Hoverfly Girl

by Parker Wren

  I shook my head. I couldn’t believe my Aunt Sarah, my Strong Sarah, could have cancer.

  Grayson and I spent most of the day at the hospital. We helped Anna get Sarah home and comfortable in bed. We were told that Sarah had good insurance, with nursing staff that could come and help her. Anna assured us that she would help take care of Sarah and take her to her chemotherapy appointments.

  That evening, Sarah took my hand and squeezed it. “I want you to go,” she said.

  I was taken aback by her request.

  “Are you kidding me?” I asked. “I’m not leaving you! Not right now. Not when you’re like this.”

  “Ariel,” Sarah said, squeezing my hand tighter. “I want you to come back and visit. Often! But I don’t want you staying here. You are young, and you have your life to live. Please. We’ll talk every day. I have Anna. I have other friends who can help. It doesn’t matter anyway. The doctor says I’ll be feeling better in no time. There are so many treatments these days—I just know I’ll be back on my feet in no time. If I need you, I will let you know.”

  “I can’t believe she’s kicking me out,” I said to Grayson that evening, dumbfounded.

  “Well, maybe she has a point,” Grayson said. “What can you do for her here? Frankly, Ariel—and please don’t take this the wrong way—I think you’re making her feel worse.”

  I was dumbfounded. How dare Grayson come into my family’s house and think he knew anything about my aunt or my relationship with her?

  “That is ridiculous,” I said.

  “Ariel, haven’t you noticed? She jokes around about ‘oh, if it’s the end,’ but I really don’t think she’s saying that in a serious way. She would rather not know. Are you telling me she’s not the type of person who can sometimes be in denial?”

  I didn’t say anything. Sarah wasn’t in denial when it came to other people’s lives. But she could be with her own.

  “I don’t know,” I said, avoiding answering.

  “You’re upsetting her I think,” he said gently. “And she didn’t say you can’t see her. I just don’t think she wants you hovering over her right now.”

  I nodded. It stung, to be rejected by Sarah; I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want me here with her.

  “What do we do now?” I asked Grayson. It felt wrong to go back to Martha’s Vineyard and enter back into new-couple bliss. Would we go to New York? Would Grayson come to Virginia with me?

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “How about we talk about it more in the morning.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  I decided to go outside for some fresh air. I left Grayson reading in bed. I was so thankful that he came with me here, without asking any questions, and supported me as I dealt with the news of my aunt’s cancer. But I didn’t know what to do now. Everything in my life hung in the balance. At least I had my PhD program, I thought; I wouldn’t be without a job, at least not yet.

  I went outside and sat in my favorite rocking chair. I thought about what to do. If Sarah wanted me gone, then I would go, but I would come back often. Maybe she didn’t need me, but I needed her.

  I saw the screen of my phone light up. Dom’s name popped on the screen.

  He had mostly been texting, so I figured it must be somewhat important if he was calling me.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Ariel,” he said, sounding breathless. “You are never going to guess what I’ve found out.”

  CHAPTER 41

  “Hey Dom,” I said casually. “Look, I know you said you would update me and all, but I’m kind of going through a thing right now, and I—“

  “Ariel, will you just listen, okay? I know you’re with Grayson—he might like to know some of this too. It affects Henry.”

  This was the first time that Dom had acknowledged that Grayson and I were together.

  “Okay,” I said, “giving in.”

  “Let me start from the beginning,” Dom said. “So, shit is obviously going down here at Matheson. Everyone is on edge. The SEC is everywhere. They wanted to interview Henry, and when we got here, they wouldn’t let me be in the room with them. I have no idea what happened and Henry won’t tell me. John is walking around like he’s some king about to be executed or something.”

  “Well, he probably is,” I said. “In one way or another.”

  “But people here are chatty,” Dom continued. “And now, they kind of just don’t even seem to care anymore. Loose lips and all. So take all of this with a grain of salt, but I think there is truth to the rumors.”

  “Okay,” I said cautiously.

  “I think Henry made a deal with the SEC. To give up his father. I’m not sure, but I overheard some of the securities guys talking, and I heard ‘son’ and ‘helpful’ together.”

  “But John has more than one son,” I said.

  “Yeah, I know, you’re right, so I can’t verify that one,” Dom said. “And besides, Manuel was never that interested in the whole SEC investigation. Frankly, whoever his client is, I don’t think they care so much about the details of the fraud. I don’t know if the government is really our client.”

  “Surprise, surprise,” I grumbled.

  “So here’s the good stuff,” Dom said. “Well, not really good, but you know what I mean.”

  “Okay, Dom,” I said, growing impatient. “What? Just spill it.”

  “It’s not by chance that Brit and Henry met at the fundraiser a year ago,” Dom said, he voice lower, but clearly excited. “I mean, she was working for her company at the time, but it wasn’t her first time at the Matheson event. Ariel—I know this is going to sound crazy—but I found out from multiple people that Brit was having an affair with Henry’s dad before she met Henry.”

  The information was making my head spin. “Come again?” I said.

  “Brit was sleeping with Henry’s dad,” Dom repeated. “Based on the rumors, anyway. You know me, I make friends easily, and I think they are telling the truth. These are people who have been sworn to secrecy by John, who probably threatened them with their lives, but well, now that he is going down, no one really cares anymore.”

  “Does Henry know?” I asked. My head hurt.

  “No, that’s the thing,” Dom said. “At least, I don’t think he does. Can you imagine? He worships Brit. I can’t imagine that he knows anything about her and her father before they met.”

  “Oh shit, Dom,” I said. “Oh shit.”

  “What?”

  “Doesn’t this all make sense now?” My mind was racing. What had Manuel said? What had Brit said?

  I put the pieces together as I was on the phone with Dom. “Okay. Manuel seemed pretty convinced that Henry was moving money for his dad. Since his dad was under close watch, he needed someone he could trust to hide the money. Why was Manuel so convinced?”

  “I don’t know,” Dom admitted. “He probably knew something we didn’t.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “He knew something solid. Some kind of circumstantial evidence that Henry was moving the money. Who is close to Henry, and has incentive to move the money for John? Who would do that for him?”

  Dom was silent for a moment. “Bingo,” he finally said.

  My mind continued to whir. “Maybe it was just one motive, or maybe it was a few. John could have blackmailed Brit and told her that if she didn’t help him, he would reveal the past affair to Henry. Brit could never risk that. She rested her future in being the future Mrs. Matheson. And, or, money talks. John promised that she could have her own little nest egg in return for her services.”

  There was silence on the other end as Dom processed my theory.

  “Damn, Sherlock. I think you might be right,” he said.

  “Well, you’re the one who found out the important pieces, Holmes,” I said. I felt energized, invigorated by this new information.

  “Do you want back on the case?” Dom asked. “I could call Manuel and tell him…”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Do we even wa
nt to catch Brit? It would ruin Henry.”

  Dom was silent again for a moment. “He’s going to find out eventually,” he said.

  Even though I had vowed to stay away from the entire Matheson situation, I found myself wanting to do one last thing to help. It could be a distraction from Sarah’s illness, and as a way to make me feel like this whole debacle was somehow worth it. Of course, Henry would probably hate me for it.

  And there was the matter of Grayson.

  “Let me call you back,” I said to Dom as Grayson walked outside onto the back porch.

  CHAPTER 42

  I repeated to Grayson what Dom had shared with me. Grayson sat down and put his face in his hands.

  “I just can’t believe this,” he said.

  “Which part?” I asked.

  “Exactly!” he said, exasperated. “Well, the part about Matheson Investments, it’s not that surprising given everything that’s been going on. It’s more the stuff with Brit…not only with her and Henry’s dad, but then her moving money around for John? Even while Henry has basically been estranged from him? It just…doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know,” I said, sitting in a rocking chair next to Grayson. “So what should we do?”

  Grayson shook his head. “Probably nothing.”

  I was silent for a moment.

  “What if…” I started.

  “Ariel,” Grayson warned.

  I shook my head. “No, I’m not doing anything without talking to you about it first, okay? And nothing illegal.”

  “What’s your idea,” Grayson said, looking skeptical.

  “Let’s go back to the house,” I suggested. “In Vineyard Haven. Maybe there is something there we can find…evidence. I don’t have to give it to Manuel. But wouldn’t you rather Henry know the truth about Brit now, rather than later?”

  Grayson shook his head. “I mean, I never felt like I really knew Brit,” he said. “But Henry seemed happy. She was fine, friendly, maybe a bit too flirty, but I never would think…would never expect…”

  “I know,” I said. “And to be fair, we still don’t really know.”

  “Okay,” Grayson said. “We’ll do it your way. Just this one time, James. We’ll check out if there’s anything at the house. If there’s something that Henry needs to know, we show it to him. If we don’t find anything, then we drop it. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Agreed.”

  I called back and Dom about the plan. It didn’t feel like much a plan; the most likely scenario would be that we found nothing. Still. What was the harm in looking?

  We left the next morning, saying goodbye to Sarah and telling her that I would return in a few days. She seemed to be doing better—whatever drugs they had given her seemed to be helping with the pain.

  Grayson and I had already discussed spending a couple days in the Vineyard, before Henry and Brit returned, and then splitting our time between New Hampshire and New York.

  On the drive back to the Vineyard, I thought about Brit. She had always been nice to me, I thought. Or had she? She and Henry fought a lot; I knew a lot of their issues concerned Henry’s business, and money. Still, could there be more? Relationships almost always had hidden secrets rarely seen by outsiders. Perhaps Brit and Henry’s relationship had darker sides we didn’t see—specifically, a darker side to Brit.

  The truth was, I didn’t really know Brit. And I thought about what Grayson had said to me, about the ends not justifying the means. He was right. But if you were exposing someone for who they truly were, wasn’t that a just and fair means? Didn’t Henry deserve to know who he was marrying? Didn’t the victims of John Matheson’s Ponzi scheme deserve to know where some of their money was being hidden, and to get it back?

  By the time we arrived at the Vineyard home, we were both feeling mentally exhausted. Grayson was having second thoughts. “I don’t know if this was such a good idea,” he said.

  I sighed. “You’re probably right,” I said. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you go to the store and get us food for dinner. I’ll look around for a little bit, see if I can find anything. I won’t break into anything, I promise. And then we can just enjoy ourselves for a couple of days before leaving again. Deal?”

  Grayson nodded. “Okay. Deal.”

  I hopped out of the car with my suitcase. “I’ll see you soon,” I said.

  The door sounded off the familiar beep as I opened it. I entered the passcode and turned on the lights.

  The cleaners still hadn’t been there, so the house was exactly as we had left it. I brought my things in to the master suite, and sat down on an oversized chair, thinking.

  If Brit had something to hide, where would she hide it?

  I knew that she planned on coming back to the house before her trip to the Caribbean.

  Her trip to the Caribbean. Of course.

  The idea had started to formulate in my mind when I was talking to Dom, but I became sidetracked with the rest of it. I was so focused on what Brit could be doing, and why, that I didn’t think of the how. And the how was the important part—to Manuel, at least.

  Brit was likely taking her trip next week for the purposes of moving money between accounts. There were tax havens in the Caribbean, I thought; it sounded familiar, anyway. It wasn’t something I knew about. It didn’t matter though. I just needed proof.

  I wondered how often Brit took “vacations” with her “college friends.” Brit and Henry seemed inseparable when they traveled—with the exception of this trip that she had planned next week. Perhaps this had been an ongoing pattern, with Brit leaving to help John during some of the times that Henry was traveling for conferences or to meet with investors.

  I went through all of the drawers in the bedroom. The feeling of discomfort that I first experienced when Dom and I had searched Henry’s office hadn’t left me; I still hated going through other people’s things. Still, the exciting thrill of possibly finding something kept me going. I didn’t like that a part of me was enjoying the hunt. But it was.

  I checked the kitchen cabinets, closets, and the bathroom. I searched, but I didn’t tear the place apart. I could already see the look on Grayson’s face if he came through the door and saw that I had torn apart every nook and cranny. He had agreed to come with me here to expose Brit, if there was something to expose, but he didn’t like any of it.

  I’m not sure why I thought of it then. I was leaning against the bedroom closet, thinking of places to check, when I felt like I was back in my parents’ house in London. The way my mom had told me to go to the back of the closet, and to keep going. I remembered how in many homes, especially older homes, there were smaller closets within closets, doors that used to exist before modern renovations had built wardrobes in front of them.

  I turned on the closet light, pushed away the clothes in the closet, past the shoeboxes I had already rifled through, to the back of the closet. I couldn’t see well in the back. I slid my hands around the back wall, feeling for something.

  There. A handle.

  I opened the small door and pulled out a thickly stuffed envelope. After replacing the shoeboxes, I brought the envelope into the living room, and opened it.

  On top was Brit’s passport. That made sense, of course; she would have it with her if she was going out of the country. Underneath was her flight itinerary. She would be flying to the Cayman Islands from Boston—an indirect flight.

  And underneath that, there were papers with account numbers. I didn’t recognize the bank names, or the names of the account holders, which were companies, rather than individuals. But the amounts in the bank accounts were staggering. They weren’t a smoking gun, and didn’t prove that there was an affair between Brit and John, but they strongly pointed to evidence that Brit was the one helping John move money around.

  I took pictures of the documents, including her plane tickets with my phone, and sent them to Grayson. I would do as he asked—I wouldn’t pass anything along to Dom or Manuel without discussing it with Gr
ayson first.

  I heard the door open. “Hey,” I said. “I just sent you some pictures. I think—“

  “Shut the fuck up and sit down,” a voice said.

  I turned to face Brit. Along with two men. The same two men that had stuck a gun in my face.

  CHAPTER 43

  I clenched my jaw, anger swelling in my throat, but being unable to do anything about it.

  On the off chance that Brit didn’t know what was going on, I tried playing normal.

  “Hey,” I said, sliding the envelope behind my back. “I didn’t think you and Henry were getting back until tomorrow. What are they doing here?” I asked, pointing to the two guys stood by their side. Even though I hadn’t seen their faces the night of the break in, I knew in my bones that they were the same people.

  Brit rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch opposite of me. “Stop pretending, Ariel,” she said. “Let’s just finally be honest with each other.”

  I pretended that I didn’t understand her. I didn’t see much of a choice. “About what?”

  Brit laughed. “Are you serious? You come here to spy on me and Henry, and you are still playing dumb?”

  I felt the heat rise in my neck. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

  “Oh I don’t, do I?” Brit said, her voice rising. “I know all about your little…arrangement with Dom. Well, I didn’t know at first, it took a while to figure out. You guys played the couple quite well. And I admit, he managed to get inside Henry’s inner circle for a long time before I received my tip.”

  “What tip?” I asked.

  Brit shook her head. “Nice try,” she said. “Let’s just say that someone informed me there was a possibility of a little…operation. The possibility that someone was here to spy on Henry. To try to find out information on him.”

  “And who was your little bird?” I asked calmly. “Your dear John?”

  Brit’s eyes turned to steel. She stood up, ignoring my question. “You were the newest friend, and so I suspected you for awhile—but I couldn’t prove it. So my friends over here—“ she motioned to the two assholes who remained standing by the door, unmoving—“agreed to help me scare you a little bit. When you said that you were here to protect Henry, I will admit I was a little bit confused. I didn’t know if you said that because you were scared, really protecting him, or just playing us.