Tears piled up in her sister’s eyes. She cupped her mouth. “Oh, my God, Shannon. Is that really you?”
Shannon swallowed hard, then nodded with a sob.
Kristi’s eyes turned to Angela. “And this is…?”
Shannon nodded, still biting her lip to not burst into tears.
Angela reached out her hand. “Hi. I’m Angela. I’m six years old.”
Kristi smiled widely, then sobbed heavily. “Oh, my God. It’s really you? Well, hello there, Angela. Welcome to our home. We are so happy you’re here.”
Angela looked at her mother.
“Well, don’t stay out there,” Kristi said, and grabbed Shannon’s arm right where it was bruised.
Shannon pulled back in pain. “Ouch.”
“Mommy fell,” Angela said. “Hurt her arm and face. She does this all the time. Stupid stairs.”
Kristi looked at Shannon with a worried expression. “Well, good thing we don’t have stairs in our house, then,” she said. “Come on in.”
Inside the living room waited Jimmy. He too had tears in his eyes. He had always loved Shannon, and had been the one to tell Kristi she needed to address Shannon’s drug abuse before it was too late. He was the one who told Kristi to intervene, to not let go, even when Kristi wanted to because Shannon treated her badly. That was when Joe started to tell Shannon that Kristi and Jimmy were bad for Shannon, that they were jealous and only wanted to hurt her, to destroy her career. Shannon hadn’t liked what he said, but she hadn’t cared about anyone either. All she had cared about back then was getting her next fix. The drugs had made her a killer performer on stage, no doubt about it, and her record label hadn’t tried to stop it. It had made her even more creative in her songwriting, but it had also destroyed her life. She could see that now. And she had missed out on so much.
“It’s so good to see you, Shannon,” he said and hugged her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace. This was exactly what she needed right now. Family.
“Hi, I’m Angela, I’m six,” Angela said, and reached out her hand.
Jimmy grabbed her in his arms and held her tight. “I’m so happy to meet you, Angela, who is six years old.”
“I hope y’all like shrimp,” Kristi said, wiping her tears on her sleeve.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
February 2015
“How hard can it be to find a woman and a child? A world famous woman and her child!”
Joe Harrison was screaming at the top of his lungs. He grabbed a pile of magazines and threw them at the private investigator he had hired to find Shannon and Angela. He had told him to find Shannon, the most famous singer on the face of the Goddamn planet, whose face was plastered on the cover of all of the magazines, but still he came up with nothing?
Even his buddies at the police station hadn’t been able to help him. How the hell could this happen?
“Did you try her sister’s place?” he asked the PI.
“Yes. She doesn’t live there anymore. Neighbors say they moved six years ago, but they don’t know where to.”
“And her drunk mother?”
“Still lives in the trailer park in St. Pete, but she hasn’t seen her or heard from her in years. I spoke to her on the phone earlier,” the PI said.
“How can people just vanish?” Joe yelled. “I don’t understand. I want her found. I want her found now! Go down there and talk to the old hag. Tell her I’ll freaking kill her if she doesn’t tell me where her daughter is.”
“Yes, Sir,” the PI said, then left.
Joe threw himself on the couch. What had she done? He couldn’t believe it had come to this. After all they had gone through? How could she just leave him like this? Well, she wasn’t getting away with it. That was certain. She wasn’t taking Angela from him…that was for sure. He wanted his daughter back, no matter how much it would cost.
Joe hit his fist into the wall and left a hole. It hurt like crazy. He yelled and picked up some African sculpture that Shannon had paid thousands of dollars for. Joe had always believed it was ugly as hell, and now he threw it to the marble tiles and it scattered into bits and pieces. He growled, then fell to his knees and cried, while picking up the pieces.
“How could you do this to me, Shannon? Don’t you know I’m nothing without you? Don’t you realize I can’t live without you and Angela in my life? How could you just leave like this?”
When he picked up a piece of the sculpture, he cut his finger and it started to bleed. Joe stared at the blood as it dripped to the floor. It was as red as the rage inside of him.
There is no way she is going to get away with this. No way.
Joe screamed. It echoed in the empty million dollar house. His phone rang, and he picked it up.
“Yes?”
“It’s me. I have news.”
Joe got up from the floor with the phone to his ear. “Sergeant. How wonderful to hear from you.”
“I heard from colleagues in Florida that Shannon was spotted in Cocoa Beach. You didn’t hear it from me. Now we’re even,” he said and hung up.
“We’re even when I say we are,” Joe said, and put the phone in his pocket. There were small drops of his blood on the floor. He found a tissue and wiped the blood off of his finger. He approached a framed picture of Shannon from one of her tours.
“So, Cocoa Beach, huh? That’s where you’re hiding. Well, not for long, my dear. Not for long.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
February 2015
Tom came over Sunday afternoon with his board under his arm. I grinned when I saw him.
“Seriously? She’s letting you surf?” I asked.
“I couldn’t believe it either,” Tom said. He had brought his 9.2 foot yellow Robert August longboard. A sheer beauty for the eye. I had always been jealous of that board and asked him numerous times if he would sell it. I was glad to see that he was going to use it for what it was meant for, and not just as a decoration in his living room.
“Are you coming?” he asked.
“Give me a sec to suit up.”
I looked at my mother, who was sweeping the wooden deck. She smiled. “Go ahead. I’ll look after the kids.”
“Great. Thanks. Emily is watching TV. She can help if there is anything you need,” I said, rushing towards my condo next door. In less than two minutes, I had put on my wetsuit and waxed the board. When I came down to the water, Tom had already paddled out. I hurried after him. I paddled out, enjoying the occasional splash of water in my face. It was getting warmer now, ready for spring that was right around the corner, when the suits came off and we surfed in nothing but shorts. I looked forward to that. I hated wearing my suit. I always felt so trapped.
“You hear that Katherine is back?” Tom asked, when I had paddled out to the back where he waited for the next set. A flock of pelicans flew past him. One dove into the ocean and caught fish that it gulped down immediately.
Katherine was a great white shark that liked to roam the East Coast. Usually, she stayed up north in North Carolina or outside Jacksonville, but every now and then, she swam all the way down to the Space Coast. Last year, she had been all the way to the Gulf and then back. On her way, she had been very close to the beach in Sebastian Inlet, just a few miles south of us. She was wearing a tracker, and we followed her on an app. It was mostly for fun. I wasn’t scared of any sharks. We saw them constantly in the water, and often very close to our boards, but those were smaller, not great whites like Katherine.
“Yeah, Florida Today wrote about it yesterday. But she’s still far out in the Atlantic,” I said, and spotted a set coming through in the back. I got ready, paddled, and caught one. It was smooth and beautiful. Open faced almost all the way to the beach. I did a couple of turns and walked to the tip and tried to do a hang-five, but I fell off. I got back up on the board and paddled back out, just as Tom caught a wave, and I watched him ride it. Tom was an excellent surfer. A whole lot better than I was. It was a shame he didn’t surf much anymore.
When he came back, the ocean was quiet for a while. I took in a couple of deep breaths of the fresh air. Tom was very quiet. I got a feeling something was wrong.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Well…” he paused and looked at me.
Uh-oh. Something was really wrong.
“Is it Eliza?” I asked. I had sensed it when I was there. It wasn’t just the secret they had kept from me. There was more under the surface.
“It’s me. I’ve done something stupid, Jack. And now I’m paying for it. I had to tell her. I was so scared.”
“Whoa, whoa. Let’s start from the beginning here. What did you do?”
Tom couldn’t look at me when he spoke. “I slept with someone.”
“Oh, no, Tom!”
“Oh, yes. I did.” He groaned and clenched his fist. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did. I…I…There is no excuse.”
I felt angry at him for being so stupid. Thinking about how I had felt when they told me about Arianna’s betrayal, I suddenly felt for Eliza. Being deceived by someone you loved, someone you believed loved you back, was the worst feeling in the world.
“Who was she?”
“That’s the worst part,” Tom said. “That’s why I had to tell. I was scared the police would come after me. I was afraid you…you would.”
“Me? Is that why you didn’t return my calls for days?” I asked, thinking about how I couldn’t get ahold of my best friend for several days in January.
“Yes. I avoided you. Eliza thought it was important we told you about Arianna. Since she now knew how bad it felt. That’s why she invited you over. She wanted a clean slate. I was afraid of losing you.”
I frowned. “So, why were you afraid the police would come after you for sleeping with someone…unless…oh, my God, Tom. Please tell me it isn’t true.”
Tom nodded. “It’s true. And it’s bad. I slept with Laura Bennett right before she was killed. I thought you would find my DNA all over her. We used a condom, but still.”
The news was so shocking that I let several excellent waves go past me. “We didn’t. Her body was washed with bleach, leaving no traces of anything on her. How long before she was killed did you sleep with her?”
“In the afternoon of the night she died,” he said. “We met on Sunday afternoon at a motel.”
“Oh, my goodness, Tom.”
“I know. A cliché. At least we didn’t choose your motel. We took the Motel 6.”
“Well, thanks a lot. So, I take it you had been seeing each other for awhile, then?” I asked, hoping I wouldn’t have to put Tom’s picture up on the whiteboard as a suspect.
He nodded without looking at me. “A couple of months.”
“Poor Eliza,” I said.
“I know. I’m not proud of myself. But we were going through some stuff. I fell in. I met Laura through the school. We both volunteered at the multicultural night six months ago. We planned it all together and talked every day for like a week or so. We liked each other. I thought she was sweet and funny, and really good to talk to. We started meeting up for coffee now and then. I kept running into her everywhere all of a sudden. Then, one day, we kissed when we said goodbye. Right in the middle of Minutemen, where everyone could see us. Luckily, no one did. But we wanted more. We decided to meet at the motel. One meeting led to another, and soon we saw each other regularly. Eliza and I were going through some bad stuff. I was feeling awful; I felt like Eliza had stopped loving me. Then, Laura was suddenly there. She liked me. Laura liked me. We talked about me and Eliza and how hard it was for us. She told me about the excruciating loss of her child, and how Brandon blamed her. How he drank and gambled, and how it was getting worse and worse since their daughter died. We both needed a shoulder to cry on. We connected. We could relate. But soon, one thing led to another. I couldn’t stop, even though I wanted to. I hated to hurt Eliza like that, but being with Laura made me feel so good, I couldn’t stop.”
Tom paused and sighed. “I can’t believe she’s dead.”
“So, you got scared when she was found killed and told Eliza everything?” I asked. “She sent you here today, didn’t she? She didn’t let you surf. She wanted you to come clean to me.”
“She’s been telling me to talk to you for weeks. I kept avoiding it. Especially since I thought you were mad at us for keeping the secret from you.”
“You know me. I don’t stay angry that long,” I said.
“I feel awful. I’ve destroyed everything. I had to tell her. I didn’t want her to learn from the police or the news when I was arrested,” he said, his voice breaking. “That would just be cruel.”
Yes that would have been cruel. Just like not telling your best friend his wife was cheating on him until four years later. I couldn’t believe it. Was everyone cheating on each other these days? Arianna? Tom? Laura Bennett?
A new set of gorgeous waves were rolling towards me, but I didn’t notice. A thought had struck me, and it wouldn’t leave.
Melanie Schultz had been cheating too.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
October 1998
She anticipated his visits with great longing. They were the highlight of her entire week. Every Thursday, he had the day off, and that was when he stopped by the condo. It was the happiest time of Annie’s life.
She started to dress nicely again. She started wearing make-up and exercising and was quickly losing weight. Victor didn’t suspect a thing, but enjoyed this new and joyful Annie. Little did he know, she was dressing nicely and taking care of herself for someone else.
The handsome officer was at her door this Thursday at exactly ten o’clock, like usual. The boy was at the high school, and Victor was working. Since he had lost his job at his parent’s company and had to get by on his own, he had started a pool company. He had a shop downtown and visited people’s houses and cleaned their pools. Made sure the PH-balance was right and vacuumed them. It was a good job for him. He enjoyed it immensely.
“Lots of fresh air and I’m my own boss,” he would say. “Doesn’t get much better than that.”
But he never made much money. As a matter of fact, they had gotten deep into debt, and creditors called almost every day now. Victor was probably going to lose his shop if things didn’t get better.
Annie didn’t care one bit about him or what went on with his shop. She wanted out, and now she had found a way. The handsome officer was going to be her way out of this misery. He wasn’t rich, but he made a decent living, and he could take proper care of her.
If only he weren’t married.
But, then again. So was she. There was a word to solve that. Divorce. She was ready to take that step right now, but she wasn’t so sure about him. He seemed more reluctant, and wasn’t willing to discuss it with her. She couldn’t quite figure him out. He seemed so into her when he was there, but as soon as she brought up the future, he hesitated and didn’t want to talk anymore. Annie knew he was going through a rough time at home. They had talked about it, and he often said that he wasn’t sure they would make it. Why wasn’t he jumping aboard right away? What was he waiting for?
She had considered getting herself pregnant. That way, he would have to choose. But it was a lot of trouble to go through. She had recently lost a lot of weight and looked great. She certainly didn’t want to ruin that.
Only if she had to.
She had decided the pregnancy would be her plan B. Plan A was to make him so fond of her, make him love her so much, he would want to marry her and leave that wife of his.
There was a knock on the door and Annie rushed to open it. She stopped at the mirror next to the door and corrected her hair, right before she pulled it open, trying not to seem too eager. There he was. Outside on her doorstep. Looking even more handsome than the last time he was there, it seemed.
“Come on in,” she said with a shy smile.
He walked inside and she closed the door. He looked at her with those blue eyes of his. She was breat
hing heavily now. He turned her on like no other man had ever done. She had never known sex could be like this. Not since Tim Harrold ruined it for her back at the lake fourteen years ago. It was like the officer had opened her eyes. Like she had been asleep all these years, living in a drowsy bubble of nothingness, and now she had finally come to life.
He had made her come alive.
Seconds after he came inside, they were deep in each other’s arms. Kissing, touching, feeling. He lifted her up and carried her to the couch, where he ripped off her dress in one smooth movement. Seconds later, he was inside of her, on top of her, panting, breathing. She closed her eyes and let herself get into it with him, secretly wishing she would get pregnant, so he had to take care of her, when suddenly there was a noise behind them. She gasped and opened her eyes, and stared directly into those of her teenage son.
Chapter Sixty
February 2015
“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Kristi asked, when Shannon was putting on her jacket and getting ready to leave. It had been a great day and evening. Shannon couldn’t believe how much she had missed her sister. They had talked for hours and hours, catching up on everything; they had cried and laughed, and even been quiet just to enjoy each other’s company again.
“I…I wasn’t planning on much,” Shannon said.
“I wanna go see the alligators!” Angela exclaimed.
Kristi lit up. “That’s a good idea,” she said. “It’s Monday. I have the day off. We can go with you. We can take one of the airboat rides into the river. They always find something. We might see manatees too.” Kristi looked at her husband. “We can take the one up at Lone Cabbage. Oh, it’s wonderful. We could do the Lil’ Twister…that’s a private tour where you go deeper into St. John’s River. We did it once. It was a lot of fun.”
“Did you see alligators?” Angela asked.
“Yes. Lots of them.”
“You’ve seen alligators before,” Shannon said to Angela. “At the zoo, remember?”