‘You’re right. She listened, but it doesn’t sound like she could hear what you were trying to say.’
‘I realize that now,’ he said with a shrug. ‘I hadn’t slept in my bed since the police brought me home, and I couldn’t sleep that night either. I was worried about my mother, so later that night I went to check on her, but she wouldn’t wake up. My father wasn’t home and Gayle was still with Stone, so I called 911. They pumped my mother’s stomach, but she almost died anyway.’
‘Did you tell Gayle about your father that night?’
‘No. They took Mom to a different hospital than Stone, and since I’d been home alone with her, the cops took me with them. I heard one of them tell the other to be careful, that I was the kid who’d gone apeshit crazy and clawed up two uniforms a few days before. They even talked about restraining me, and I had a panic attack at the thought.’
‘No wonder. Stupid untrained sons of bitches,’ she muttered.
‘They felt bad when I cried like a baby and begged them not to tie me. They told me if I kept my hands to myself they’d leave me alone, so I made myself small in the backseat of the cruiser and didn’t say another word. They called Social Services and a caseworker came to sit with me at the ER. She was pretty and nice and I almost got the courage to tell her, but my father showed up and took me home. I was petrified he was going to kill me too, but he just told me to go to sleep, that my mother would be all right. The next morning I woke up and he was gone. He’d packed a bag and left my mother a note saying that he was going away for a few days, that he needed to clear his head after Matty’s funeral and find a way to forgive my mother for endangering his kids by defying him and calling in the FBI.’
‘What a prince.’
‘Yeah. What had woken me up was a noise in my mother’s room. I didn’t know I was home alone at that point, so I got up to look. And found the big scary guy from the funeral going through my mother’s jewelry box.’
Scarlett blinked. ‘Shit.’
‘I think that’s exactly what I said. He’d found the letter my father had left and was pissed. I was so scared I almost fainted, and the guy actually took pity on me. He told me he didn’t hurt little kids, that he only needed to find my father because he owed the guy’s boss a lot of money.’ Here, Marcus paused, hesitating. ‘I knew where my father went when he really wanted to get away.’ The words came out in a rush, and she could hear the quickening of his breath.
‘Something else you overheard?’
‘Of course. Plus, I’d been there. So have you.’
Scarlett frowned, then shook her head when realization dawned. ‘No way. The cabin in Kentucky?’ Owned by his mother, it was where Mikhail had been murdered nine months ago.
‘The very same.’ He’d grown quiet, hesitant, and instinctively she knew that this was what he hadn’t wanted to tell her.
‘You told the scary guy where to find your father?’ His silence was answer enough. ‘No one can blame you, Marcus. You were just a little boy and scared shitless.’
‘It would be so easy to let you believe that, but the truth is, I got really calm all of the sudden, because I believed him when he said he wouldn’t hurt me. I thought about Matty dead, Stone almost. My mother not safe. And I made a decision. I asked him if I told him where to find my father, would his boss leave my mother, me and my brother alone, even if he never got paid? He looked me in the eye and said that he wouldn’t hurt me but that he couldn’t promise what any of the other enforcers might do.’
‘Enforcers? This guy was with the mob?’
‘Yep. But I didn’t know that then. I did know that the two kidnappers had taken the whole ransom. I asked the guy how much my father owed his boss and he said about a million. So I told him the kidnappers had taken five million dollars. I told him if he could find the two kidnappers, he could pay back my father’s debt and keep the rest. He said he didn’t know where to look for the guys, so I told him he could ask my father about that – and I told him where I thought he could find my dad. He liked that idea because it was more than my father owed.’
‘He could pay your father’s debt and keep the four million for himself.’
‘Which is what I’m sure he ended up doing,’ he said quietly with a grim finality that said his story was finished.
‘So . . . what happened to your father? Did they find his body in the cabin?’
‘That’s what I expected to happen, but no. He was found in a hotel room in downtown Lexington three days later. Tied to the bed, shot with a nine mil, right between the eyes. It was set up to look like he’d been robbed by a prostitute – his wallet was empty and there were condoms all over the place.’
‘How do you know that?’ she asked guardedly.
‘I overheard the cops telling my mother at the time, but I also checked out the crime-scene photos years later. Freedom of information, you know,’ he added, his tone one of self-hatred. ‘My mother was devastated when the cops showed up at our door to deliver the news, and it hit me then exactly what I’d done.’
This was it. ‘What exactly did you do, Marcus? And I’ll tell you up front, if you say you killed your father, I’m not gonna take it.’
‘I set him up, Scarlett. I all but paid for his murder.’
‘Yes, you set your father up. But you were just trying to protect your family. You knew your mother and brother wouldn’t be safe until the debt was paid. So you thought of a way to get it paid. And you wanted to ensure that the plan would work, so you told the guy where he could find your father. You didn’t know the guy would kill your father if he found him. You didn’t tell him so that he could kill your father. You did it to save your family. Your father was the one who chose to get in touch with the mob in the first place. He deserved what he got.’
‘You’re bloodthirsty for a cop, you know,’ he said lightly.
His minimization pissed her off, so she pushed on his chest until he loosened his hold enough for her to straddle his hips and look him in the eye. The guilt she saw there made her madder.
‘I am not bloodthirsty. What I am is a cop who’s seen more death than I ever want to remember. I’ve seen too many assholes walk away scot-free. I’ve seen too many women dead because the system doesn’t work for them, because even though they followed the rules and reported their abusive SOB husbands and got restraining orders and begged for help, the law couldn’t help them until they could prove they were assaulted, and even then the bastards got out by morning and went home to beat them up again.’ She poked her finger into his chest. ‘You saved your mother’s life. Probably Stone’s and your own too.’ She poked him again. ‘You didn’t kill your father. You didn’t even put out a hit. You were eight years old and simply told the one person who’d listen what had happened to you.’ She drew a breath, her body trembling from the anger she was still holding in. ‘And if that one person happened to be a mob hit man, well, I consider that to be just a weird, ironically satisfying twist of fate.’
The guilt had disappeared from his eyes, replaced with the hungry look that drove her crazy. ‘If I told you that I think I love you, would it be too soon?’
Her heart clenched and twisted at his words, uttered in that smooth voice that made her even crazier. She took his face between her hands and touched her forehead to his. ‘Yes, but tell me anyway.’
His lips curved. ‘I think I love you, Scarlett Bishop. Or at least I’m well on my way.’
She had to remind herself to breathe. ‘Good, because I think I love you too. Even though you have a serious guilt addiction. We have to work on that.’
He kissed her softly, tugged her lower lip gently with his teeth. ‘Gonna repair me, Detective?’
She smiled at him as everything fell into place. I’m happy, she realized. And it feels so very nice. ‘No, because you’re not broken. Just a little banged up. Just like me.’
He swallowed hard, emotion glittering in his eyes. ‘I messed you up. Your pretty dress is all sweaty now.’ He ran his hands u
p her legs, under the hem of her dress and over her bare skin to close on her butt. ‘I can help you take it off.’
Disappointment swirled with frustration as she mentally calculated how much time had passed. ‘As tempting as that sounds, we have to take a rain check. We have somewhere you need to be. Uncle Trace called. He found Mila and Erica. And they will only talk to you.’
His eyes widened in stunned surprise. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because when I came down here, you were in no frame of mind to be what those women needed.’ She kissed him hard and fast. ‘Are you now?’
‘Yes. Thank you.’
She pushed to her feet, almost whimpering when he removed his hands from her butt. Later, she promised herself. When this is over, we’ll have all the time we want. She stepped back, extended her hand and pulled him up. ‘To the shower with you. Hurry.’ She kissed his chest, right above his heart. ‘You’re all sweaty and you smell like a gym.’
He threaded his fingers through hers. ‘And you smell like me, so you need to shower too. I’ll wash your hair again, and put some conditioner in this time to get those tangles out.’
‘How am I supposed to resist an offer like that?’ she asked, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to scoop Zat into her arms, but Marcus beat her to it, cradling the dog much like he’d cradled little Malaya yesterday. And how am I supposed to resist you?
She couldn’t. But now that she’d learned his darkest secret, one that proved he was even more of the man she’d hoped for, she knew that she didn’t have to resist him at all.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday 5 August, 8.20 A.M.
Marcus ended his call and handed his phone to Scarlett to plug into the aging Audi’s old-fashioned cigarette lighter. He worried about the old car’s rattling engine, but knew better than to suggest Scarlett trade it in for a more reliable model. She fixed things. People too. And thank God for that. ‘No change on Phillip,’ he said with a sigh.
‘Tabby Anders is trying to wake up, according to Annabelle Church’s grandson, but she’s still not coherent.’ Scarlett had called Gabriel Benitez to tell him that they were en route to the missing Bautista women. ‘Mr Benitez said that he’s already called his immigration lawyer friend and they’re ready to meet with the family whenever we get them together in a safe place.’
‘I’ve got a place.’ Marcus had already reserved the penthouse suite at one of the centrally located hotels downtown. He hadn’t done it for the luxury, but for the security. Otherwise Isenberg would want to put the women in protective custody. After being held in slavery for three years, his gut told him the Bautistas would try to run if the police put them in any kind of custody, protective or not.
If they decided to go elsewhere, that would be their right, of course, but he was prepared in the event the Bautista women were willing to come back with them. Hopefully they’d have information about whoever had taken that bastard Anders from his home the day before. Because that person, whoever he was, could be the trafficker they were searching for. Trafficker and murderer and God only knew what else.
‘Everything else okay?’ Scarlett asked. ‘Your conversation with Stone sounded heated.’
‘We were arguing about our mother again. I want to push her to go to rehab, and—’
‘Stone doesn’t want her forced into anything,’ she finished sadly.
‘Exactly.’ He tried to smile. ‘I think he’s really pissed off that he’s back to babysitting Jill. We don’t know what to do about her. I’d ask Cal to take over when he comes in later, but he’s going to be busy doing his job and Phillip’s. And Lisette’s.’ He sighed. ‘And mine too, until this shooter’s dealt with.’
‘I take it that Cal runs the paper when you’re not there?’ Scarlett asked.
‘Cal runs the paper even when I am there. He’s forgotten more about newspapers than I’ll ever learn. He’s helped me in so many ways since my grandfather died, both with the day-to-day business of running the paper and in utilizing it to its fullest potential.’
‘Delivering justice,’ she said.
He winced. ‘Delivering justice along with newspapers? Pun not intended, huh.’
She smiled at him. ‘No, totally intended.’ She tipped her head, studying him, her smile disappearing. ‘Will you continue using the paper to its fullest potential when all of this is over?’
Yes was on the tip of his tongue, but he pulled it back to reconsider. ‘Will it bother you? Will you be able to look the other way, knowing we’re bending the rules?’
‘That wasn’t what I meant. I was thinking more about the risks. Last night you all agreed that what happened to Phillip was an acceptable risk. I’m wondering if you’ll think that in the light of day, especially if Phillip has any long-term physical issues . . . or dies.’
Again he opened his mouth to say yes, but again he paused to reconsider. ‘I don’t know about the others. I imagine they’ll still be gung-ho. And I’m still fully committed to what we’re doing. But I suppose I’m not making that decision for myself anymore. Yesterday morning I only had me to worry about. Now I have you. I don’t want you having to sit in a waiting room wondering if I’m going to wake up. So the risk will have to be evaluated by the situation.’
The smile she gave him made his heart stutter in his chest. ‘Thank you. I’m careful on the job, but I’ll be doubly so from now on as well.’ She worked out a few more tangles, then began to braid her hair. ‘You know, you never did tell me about the gun you’re so attached to.’
The one he’d hidden in her gun safe. He carried one of hers now.
She hesitated when he didn’t answer. ‘Is it okay to ask?’
‘You can ask me anything you want.’ He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘I guess it’s easier to talk about now. The day after my father’s body was found, the doorbell rang. Gayle was with Stone and Mom was sedated again, so I opened the door and there he was – the scary guy. I thought, “Shit, he was lying after all”, and started thinking about where I could run.’
‘You’re kidding? The enforcer came back?’
‘He did. He told me not to worry, that he wasn’t there to hurt us. Then he said, “It’s done.” I told him I’d heard. I told him I felt really guilty, that I shouldn’t have told him where to find my father, but that I was glad my mother was safe. Then I asked him why he took him away from the cabin to the hotel and he actually looked embarrassed. Told me I didn’t need to know stuff like that. That I was too young. Which, you know, kind of blew my mind. I’d helped him kill my father. I was plenty old enough.’
‘You did not kill your father,’ Scarlett said patiently.
‘Yeah, well, the man said the same thing. Then he told me that my father used that hotel to meet “lady friends”.’
She winced. ‘Oh. So because your father had a history of going there to meet hookers, the police would buy the robbery setup.’
‘He told me this like he was giving me a gift. Looking back, I realize that the truth about my father’s role in our kidnapping would have whipped the media into a frenzy, and that would have hurt Stone, Mom and me, so it was for the best. There was a minor scandal and heads wagged, but it blew over quickly, mostly because my mother’s father stepped in and spread the rumor that she’d already filed for divorce before the kidnapping. He made sure that my mother was described as a divorcee in the Ledger articles, rather than a widow. Ledger articles were quoted in other papers and soon everyone believed my mother had been divorced. The power of the press,’ he added.
‘So your mother didn’t look like the pathetic cheated-on wife.’
‘Exactly. Anyway, I told the hit-man that I still felt guilty for telling him where to find my father, and he said that he would have found the cabin in the public record eventually and gone hunting. Then he said, “When I said it was done, I mean it’s all done. You don’t have to worry about either of the other two guys ever coming back.” It was like he really cared, which was strange. I gues
s in his eyes he’d righted a wrong. Then he said that they’d suffered for what they’d done to my brothers.’ He exhaled heavily. ‘And I was glad.’
‘Me too. What about the money?’
‘He said he got all but a few thousand that they’d blown on drugs. That his boss had been paid and the slate was clean.’
‘But you still haven’t told me about that damn gun.’
‘I’m getting to it. After he told me about the kidnappers, he gave me a paper bag with that gun in it.’
‘Holy shit. He gave you a gun? Why?’
‘He said he’d found it with my father’s things, saw my grandfather’s name engraved on the grip and thought I might want to have it. I wanted to know if it was the gun that he’d used to kill them all, but I was afraid to ask. I wanted it to be and I didn’t want it to be, all at once.’
‘I think I can understand that. The gun symbolized justice, but also your freedom because they couldn’t come back to get you. But I didn’t see a name on the grip.’
‘I scratched it off.’ He gave her a sideways glance. ‘At the same time that I scratched off the serial number.’
‘You scratched them off? Why?’
‘Because if it had been used to kill someone, I didn’t want my grandfather to get dragged through the mud. He’d already been through enough.’
‘You’re a kind man. In a twisted sort of way. But I still can’t believe he gave a gun to a little kid.’
‘I know. I remember gazing up at this terrifying-looking man and saying, “Mister, you realize I’m only eight years old. I’m not even allowed to touch guns.”’
Scarlett chuckled. ‘What did he say?’
‘He patted my head and said, “You won’t always be eight, kid.” Then he wished me luck and left. I shut the door and thought that was the end of it.’ He drew a breath and let it out. ‘And then I turned around and there was Gayle, stepping out of the shadows.’