Blood Ties

by Josephine Barly

  “Okay, nothing illegal then. Were they happy with their jobs?”

  “Susie loved what she did, and Sandy felt great not only with her specific work, but she was very pleased with having Susie as her boss. They were both respected at James & Walker, so if their murders are connected, I highly doubt it had something to do with people at the firm.”

  “I see. Is there anything in particular you think is relevant regarding Susan’s or Sandra’s deaths or the attempt made on your life?”

  I sighed and thoroughly considered everything I knew, suspected and feared, and looked seriously at Captain Nicholson.

  “My sister, Kelly…Even if her fingerprint was found on a piece of plastic from the home-made bomb, I know she didn’t try to kill me.”

  “I am not pleased that you know that, Miss Pearson. That should be strictly confidential, but I’ll overlook it for the time being. I’ll take under consideration what you’re saying regarding your sister, but I can’t simply ignore evidence. Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “I can’t think of any particular client or opponent of Susie’s that would want both her and Sandy dead. She worked with sports stars, actors and actresses, businessmen and women, and plain filthy rich folks who would never stain their hands with blood.”

  “That doesn’t mean they couldn’t hire someone to do the dirty work.”

  “But Susie’s murder was intimate or passionate or something like that, right? And Susie was only sleeping with Ray; I highly doubt she’d cheat on him, especially with a one night stand.”

  “How so?”

  “Susie lived structurally. She slept around until she was twenty-three. On her twenty-third birthday, she swore she was done with that and promised to only sleep with men she was in relationships with. I know it sounds kind of dumb and you probably think a promise like that can be easily broken, but with all due respect Captain Nicholson, you didn’t know Susie. You have absolutely no idea how determined she was; whatever she set out to do, she’d follow through, and a promise like the one she’d made was easily kept.”

  “I see what you mean, Miss Pearson. That’ll certainly help with clearing suspects and throughout the investigation. Have you received any written or oral threats since the package, besides the incident with the car?”

  “Nothing. But it’s only been a few days and I’m always with Jared, working or at home. There were no weird phone calls or anything of sorts.”

  “Okay. Different ways you are connected to Susan and Sandra?”

  “Susie and I have been best friends since forever. She represented my sister throughout her divorce. I met Sandy through Susie; otherwise, I’m not really sure we would have met. That’s it, Captain Nicholson. I honestly do not know what other piece of information I can give you regarding Susie or Sandy.”

  “Very well, Miss Pearson. I want to thank you for what you’ve told me,” he said as he stood up, and I did the same. “Please, wait here while I call Aidan and Jared. I’ll talk to them but they’ll be here in ten minutes, okay?”

  “Sure thing, Captain Nicholson,” I replied as I extended my hand and he shook it.

  I remained seated, looking around.

  One of the desks had some photographs, but none were Aidan’s. If he had an actual desk in the room, it was impossible to tell.

  My cell phone rang and I checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number. I accepted the call and put the phone next to my ear.

  “Hello?” I said.

  “Is this Miss Samantha Pearson?”

  “Yes, who’s speaking?”

  “Hello Miss Pearson, I’m William Morris, the executioner of Miss Susan Andrews’ will. Is this a good time for you, or would you prefer that I call at a later time?”

  “Now is fine, Mr. Morris. How can I help you?”

  “Miss Andrews left some objects for you. I need you to come to my office to sign some documents and to arrange the delivery of said items.”

  “Sure, will tomorrow at around seven in the afternoon do?”

  “Unfortunately, it’ll have to be earlier.”

  “Mmm…four?”

  “Yes, that works wonderfully. I’m sorry if it’s an imposition, but I’ve got pressing commitments later.”

  “That’s perfectly fine, Mr. Morris,” I replied as I grabbed a pen from my bag and a post-it from the desk; I asked for his address and, after writing it down, hung up.

  I waited some more and Aidan and Jared came in. Jared looked like a boy who’d been reprimanded and was ashamed. Captain Nicholson must have given him a huge piece of his mind, because Jared didn’t crack a smile when I looked at him and grinned expectantly. Aidan rolled his eyes, grabbed his jacket from behind the chair, curtly said goodbye and took off.

  “That bad?” I asked Jared, trying to repress a smile.

  He looked at me dryly but eventually his mouth broke into a sheepish grin. He nodded and I smiled. Jared looked just like a kid. A handsome, hot man-child.

  “Shall we leave or do you have any pending conversations?” I enquired.

  “Let’s go,” Jared replied as he gently placed his arm behind me and led me out of the room, through the station and into my car.

  We made a pit stop at a fast food diner and bought food to go; I didn’t really feel like cooking, and Jared said I shouldn’t trust his culinary productions, so I took his word for it and decided to take my chances with junk food.

  We got home, ate as we watched the evening news, and then went to sleep.

  Maggie greeted me at my office on Friday morning. Jared had dropped me off and had gone to Aidan’s for a brief meeting they had set up earlier. They couldn’t risk being seen chatting amicably in my workplace if Jared was supposed to be my boyfriend and Aidan an unfamiliar detective investigating a murder.

  “Would you like me to pass Jared’s corrections to the digital version?” Maggie offered.

  “No, that’s okay, thank you. I’ll have the digital ready before noon and after lunch I’ll start with Kelly’s book.”

  “Do you want me to give it a first glance?”

  “No, I need you to set me up with Andrea for Monday morning. I’ve already read her book once and the corrections were made, but I’d appreciate it if you could read it again.”

  “Sure. What about biographical information from Cameron, Jared, Kelly and Andrea?”

  “Cameron’s already in the flap; as the book is at the printer’s, it’s set. I had him e-mail me the paragraph last week, I’m sorry I forgot to forward it to you for backup. Kelly’s bio will depend on whether I choose her manuscript or not; Andrea can bring the text with her to the meeting, so kindly ask her to do it. And Jared will be dropping by in a little while, so I’ll get the passage from him then.”

  “Okay. Samantha, if you don’t mind my asking,” Maggie treaded with care, although the curiosity was evident, “Jared’s manuscript seems to have dropped out of the blue…I mean, I know I’m only your assistant and I don’t know everything you do here, but I hadn’t even heard him mentioned until Mark said it was a priority on Monday.”

  “Maggie, I know it was a surprise, and you should feel free to ask as much as you want because I think it shows interest not only on your work, but also on other projects we develop here. Jared’s manuscript is an old creation. I mean, I’ve been working on it for a few months now, but I kept it under wraps because I think it’s one of those books that will set the market ablaze.”

  “You think it’s an HP?” Maggie enquired, bewildered.

  I nodded and pressed my index finger to my mouth, signaling for her to keep it to herself. She nodded excitedly and left my office.

  No, I didn’t think the manuscript was that good; once it hit the market, it wouldn’t sell a thousand copies, but that wouldn’t have made any sense for my keeping the manuscript—and Jared—a secret.

  I spent the rest of the morning going the digital version of Jared’s manuscript—it actually belonged to a young woman named Allie—without getting any inte
rruptions from Maggie.

  Jared arrived at noon, bringing along a chicken salad for me and a burger for himself, with sodas and fruit salads for dessert. We had lunch in my office, and I could tell Maggie was curious because she only took a fifteen minute lunch-break and didn’t move from her desk unless she had to use the bathroom.

  Once we were done with our food, Jared went to pour a couple of mugs of coffee while I finished Jared/Allie’s manuscript. I sent it to Maggie, so that she could read it again, just like we’d done with Cameron’s and Andrea’s.

  I started Kelly’s manuscript but only managed to read the first three chapters. The first narrated her childhood; the second her teenage years, and the third contained significant memories from her family. Kelly changed names and slightly altered the context, but deep down, her work was a biography, not a fictional creation.

  I left the manuscript on my desk and parted from my office with Jared at half past three. I told Maggie where I’d be and that if there were any urgent phone calls, she should forward them to me; otherwise, I’d receive messages on Monday. We wished each other a lovely weekend, and Jared and I were gone.

  William Morris greeted us himself. He was thin and barely taller than me, with black hair that was receding and dark blue eyes. He mentioned his secretary had left due to an emergency fifteen minutes earlier, so now he was taking care of everything. There were other offices, but they were empty; people were taking their holidays, he informed us.

  “Please sit down, and call me Bill,” he said, motioning for us to sit on a couch; he grabbed a file and spread some documents and a pen on the coffee table that was in front of us. “Miss Pearson, did you know Susan Andrews had included you in her will?”

  “Not really, and please, call me Samantha. I suspected, due to the fact that she had no living relatives, but we’d never actually talked about it.”

  “I see. Well, I’m sorry for my promptness, but as I’ve mentioned, I have commitments I can’t be late for. Susan left her apartment for a charity she was involved with.”

  “Missing Children?” I asked, knowing she’d contributed money on several occasions.

  He nodded. “Her car was left to you, as well as whatever clothes and shoes, accessories and jewelry you may want. The things you won’t use are to be given to goodwill.”

  I nodded. Susie always gave away her clothes to different organizations.

  “You are to go over all her items and decide which are to be given away and which are to be disposed of.”

  “But I can’t do that.”

  “It’s what Susan wanted, Samantha. She stated that you’re the only one who’ll be the best judge for what is significant and what isn’t.”

  I sighed. I hated the idea of going through Susie’s things, but I understood what she’d meant.

  “What about Ray?” I asked, curious.

  “He gets the photographs and any object Susan had that included or had been bought by him. Samantha, I believe you’ve got a set of keys to Susan’s apartment?”

  “That’s right. Can I go over there during the weekend?”

  “Sure. I just need you to sign these documents and it’ll be set. Raymond said he’d be dropping by tomorrow morning. These are the car keys,” Bill said, handing them over to me, “and this is my card, with my cell phone number. Please call me if you have the slightest doubt or question, okay?”

  I nodded, signed the papers, put the car keys away and stood up. Bill led us to the door, and he surprised me by hugging me.

  “I’m very sorry for your loss, Samantha. Susan was a wonderful woman.”

  For whatever reason, I got emotional and had to fight back tears.

  “Thank you very much, Bill. I’ll give you a call to let you know how things went.”

  We parted, Jared shook his hand, and we left. I asked Jared to pull over at a park, and I sat on a bench, staring at the horizon. Jared sat by my side and hugged me. I burst into sobs and clung to him. We remained seated until around half past six, when my eyes were dry and Jared said it was time to go back home.

  I took a shower while Jared picked a DVD. Then he took a shower while I cooked. We had dinner, watched a movie, and called it a night.

  7

  The phone rang at midnight. My hand pounced onto the bedside table and wandered until it fell on the receiver. I grabbed, placed it on my ear, and literally grunted.

  “Sam?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “It’s Brody.”

  “Noel’s passed out again?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “No rush, just get here whenever you can.”

  I hung up the phone and sighed. I heard the door open.

  “What is it, Sam?”

  “My brother’s wasted; he’s at his regular bar, which is ten minutes away from here. I’m sorry, Jared. This is quite usual on Saturdays or Sundays, but it’s rare on Fridays,” I told him, my eyes still closed.

  “I can go and get him for you.”

  “Thanks Jared, but he’ll never go with you; he’s paranoid about kidnappings, and if he’s drunk, he won’t stop yelling and punching,” I explained as I stood up.

  Jared left the room while I put on shoes and grabbed a coat and purse. By the time I got to the living-room, he was fully dressed and expecting me.

  As he drove, I gave him indications. The ride was a quiet one, not tense, but certainly disturbed.

  Jared parked and I took a deep breath in before exiting the car. I walked towards the door with Jared closely following me. He opened the door and let me in. I could make my way to the bar with my eyes closed. I knew where there were tables, chairs, cigarette vending machines and the jukebox.

  Brody smiled tightly when he saw me and, after I introduced him to Jared, he led us to the back room. Noel lay on a couch, completely disheveled. His eyes were closed but I could see he was awake, his breathing was too uneven. I knelt beside him and patted him on the back.

  “Sammy! You’re here,” Noel said merrily, after a few seconds of focusing his sight on my face had gone by. “Why are you here?”

  “I’m taking you home.”

  “But I’m resting,” Noel explained, smiling. “Brody let me crash on his couch. He’s the greatest, isn’t he?”

  “I know, Noel. But it’s late, and it’ll be better if we just go home now, okay?”

  “But I don’t want to go anywhere, Sammy,” Noel said slowly, his words slurring.

  I sighed and shook my head. There were two possibilities: this could take a very long time, if I continued being nice, or this could end quickly, with bitching and moaning on Noel’s behalf, and my not giving a rat’s ass.

  I decided I didn’t want to spend the rest of the night trying to convince my brother he needed to go home, so I turned around and looked at Jared.

  “He won’t want to come, but I’m fed up. We’ll just carry him, okay?”

  Jared nodded and moved next to Noel. He grabbed him from the hand and placed his arm around his back, lifting my brother. Surprised, he, in turn, looked at Jared.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Sam’s friend, and I’m taking you to her house. I know you don’t want to go, but it’s what’s going to happen, okay?”

  “But I don’t want to go, and you can’t make me!” Noel said, getting upset.

  Jared ignored him and forced Noel to his feet. I stood on his other side and placed his arm over my shoulders. Brody walked ahead of us as my brother argued he didn’t want to leave, and he started cursing. We placed him in the back of the car and he dozed off immediately. Carrying him up to my apartment was no easy task, but we managed.

  “You think you’re so great because of your home,” Noel mumbled. “All you do is boss people around, but you won’t control me!”

  Jared lunged Noel onto the couch and looked at me expectantly.

  “You suck! I was having fun! And your fucking need to be in ch
arge and to interfere in every life is pissing me off. Get a life of your own and stop messing with mine!”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. I’d be hurt, if I knew Noel meant it, or even made sense.

  “You, my friend, must be her slave, or something. How much does she pay you?”

  “I’m here because I choose to be,” Jared replied.

  “Please! Sam hasn’t had a man since Caleb, and, keep this between us,” Noel said, lowering the volume of his voice to an attempted whisper, “I think he stood in the line of fire on purpose.”

  Jared was certainly surprised at what Noel had said. I’d already heard it a bunch of times, and even if I knew Caleb’s death had been an accident, the fact that my brother implied otherwise hurt like hell.

  Noel looked spitefully at me and tried to sneer.

  “Bitch!”

  “That’s it,” I told Jared. “I’m going to sleep now. You can crash in my room if you want to, I don’t mind.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll stay here, don’t worry.”

  “Where will you sleep?”

  “On the other couch or on the rug. The stiffness of the floor may be good for my back.”

  “If you say so…”

  I didn’t feel like arguing or trying to convince Jared of anything. I was tired, sad, pissed off, hurt, and plain old mad.

  As I walked to my bedroom I could hear mumbling on Noel’s behalf, and Jared answering, but I seriously could not care any less for what they were saying, so I closed the door, removed my shoes, and lunged myself onto my bed, falling asleep before my head landed on the pillow.

  I slept horribly. I didn’t rest at all. Luckily, there were no dreams, but it was still an awful night.

  When I woke up I stayed in my bed. I kept my eyes closed and breathed slowly. I wondered if I could spend the rest of my life lying there, cuddling a pillow under the covers, only getting up to go to the bathroom and kitchen.

  As thoughts streamed into my mind, I wished I could have a slight case of temporary amnesia. But I didn’t. So I remembered.