Secrets We Keep

by Barbara Freethy

  The men seemed to agree on everything. He was curious what they'd thought when Cassidy had left. "What happened after Cassidy disappeared?" he asked.

  The three men looked at him in surprise, as if they'd forgotten he was there.

  "I don't remember," Quan muttered.

  "My parents went to look for her," David said. "I told Cassidy that earlier."

  "What about the police? Did they come to the house?"

  "I didn't see any cops. I think they might have gone down to the station to talk to them."

  "Did the Faulkners think Tommy and Cassidy were together?" he continued.

  "We all did," David said.

  "They were tight," Jeremy put in. "They were always sitting off to the side, telling secrets to each other."

  "Did the police interview any of you about their disappearance?" he asked. "It seems odd to me that the police wouldn't investigate."

  "Foster kids run away all the time," Jeremiah said. "No one cares that much."

  "I don't think the Faulkners told the police Tommy and I were gone," Cassidy said. "They probably continued to take money for both of us for years."

  "I could see that," Quan said. David shot him a dark look. "I can," Quan reiterated. "I don't think they were murderers, but I think they liked the money they got from the state."

  "And they didn't really want Tommy or me to be found," Cassidy said. "Because then I would have brought up Molly."

  "Your imaginary friend?" Jeremiah sneered. "Aren't you a little old to still believe in that?"

  "She was real. I have proof," Cassidy declared.

  "What do you mean you have proof?" Quan asked.

  As the three men focused in on Cassidy, Hunter got a bad feeling about her recent revelation. If one of these guys had had something to do with Tommy's death, then she might be putting herself in the line of fire.

  "It doesn't matter," she said. "But I know the truth. And, someday, everyone else will, too."

  "Let's get back to Tommy," David said. "Regardless of who killed him, we should have a memorial for him. I don't know if he was religious…"

  "He wasn't," Cassidy said. "I think he'd like to be cremated. He never wanted to be in the ground." Her voice broke, and she wiped her hand over her eyes. "I'm sure he didn't want to be in a wall, either."

  A morbid silence followed her words.

  "I'm sorry," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "It's just hard to think about."

  "It's awful," Quan said. "I'm sorry, Cassidy. I know we don't agree on who killed him, but I am sorry. He didn't deserve to die."

  "Maybe Cassidy killed him," Jeremiah put in. "It makes sense. You could have killed him and run away."

  "Oh, sure, and Donald would have been happy to let me hide the body in his garage for fourteen years," Cassidy replied. "Don't be stupid, Jeremiah."

  "Don't call me stupid. You were the crazy one, making up shit all the time," Jeremiah snapped back.

  "I didn't make anything up, and the fact that none of you can now acknowledge that you lied about Molly makes me realize that you're willing to go to any lengths to cover anything up. I don't trust one word any of you have said here. And we're done. I'm going to take care of Tommy. You can all do whatever you want. But I'd prepare yourselves for the truth, which is that your beloved Geralyn and Donald were murderers."

  "Cassidy, wait," David pleaded. "We're all upset, but we need to stick together."

  "We were never together. And this is pointless." She shoved back her chair and stood up. "Are you ready, Hunter?"

  "Sure," he said, impressed with her confident, assertive speech. Cassidy might have had a moment of weakness when she'd seen all of the men together, but she'd gotten past that.

  He followed her out of the bar. She was walking fast, and he had a feeling that energy was fueled by a lot of emotions, so he didn't bother to tell her to slow down. Obviously, she needed to walk some of the adrenaline off. They actually passed the Jeep without her noticing, but he didn't call her back. He just stayed next to her, until she finally came to the light on the corner of Van Ness and gave him a look of confusion.

  "We didn't park this far away," she said.

  "No. We passed the car about ten blocks ago."

  "Why didn't you say something?"

  "I had the feeling you needed to walk."

  The wind whipped strands of her hair in front of her face, and she brushed them away. "They made me so angry."

  "I know, but you handled them well."

  "I wasn't going to mention Molly, but I couldn't stop myself."

  "I get it."

  "They're still unified in their denial of her existence."

  "Maybe because they're used to sticking together. It might be interesting to talk to Quan on his own. He seemed to be the most reasonable."

  "But he's also the volunteer firefighter, remember?"

  "That might not mean anything."

  "What did you think, Hunter? What was your impression of them?"

  "Jeremiah is a hothead. He doesn't like you at all. He wasn't a fan of Tommy's; he seems to care about the Faulkners, though. David is definitely trying to be your friend as well as Tommy's and still be a loyal son. Quan is in the middle. He seems to blow hot and cold, depending on who's talking. But when you touched your necklace, he had a definite reaction."

  "I thought so, too. I don't really know why they wanted to see me. I can't figure it out. I had already told David what I thought about the Faulkners. What was the point of this conversation?"

  "I think the point was to find out what you knew, maybe what any of them knew. David is clearly trying to protect Geralyn. He's looking for a way to do that. And I do worry that in bringing up Molly you might have put a target on your back."

  "Why? They don't care what I say about Molly."

  "They might care more when you say you have proof of her existence. Think about it—if the Faulkners lost a kid in their care…"

  "Then they could be guilty of more crimes—like murder," she finished. "I'm an idiot."

  "No. You were standing up for yourself. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think you needed that moment."

  "I did need it. I enjoyed it."She gave him a guilty smile. "But I might have made things worse. We're supposed to be getting justice for Tommy, not for me."

  "They might be tied up together. Here's a mundane question. Are you by chance hungry?"

  "I'm starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast, which was a really long time ago."

  "There's a good pizza place on the way back to the car."

  "Pizza sounds perfect, as long as you don't order pineapple and ham."

  He laughed at the memory. "You almost stopped dating me when I did that."

  "I wouldn't go that far, but it was not good."

  "I think you ate it."

  "Because I was trying to impress you. But I don't think fruit and pizza go together."

  "Well, you can pick whatever you want tonight. You've earned it."

  "Thanks for having my back."

  "No problem."

  He'd almost said, always, but he'd stopped himself just in time. While he did want to help her, and they were getting along at the moment, always wasn't necessarily in the cards.

  Thirteen

  The Italian restaurant with the pizza oven and delicious smells of garlic and oregano was just what she needed. The vibe was warm, friendly, and casual, with plenty of families surrounding them. They managed to nab a table by the wall under a photograph of the original owner of the restaurant: Mateo Rossi, a short, bearded man, with a happy smile.

  "I feel like Mateo is watching us," Cassidy said, as she sipped her iced tea.

  "Because he wants the customers to feel like family." Hunter tipped his head toward a saying on the wall that read: When you're at Mateo's, you're home.

  "Have you been here before?" she asked.

  "A few times. My apartment actually isn't too far from here."

  "Do you live alone?"

  "I do
. My days of bunking with Dylan are over."

  "Because he got married?"

  "Actually, we split up about a year before that. We both realized we were over having a roommate."

  "But you still work together, so I assume you're close."

  "We're in a good place. He likes to stick his nose into my business, tell me what to do, but other than that…"

  She could see the affection in his eyes. "You love him."

  "I guess."

  "You said before that Annie is getting married this coming weekend?"

  "Yes. At which time, I will officially be the last single Callaway in the immediate area. There are a few cousins outside San Francisco who haven't found marital bliss yet."

  She wondered if his single status bothered him more than he was letting on but getting into Hunter's romantic life was probably a dangerous subject. She needed to leave it alone.

  "You look more relaxed now," he commented, running his finger around the top of his beer mug as he gazed back at her.

  "I feel better. Still hungry, though. Hoping our deluxe vegetarian pizza comes soon."

  He laughed. "I should have known when I gave you free rein on the menu that I'd be eating a lot of vegetables."

  "They're good for you. And the restaurant only serves organic from local farms, which is also nice."

  "Do you still plant vegetables?"

  "We have a garden at the nursery devoted to vegetables and another one to herbs. I've been experimenting with the herbs, thinking about making my own brand of tea or turning them into a lotion. It's just a little hobby. I don't really have time, but it's fun to think of creating something new."

  "Did you ever go back to school?"

  "I took the GED when I was eighteen and got my high school diploma. Then I went to community college for a while and took a lot of classes in landscape design. I sometimes think about going back and getting a degree in landscape architecture, so I could create the blueprints, not just follow them, but that would take a lot of time. Maybe one day. My plate is really full right now."

  "You've made a good life for yourself, Cassidy. And you're different. You're more confident. You've found your voice. You've come into your own."

  "I do feel like I'm getting closer to who I want to be when I grow up," she said lightly. "It's taken me a long time, and I still have moments of doubt, like when I first saw the guys at the bar. I panicked a little. I thought about bailing. I guess I do have a tendency to run when things get dicey."

  "But you stuck it out and you stood up to them. They didn't know what to make of you. I think you scared them a little."

  "They shouldn't be scared unless they had something to do with Tommy's death."

  "Maybe they did," he suggested. "They're certainly trying hard to come up with other suspects."

  "You don't think that's to protect Geralyn?"

  "Could be, or there might be another motive. I feel like we should try to talk to Evan and his son Colin. They seem to be coming up a lot."

  "Max told you they're out of town this weekend."

  "Which is convenient. Do you think there's any possibility the guys could be right about Evan?"

  "I don't know. Evan did have access to the garage. He did have a hot temper. His son Colin and Tommy did fight over video games. I can't say that what the guys just told us was wrong, but I keep coming back to the part where the body was hidden in the garage all those years. And that just seems like it has to tie to Donald at the very least."

  "I agree."

  She let out a sigh, feeling exhausted by the spinning wheel they were on. "Let's talk about something else for a while."

  "That sounds good to me. Read any books lately?"

  She laughed. "I have, actually. One was a memoir by a woman who worked on the Gardens of Versailles for twenty-eight years."

  "Sounds fascinating. It's all flowers all the time, isn't it?"

  "Not all the time. I also read a fiction series with a really sexy vampire as the hero. That was hot."

  "You like vampires, huh?"

  "I like books that take me into another world. What about you?"

  "I've been reading a book about the Wright brothers, how they got their first plane off the ground. It's amazing the challenges they went through, the obstacles they faced."

  She pressed her fingers together as she gave him a thoughtful look. "So, you're not just looking for answers on a road trip, you're also looking in books?"

  "I like to read about people who accomplish big things. I'm not necessarily looking for an answer."

  "Maybe just inspiration. You said before that you don't know if you want to still be a firefighter."

  "I shouldn't have said that."

  "Well, you can't take it back now. What's really going on with you? Why are you so conflicted? Do you feel like your family pushed you into the job? Are you bored? What's the deal?"

  He stared down at his beer for a moment, then lifted his gaze to hers. "I honestly don't know. I don't hate my job. It's important work, and I do it well. The guys in my squad are great. Even the ones who aren't related to me feel like brothers. The firehouse is home."

  She considered his words. "Maybe home isn't what you're looking for. You've always had a home: a family, brothers…perhaps you need something else."

  "I don't know what that would be. To be honest, I don't even know if it's really the job that's the problem."

  "Maybe it's all the weddings."

  "I've never been in a hurry to walk down the aisle; it's not that. And thank God our pizza is coming, because I don't think you're qualified to be my shrink."

  "That's true. If anyone needs a shrink, it's probably me," she said, as the waiter set down their pizza.

  "Have you ever spoken to a professional?" He scooped a large slice of pizza onto his plate. "This looks great, by the way, even if it is covered in zucchini and mushrooms and a bunch of other healthy stuff."

  "It's all good for you. And, no, I've never talked to anyone. It was too dangerous when I was young, and by the time I could have taken the risk, I was feeling much better. I had a good life going; I didn't want to look at it too closely." She took a bite of the pizza, delighting in the cheesy flavors. "This hits the spot."

  "I hope you can keep up, because I'm pretty hungry."

  "I can keep up. When you're in foster care, you learn to eat fast."

  "When you have five siblings, you also learn to eat fast."

  She grinned, thinking how much she had missed his teasing smile—how much she had missed him. He'd always made her feel happy. He'd always made her feel like anything was possible, and tonight was no exception.

  Despite his suggestion she keep up with him if she wanted her fair share of pizza, she didn't want to eat too fast. She didn't want to leave this cozy table. She didn't want to leave him.

  That was a terrifying thought. They could never go back to who they were. Hunter had just said how much she'd changed. He'd changed, too. Although, maybe not as much as she had. He was still confident, charming in a self-deprecating way, sexy as hell…

  She turned her attention to her pizza, knowing she should not let herself get caught up in a fantasy that was not going to come true. She knew better than most that not every story had a happy ending.

  As they ate, they talked more about books and movies and some friends from the old days. Hunter said he still biked on the weekends and ran every morning before the sun came up. He'd always been much more athletically inclined than she was, and while she couldn't relate to his desire to work out, she could definitely appreciate the results. She had a feeling he'd look really good without a shirt on, which took her into another unwanted but tantalizing fantasy.

  Unfortunately, her fantasy was interrupted by the wail of a baby at the next table, which set off another child on the other side of them.

  "I don't think I've heard so many babies cry at one time since I visited my mother in the infant nursery at the hospital," Hunter said. "We should get our check."r />
  She wiped her mouth with her napkin, having finished up her third slice of pizza, which was two less than Hunter, but she was more than full.

  Hunter was right about the screaming kids. While they'd been eating, Mateo's had gotten more crowded, and the wait for pizza was apparently causing some children to have a meltdown. Even though it was loud and chaotic, she liked it. The sound of families out together had always tugged at her heart, reminding her of her early childhood with her parents. They'd been a happy trio before the accident that had taken her parents' lives.

  "Cassidy?"

  "Sorry, did you say something?"

  "What were you thinking about?"

  "Happier times with my mom and dad."

  "You never talked about them much."

  "It hurt too much. And I had so many mixed emotions. I wasn't just sad; I was angry that they'd left me alone. I couldn't put all those feelings into words, so I didn't."

  "That makes sense. Tell me one thing about each of them that you remember, and it can't have to do with gardening."

  She smiled. "Let's see. My dad loved cookie dough. My mom and I could not make cookies without him stealing half the dough. He never wanted to eat the cookies after they were in the oven."

  "A man after my own heart. Love the cookie dough. What about your mom?"

  "She liked to sing—in the car, in the shower, while gardening, cooking—you name it, she had a tune going."

  "Was she good?"

  "She was enthusiastic."

  "Did you sing with her?"

  "Sometimes when we were in the car. She'd crank up the radio, roll down the windows, and we'd let it fly. It was fun. But while I can carry a tune, I would not call myself a good singer." She rested her arms on the table. "Now it's your turn. I know your parents are very much alive but tell me something about them that I don't know."

  "Okay." He thought for a moment. "My mom spent a summer in Paris right after college. She lived with another girl and took cooking classes. She thought she might become a chef, but said she quickly realized she wasn't that talented. So, she came home and became a nurse."

  "It sounds like she had a good adventure first. What about your father?" While she'd spent some time with Hunter's mom, Sharon, she'd had only a few words with his dad, who had often been at the firehouse when she was visiting.