V
The buzzer sounded for the front door. I checked the camera. Shit. It was Detective Caraway again, only this time he wasn’t alone. What was going on? Had he discovered something about X’s case? The fact he wasn’t alone made me think whatever he wanted wasn’t going to be good, so I braced myself.
I had no choice but to let him in. I needed to know what he wanted.
I hit the buzzer for the gates and they slid open. Someone else must have been driving, as he climbed in the passenger side this time. It hardly seemed worth it, considering he didn’t exactly have to walk far to reach the front door, but perhaps he didn’t want his driver riding alone, or else he was worried someone would start taking shots at him from the house and he was better protected inside the car.
Nicole approached from behind me. “It’s that cop again,” she said, as though I didn’t already know that.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“What does he want?”
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
I opened the front door to see him and another cop, also plain clothed, approaching the house.
Caraway nodded at me. “Miss Guerra, may we come in?”
I held his gaze. “Why?”
“Your father has been found.”
The world dropped away from beneath me and my legs weakened. Nicole let out a strange squeak from behind me, and I reached out to steady myself on the door frame.
“What?” I managed to say, though my voice sounded distant.
“I think perhaps we should come in so you can sit down. You’ve gone pale, Verity. Your sister doesn’t look much better.”
I was in shock. I didn’t think his body would be found until spring at the earliest. Who would have been hiking around those areas at this time of year?
I nodded and pushed myself away from the door frame, and managed to right myself. I turned and caught Nicole’s eye. She widened her eyes at me in fear, and I shot her a stern look, eyes narrowed, lips pressed together, nostrils flared. She needed to keep her mouth shut. As far as we were concerned, we knew nothing about the whereabouts of our father except that he’d gone on a business trip. Mickey Five Fingers had enough enemies. There was no reason the cops should think we had anything to do with his death.
I led them into the sitting room and motioned for both the detectives to take a seat. They both chose an easy chair each, perching awkwardly on the edges, and Nicole and I sat beside each other on the couch. Her hand found mine, and I squeezed it tight. We would only look like concerned sisters comforting each other. Not guilty parties.
I didn’t know what to say to start the conversation without looking like I was preempting something. I couldn’t say anything that might make them think I already knew he was dead.
“So,” Caraway said, leaning forward, his forearms on his knees, “your father isn’t in a good way.”
I blinked in confusion. “What?”
A high-pitched buzzing filled my ears and my heart palpitated in my chest, feeling as though it was running too fast, making it hard for me to catch my breath.
“He’s been taken to the hospital, but I’m afraid to say he’s suffering from both head injuries and hypothermia. It would seem a local woman took him in and has been treating him herself when he should have been admitted to the hospital right away. We can’t say for sure what damage was done during the time when he should have been getting professional medical help, but it appears the woman was suffering from some mental issues and thought she was doing the right thing. Anyway, your father was well enough to manage to get to safety, though he told the couple who picked him up off the side of the road that the woman wouldn’t let him leave. She saved his life, but she may have damaged him long term as well.”
Beside me, Nicole burst into tears. I pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and pressing her head to my shoulder. I only felt numb inside. I guessed a part of me had always believed this would happen. But each day that had gone by without any word had made me think he couldn’t have survived out there. Seemed I was wrong.
Nickie’s narrow shoulders shuddered beneath my hands, and I was terrified she was going to blurt something along the lines of ‘but he was supposed to have been dead.’
I did what I always managed to do in a complete mind-fuck of a situation. I stayed calm. “Which hospital is he in?”
Detective Caraway told me the name of one about an hour’s drive away. “I realize this is a difficult situation for you,” he continued. “I’m not even sure how to approach it myself, to be honest. You were due to testify against him, but he was released. You say he set up your ... partner?”
I nodded to let him know the use of the term was correct. Boyfriend just never felt right when it came to what X and I had between us. It was too free and easy, too casual. We were definitely partners.
Caraway cleared his throat. “So, you say he set up your partner then vanished, and you end up living back in this house. It would seem to me you didn’t think he was coming back any time soon, and then he shows up badly hurt.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to say. All I know is that my father wanted to make amends, and then he went away on business. That’s why we figured it was safe for me to be here.”
“So, Nicole,” the detective said, turning his attention to my sister. “You may have been the last person he spoke to before whatever happened to him to put him in hospital. Did he give you any clues as to who he was meeting or where he was going?”
Nicole lifted her head from my shoulder and sniffed. “No. He never tells us anything.”
I didn’t want Caraway asking her too many questions. I butted in. “If he’s talking, why doesn’t he tell you what happened himself?”
Caraway shook his head. “He claims he can’t remember what happened, which is convenient.”
Could he really not remember, or did he just want to be able to take revenge on me and Nicole himself?
“And how badly is he hurt?” I asked, trying to appear the concerned daughter. “How long will he stay in hospital?”
“He’s not good. His speech is badly slurred, and it seems he has numbness down one side of his body which is an indication that he may have suffered a stroke, or else the damage happened from the head trauma. He won’t say if this was any more than an accident, though with his background we have to consider the possibility that his injuries were intentional.”
I nodded. “Of course.” I paused, frowning, trying to make it look as though I was deep in some internal battle with myself. “I know our dad is far from being perfect, but he’s still our dad, you know? I hate to think of him there, alone, and hurt. Do you think we’d be allowed to visit? He and I might not be on great terms, but he adores Nicole.”
My sister, still with her face half covered with her hand and pressed against my shoulder, nodded.
“As long as he wants to see you, I can’t see why not.”
“Okay, thanks.”
My arm around my sister’s shoulders tightened. I wanted the detective to leave now. There were a thousand things Nicole and I needed to say to each other, and we couldn’t say any of them with either of the two police officers here.
Detective Caraway, however, seemed to have other ideas. “I understand that Joseph Monroe will be defending Lee Mason.”
I nodded. “That’s right.”
“Didn’t he also get your father out of jail?”
“Technically, my father’s case never got to court, but yes, Joseph Monroe was the lawyer defending him. But I’m sure you knew all of that.”
He held back a smile. “Yes, I did. At least now we can ask your father a few questions regarding the murder of Harvey Baglione. I hope it’s not going to become a conflict of interest.”
“As you pointed out, my father’s case didn’t even get to court. I’m sure it will be fine.”
“I guess that will depend on whether we discover if your father had any involvement.”
He held my gaze, as though challenging me to break. I wasn’t going to.
“I guess so,” I replied.
I knew they’d never discover the truth behind what had happened. My father was smart enough to cover up his own tracks. The only way I was going to be certain of X walking was if I could find Harvey’s body, and I had Dylan Ferrera working on that. Seeing X walk had been my priority, but now with the news my father was still alive, I had other things I needed to do.
“Well,” I said, releasing Nicole and getting to my feet, “if that’s everything …”
He took my cue and got to his feet as well, as did his partner, who’d remained silent during the conversation. I wondered what the point was in him even being here, unless it was for backup, of course.
We left Nicole on the couch, still visibly shaken, and I walked them both to the door.
“I’ll meet you in the car,” Caraway said to his partner.
“Sure.”
He remained silent while the other officer went to the vehicle, and then turned back to me. “Can I speak off the record?” he asked.
I shrugged as a response.
He stepped in closer to me, his head tilted slightly to the side, concern filling his brown eyes. “Verity, I’m worried about you. Whatever the hell is going on, you’re getting dragged deeper and deeper into what is going to end up as a hell of a mess.”
“My life has always been a mess, Detective Caraway.”
“I can help you, Verity. I know you’re not interested in going back into Witness Protection, but I can help you get away from New York and start again.”
I had the feeling he wasn’t just offering in a professional capacity.
“What are you offering, here? To sweep in and take me away from all of this?” I gave a cold laugh. “You have no idea.”
Hurt crossed his features, but only for the briefest of moments, before he schooled his expression back into one of a professional. I wondered what he would say if he knew I was pregnant with X’s baby. Would he withdraw his offer, or would my pregnancy make me appear even more of a damsel in distress in his eyes?
“I think I do have some idea, Verity. I think the guy who is currently sitting in jail is nothing but bad news. I think you already knew something bad had happened to your father, which is why you and your sister are living back here, and I think staying in New York is one day going to result in your death.”
I breathed in slowly through my nose, trying not to let myself look ruffled by the things he’d said. Maybe X was bad news, but so was I. He and I were a match on that front, which is why we worked so well together. Neither of us felt like we were being pushed into a way of life we were uncomfortable with. I could handle what he was, and he wasn’t intimidated by me.
We didn’t judge each other, and that mattered.
“You’re wrong on all counts,” I told him. “And I’m fine right where I am. Yes, my father and I have a difficult relationship, but he’s still my father. He told me we could put it all behind us.”
His eyebrows arched. “And you went for that? It was only a couple of months ago you were saying he was going to kill you. You also accused him of killing your mother. Are you just going to put that behind you?”
My eyes narrowed. “Maybe I got it wrong.”
“Oh, come on!”
I could see he was exasperated with me, but what more could I do? At no point was I going to leave with him and abandon X in jail, with my father still alive out there. We needed to finish the job and get X freed. There was no running away from this.
I softened my tone. “Listen, Detective Caraway, I appreciate you looking out for me, but this is my home. New York is my home. Nicole and I already tried running away once, and it didn’t work out so well for us. We’re better off facing up to the world we grew up in, instead of trying to run away and pretend it doesn’t exist. It always seems to track us down anyway.”
His lips twisted, but he nodded. “Okay. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t see me as the enemy, Verity. If you need help, call me, please. Whatever it is.”
He fished something from his pocket and the next moment was pushing a card into my palm. I glanced down to see his business card in my hand.
“My cell number is on there. Call it, day or night. Okay?”
I wasn’t going to promise to do that, but I appreciated the gesture.
He must have realized he wasn’t going to get a definite answer from me. He exhaled a slow breath and then turned from me and headed out the door. Without another word, or even glancing in my direction, he climbed back into the passenger seat.
I quickly reached for the controls for the gate and hit the button for them to slide open again.
The car engine started up and it reversed, before doing a three-point turn, and driving back out of the open gates. I watched him go until a little voice came from behind me.
“He’s still alive.”
I turned to my sister. “We’re going to have to do something.”
Her dark eyes widened. “Like what?”
“Go to the hospital and finish the job.”
She shook her head. “Vee, no. I hadn’t meant to kill him last time … I mean, I didn’t kill him, but … You know what I mean. I hadn’t ever wanted him dead.”
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “Hadn’t you? Really? After everything he’s done—what he made me do to Mom. Him killing Mateo right in front of you. You think he deserves to live?”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t stand the thought of having to go through all that again.”
“We’re going to have to. Until we know he’s gone, we’ll live through the pain he’s caused us over and over again. And what happens when he talks about what really happened to him? Yeah, maybe he’s lying when he says he doesn’t remember and he’s just going to come back here and take out his revenge on us himself. But what if he genuinely doesn’t remember, like X lost his memory after he almost died, and then when he does remember, he goes to the cops and tells them you were the one who tried to kill him?”
Her face paled. I hated that I was frightening her, but she had to understand the reality of what we were dealing with. Our father was weak right now, but if we didn’t act quickly, things could change.
“You go,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. When she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, I noted how her hand was shaking. “I can’t do it.”
I wanted to let her off this, but I couldn’t. “No, I need you. He’ll never let me in to visit, but he’s always had a soft spot for you. You need to be there, even if I’m the one to do the dirty work.”
Her hands covered her face. “Oh, God. I can’t believe this. How could he have survived out there all this time?”
“You heard what the detective said. If we’re to take any kind of solace in this, it’s that he probably suffered under the care of some woman with mental health problems. She might have thought she was helping him, but he was most likely suffering all this time.”
“She should have just left him to die,” Nicole mumbled miserably.
“Yeah, I wish she had, too, but she didn’t, and now we have to deal with the fallout. I’m not going to sit here and wait for him to get better and come to us. Are you?”
“I hate this, Vee.”
I pulled her into a hug. “Yeah, me, too.”
I knew I’d never be able to get my father to admit he set up X. If he was able to, I bet he’d do his best to get Nicole sent down, too. Anything to take everyone I loved away from me.
“So, when do we leave?” she asked.
“I don’t think we have any choice. We have to go right away.”