A daughter. Keeping the secret of his son dying in a drunk driving accident makes a little more sense than keeping his daughter a secret.
Sweat breaks out on my scalp; my face is slick with it. I grip the table, my hands slide off. “It’s not right. Something’s not right.”
“What the hell, Julian?” Parker asks.
Luke comes over and groans when he gets a look at me. “Looks like he’s ready to blow, and if he pukes I puke.”
“No.” I push the folder at Kasen. “Tell me what this is. Something’s not right.”
I can’t mind what it is—the secrecy, the wreck, him guarding Emilie—it all swims in my head like a cyclone full of clues.
The wreck that killed his son is what I keep coming back to. And that talk I had with Mum on New Year’s day.
“Mum, it’s fine. Doug only got a little rough with Luke because he was trying to take off in his car. The lad was bladdered, and that’s exactly how Doug’s son died.”
“The same accident his wife died in? Dearie, that’s a troubled man.”
“Wife?”
“Julian, didn’t you notice he had on a wedding ring when you boys first got together?”
“Lime it all.” Parker leans over Kasen’s shoulder. “Ole Dougie’s got a fifteen-year-old daughter. Surely she’s fit for him to keep that secret.”
“No.” Kasen shakes his head and points to the bottom of the diagram. “She’s dead.”
“And his wife.” I pull the folder back, flip a few pages and find a short bit about the wreck that killed this man’s entire family. Doug was thrown from the car and lived. Pathology found drugs in his son’s system.
And Emilie’s drunk ex-boyfriend went missing the very night we all got to Virginia. Two days later, I see Emilie for the first time, making that wish for Mark to be found. But he was probably already dead.
When Kasen flipped out in Las Vegas—I put all those dates together that Kasen could have done the murders. But Doug…he went with Kasen for all those trips.
Doug did it. He killed Emilie ex-boyfriend because the kid was drunk driving.
Our wrap party in Vegas. Lauren didn’t know Doug had the flu that night because he didn’t.
And Emilie is with this mad man.
“Emilie is with him!” I shout.
“What the hell is going on?” Parker says.
I pull up her number and hit send.
“Hello,” comes her sleep-heavy voice.
“Where’s Doug?” I ask. “Emilie you’re to get away from him. He isn’t right.”
“Julian, is that you?”
“You must get away from Doug. Please.”
“My ears are like whum-whum-whum. I’m so jet-lagged,” she slurs. “My connecting flight was canceled…s-s-stuff happened…feel like I haven’t slept in forever.”
“Listen to me!”
“I’ll listen, promise. But if I fall asleep, I’m sorry.”
“Doug’s daughter died. His wife died.”
“That’s sad,” she breathes.
“Emilie, you don’t get—Mark! He isn’t missing. He’s dead. He killed him.”
“Don’t be mean,” she whispers. “I know—suicide mission. He was depressed.”
“No! Doug killed him. Something is wrong with Doug. I think he’s going to do something to you. Get away. You must get away from him.” I can’t stop talking ten to the dozen. “Wake your parents, and get away from him. Get far away from him.”
“I’m glad you don’t drive,” she mumbles. “No drinking and driving for you.” And there’s a loud clatter.
“Emilie?” I wait for her, but nothing. “Emilie!”
Chapter 19
“Dial her parents,” Luke says.
“No, it won’t work.” They turn the ringers off at night and their mobile phones too. The wee one is a light sleeper. At least Emilie’s at her parents this time. Since they finished the basement for Emilie’s visits, they’ll be able to witness…surely he won’t do anything in front of witnesses.
I head up the stairs to my bedroom. “Kasen, get the number for the Alexandria police.”
“Already got it.” Luke follows me into my room and holds his mobile out. I pull my suitcase from the cupboard and reach for the mobile.
“Wait.” Kasen snatches it away.
“I’ll not wait until she is killed!”
“Jules, I agree this all looks really fishy,” Kasen says. “But what if you’re wrong? Let’s think about this.”
“If it smells like fish,” Luke says and jumps up, trying to get his mobile, “then it is fish. I told you Doug flipped out with me that night. He killed his family, now he’s after Emilie. Give me my mobile, Kasen.”
“No,” I say and try to reach the mobile. “His son killed his family.”
“You see how many ways that information down there can be taken?” Kasen points in the vicinity of that folder downstairs then holds the phone higher when Parker leaps for it again. “Are you sure he’s a murderer, really a murderer?”
I throw down my suitcase. “I’m sure something is very wrong with him, and he’s got my girl’s life in his hands.”
“Then I’ll call the police,” Kase says. “I’ll sound more reasonable.”
Aye, trying to get Emilie to understand was a disaster.
He puts the mobile to his ear. “Julian, forget a suitcase. Passport and wallet is all we need. There’s clothes at my parents.”
Don’t know what I’m doing. I just want to be there already.
“Right,” Luke says and turns on his heel. Kasen follows him out.
I guess we’re all going. I guess I don’t care.
Kasen meets me at the bottom of the stairs. “Did you call them? What’d they say?”
“I don’t think the police really bought it.” He shakes his head. “But they said they’d check into it…tomorrow…if they get the chance.”
“Get the chance!” For fuck’s sake, we just solved their case.
He looks away. “Julian, there was another attack last night, and they said they’re not too interested in questioning a wayward security guard who couldn’t have been there to do this latest killing.”
But he could have, couldn’t he? If they left here Wednesday, then they…my mind can’t compute it. Too many things coming at me at once.
“Let’s just go,” I say and race out the door.
Tom reaches out to grab me when I run smack into his chest and almost fall backward. “Where you boys going?”
“Airport.” I take off to Luke’s car. “Don’t have time to explain.”
“Get your passports,” Kasen tells the minders. “We’ll wait for you.”
“The hell we will!”
I slam the door and Luke cranks up.
“Luke, they’re our security,” Kasen says from the back seat. He grabs my shoulder. “You don’t think they’ll have ideas how to fix this? Prevent something bad?”
I drop my head to my hands. “All right! Give them a chance to follow in the van, but I’m not getting out of this car until we’re at Heathrow.”
I’ll ring Doug. What if that spooks him? Ask Tom and Gregory when we get there. They might have other ideas on how to keep Emilie safe too.
Fuck it all if Mum’s voice don’t keep popping into my head:
“I’m keen on that little girl of yours, son. I know you love her too. It’s why you should let her live her own life. Let her chase her own dream. When she’s found herself out, get together then.”
“But she wants to be a writer.”
“Flying around, hiding out from fans while writing rock songs. That’s her dream, is it? If that’s truly what she wants, then give her the chance to choose—not because of security issues or you needing her so. You think your papa just hung on to me and that was the end of it?”
I watch Tom across the aisle, his mobile held to his ear. It’s the first time Doug has answered the phone for him.
A bell dings overhead. “Welcome to
Ireland. Please remain seated until the pilot clears you to remove your seatbelts. For those with a connecting flight to Belfast, your airbus is on schedule and you should make your way to terminal fifteen. For those connecting to Miami International Airport….”
I tune her out and lean in closer to Tom, trying to hear his conversation with Doug. “Julian is really worried. Why would you hide all of that from everyone…Of course your career record is exemplary. We’re just worried about your psychological state and think you should remove yourself from the job altogether.” Tom pauses a moment and shakes his head.
“Doug, no one blames you for the security breach in Utah. There’s really nothing to make up for.” He pulls the mobile away and looks at the screen. Dropping the mobile, he presses his fingers to his temples.
“What if…” Kasen starts, and I hold up my hand and turn away. I don’t think I can handle another what if. We’ve gone through a hundred. “No listen. What about Lauren? Maybe she’d fire him.”
I roll my eyes. “Do you truly think he’d leave Emilie just because he’s been sacked?”
Luke leans forward on the other side of Kasen. “It’s worth a try.”
Tom puts his mobile away. “Or it could exacerbate the situation.”
Which is why they won’t let me call Doug myself.
“We’ve already considered that,” Gregory rubs his forehead. “It’s hard to tell what, if anything, will push Doug over the edge.”
“Is DeHaven a friend of his?” I ask.
“Who?”
Obviously, Doug never told the minders I’d hired Will DeHaven. “The one who sent me Doug’s folder.”
So many clues, and I’ve missed them all.
“Oh. I don’t know,” Tom says. “It’s worth a shot to call him.”
I ring him just when the unlock seatbelts sign comes on. The air hostess scowls at me while I speedwalk by her.
She kept catching me texting Emilie throughout the flight. But Emilie never responded.
“You’ve let your imagination run away with you,” Mr. DeHaven says after I tell him we’re headed back to the States.
“I’m not imagining anything. Everyone with me agrees Doug is mental lately, and he assaulted one of the lads,” I say and jump when there’s a bang under me. Oh, they’re unloading the luggage out there. “He put his hands around Luke’s neck and shook him.”
“Shook him—why the hell didn’t you tell me before. What happened to you updating me? You said you had no suspicions of anyone in your entourage.”
“I didn’t. Maybe I was focused on the wrong person. For fuck’s sake, please help us.”
“I’m a five-hour drive away,” he mumbles to himself. “Fly or drive? I should call the local authorities. Ha! No, I shouldn’t. Mr. McLane, you need to call—”
“We already did. They wouldn’t listen. You should ring them.”
“Damn. I’ll give it a try, but I ruffled a few feathers trying to compile those histories I sent you,” he mumbles then perks up. “You did get those?”
My teeth clench so tightly they might disintegrate at any moment. “I already told you that’s what tipped me.”
“Oh, that’s right. That’s right,” he says. “I’ll get right on this. Goodbye, Mr. McLane.”
And he rings off before I get another word in.
My feet drag while I follow the lads down the portable passageway off the plane. Someone behind me pats my back. I hold onto Tom’s shirt and let myself be dragged through the concourse, finally settling at the right terminal.
“How long is the layover?” Parker drops to the seat beside me. “What time is it?”
“Thirty minutes till the plane leaves for Miami,” Gregory says. “And I have no idea what time it is here in Ireland. It’s morning-time in America.”
Emilie is probably out for a jog.
“You should come running with us sometime. I only started it looking for Mark. When all the woods had been cleared by the search crews, I started running everywhere instead of driving. It’s harder to check out a deep ditch or cliff from a car window. That’s the biggest reason Daddy let me come with you. To break me of my obsession since it looked like therapy wasn’t working. He didn’t realize I’d already given up on finding Mark. I was just addicted to running.”
Hugging my arms around me, I rock back and forth. Kasen puts a hand on my shoulder.
I ring Emilie, but it goes straight to voicemail like it has ever since our last conversation. And no one answers the house phone. The faux leather creaks when I flop back with a sigh. My tears make it hard to see my screen when I pull up my last resort.
Luke eyes me. “And who’re you ringing now?”
“Lauren.” I watch as an Indian man walks to the terminal desk. He picks up the microphone and presses the button on the side.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Town Airlines flight two-fifty-seven to Miami is now ready to board. Silver Sticker members please proceed to the queue at this time.”
“Yeah. Call Lauren,” Tom says and stands to board. “Probably should have already done that.”
Gregory groans and gets to his feet. “There’s no policy and procedure written for this.”
Telling Lauren goes quickly, and her sniffles on the other line make me hate her a little less.
“Oh my God. I believe you, Julian. I had my own run-in with Doug once before. I wish someone would have told me about Luke’s argument. I’ll sack him right away.”
I don’t think that will help anything, but I stay quiet. “Lauren, they’re telling me I have to ring off now. Will you keep trying to ring Emilie and her parents to warn them? I haven’t been able to—” A sob coming up my throat cuts me off. “Sh-she’s not answering.”
“Aw, Julian,” Lauren says. “Emilie dropped her phone last night. It’s broken. Her agent was trying to speak with her this morning, and called Mrs. Gold when it kept going to voicemail. I wish I knew then. If I’d only known.”
I slide my mobile back in my pocket. Mistakes. Everywhere.
Everyone.
“Och, my hand is killing me.” I drop my marker and turn to Doug.
“Julian, put the posters away for a while. The others have.”
“Because their families are here.”
“Is that what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet lately.”
“There’s someone else I’m keen on seeing too. But that’s not gonna happen for a while.”
“A girl? But you haven’t been with anyone new.”
“No, Doug. No one new. Hey, wanna show me that pass-out headlock thing again?”
“Alright, but if you try it out on the lads again, I’ll tell your mum. You can do damage.”
###
There’s a strange beep in my ear, so I pull my mobile away to make sure Miami airport’s intercom isn’t in need of repair. Beep, beep, beep, still comes from my mobile. I hold it out for Kasen to take a listen.
“It’s a busy signal,” he says after listening for only a second. “Who in the world doesn’t have call waiting these days?”
I don’t know what that is and don’t care. All that matters is they don’t answer. They never answer. Why do people have phones and never answer?
My skin heats up. And I’m mental. I guess it’s okay to take my coat off now—we’re in Florida.
After I tug my coat off, Kasen points out the window at the sunny tarmac. In the distance are rows of palm trees and a pink sun resting just above them. “Miami. High humidity. But doesn’t it look better outside than England?”
“Nice,” Parker says. “Wish we could take a walk.”
Luke flops into the chair across from me. “Like that’ll happen.”
“Why not, boys?” Tom nudges me. “No one had any idea we were flying in. We can get away with it for a few blocks at least. Maybe more.”
A wander around is the absolute last thing I want, but judging from Luke and Parker’s faces…I have to. Splitting the minders so I can hang back is out of the question.
> Three blocks later, we’re sweaty and back at our same chairs to wait twenty more minutes for our flight to D.C. I’m ready to drive the last leg of our trip, but Tom says it’s much quicker to fly the distance.
Unable to stop my knees from bouncing, I jerk to my feet. My mobile drops to the floor then lights up. An incoming call: Dougie.
I look around to see if Tom is watching—no—and pick it up.
“Hello,” I say as calmly as possible and walk away from the group.
“I’ve been sacked.”
What do I say to that? I’m heart-glad of it? No. “Er…Sorry?”
“I didn’t mean to do it, Julian. I was looking out the window at all the Las Vegas lights when I saw him stumbling around. And he dropped something. He-he picked up his keys. I went down just to give him some advice about drinking and driving. I swear I just wanted to talk to him. But he got mad and made a fuss, looking just like my Kenny. He killed everything I loved. My little Jenni, my wife, and himself. I’ve dreamed of shaking him. Shaking sense into him. Shake him, shake him, shake him. And I was shaking this boy against his car. Shaking him until he died.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat and squeeze my eyes shut. Choose your words carefully, Julian. Choose your words. “Doug, you did—the lives you saved that night. I don’t think anyone can blame you. You’re to be commended. The law enforcement know you saved many lives that night. They only want the mystery solved now.” Sweat dribbles down my temple. “You should go tell them.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
All energy leaves my body, and I shrink back against the air hostess desk. “That’s great, Doug.”
“But tonight I need to watch over Emilie. That Shane is no good, and they’re going out. I heard him on the phone this afternoon. He said they’re going to tie one on. Do you know what that means? Well, I looked it up. He’s going to get bladdered, and do you know who’s driving? He thinks he is. But not on my watch. No siree. I have to look after my little Jenni. I can’t let that happen again.”
Little Jenni! He. Called. Her. Jenni.
“Doug, no,” I start but can’t get much else out. I’m fairly sliding off the desk I am so slick with sweat and silent tears.