Kevin had approached me one day when I was sitting at the public library, reading. I had convinced myself on that particular occasion it would do me some good to have a change of scenery. The loss of Miss Marilyn had hit me very hard, and I was lonely. I was struggling through a European History book when I looked up and saw Kevin standing there.
“Hi,” he drawled.
A Southern accent? Really? I ignored him and stared at my book. I was not supposed to talk to inmates; they were not supposed to talk to me. Those were the rules.
“It’s Anabel, right?”
“Yes.” I didn’t look up.
“I’m sorry to bother you, it’s just I couldn’t help but notice that you look just like your mother.”
That made me drop my book. “What did you say?”
“I said you look just like your mother. I used to love to watch her movies.” Kevin sat down next to me. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
And thus began our star-crossed friendship, which was doomed from the start. Nobody, not even Marilyn, dared speak to me about my mother. I think they were forbidden by Jonathan. Of course I was curious about her, but all I had to go on were her movies and an occasional search on the internet. When I found out the details of her death, I was horrified. My father and brother had let me live in happy ignorance as to her lifestyle, and it all came as a shock the day that my brother told me she was dead. I hadn’t even known she’d been ill.
Cassidy had realized that she had made a horrible mistake in cheating on my father and losing her precious baby girl. She tried for years to get Jonathan to reconcile with her, but he refused to take her calls, let her talk to me, or let her near the island. So, she started doing drugs. Cocaine, mostly. And she started going around with the wrong sorts of people. As a consequence, about two and a half years ago, she was in a hospital bed, dying.
She was in a lot of pain, from what I understand. She could barely move, and her digestive tract no longer functioned of its own accord. She kept a picture by her bed of a beautiful baby girl, which caused her eyes to fill with tears every time she looked at it. She had sores all over her body that could barely stand the touch of her hospital gown.
What follows next is a sore subject with all of us. You see, my mother begged and pleaded with a doctor to put her out of her misery. That doctor knew she would be spending months and perhaps years in this state, with no possible cure, and so he overdosed her on morphine and let her pass quietly into the night.
My brother called me crying that night. I had never heard him cry before.
How did my dad take this? I can only surmise that he was still in love with her and perhaps felt guilty for how her life turned out. However, Jonathan was never the type to accept responsibility, and he would never admit that he did something wrong. Therefore, he decided his best course of action would be to punish the doctor. After pulling some strings, Kevin was brought to Caereon so Jonathan could keep an eye on him. I think he thought that if he had Kevin here, he could penalize him for his misdeeds. Even though he and Cassidy weren’t together anymore, I believe he still thought that she belonged to him. So in his mind, Kevin took her away from him. And seeing me with Kevin, especially with how much I look like her, pushed him over the edge.
As for me, I could not hate Kevin. I was simply glad that he had been there for my mother in her last moments. Having my only memories of my mom being a pocket of warmth in the back of my mind, I sincerely hoped that she was at peace.
I took a few deep breaths, pulling myself together, and rinsed my mouth out in the sink. I had a suspicion that my fifteen minutes were almost up. I wiped off my face, opened the door and practically raced out of it—only to almost collide with the man from the hearing.
“Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry,” I gasped. He caught my arm and helped me steady myself, and I found myself staring into two very kind brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” He seemed concerned.
“I’m fine, just glad I didn’t barrel you over,” I smiled at him. “I’m Anabel Martin.”
“I know,” he stated, looking away.
“I suppose everybody does, I stand out a bit,” I attempted to joke.
“I’m Matt, Anabel. I work for your brother,” he revealed. “Look, you’d better get back in there—just do me a favor.”
I was surprised. Nobody ever asked me to do anything. “What’s that?”
“Watch your back with Jared Sorensen. He isn’t to be trusted.”
I laughed mirthlessly. “Thank you for telling me that. Maybe I’ll actually listen to you, as I haven’t done so with anyone else.” I flipped my hair a little and looked up at him.
He studied me, and then he nodded. “I’m sure you hear it a lot, but believe me, you should stay away from him.”
“Matt, I won’t have any problems with that.” He held the door for me, and I retook my place next to Sam. I turned back to smile at him, but he wasn’t looking my way. Oh well. At least it was my turn to talk again.
***
A few days after the whole cottage fiasco, I was furious at Jared and was about to call my brother—but Sam beat me to it.
“And how is my favorite baby sister?”
“Don’t you sweet talk me, mister. What’s going on with this Jared guy? Why is he here? And why aren’t you? You promised me two months ago you would come visit me soon,” I whined into the telephone. Normally I would have slammed Sam for the “baby sister” comment, but too much was going on.
Sam sighed. “Is he that intolerable?”
I paused. “Well, no,” I replied. “It’s just I’m used to you giving me a heads up over what goes on here. The only reason I knew that Jared was coming at all was because I was eavesdropping outside of Jonathan’s study.”
I heard him laugh. “That’s a terrible habit, Annie. Impressive though. I may have to have you work for me. I think the Director of the CIA wants to retire within the next year.”
“Oh please do. I’m so sick of it here. I hate everything.” The words were out of my mouth before I really thought about them.
“Is it really that horrible, Anabel?” he asked gently.
My eyes welled up. “Yes, it is. Do you realize how dysfunctional I am? Jared’s the first person close to my own age who I’ve met in years! I’ve spent my entire life around adults, and now that I am one I feel awkward and ill-equipped to deal with—well Jared, for instance. I don’t know what to say to him, and Jonathan keeps making me babysit him.”
“Interesting,” noted Sam. “Go on.”
“Well,” I warmed to the task, “the other day I barely got any time to myself, I had to schlep Jared around the island and all we did was talk. Then I took him back and it was time for dinner, and then after that Jared insisted on hanging out in my library while I scoured Daddy’s CD collection for some song Jared mentioned, but when I came back he was going through my desk, so I threw him out and I haven’t spoken to him since,” I finished with a flourish.
“Did he say why he was going through your desk?” he mused.
“Well, no,” I admitted, “I really didn’t give him time, I just screamed at him to get out, which he did while trying to give me excuses. Sam, it’s my desk! I mean, all of my personal effects are in there, including my diary, and I don’t want some strange guy looking at that!”
“Anabel, I sent Sorensen over to the island so he could keep an eye on you.”
“What do you mean? I thought—”
“Well honey, you’ve been calling me in the middle of the night more and more, and I’m worried about you. You’re right; your social life is dysfunctional. So yes, I’ve sent Jared to give me a report on you firsthand. Your father knew that I wanted everything with Dr. Miller investigated. I figured Jonathan would think I sent Sorensen to the island to spy on him, which is what I wanted him to think—so he would push him off on the one person who Jonathan knew had nothing to hide—you.”
“Oh,” I managed. “Well, that explains it, then.”
&
nbsp; “I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to contact you before I sent out Jared. I don’t recall telling him to go through your desk, but in spite of the fact that he is somewhat of a slimeball, he usually has a good reason for what he does. The good news is I will be there in about three weeks to make my routine visit to the island, so I will confer with Jared and talk to you, and perhaps get you to come stay with me.”
“Are you serious? Because toying with my emotions is a really evil thing to do, Sam.”
He laughed. “Yes, I’m serious. You’re an adult now, Anabel. He can’t tell you what to do forever, and if I bring you back with me, I won’t have to go through massive red tape in appropriations.” Sam had previously tried to get me off the island, but it was a tricky endeavor.
“So you’re saying I have to put up with this guy for at least three more weeks?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Is he really your best friend? Because that’s what he told me.”
“Yes, Anabel. He is.”
“Why?” I needed to understand this. “He’s so . . . arrogant, and sure of himself. He’s got a terrible reputation, Sam. Not only did I look him up on the internet, but Jonathan basically told me that I needed to dress like a nun around him. I just can’t believe you would associate yourself with someone like that.”
“I’ve known Jared since he was five. His father used to work for my mother, and when he got older and finished college, I was in the House, so he started working for me. When he got his law degree, he became one of my top advisors. I trust him with my life, Anabel, and I trust him with you, which—believe me—says a lot.”
I sighed. “Fine. I’ll go and try to make amends with Jared. But you really should’ve told me.”
“Hang on a second, Anabel. There’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Has he hit on you?” The question came out of nowhere.
I tried to laugh. “Sam, I told you, I looked him up online. I’ve seen pictures of some of these girls he’s been with. I doubt I’m his type.”
“You’re avoiding the question.” I could hear the anger building in his voice. “Has he done anything to you?”
So my thoughts flashed to Jared grabbing me on the beach, Jared telling me I was good looking, Jared smiling at me as I cracked jokes at him . . . and then I surprised myself. I told my brother a boldfaced lie. “No, Sam, he hasn’t.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay good. I have total confidence in him, but . . .”
“. . . but you also know what he’s like,” I finished. “I understand. But I can assure you, I’m the last girl in the world he’d have any interest in.” I started to pull at my hair, shocked that I had lied to my brother—and lied so easily.
“Good-bye, Annie. We’ll talk soon. Love you”
“I love you, too,” I said, hanging up the phone. I was mad at Jared, yes . . . but I didn’t want him to go. Looking back, I regret not telling my brother the truth, but I knew that if I had Jared would be gone—and through my anger, I knew that wasn’t what I wanted. What I wanted was revenge. Payback. And I thought I knew exactly how to handle it.
***
At this juncture, Congresswoman Fischer started asking questions of Charlie about how Caereon was run. As I twirled a curl, I wondered how it was being run in the absence of Jonathan. I then realized that it must be someone completely new, as Charlie would have been banned from working there until the murder investigation was over.
It was very odd for me to think that my father was dead. He and I had never had a good relationship, but it still hurt when I thought that I would never see him again. In spite of everything, he was my father, and I did love him. I really was an orphan.
Charlie started talking, and then it was five o’clock and the session was adjourned. I don’t even remember what he said. We were to reconvene on Thursday, a note that made me shoot another dirty look at my brother. He had the fortitude to ignore my childishness.
I was feeling sick again. Every morning for the past month I had awakened and thrown up. Still, I reflected, as long as I could make it out of the room without speaking to Jared I might have a chance at getting through—
“So, do you want to grab some dinner?”
He was hovering over me. How had he gotten there? How had my brother left me, unprotected? I looked frantically around and saw that Sam was talking to a lawyer. This was not what we had agreed on.
“I have to go home,” I began, but then I choked up. I didn’t have a home. I lived with my brother and his wife who hated me. I had nothing. “Why are you even talking to me? Sam’s going to flip out on you.”
“I don’t want to do this . . . verbal sparring . . . with you every day. You could talk to me about it, you know.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well, what if I have something to say to you?” His voice rose, but then he calmed. “I could buy you a drink? It would just take a few minutes.”
I glared at him. “I’m not twenty-one, remember?” Not like I could drink anyway.
“Ah. Look, Anabel, I feel terrible, and I’ve been incredibly rude to you. Why don’t you let me treat you to some dinner?”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” I stood up. “I want nothing to do with you. I don’t want you to buy me dinner. I don’t want you to buy me anything. I will not go anywhere with you, Jared. What I want most in the world is for you to crawl back into the hole you live in and die. How’s that?”
He swallowed. “I understand.” He turned around and walked off. A pang hit me, but I couldn’t keep doing this. As I watched him leave, I caught Matt’s eye. He nodded at me, and I sensed that I had gained his approval. I also made a mental note that I really needed to find out who he was.
Sam and I walked out of the room about ten minutes later. They had actually arranged for us to leave a back way, and when we got into the Town Car I heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“What a nightmare,” he groaned, rubbing his temples as we slid into the car. “I just don’t understand why everyone needs a photo of you.”
“It’s because we’re trying to hide it,” I pointed out.
“Murphy’s law and all that?”
I managed some sort of grunt in reply.
“It wasn’t really too terrible today, was it?” he asked, concerned.
I slumped back in my seat. “I just can’t believe they haven’t figured out who killed Jonathan.”
“All we can really surmise at this point is that it was someone who knew Caereon well. I had no idea that there were rooms in the fort that didn’t have video surveillance, and of course someone knocked out the feed in your father’s office.” He smiled tiredly. “What do you want to do for dinner?”
“The wifey isn’t cooking for us?” I asked. That was silly, of course. Alexis was not exactly the domestic type. Briefly I thought of how her attitude toward me had not warmed as we had gotten better acquainted. At least I knew it wasn’t just me; Jared obviously did not like her. The uneasy truce between me and Alexis had gotten more and more tenuous during our cohabitation. As soon as Jonathan’s will gets straightened out, I vowed, I’m leaving this place.
“Alex had a meeting, so I thought you and I could get some carryout or order in,” he suggested.
I started to laugh, which felt really good. “The prospect of eating with you is much more appealing than dining with Jared. Shall we stay up all night watching cheesy movies?”
“If you like,” he replied. “I wouldn’t mind some Back to the Future.”
Oh, how I loved my brother. “You can’t do that again though, Sam.”
“Do what?”
“Let Jared near me. You left me alone and he just swooped in.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, Anabel. I don’t think he’s the swooping type.”
Now he was making fun of me. “We talked about how I wouldn’t have to talk to him, and you left me! I am extremely uncomfortable with him there,” I fumed.
>
My brother rubbed my arm. “I know. As soon as these hearings are over, you’ll never have to see him again.”
“I disagree,” I warned. “I have a nasty suspicion I’m going to have to see him more.”
Sam ignored me. “Also,” he lectured, “your doctor has informed you that it would be best if you kept your stress levels low, and he’s coming tomorrow morning to look at you. The best thing right now is to just forget Jared and focus on enjoying yourself for once. Okay?”
I grinned at him. “Twist my arm. But none of this Marty McFly crap. I want to watch Indiana Jones.”
Chapter 6—Anabel
The following Thursday brought us together once more. As I took my seat, I was comforted by the fact that we would probably not be reconvening on Friday, and I would have another whole weekend pass in which I could avoid Jared.
A gray-haired woman, Ms. Halsey, cleared her throat. “Mr. Sorensen, I have a question about your relationship with Miss Martin.” I liked how she just cut to the chase. She stared straight at him in a rather unsettling matter. I was impressed by the gutsiness of her glare, and resolved to learn how to give that exact look. It was scary.
“What’s that, ma’am?” asked Jared. He, of course, was cool as ever.
“To what extent were you two romantically involved?”
“I don’t really see what that has to do with anything,” Sam interjected.
“Sam,” I interjected, “you don’t need to protect me.” I stood up. “Ms. Halsey, I would like, if I may, to answer any questions you have about us.” I smiled at her. “Besides, he’s a guy; he’d probably muck up all the details.”
Ms. Fischer gave me a small grin back, and there were a few laughs around the room. Ms. Halsey continued, “Are you sure you’re up to it, Miss Martin? You’ve been through an ordeal and—”
Jared interrupted with, “You know, I’d like to present my point of view as well.”
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