Chapter 9
She walked into the coffee shop. It was one of the old haunts she and Jerry had frequented over the years. She took her favorite place in a booth at the far side by the window as both Laszlo and Talon went up and ordered coffee. She really didn’t need more caffeine. She swore her belly was sloshing around with the stuff now. But, at the same time, it was part of their cover.
She sat quietly, staring out the window. She had her purse in her lap and the envelope inside. They hadn’t found anything else in the office, except that the biker apparently was the registered owner of a blue Audi. And that was the news that had set her rocking back on her heels. It seemed like the partial plate they’d seen on the photos she’d had taken had given them the same name she already knew. John MacArthur. And they now had an address for this MacArthur guy. That he’d actually asked to rent the house just a month ago had her nerves jangling badly. When a shadow moved across her face, she looked up to see Jerry smiling down on her.
“Hello, Clary.”
She smiled. “Hi, Jerry. Thanks for coming.”
He slid into the booth across from her. “All this cloak-and-dagger stuff. You could have just told me what was going on over the phone.”
“Sorry, I figured this was easier,” she admitted. “I know you and Chad weren’t always close. That’s why, when I saw this photo in the safe, I wondered what the heck was going on with it.”
He studied her for a moment, then looked at the brown envelope she now held in her hand “A photo that size?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s been blown up.” She held up the envelope and slowly withdrew the picture. She had her cell phone beside her. She made as if there was a message coming in and set it up for video, placing it on her purse, propped up against the top. She then held out the picture for him, so she was taping his reaction.
He took one look, and his eyebrows popped up. “Wow. When did he get that?”
“I didn’t say he got it,” she corrected. “I just said it was in Chad’s safe.”
“I didn’t even know there was a safe in that house,” he said with a chuckle.
Was it her imagination, or was that chuckle slightly forced?
He took the picture, studied it close, then laid it on the table, and shrugged. “When did he take it?”
“I didn’t say he took it himself either.” She leaned back ever-so-slightly and frowned. “It’s dated five days before he died.”
Immediately a sober understanding whispered across his face.
She hated that about him. He always could make it sound like he understood what she was thinking; then he would do his best to show her how wrong she was.
“Of course anything close to his death makes you suspicious. You know you really shouldn’t be working for criminal lawyers. It hasn’t been a good thing for you. I’m sure seeing this makes you think all kinds of horrible things. But honestly it was innocent.”
“Good,” she said lightly. “Who is that guy?”
“John MacArthur,” he said with a frown. “I think that’s the name anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
He made a face and said, “I think he was asking to rent your parents’ house.”
Her heart sank. Because that’s exactly what MacArthur had asked her too. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him it wasn’t for rent.”
“And then what did he say?”
“He asked about your brother’s house, but I told him that Chad was living in it. The guy just kind of chuckled and said he had heard the man was dead. And then he rode away. See? It was perfectly innocent.”
She stared at him. “He said what?”
Jerry repeated what he said. “Like I said, it was completely innocent.”
She stared at him. “Or he was the man who killed Chad.”
Jerry shook his head. “No, no, no. Don’t even go down that road. Your brother was in a terrible accident, remember?”
“Actually he wasn’t,” a hard voice said beside him.
She looked up to find Talon and Laszlo standing with their coffees.
Talon added in a chilly voice, “Chad was murdered.”
Talon studied the man across the table from Clary. So, this was her ex-husband. Talon couldn’t say he was impressed. Although he wouldn’t be the first to admit he might be biased. He set a coffee cup gently in front of her. “Just as you ordered.” He sat beside her in the booth. Laszlo, by contrast, stood and leaned against the booth. He could have grabbed another chair and pulled it up to their table, but Talon knew Laszlo was blocking Jerry, in case he chose not to stick around.
Jerry frowned at Talon in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
“Chad was murdered,” Talon said in response. “It’s pretty simple to understand.”
“No, you’re not going to sign up for her neurosis,” he protested. “Of course there was no murder. It was a hit-and-run accident.”
Talon slowly shook his head. He watched as Clary wrapped her fingers around the coffee almost defensively. He was trying to get some signal from Jerry. But, outside of disbelief and potentially a feeling that Clary had been overreacting initially, Jerry didn’t appear to have any subterfuge.
“We already have proof. As a matter of fact, we actually know who did it.”
“We?” Jerry asked suspiciously. “Who are you?”
Clary opened her mouth to answer, but Talon beat her to it. “A friend of the family. I’m Talon.” He tilted his head toward Jerry and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Talon watched as a blend of emotions stirred on Jerry’s face. Talon didn’t quite understand what was going on, until Jerry leaned back but then didn’t stop, as if he couldn’t get quite far enough away. “Oh.”
Interesting response. “Oh?” Talon asked.
“So you’re him,” he snapped, his gaze going from Talon to Clary and back. “The reason my wife was never fully into our marriage.”
Talon’s shock was immediate. At the same time, as much as he hated to think it, he was also delighted. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
But Jerry wasn’t having any of it. “Maybe not. But whatever it was that was between the two of you, she never quite got over. Even when she married me, I knew it wasn’t because she wanted to be with me. It was because she didn’t want to be alone.”
“That’s not fair,” Clary snapped, stepping into the conversation for the first time.
“No, it wasn’t fair. Not to me. You said all the right things, did all the right things. But you didn’t do them with heart. I couldn’t quite figure it out. I thought you were just less emotional, more of a distant person. I thought it would improve with time. Instead, you got more distant, more disinterested in our future.” As if he realized he’d never had a chance, or as if he was past caring, he said, “Now I see why.” He waved at Talon. “It was always him. Even now, it’s all about him.”
Talon turned to look at Clary and didn’t see anything except for the pink wash of color on her cheeks. But whether that was embarrassment or temper, he couldn’t tell. Because her eyes were glittering angrily at her ex.
“That’s not true.”
His shoulders were already slumping farther. “Hell yes, it’s true. But then you weren’t ever honest with me. So why the hell would you be honest with yourself at this point?” He slid his way to the end of the table. “I didn’t have anything to do with Chad’s death. No, he didn’t say that, but, just in case you’re thinking it, it had nothing to do with me.”
At that moment Laszlo stepped forward, blocking his escape. “Why would you think we came here to ask that?” His tone was curious, yet with a thread of steel in it.
Talon was too busy studying Jerry’s facial expression to worry about Laszlo.
Jerry settled back in the booth and glared. “She hasn’t talked to me, unless it was about the divorce proceedings, in a year. Now all of a sudden, she finds out her brother was murdered, and she brings a photograph of me and some guy, who I presume you think murdered him, and now I’m sitting here with you two bodyguard-type dudes.” He shook his head. “But I don’t intimidate easily. And there are cops having coffee just a few tables away.”
“Good,” Talon said. “Maybe we should invite them over.”
Jerry snorted. “You got nothing on me.”
“Interesting phrase again,” Laszlo said. “We already know who murdered Chad, and it wasn’t the guy in the photograph.”
Jerry shook his head like a bull in a china shop—a slow, angry motion.
Talon could almost see his muscles bunching for a getaway.
“Then what the hell am I doing here?”
“I wanted to know what your meeting with this MacArthur guy was all about,” Clary cried out in a low voice. “But, as usual, you go off your rocker and won’t let me explain.”
He glared at her. “As usual?” He tapped the table hard with his index finger. “Only one of us went off the rails on a regular basis. And it sure as hell wasn’t me. I tried to deal with your temper. And sure, eventually it calmed down. But all that replaced it was disinterest, as if you didn’t give a shit about anything anymore. You were going through the days but not with any feeling. You got up because you had to. You went to bed at the end of the day tired, but more because of disinterested boredom. Maybe that’s what this is all about. It gives you something exciting in your life. How pathetic that you would actually find your brother’s murder something to get back into life for.”
“That’s not fair.” There was deep hurt in her voice. “My brother was everything to me.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” he said. Then he took a deep breath, reached up, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, our marriage is long over. We didn’t have anything in common then, and we sure as hell don’t have anything in common now. I had no reason to hurt Chad, and I told you this guy wanted to rent your parents’ house.”
“Where did you meet him?”
He looked down at the photo. “You can see the garage right there.”
“Is that the only time you saw him?”
There was a very slight hesitation before he nodded. But Talon had seen it. He knew Laszlo had as well.
“Where else did you see him?” Laszlo asked.
Jerry flipped his gaze to Laszlo. “You don’t listen well, do you?” His tone was conversational, but he was trying to cover his tracks, and it was too late.
“Say what you want,” Talon stated. “But I will call the cops over if you don’t tell us the truth. We both caught the change in your face. We know you’re lying now. Chad was my best friend, and I will do everything I can to see him get justice.”
At that Jerry laughed. “Do you hear yourself? You already tried to tell me that you had caught the murderer. But now you’re telling me that I lied. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Actually we do. Because there’s more to Chad’s death than just his death. And we want to know the rest of it.”
He shrugged. “I don’t intend to tell you jack shit.”
Just then Clary started to dial her phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“The detective handling Chad’s murder.” Her tone was hard, angry. “Maybe you’ll tell the authorities the truth when they haul you in for questioning. I’ll be sure to take pictures of you going into the police station and post it on social media. See how your bosses like that.”
“You think I’ll fall for intimidation?” He shook his head. “Like hell.” He leaned forward. “I couldn’t wait to make that divorce final. I couldn’t wait to get you the hell out of my life.”
She stared at him.
Talon reached across the table, his hand covering hers as she was about to hit Send. “There’s an awful lot of hate there for somebody who says he knows nothing.”
Jerry shrugged irritably. “Too many issues were involved in our relationship, but one thing has nothing to do with the other.”
“That may be, but you’re only acting this way because we want to know where else you met this man. And that’s suspicious enough for me to contact the detective on Chad’s case,” she said. She lifted her gaze. “I know you don’t believe me, but I did come to the same conclusion that I cheated you out of a two-way marriage. No, I didn’t cheat on you, but I cheated you from a full relationship. What I thought was love was maybe complacency. What I thought was happy-ever-after was just comfortable. And for that, I’m sorry.” Her tone was sad. “I can see how you might feel cheated. But whatever you’ve done, I didn’t deserve it. You could have walked away at any time. You didn’t have to wait so long. I get that you’re angry. I get that you’re upset. I get that you think it was not fair. But I am not that bad of a person that you have to hurt me.”
Her words surprised Talon. Her tone of voice, the respect she accorded her ex, was something he hadn’t expected. He admired her for it. He didn’t think it would be enough to shake loose whatever was going on with Jerry, but at least maybe it would help her clear her conscience.
Jerry stared at her in surprise and then almost in embarrassment as he nodded. “I’m glad you’ve at least come to that realization. Too bad we both wasted so many years.”
She nodded. “You’re right. It wasn’t just you wasting your life. It was also me.”
He shrugged as if he didn’t care about what she did with her life.
Talon knew enough about relationships to know it was never just about one person. And sure, she might not have showed up 100 percent for the relationship, but at least she showed up. If he hadn’t been happy with what she’d been able to give, then it was on him for having stayed. He glanced from one to the other. “Now tell us where you saw this guy.”
Jerry groaned and slumped in his chair. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Then tell us,” Laszlo said. “If you didn’t have anything to do with Chad’s death, then at least give Clary the peace of mind of knowing her ex-husband didn’t kill her brother in order to get a bigger piece of the pie when you divorced her.”
Jerry’s gaze widened. “Oh, my God. Is that what you think I did?” He was almost yelling by the time he finished his question. He stared at her, the color bleaching from his cheeks. “Did you know me at all?”
“I did,” she said firmly. “Until you became so angry at the end.”
“So frustrated. So fed up. So lost. Because, no matter what I did, it didn’t seem to make any difference. You didn’t care. Your whole world was this pathetic ‘okay’ zone. I couldn’t get you angry. I couldn’t get you passionate. I couldn’t get anything out of you. You went through your days by rote but showed no expression, no change, no joy, no sadness, no anger.” He shook his head. “But to actually think I’d murder Chad? I knew him too, you know? He was my friend.”
“You never liked him,” she said tiredly. “And he never liked you. You two were amiable at best, and you were pleasant because I was in the middle. But that’s the only relationship you had.”
His jaw dropped. “Wow. You really have come to some interesting personal growth, haven’t you? At least you understand that much. But I respected him. I didn’t have to like the man. No, he wasn’t my best friend, but I respected that he was your brother. I respected how he went to work every day, came home, paid his bills, and was a law-abiding citizen. I grieved when we lost him. You don’t know about that because, of course, you didn’t care. You were so caught up in your own world … You felt so alone, but you wouldn’t reach out to me for comfort. But I grieved too.”
Talon studied him and heard the truth and sincerity and the sadness in his voice. He believed him. “So then tell us. If you had nothing to do with Chad’s death, and you weren’t expecting half of the house she’d just inherited, why did you meet with this man?”
“He told me that he had photos of Clary. Photos that she’d been unfaithful.”
And his words fell on the heavy silence like a bomb going off. Talon turned to look at Clary and asked, “Is it true?”
She switched her gaze to Talon.
He could see her hurtful expression. And the pain in her features. Not from her ex-husband’s accusation but from Talon questioning her honor and ethics.
But she turned toward her ex and nearly threw the words at him. “No, it’s not true. The one thing I was, even if I was much less than you had hoped for, was faithful.”