“Of course you can, sweetheart. Just one though. Could you bring one over here for your brother?”
Brinley nodded, skipping off toward the snack table. Rachael sat Davis down in the chair, handing him a book.
“Who is calling you?” Rachael asked, trying to watch Brinley.
“I don’t recognize the number. Probably a client or someone with the wrong number. They can call Mason if it’s important.”
As he said the words his phone rang again. This time the caller ID said Bart Meachum.
“Honey, I’ve got to take this. It won’t take long I swear.”
Rachael looked away, disappointment radiating on her face.
Caide hurried out of the classroom, flipping open his phone. “Hello?”
“Caide? Where are you?”
“Didn’t Mason tell you I wouldn’t be there today? There’s a Parents’ Day at my daughter’s school. They asked us to attend.”
“You should get down here as quickly as you can.” His voice sounded strange.
“Everything okay, Meach? Rachael will kill me if I leave. What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say. We just need you at the office right away.”
They know. Caide sighed. “Okay. Give me a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
Caide hung up his phone angrily. He walked back into the classroom, his head hung low. He couldn’t take the look on Rachael’s face.
“We have to go.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t do this. Caide, please don’t do this to your daughter.”
Caide watched as Brinley stood laughing with a group of her friends.
“I don’t have any choice, I swear. I tried to get out of it. There’s some sort of emergency at the office.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“I’m not sure. They wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary.”
“Or maybe they’re just mad that you missed the past two weeks after the accident.”
“That’s not it and you know it. Mason and Meachum have been nothing but good to us. After my parents disowned me, we would’ve been out on our own, if it hadn’t been for them. They risked their friendship with my dad to make sure I had a job and we weren’t going hungry. I know it’s important. I’ll go there, fix the problem, and be home within an hour, I swear.”
“You know what, Caide? You go. Take a cab. I’m staying with our daughter because I promised her I would and because she has been talking about this day for weeks. You can meet us at the park afterwards.”
“Okay.” He kissed Davis’ head, turning to walk out the door.
“Caide?”
“Yeah?” He turned to see his wife’s cheeks flushed from anger.
“If you don’t show up, if you break your daughter’s heart, you can have the couch tonight. I won’t put her through this again.”
Chapter Twelve
Rachael
Brinley stared at her mother through the rearview mirror.
“Why did Daddy have to leave? He always has to leave. He didn’t even get to see my cubby.”
Rachael adjusted the mirror, unable to look at her daughter. “Remember honey, Daddy has a very important job that pays for our house and our food and our toys, right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“So sometimes he has to leave but he’d rather be with you all the time.”
“But he promised he’d take me to the park.”
“I know, Brin, but Mommy’s taking you to the park. Daddy promised he’d try really hard to meet us here.”
“Okay.” Rachael could hear the pout in her daughter’s voice.
“Now, don’t give me that pouty face. We’re still going to have fun, right? Mommy’s just as fun as Daddy.”
“But you’re always here. We always play with you.”
Rachael’s heart hurt for her daughter. She pulled into the parking lot. “Well you’ll just have to have fun with me anyway.”
She jumped out of the car, unbuckling Davis. Brinley climbed out, racing for the swing set. Rachael carried Davis to the swing beside her, maneuvering his cast into the leg hole.
“Who wants me to push them?”
“Me, I do.”
“Me too.”
Rachael pushed their backs gently, watching their heads fly back in laughter.
“Higher,” Brinley called, her curls blowing in the wind.
Rachael pushed, laughing as her children did, enjoying the moment so much that nothing else mattered. Growing up without a mother Rachael had promised herself that her children would never know what that was like. She couldn’t understand how Caide could miss moments like this; moments where the kids were happy and carefree and able to just be children in a world in such a hurry to make them grow up. It broke her heart for her children to miss their father so, but even more it broke her heart for Caide who she was sure would one day be filled with the regrets of an absentee parent.
***
Caide
Caide pulled up to work an hour later—finding a cab at this time of day was next to impossible. As soon as he pulled into the parking lot his skin lined with goose bumps. There was an ambulance and a parking lot full of cop cars, lights flashing.
“What the hell?” He paid the driver as he hopped out of the cab, walking apprehensively toward the entrance. Before he could reach the door a cop stopped him.
“Whoa, buddy. You can’t go in there. This is a closed crime scene.”
“I work here,” Caide objected. “What’s happening?”
“What’s your name?” The cop eyed him suspiciously.
“Caide. I’m Caide Abbott.”
The cop took a step back and spoke into his shoulder. “Chief we’ve got a Caide Abbott out here. Claims he works here.”
The response was instant. “Send him in.”
The cop stepped back, pulling the door open for Caide and allowing him to pass through. As he did, all eyes were on him. Mason and Meachum could be seen in their offices, talking with police officers.
A brawny man with a gray mustache approached Caide. “You Caide Abbott?”
“Yes, sir. What happened here?”
“That’s what we’d like to know. Come with me.”
The chief led Caide to his office which Caide noticed had been raided.
“Sit.”
Caide did as he was told. Two additional officers accompanied Caide and the chief into his small office and shut the door.
“Did you know Blaire Underwood?”
“Oh my God, did something happen to Blaire?”
“Answer the question.”
“Yes, of course I did.”
“What was the nature of your relationship?”
“We work together.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean? Can you please tell me what’s going on? Is Blaire all right?”
“Actually she’s not. Blaire Underwood was brutally murdered last night and by all accounts you were the last to see her alive.”
Caide’s heart plummeted, he felt bile fill his throat. His forehead was immediately drenched in a cold sweat. “You think I did it?”
“That’s exactly what we think.”
“I wouldn’t. She was my friend. I have no reason to want to hurt her. How could you think that?”
“Sources tell us the two of you were hostile toward each other yesterday. We were also informed that Ms. Underwood put in her resignation. So you tell me why a young woman who has worked at a job for,” he paused, looking at his paperwork, “seven years would suddenly quit her job with no explanation. What would make her do that, Caide?”
“I—” Caide couldn’t breathe. “I don’t know why. I begged her to stay.”
“You don’t know why, huh? Well, here’s what we know. We know that you sent your assistant home, which conveniently left you two the only ones in the building last night. We know you wanted to be alone with her, what we don’t know is why?”
> “I didn’t tell Brian to go home, I just—”
“You didn’t? You didn’t tell him and I quote,” he read from the notepad again, “‘Go home. This’ll be here tomorrow’?”
“Well, yes, but that’s out of context—”
“Now either you’re the world’s coolest boss, or you wanted to be alone with our victim. And speaking of things that will be here in the morning, you weren’t. You conveniently called in this morning. So tell us, Caide, tell us this is all some huge coincidence because by my count right now you’re looking mighty guilty.”
Caide sighed, unsure of where to begin. “Okay, yes. I told him to go home. He’s my assistant and his wife’s pregnant and he’s been working very hard to impress me. Blaire doesn’t work for me. I couldn’t tell her to go home like I could Brian. Only Mason or Meachum could’ve. And besides that, I have no motive. She’s been a great friend to me. I can’t believe she’s gone.” He put his face into his hands. “Oh, and I called in because my daughter had a Parents’ Day at her school today. You can check into that if you’d like.”
“Oh, we will.” The Chief jotted down a note. “See, we checked out your work history, according to your bosses you never miss work. Never. So, what? There were no Parents’ Days until now?”
“I assume there have been some, yes.”
“It’s convenient then, that you chose to go to this particular one, isn’t it?”
Caide frowned. “I owed it to my daughter to go. I’ve been a pretty bad father lately. I’ve been working too much. My family and I were recently involved in a pretty bad car wreck and it’s put a lot more pressure on me to be more present. That’s why this particular Parents’ Day was so important. We may not have lived to see it. There’s no other reason. I’m trying to be better. The only thing I’m guilty of is being a bad father.” Caide felt a lump in his throat as he admitted one of his darkest fears.
“Well, you’d better hope that’s true because we’ve gotten a hold of the security tapes from last night and since our examiners say the murder took place here, this should be a pretty open and shut case.”
Caide knew then that he was going to be sick. “She was…you didn’t tell me…it happened here?”
“It did. In that bathroom, right across the hall. Your friend was beaten to death. What kind of a sick bastard could do that?” He smirked, obviously getting a kick out of torturing Caide.
With that, Caide grabbed his trash can, hurling up the contents of his stomach.
When he was finished the Chief sat back in his chair looking smug. “So you sure you don’t have anything you need to tell me?”
“She was my girlfriend, okay? That’s what you’ll see on the tape. We were in love. That’s what you’re going to see. That’s all you’ll see. Whoever did this, it wasn’t me, but I hope they burn.”
How could this have happened? I should’ve stayed with her. I never should’ve left her alone. I should’ve checked out the noise or called the police. What have I done? That’s when it hit him: the noise.
“Wait, someone else was here last night. Right before we left Blaire swore she heard someone upstairs.”
“You didn’t think to call the police? Or at least check to be sure of who it was?”
“We were scared. We worried that maybe they’d heard us. We didn’t want our affair to get back to my wife. We just wanted to get out of here. Her car was in the shop. That’s the only reason she stayed later than me, to call a cab. If I’d known she was in danger I would’ve stayed. Of course I would’ve stayed. Or I would’ve gotten her out of here. Around here these things don’t happen. I would’ve never guessed.”
“If you’re telling the truth, the tape will tell. If you’re lying, if you came back in this building last night, if you did this to this poor girl, you’d better not leave town. We’ll have cops patrolling your neighborhood, you can count on that. I want no funny business. We’ll be in touch.”
Caide nodded, swallowing hard. The cops left his office one by one. Caide knew the case against him was solid; the tape may be his only saving grace but using it in court, it would ruin his marriage, if not his life. He leaned over the trash can again, emptying the remaining contents of his stomach into the bin until there was nothing left in him, until the emptiness in his stomach matched the emptiness he felt in his heart.
Chapter Thirteen
Rachael
Rachael checked her watch. It was nearly seven and Caide still hadn’t showed up. She sighed, the sun was setting. She had no choice but to pack the kids up.
“Alright guys, it’s time to get home and eat supper.”
“But, Mom, Dad said he’d be here soon,” Brinley insisted.
“I know baby, but I told you Daddy may not be able to make it.”
“But if we leave and he does come he’ll be sad that we didn’t wait for him.”
“Daddy will know where to find us, I promise.”
Brinley held onto the chain of her swing. “No. I’m not leaving. I want to wait for Daddy.”
“Brinley, Daddy isn’t coming. It’s getting dark. I’m going to call him and tell him to meet us at home, okay?”
Brinley looked at her in disbelief. “I don’t want to make Daddy sad.”
“You could never make him sad. He loves you.”
“Will he get to eat supper with us then?”
“I think he will. It’s getting late. He may be on his way home now.”
Brinley let go of the swing, her knees caked with dirt and her hair frizzed from the wind.
Rachael hoisted Davis out of the sandbox he’d been playing in, dusting the sand off of him. “So you’ll go with me then?”
“Okay, I’ll go. If Daddy comes here do you promise you’ll tell him I wanted to wait?”
“He won’t come here, Brin.”
“Just promise.”
“I promise.”
“Good. ’Cause if he’s sad I’m going to be really mad.”
“Okay, darling.”
“I mean really mad, Momma.”
Rachael sighed. “Okay, Brin, if he comes you can be mad, but he’s not coming. I’ll call and tell him not to.”
Brinley hopped out of her swing, a dismayed look on her face. “Fine.”
***
Caide
Caide snuck into the house just before midnight. He’d had the cab driver drive around La Rue for the past few hours, dreading the turmoil he’d face at home. He felt as though his world were collapsing around him, as he knew it would soon enough. When he’d left the office, no one would look at him. He couldn’t ignore the hushed voices that grew quiet when he entered the room. He wanted to scream for himself, cry for Blaire, kill whoever had done this, and most of all avoid Rachael until this had all blown over. He knew it would be impossible. Even once the charges were dropped Rachael would hear how, for all he knew she’d probably already heard.
He’d have to tell her everything before she could hear it from someone else. For tonight, though, he just wanted to sleep. He walked to the kitchen, hanging his jacket over the chair and placing his shoes neatly under the table. He walked back to the living room, noticing the pillow and blanket Rachael had left for him on the couch. She was a woman of her word. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, still fully dressed, and he dreamed of a world without death and heartache, a world that until today didn’t seem so out of reach.
***
Rachael
Rachael woke up the next morning alone. She walked to the living room to find her husband sleeping peacefully, still fully dressed from the night before. Infuriated, she ripped the blanket off of him and flipped on the light. Caide stirred, covering his face, still blissfully half asleep.
“What the—” He yawned sleepily, looking around as if trying to figure out where he was.
“Late night?” Rachael asked, her words filled with venom.
A look of realization filled his face. “Look, Rach—”
She held her hand up. “Save i
t. Save whatever little speech or excuse you have planned, just don’t waste your breath. How dare you? How dare you?” She paced the living room, trying to maintain her fury. “You let that little girl down last night again. Now, me, I’m used to your disappointments and Davis is too young to understand what a letdown his father is, but your daughter looks up to you. You’re her hero, Caide, and you just keep breaking her heart. We waited for you yesterday. At the park. We waited until seven and when it was finally time for us to come home I basically had to drag her away. Do you know why? Not because she wanted to play longer, not because she didn’t want to take her bath or go to bed, not for any normal reason that a child should want to stay at the park. No, your daughter wanted to wait for you. She would’ve waited all night if I’d let her because she was scared, no, she was terrified that you would actually do what you promised her and show up and she wouldn’t be there. Do you hear me, Caide? Your seven-year-old daughter was terrified to let you down, when all you do is let her down every single day.” She stopped talking, tears welling up her eyes. She waited for him to comfort her, he didn’t. She waited for him to apologize or explain, he didn’t. Instead he was silent.
“Aren’t you going to say anything? Aren’t you going to do anything besides sit there with that dumb, blank expression on your face you’ve worn for the past eight years? Your indifference toward this family makes me sick. I’m sick of it, Caide.”
She wasn’t sure what had come over her, the anger swelling in her chest like a balloon. “You will go wake that little girl up and you will take her to school. You will stay and eat lunch with her and you will pick her up and spend the afternoon with her. You will or so help me, Caide tonight when you get home we will be so far gone—” She stopped, her gaze trailing out the window. What is going on?
“Caide, why are there a half-dozen police cars pulling down our road?”
Suddenly out of his coma, Caide shot up from the couch, looking out the window. He turned back to face Rachael looking manically at her. He held her shoulders firmly. “Listen to me. This is bad, Rach. Blaire Underwood was murdered yesterday. Well, the night before. That’s why Meachum called me, that’s why I never came to the park. I’m a suspect. They’re coming for me.”
If It Walks Like A Killer (The Carolina Killer Files #1) Page 5