outside. It’s crazy and improbable, but it’s possible.”

  Her mouth tightened. “So Erin told you about that?”

  “I’m not a techie, so I can’t take apart your TV and tell you what they did to it,” he went on. “But my friend Seth is an expert. I’ll have him take a look, if you like.”

  “But it sounds so bizarre. Like aliens from outer space, or who killed JFK. Like a big…paranoid conspiracy theory.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I think that’s the whole point.”

  She hesitated, eyes narrowed. “You must be paranoid yourself to even entertain these notions.”

  It sounded like an accusation.

  He shoved down his anger and thought about the nightmare phone call in the hotel. Georg appearing out of nowhere in the phantom SUV. The coma. Jesse’s death. Ed’s betrayal.

  “I was a cop, Mrs. Riggs. And you know exactly how that turned out for me,” he said. “Can you blame me for being paranoid?”

  She looked down into her teacup.

  “You’ve got to trust your senses, and your instincts,” he said, but he knew he was trying to convince himself as much as her. “They’re all you’ve got. If you can’t rely on them, then you’re lost in the void.”

  Barbara’s shoulders sagged. She nodded. “Yes, exactly. That’s where I’ve been for the last few weeks,” she said. “Lost in the void.”

  “Welcome back to the real world, Mrs. Riggs,” he said.

  She blinked, as if she had just woken up. “Ah…thank you.”

  The atmosphere was measurably less hostile than before, but he pushed on at the risk of ruining it. “How long ago was the first porno video joke played on you?”

  She pursed her lips and thought. “A little over two months ago. Maybe two and a half, because at first I thought I was dreaming.”

  “Which would have been about the same time that Cindy started hanging out with this Billy Vega, according to her band members.”

  Barbara gulped. “You mean, you think it’s all connected?”

  He gave her a brief, tight smile. “You know us conspiracy theorists. We think everything’s connected.”

  “You think Novak could have assigned this Billy to control Cindy, like he assigned Georg to Erin at Crystal Mountain?”

  “Maybe. Although Billy Vega’s rap sheet is nothing like Georg’s. He’s just a small-time thief, pimp, and con artist. Not a seasoned killer.”

  Barbara shuddered. “So…shouldn’t we call the police?”

  He thought about his latest conversation with Nick. “You know how it is with cops. They don’t have the time or manpower to get worked up about things that might or could happen. They’re too busy dealing with things that are happening or have already happened. Cindy’s not a minor. Billy Vega hasn’t done anything wrong yet that we know of, other than be an asshole. As far as the cops are concerned, we’re talking about a girl having trouble with a no-good boyfriend.”

  Erin’s light footsteps sounded over their heads as she bustled around, trying to tidy up chaos and madness, trying to make sense of a bru
tal nightmare. It pissed him off, to see her jerked around like that.

  In fact, the whole thing was making him fucking furious.

  “There’s a down side to not being crazy, you know.” His voice came out harder than he’d planned.

  She looked puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you’re not crazy, then you’ve got no excuse for lying around in your bathrobe eating Vicodin and letting your daughter do everything for you.”

  She shot to her feet. Her chair pitched over and crashed to the floor. “How dare you speak to me like that?”

  What the hell. Ingratiating himself with this woman was a lost cause anyway. It needed to be said, and nobody else was around to say it. He met her outraged eyes straight on, and let his statement stand.

  “Mom? What’s the matter? What’s going on?”

  Barbara’s eyes shifted to Erin, who stood in the doorway clutching a manila folder. “Nothing, honey. I’m fine,” she said crisply. “Excuse me for a moment. I’m going to run upstairs and get dressed.”

  She stalked out of the kitchen, head high. Erin stared after her, bewildered. “What happened? What did you say to her?”

  Connor shrugged. “Nothing in particular. I guess some problems are just too scary to deal with in your bathrobe, that’s all.”

  He paid through the nose for his snotty remark, all afternoon long. Barbara Riggs turned him into her combined slave, gofer, and whipping boy, and before he knew what hit him, he was taking out her garbage, fixing the drip in her upstairs bathroom, chauffeuring them to the phone center to get the phone turned back on. Then it was the grocery store, the photo shop, and the antique place, where he strained a muscle in his bum leg hauling that goddamn grandfather clock. But he didn’t complain. It was all part of his martyrdom.

  Back at the house, they argued about the dead TV. She wanted him to haul it away to the trash, and he wanted to leave it for Seth to dismantle. He won that dispute, but was forced to carry the damn thing out onto the back porch so she wouldn’t have to look at it. Worst of all, she forced him to call Sean at ridiculously frequent intervals to check on his progress. Which meant that his wiseass little brother got to witness all this humiliation first hand.

  “Mrs. Riggs,” he protested wearily. “Please. He’ll call us. He knows what to do if he gets news. Try to relax.”

  “Don’t you dare tell me to relax! That’s my baby we’re talking about! Call him again!”

  Sean picked up on the first ring. “Hey,” he snapped. “Miles and I have not discovered anything in the three minutes that have elapsed since your last call. Would you please just take a pill?”

  “It’s not my fault,” he muttered. “She made me call you.”

  “Mother-in-law’s got you pussy-whipped, huh?”

  He winced. “Jesus, Sean. Watch what you say.”

  “Listen up, dude. Next time, dial a fake number and have a fake conversation. You’re distracting us.”

  “Bite me, bonehead,” he hissed. He flipped the phone shut and dropped it into his pocket. “Nothing yet,” he grumbled to Barbara.

  And Erin was no goddamn help at all. If anything, she seemed faintly amused at his torment at her mother’s hands, though she tried to hide it. At nightfall he escaped onto the back porch for a few minutes of blessed peace. He collapsed on the steps, rubbed his cramped, throbbing leg, and fished in his coat pocket for his tobacco.

  He abruptly remembered that he was now a nonsmoker. The recollection did not make him happy.

  He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Seth, who picked up with gratifying swiftness. “Hey, Con. What’s up?”

  “I need your help,” he said.

  “You got it,” Seth said promptly. “They tell me you’re in love. With another girl who’s being stalked by Novak. It’s the hot new thing.”

  “Can we skip the bullshit?” Connor asked. “I’m having a nicotine withdrawal fit. I can’t take it right now.”

  Seth was unfazed. “No problem. So?”

  “A couple of things. I need you to check out Erin’s mom’s house. Weird things are happening with the TV, and somebody’s breached the locks and the alarms and vandalized the place. More than once.”

  “OK. How about day after tomorrow?” Seth asked.

  “Why not tonight?”

  “We’re up at Stone Island. Raine’s mom and stepdad are here. Tomorrow we’re taking them out to cruise the San Juans, and then to dinner in Severin Bay. We put them on the plane back to London day after tomorrow. If I bag out on this, I’m dead meat.”

  Seth’s lack of enthusiasm for his in-laws’ visit was glaringly evident. A commiserating grin spread over Connor’s face. He’d met Raine’s mother, Alix, at Seth’s wedding. She was a force of nature, unstoppable, like a huge mudslide. He didn’t want to wait for his answers, but he also didn’t want to subject the luckless Seth to domestic torture.

  “I hope there’s something left of you when she leaves,” he said. “Alix will eat you alive and spit out your bones.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement. What else do you need?”

  “I want to load X-Ray Specs onto my computer and get some of your transmitter beacons,” he admitted. “For Erin.”

  Seth pondered this for a moment. “I thought you were sticking to that chick like white on rice.”

  “I am, but it’s complicated. Erin’s just humoring me. She doesn’t really take me seriously. That makes me nervous. And I’m only one guy. I could get distracted, doze off, take a piss. I want technical backup.”

  “Gonna tell her?”

  Connor hesitated, and peeked over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone on the porch. “Uh…”

  “From personal experience? Women get pissed when you do shit like that. They think it means you don’t trust them.”

  Seth’s self-righteous tone made Connor laugh, knowing the guy the way he did. “Listen to yourself for a minute, you big hypocrite, and see if you can keep a straight face.”

  “I’m just trying to help,” Seth protested. “I don’t want you to fuck this up, if you really like the girl.”

  “She’d never go for it. And it’s just until Novak’s back in the bag, anyhow. Then it’s like it never happened. She never needs to know.”

  Seth grunted his approval. “Good man. That’s what I’d do.”

  “I know. You’re as suspicious as I am.”

  “Oh, way, way more,” Seth agreed cheerfully. “When it comes to suspicious, I kick your lily-white ass, McCloud. Come to the apartment and pick up whatever you need. You know where I keep all my stuff.”

  “Thanks. One more thing. Would you take a look at Erin’s place, and see what you could do about security? It’s a dump, but it’s too soon to move her into my house yet. The lock in the lobby is broken. The door lock you could do with a credit card.” Connor gave him the address, and glanced back over his shoulder. “I’ve got to get the hell off the phone. I’m waiting for Sean to call with news of the missing sister.”

  “Yeah, I heard. Wish I was there. Hunting assholes in titty bars with you guys would be more fun than fending off Alix in the middle of a hot flash. Hey, Con. Know what? It’s good to hear you sound like this.”

  “Like what?” Connor snarled. “I just had the day from hell.”

  “Yeah, but you give a shit about it. That’s what’s different. You sound switched on.” Seth was not given to deep analysis of emotions, neither his own nor anyone else’s. He sounded surprised at himself.

  “I’m glad somebody appreciates it. Later, Seth.” He flipped the phone shut and stared morosely at the various picture windows up the length of the block. The screen door squeaked. He recognized Erin’s light step, her scent. She sat down and scooted closer until their thighs touched. The contact sent a predictable stab of heat through him, as did her warm, tangy smell. The night breeze lifted a hank of her hair and blew it across his throat. He touched it with wondering fingers.

  “Thanks for what you did for Mom,” s
he said.

  “For what? Getting my ass kicked around like a soccer ball all day? Thanks for sticking up for me, sweetheart. I sure appreciated it.”

  “Don’t be silly. You handled her fine on your own. You didn’t need my help. Besides, she’s transformed. I don’t know what you said to her, but I haven’t seen her with this much energy since Dad was arrested.”

  She took his arm. He stared down at her small, soft hand, resting on his forearm. The skin of her inner arm was baby smooth and soft. Like he used to dream that clouds could be, if he could touch them. She cuddled closer. His heart thudded and his body sprang to attention.

  “Your mom is in there, Erin,” he muttered. “Don’t do this to me.”

  “What did I do?” she asked. “Oh. Sorry, I forgot. I thanked you. Oops. Works like a charm, hmm?”

  “Don’t jerk me around,” he said wearily. “It’s no fun.”

  “I didn’t do a single thing. I sat down next to you and took your arm. It’s not my fault if you can’t think about anything except for sex.”

  He was saved from replying by the cell phone’s ring. Erin stiffened. Barbara Riggs burst onto the porch. It rang again.

  “What are you waiting for?” Barbara snapped. “Answer it!”

  Connor flipped it open and pushed TALK.

  “Hey.” Sean’s voice was rough with excitement. “Just got a call from a fabulous, beautiful girl named Sable whom I will love forever. She told me Fuckhead just walked into a place called the Alley Cat Club, out toward Carlisle. He has two girls with him, one of whom fits Cindy’s description. The Alley Cat was on LuAnn’s list. I’m sending LuAnn a dozen long-stemmed roses.”

  “Not out of the slush fund, you’re not,” he growled.

  “Cheap bastard,” Sean said. “We’re a little over a half hour away, if we speed. Davy just finished up the kickboxing class, but he’s on his way, too. What do you say? Shall we go have some fun?”

  “I’ll meet you guys in the parking lot,” he said.

  Sean gave him directions. He stuck the phone in his pocket and stood up. “We got a lead,” he told the two women.

  Erin leaped to her feet. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”