by Alexa Verde
Julia frowned. “You knew what decision I’d come to?”
He smiled. “I’ve known you for a long time. I know the way you think.”
If so, it wasn’t very noticeable lately.
Julia kept that comment to herself. As glad as she was to see this change in his attitude, it wasn’t easy to ignore a stab of resentment. Ivan should’ve believed her from the get-go.
“I thought a lot about Seth’s death possibly being a homicide.” A muscle flexed in Ivan’s jaw. “While Lydia stayed with you, I picked up Seth’s phone and laptop. Now we need to guess his passwords to get to his files. The case was closed, so they are not evidence. I talked to the chief.”
“What did he say?”
Ivan frowned. “He’s reluctant to reopen the case and investigate it as a homicide. And considering that my parents and I inherited everything Seth had, we have full access to his things.”
Julia reached for his hand. “I know this must be difficult for you.”
His eyes darkened. “I can do it.”
“Okay, let’s start with his phone then.” Julia released his hand to let him get Seth’s things.
“We once talked about passwords for phones and that it was difficult to remember them. Seth admitted he used a birthday year to make it easier to remember. I’ll try his birthday as a password.” A moment later, disappointment flashed in Ivan’s eyes. “It didn’t work. I’ll try my birthday then. Nope, didn’t work either. Maybe the birthdays of my parents? No.”
“Gallagher’s birthday?” Julia attempted a guess. “Jake’s birthday?”
“No. And no. I’m running out of options. Oh, why didn’t I think of it first?” A triumphant smile registered on Ivan’s face seconds later. “Got it!”
“What was it?”
“Apparently, a very important date for Seth.” Ivan looked into her eyes. “Your birthday.”
Julia shrank back. She didn’t want Ivan to think she was so significant to Seth. She couldn’t risk him believing again that Seth had loved her so much that he’d committed suicide because of her.
“While you’re checking his calls and text messages, could you give me the laptop please?” Julia asked quickly.
“Here.” Ivan handed her the laptop.
She opened it and tried several passwords until she decided to use the same idea as for the phone. She typed in “Julia.” It didn’t work. She typed in her name with her age. Maybe she was on the wrong path? It could be any combination of letters, numbers, and signs. Was she naïve to think that Seth would use her name for a password?
It was worth trying. She typed in her name, her birthday, and an exclamation mark. She could hardly believe her eyes when it worked.
“Success here, too.” She glanced at Ivan. “Anything useful so far?”
“Most of the calls were made to you and me. Some to my parents and Gallagher and several friends of Seth and his co-workers, his dentist, and his plumber. The ones I find interesting are four calls from an unknown number, made in the last week of Seth’s life.”
“So the caller blocked their number? Can you find out where the calls came from?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say they came from a disposable phone. But I’ll give it a try. Also, I found several interesting text messages from and to Gallagher.”
Julia put the laptop aside for a moment. “What do you mean, interesting?”
“About three days before he died, Gallagher texted Seth, I need to find Rowena. I want to ask for forgiveness. It looks like Seth deleted his reply. Then two days before Gallagher’s death, Seth texted Gallagher, Do you think your life might be in danger?”
Julia was all ears. “What did Gallagher reply?”
Chapter Seven
A knock on the door interrupted them again. A middle-aged female nurse in green scrubs appeared and checked Julia’s vital signs.
“Everything normal?” Ivan asked.
“Yes,” the nurse answered. “I’ll bring the discharge papers as soon as they are ready.
“Thank you.” Julia was eager to get out of the hospital.
The nurse nodded. As soon as the nurse disappeared, Julia repeated her question.
“Eat,” Ivan said instead of replying. “You need nourishment. Or would you rather I buy you something else? What would you like?”
Julia shook her head. A thin beef patty and pale watery mashed potatoes on the tray didn’t look appetizing. “I’m not hungry right now. Please don’t make me ask you for the third time.”
“Gallagher replied, We need to talk.”
“I wonder if the conversation happened.” She moved the laptop closer to her. “Let me see if I can find anything useful here.”
Looking through Seth’s files felt like violating his privacy. But she had a good reason to do it. She checked the desktop screen first. There were a couple of games and a folder with pictures and descriptions of expensive cars. Then she clicked through a folder with vacation photos and the one with information about Seth’s favorite football team. Finally, she came across a folder titled simply Pictures. As she looked through the photos, her heart squeezed from nostalgia.
“Anything useful?” Ivan asked.
“There are lots of pictures with me.” Julia hadn’t realized Seth had kept all of them. “There are also many childhood pictures with you. You meant a lot to him, Ivan.”
There was a pause. “I’m looking through photos on his phone, as well. Some vacation pics and several with me and with his friends, but most of them are with you.”
It was best not to comment on that. She pulled up the Internet and checked his browsing history. Recently, Seth had searched for gourmet chocolates, Rowena McDougal, Rowena McDougal in San Antonio, TX, and Blake McDougal.
Julia narrowed her eyes. “Looks like Rowena might’ve moved from Houston to San Antonio. We also have a new person of interest. Blake McDougal. Maybe Rowena’s brother or husband.” She pulled up a couple of social media sites and entered the names, then studied the photos. “I see a certain resemblance in features. But there’s definitely a large age difference.” She showed the screen to Ivan. “Mother and son? What do you think?”
“That’s a possibility. Could Blake be Gallagher’s son he left behind? That would give Hank a reason to ask Rowena for forgiveness.”
Julia rubbed her forehead in thought. “But why wait so many years?”
Ivan shrugged. “Maybe Blake just found out who his father was. He could be the one who called Gallagher and talked about Rowena.”
She looked through ten more files and clicked on the recycle bin. There were old pictures of social functions there. She recognized people Seth had introduced her to, people who worked at Rowena Gourmet Chocolates.
Hmmm, a single word file? The rest of the files were in other formats. Interesting.
Julia opened it and leaned forward.
“It looks like Seth made several notes. Random thoughts, I think.” She focused on the phrases. “Call Rowena. Stolen recipe? Find Blake. Did Hank tell me entire truth? Was Hank’s death really an accident? Why now?”
Julia lifted her head. “What stolen recipe was Seth talking about?”
Ivan’s gaze was intense. “We’ll have to find out. Could it be connected to Rowena Gourmet Chocolates? Like a chocolate recipe?”
“Stolen by whom? And speaking of Seth and Rowena Gourmet Chocolates, do you know who took Seth’s place as the vice-president of sales?”
“Ted Connor.”
Julia searched her memory. “I know him. Seth introduced me to him at one of the social functions at his work. Connor is Mrs. Gallagher’s nephew. According to Seth, Ted is her favorite nephew. He’s worked in the company for seven years. Seth was surprised to get the promotion instead of Ted.”
“Mrs. Gallagher has much more control of the company now,” Ivan said slowly.
“A motive to kill her husband if indeed Gallagher’s death was no accident?”
“She didn’t need the inheritance. From wh
at Seth told me, she was rich before Mr. Gallagher married her. He probably used her capital to start the company. Hold on.” Ivan stepped to the window and made a call.
“Hi, Aidan. I need a favor. Could you please check with Hank Gallagher’s lawyer whether Mr. Gallagher tried to change his will shortly before his death? Thank you.” Ivan hung up and turned to Julia. “I just had a hunch about the will.”
“Why?” Julia asked.
The nurse came in, disconnected Julia’s IV, and handed her the discharge papers. Julia signed them and gave them back to the nurse.
When Julia tried to stand up, the floor shifted under her feet. Ivan immediately wrapped his arm around her. His touch heated up her skin through the thin fabric of the hospital gown, and her heart did a somersault. Must be some strange side effects of the medications.
Right.
“Are you sure you’re up for it? Maybe you should stay here overnight.” Concern coated his voice.
Julia stared in his eyes, then shook her head to snap out of it. What had they put in that IV drip?
“I’m fine.” She straightened her back.
“You’re allowed to fall apart sometimes, you know. You don’t always have to be strong.”
“With someone out to get me, I can’t afford to fall apart.” She looked at the hospital gown. “I need to change.”
He nodded. “Would you like me to ask the nurse to help you?”
“No.”
“Stubborn,” he muttered on the way out of her room.
“Persistent,” she told herself while struggling to get out of the hospital gown and into her white shirt and jeans.
Soon Ivan and Julia left the hospital. They stopped at her place, and Ivan made sure there was no intruder inside. Then Julia packed an overnight bag. As soon as she had a change of clothes and a few toiletries she needed, they drove to the Rios Azules Inn.
Once at the inn, he got keys for the rooms. He parked the car in the parking spot near the room, facing outward, probably for a quick escape in the middle of the night if needed.
When they reached the room, he placed her overnight bag on the ground. “Stay here for a moment. I want to make sure everything is okay inside.”
Julia nodded. She was getting used to the routine.
Ivan appeared outside several minutes later. “Please come in.”
His phone rang the moment they entered the room. Ivan answered, and his expression turned gloomy as he listened to the caller. “Yes, Chief,” he said before disconnecting.
Julia looked at him expectantly.
“My boss wants to see me. Now,” Ivan said. “But I don’t want to leave you by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine,” Julia said with as much confidence as she could muster.
“I have no choice. I have to go.” An inner struggle reflected on his face. “I’ll call Aidan and ask him to stay in the lobby.”
“Thanks. I’ll also have a conference call with Mari and Lydia. If anything happens, they’ll ring an alarm. And Lydia’s place is relatively close. She’d be here in minutes.” Julia smiled. “With her rifle.”
Ivan’s eyes softened. “Good. I saw Lydia at the range a couple of times, where I went to practice. She has talent. She got a bull’s-eye every time!” Admiration sounded in his voice.
Julia nodded. “That’s Lydia. Though I still can’t understand why she chooses such a large weapon to carry around, considering her small frame.”
He texted his partner, and minutes later, Ivan’s phone beeped with an incoming message. He read it quickly. “Aidan is in the lobby. I’ll be back soon. Please make sure to lock the door and don’t open it to anybody.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Julia paused. “Just remember something. If the police made a mistake in Seth’s case, it would put a blemish on the entire RAPD. Surely the chief wouldn’t want that.”
“You’re wrong. I’m confident the chief will want to find out the truth.” Ivan left.
Julia locked the door and dropped herself into the nearest chair, still feeling weak.
Judging by the drawn expression of Ivan’s face, the conversation with his boss would be difficult. Mere association with her had made Ivan’s life more complicated. Julia didn’t want to ruin Ivan’s relationship with his parents or his chances to one day become a chief of police. Ivan’s parents hadn’t liked Julia in the past, much less now.
She swallowed a hard lump in her throat.
Maybe she should refuse Ivan’s help from now on, no matter how much she needed it. He’d be better off without her.
***
Ivan knocked on the chief’s door.
“Come in.” Ronson’s voice had a mix of tiredness and irritation to it.
Ivan stepped inside, the scent of extra-strong coffee and donuts assaulting his nostrils. “Good afternoon, Chief.”
“Sit down, Vargas. You mentioned you wanted to look into your brother’s death. I thought about it.” Chief Ronson frowned, obviously not pleased with the possibility of his department mistaking homicide for suicide. “I don’t like the idea. The case was closed. There’s no sense in opening it.”
Ivan took a seat and leaned forward. “Julia Morrison states that everything said in the suicide note is lies. The note is typed, not handwritten, so there’s no proof Seth wrote it. Besides, Ms. Morrison has had several attacks on her life after announcing her suspicions. It looks like someone is trying to silence her. I’ve written reports in that regard.”
Ronson shook his head. “I’ve read the reports. There’s no proof to her words.”
“She almost died from anaphylaxis!”
“Almost. How do you know Ms. Morrison is telling the truth? Maybe she’s trying to cover up the fact that she caused your brother’s suicide. People have to take responsibility for their actions. Including Ms. Morrison. Being beautiful doesn’t give her the excuse to ruin people’s lives. Some gorgeous women have little warmth or concern toward the people around them.”
Ivan had a prime example of that in his own mother. But Julia was different. “Ms. Morrison wouldn’t make a false police report.”
The chief made a dismissive gesture with his flabby hand. “How do you know? She has a motive for inventing attacks. She became a person everybody hated. She might want to correct that at all costs. Vargas, I don’t understand how you can defend the woman who caused your brother’s death.”
“Allegedly. I don’t agree with this opinion, and my gut tells me someone is spreading ugly rumors about Ms. Morrison.” Ivan’s stomach clenched. He had a feeling one of those people might be his father. Ivan recalled Mari’s words. “I loved my brother very much. But even if Seth fell for Julia and she didn’t return his feelings, she shouldn’t be blamed for his actions. However, I strongly believe we’re not dealing with a suicide here. I was blinded by pain at first. Once I had a chance to think about it, I can see that the note is fake. Everything there is a lie.”
Ronson grimaced. “Oh, how can you make this statement?”
“I know Ms. Morrison well enough for that. With all due respect, sir, I’m simply trying to find the truth and protect the innocent.”
“I don’t care how well you know her. You can’t trust anybody these days, Vargas. There’s another possibility you need to consider. Are you familiar with the story of her father’s suicide?”
Ivan tensed. “Somewhat.”
“Her father’s suicide note blamed his wife. Then Mrs. Morrison skipped town as soon as she could to get married in New York. That seemed to be her mother’s way of coping with the tragedy and the blame. She had several divorces and marriages afterwards, a couple in Chicago, a couple back here in Rios Azules, and currently another marriage in Dallas. What if Julia Morrison’s way of coping with a similar situation was to invent the stories about the attacks on her life?”
“Julia Morrison was in danger of suffocating to death. She couldn’t have invented that.” Ivan wasn’t used to arguing with his superiors, and by Ronson’s expression, he knew his boss was
getting frustrated.
The chief shook his head as if in disbelief. “You’re a good cop, Vargas. I know you have a history with Morrison. But don’t let it affect you if you want to have any future in this department.” A veiled threat rang in Ronson’s voice.
Ivan frowned. He’d always wanted to be a cop. Was he ready to risk his life’s dream for Julia?
The chief moved forward, increasing his number of chins from two to three. “Besides, you must realize I can’t let you conduct an official investigation. It’s a conflict of interest.”
Ivan squared his shoulders. “That’s why I’ve asked for leave, sir.”
A calculated look appeared in Ronson’s small eyes. “I gave you the leave. But I want to know everything you find out. And don’t let a pretty face fool you.”
“I won’t.” Ivan could be immune to Julia. He had to.
The chief took a sip of coffee with a generous amount of creamer. “I expect a full report as soon as possible. And this time, facts, not speculations.”
“Yes, sir.” Ivan left the office.
He drove to Seth’s house in complete darkness that reflected his mood. After parking, he stared at the house for several moments, the image of his brother covered in blood lingering in his memory.
His teeth clenched, Ivan forced himself to walk inside. He hurried to click on the light switch, and the foyer filled with light. His father had hired some company to clean the place, so there was no metallic stench, no crimson pool of blood in the living room. The house was eerily quiet, with nothing to remind him of that horrible day. And still, Ivan had an incredible urge to bolt outside.
He straightened his back. This wasn’t how a cop would act.
Ivan looked through Seth’s drawers in the office as fast as he possibly could. Then Ivan picked up three folders he found there and rushed outside, his rib cage squeezing painfully, as if there wasn’t enough air inside to breathe. Ivan’s hands shook as he turned the key in the ignition and drove off.
Some cop he was.
Well, if the chief didn’t like what Ivan found, he might not be a cop in Rios Azules much longer. Who knew whether he’d be able to get employment somewhere else without a good recommendation.
