Chapter Twenty-Seven

Gavin

Why did Kate keep that from me? And is there more she's not telling me? I'm so sick of finding this shit out about my dad. First the murder, then the affair, and now involvement with some secret society?

I used to look up to my dad. I wanted to be just like him. But now? I don't even know who he was. He was living a lie, pretending to be someone else, and I believed it all. But no more. I want the truth. All of it.

Whipping my car around, I head the other direction toward the town where Carol lives. If she's not home, I'll wait in her driveway until she gets there. I have to talk to her. I have to get her to tell me about my dad.

When I arrive at her townhouse, I see her car out front. I go up to the door and ring the bell. She doesn't answer but I see the curtain by the door move.

I knock a few times. "Carol, it's me. Gavin Bishop. Can I come in?"

"What do you need, Gavin?" she says through the door. That's odd. Why won't she open the door?

"I just had a question for you."

"About what?" She still doesn't open the door. What's going on? Is she not dressed? Or is her house a mess and she doesn't want me to see?

"Kate sent me," I lie. It's the only way I can think of to get Carol to talk to me. She loves Kate like a daughter.

Carol opens the door just a crack. "Did something happen to Kate?"

"No, she's fine. She just wanted me to invite you to our place for dinner and since I was in the area, she asked me to stop by and deliver the invite in person."

"Oh." She opens the door more. "Come in." She glances outside. "Hurry up."

I come inside and she shuts the door and locks it.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"No." She fakes a smile. "Living alone, I just like to be cautious."

"Um, okay. Can I have a seat?" I motion to the couch.

"Go ahead."

We both sit down and I try to figure out how to best say this, but there really isn't a good way so I just say, "I know about you and my father."

"What?" She lets out a nervous laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you and my father were having an affair."

"Gavin, I don't know who told you that but—"

"I found this." I take the button from my pocket and set it on the coffee table. "Kate said it belonged to you. She said it was missing from your blouse."

"Kate knows?" Carol quickly covers her mouth, realizing she just admitted to the affair. "Gavin, I didn't mean that. What I meant was—"

"Carol, I know it was you. And I'm not mad at you. If anything, I'm mad at my father, but he's gone and it's over and I'm not here to talk about that."

"Then why are you here?" she asks, sounding on edge. She's hiding something, something more than just the affair. I'm not sure I want to know what that is, but I have to. That's why I came over here.

"I want to know everything," I tell her. "I want to know what my dad was involved in."

"Involved in? I—I don't know what you mean." She wrings her hands together, getting more anxious by the second. I thought she'd be better at hiding whatever it is she's hiding.

"You're nervous," I say, "which tells me you know something. So what is it?"

"You already know everything. You know about the affair, but how did you find out?"

"I found a key for the apartment in New York. I found it when I was cleaning out my dad's desk. Then I found the apartment and went there and that's where I found the button from your blouse. I showed it to Kate and she remembered it."

"So Kate knows." She chews on her thumbnail.

"Yeah, but I lied when I said she sent me over here. I only said that so you'd talk to me. Kate doesn't know I'm here."

Carol's phone rings and she jumps, a look of panic on her face. She picks up the phone and silences it, then sets it back down.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"No one," she says, sounding out of breath.

"Carol, what the hell's going on? You just lost all color in your face and you sound like you can't breathe."

"Just go. Please. It's not safe."

"What's not safe? What's going on?" I move closer to her on the couch. "Tell me what's happening. Are you in danger? Is someone after you?"

"I can't tell you." She stands up. "You need to leave."

"I'm not leaving until I get answers. Now tell me what you know about my dad. What was he involved in?"

"Gavin, please. Just go."

"I know about that secret group. I know it exists and I know my dad was somehow involved in it."

Her mouth drops open as she slowly sits down. "How? How do you know?"

"I can't tell you. It doesn't matter. Now tell me what you know."

"I—I don't know that much. I really don't. I know the group exists but I don't know who the members are. They're all rich, powerful men that I'm sure I've catered parties for, but I don't know who belongs and who doesn't. I thought your father was a member but he wasn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because one night when he was drunk, I asked him about it. He said they approached him to run for office and that they offered him money and told him they'd make sure he won the election. He took the offer but then they started controlling him, telling him what to do. And if he didn't follow their orders, they punished him."

"Punished him how?"

"They made him do things."

"Like murder?"

Her eyes go to mine. "Why would you say that? What do you know?"

"I know he killed a man. But I don't know why."

She looks down, clutching the edge of the couch. "It was because the man knew too much and threatened to tell the media what he knew."

"Was that the only time?" I ask. "Or were there others?"

"As far as I know it only happened that one time but I really can't say for sure."

"And he told you he did this?"

"Not right away, but I suspected he was involved the night that it happened. He'd been acting strange, disappearing to talk on his phone instead of mingling with the guests like he normally would. Later, I saw him go out to the back patio. A few minutes went by and I decided to go check on him. I opened the sliding door to go out back but stopped when I saw two shadows in the distance. They were picking up a body, or at least that's what it looked like. It was hard to tell from the house. I raced back to the party and found Niles and asked him what was going on. He pretended to know nothing about it but I didn't believe him. I knew him well enough to know when he was lying. A week went by and I wouldn't let it go. I demanded Niles tell me what happened."

"And did he? Did he tell you he did it?"

"Yes. He admitted it. He said he'd killed that man, and even worse, he seemed proud of himself for doing it. It was then I got scared. Niles had become someone else. Someone I didn't know."

"But you kept it a secret. Why? Because of this group?"

"Yes. I've known about them for a long time. Catering their parties all these years has exposed me to things I shouldn't have seen. I was never sure what they were up to but I knew it was bad. And then they turned Niles against me. My dear, sweet Niles." A tear runs down her cheek. "I loved him. I really did. Until they took him from me."

"What do they mean, they took him? Are you saying they killed him? Did they cause the explosion?"

Her head jerks up. "You need to leave. I've told you too much. You can't know this. Any of it. Knowing just puts you in danger." She stands up and walks to the door. "Go. Get out of here."

I meet her at the door. "Did they kill him or not. Tell me!"

"I've told you what I know. Now go!" She unlocks the door but I stop her before she opens it, my hand holding it shut. I get in her face.

"They could've killed Kate's dad that day. Why would they blow up Kate's dad's house? Did they know he wouldn't be home? Did they know my dad would be there?"

Her eyes narrow at me. "If you don't get out, I'll call the police."

"Why won't you answer me? You're friends with Craig. You love Kate like a daughter. You're friends with her mom. If you know something about any one of them being in danger, why wouldn't you tell me?"

She sighs. "They're not in danger. Now would you go?"

"How do you know they're not in danger? Are you just saying that to get me to leave? Because I'm not leaving until you tell me everything. If Kate's in danger I need to—"

"She's not!" Carol yells, her voice shaky. "They'll protect her."

"Who? Who will protect her?"

She shuts her eyes and leans back against the door. "That group. Whoever they are. She's one of them. They'll protect her."

"One of them?" I grab hold of her shoulders. "Carol, look at me. What the hell are you talking about?"

She opens her eyes. "You can't tell Kate this. Promise me you won't."

"Yeah, okay. I won't." It's a lie. I'm done keeping secrets from Kate, but I said it so Carol will tell me what she knows.

"Kate's dad," she says. "He was one of them."

I step back. "Craig's part of this? Are you serious? How do you—"

"Not Craig. It was Kate's real father. His name was Stephen. He died before she was born. He had a sudden heart attack and—"

"Wait. Hold on. You're telling me that Craig isn't Kate's real dad?"

She shakes her head. "No. Angie had an affair years ago. She and Craig were going through a rough time. He'd been drinking a lot and not coming home at night. She thought he was cheating on her and was thinking of filing for divorce. One night, this man came into her diner and started flirting with her. He was good-looking, well-dressed, and made her feel special. Wanted. He came in every night for a week. Meanwhile Craig was nowhere to be found. She thought it was over between them so she spent a night with this man. And nine months later, Kate was born."

"How do you know all this?"

"Angie told me. A few years ago, we had a girls' night and she got really drunk and told me that story. She said she'd never told anyone and she made me promise to keep it a secret. And I have, until now. But somehow, they found out. I don't know how. Even Stephen didn't know about the pregnancy. Angie never told him, and like I said, he passed away before Kate was born. Angie pretended it was Craig's baby and he never questioned it. Why would he? As far as he knew, Angie had always been faithful to him."

"So this group has been watching Kate her whole life?"

"I don't think so. I think they just found out last year. I think that's why they helped her get her restaurant. They want her to be a success. Being part of this group has rewards. I don't know what those are but I know this group helps their own. They're very protective of their members."

"Are you saying Kate's a member?"

"Not directly. Only men can be members but they take care of their members' families, and since Kate is Stephen's daughter, they'll look out for her."

"So what about me? Am I involved in this because my father was?"

"You're involved because of Kate. Niles said a member's daughter typically has to marry a member but they sometimes make an exception. You're the exception. They liked Niles and they see potential in you so I'm guessing that's why they're accepting of your relationship with Kate."

"Are you saying they're watching me too? Trying to control my future? Is that why I'm being pushed into a career in politics?"

"I really don't know, but it's certainly possible."

"Does Angie know? Does she know they're watching Kate?"

"No. She doesn't know this group exists. I only know Stephen was part of it because...." She pauses. "Because Tad Walcott told me."

"Walcott's part of it?"

She nods. "He approached me last year and asked me all these questions about Kate. He asked me why she wasn't in college. I told him she wasn't interested in college and that she wanted to open a restaurant. So he made it happen. He involved me so that it didn't look suspicious. He wanted it to look like I nominated her for the award."

"And he admitted he was part of this group? And that Kate's real father was?"

"He didn't come out and say those exact words. People in that group are never that direct. But they say enough to let you figure out what they want you to know. And for whatever reason, he wanted me to know the truth about Kate's father."

"The investors," I say. "Those guys in suits who kept showing up at Kate's restaurant. They're part of it, aren't they? They're part of the group."

"I think so, but I can't prove it. I can't prove any of this, which is how they want it. They want to remain a secret and if anyone finds out too much about them, the person is seen as a threat and killed. That's why you can't tell anyone what I just told you. Even Kate."

Carol's phone rings from the coffee table. She runs over to it and silences it.

"Who keeps calling you?" I ask. "Is it them?"

"I don't know. It's an unknown number and when I pick up, it's a recording in a robotic voice, telling me they know."

"Know what?"

"About Niles and me. We thought we kept it a secret and I think we had, until just recently. I just started getting those phone calls." She shudders. "If they know I was with Niles, they'll think I know about them, and they'll come after me."

"That's why you were afraid to answer the door."

She nods.

I go over to her. "You've gotta get out of here. Go somewhere safe."

"There isn't anywhere safe to go. And if I leave, they'll follow me." She starts shaking.

"Okay, calm down," I say, rubbing her arm. "Maybe you're wrong. Maybe they don't know anything. And if they do, just play dumb. Tell them you got caught in the middle of whatever this is and have no idea what they're talking about."

She nods really fast.

"Carol, I'm sorry but I have to go. I have to go make sure Kate is safe. I know you said she is, but I have to see for myself. I'll check on you later, okay?"

She follows me to the door and after I leave, I hear it lock behind me.

Holy shit. I knew I wouldn't like what she told me but I didn't think I'd find out Kate's father is part of this. And that her father isn't Craig.