by Celya Bowers
“It feel spooky and dark. I don’t even want to walk in that house again.”
***
Over the next few weeks, Lizzy’s life finally settled to somewhat normal. Living with Tristan could do that to a woman. She’d thought he’d run scared and tell her to leave, but so far so good.
It had been one month since she and the kids moved in with him. Had Paul only been dead a month? It felt like years. Questions still arose about his death and the circumstances and it didn’t look like there were any answers.
She sat in her office, looking over yet another proposal for a recreation center. All the prices were way over the budget of three million dollars. She just knew there had to be a decent contractor in the Turners Point area that would do the job under budget.
“Mrs. Hall, your mother is on line one,” her assistant said. “It sounded urgent.”
“Thank you.” Please don’t let this be about Izzy. She normally spent the day with their parents while Cam was at work. Lizzy picked up the phone and forced her cheeriest voice to answer the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, baby,” her mother said. “Izzy is taking a nap so I have to make this quick.”
Her mother never made anything quick. “Okay, what’s up?”
“How are things coming with the celebration planning?”
For a moment Lizzy stared into space, hoping something would visualize in her brain. Nothing. Only the contract bids for the new children’s recreation center floated around in her troubled brain.
“Lizzy, did you forget? I mean, you’ve had a lot on your plate, so it’s okay if you haven’t, but Izzy is feeling pretty down about the weight gain, and being shuffled around from house to house. So I was thinking we should move it up.”
She too, had noticed her sister had not been her happy, contented pregnant self. “Why don’t we do it next weekend? It will just be family and friends.”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll work on the guest list. I’ll keep it small.”
She also her mother’s version of small. “Mom, it really needs to be small.”
“You know Cam has a large family. Promise no more than a hundred people.”
It was more than she hoped for. It could still be doable. Besides, she loved a challenge. “Okay, I’ll work my magic and get back to you about it.”
“Bye honey.” Her mother ended the call.
Lizzy sighed. “Another disaster averted,” she said the room. “Superwoman lives!”
Tristan sat in his office, making notes for the next mayoral meeting. For a guy with no kids or a wife, he had a lot on his plate. His father’s birthday party was at the end of the month. After much discussion, Lizzy finally agreed to attend. He should be a happy man. Everything in his life was heading in the right direction. But something was nagging him, taunting him.
They’d checked Lizzy’s divorce records, but they didn’t run a background check on Paul. Maybe there was something in his past that led to his getting killed in Lizzy’s house. With that thought, he dialed Brad’s cell number. Sometimes it was good to have someone in the FBI in your corner.
“Callahan,” Brad answered gruffly.
“Hey man, you’re busy?”
“Just working on some details for the Freedom Concert. Singers. I could shoot the lot of them,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I just had a thought. No one checked out Paul. Maybe you can run a background check on him. Maybe there’s something that we’re overlooking.”
“Yeah, I had that same thought. In fact, I just received the report about an hour ago. I hadn’t had time to really go over it. How about we meet for drinks?”
“Sure, I’ll just need to check with Lizzy.”
Brad chuckled. “Oh, yeah, I forgot you guys were doing the living together thing. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. Actually better than I had thought possible. Even with two small children underfoot.” He was happy and didn’t even care if Brad gave him the blues about it.
“So are you ready to take the plunge?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Tristan said. “Just enjoying the moment. I thought her parents would have been giving me the blues about us living together, but they’ve been pretty cool. Even Paul’s mother has been really nice to me.”
“Well that has got to be a sign,” Brad said. “When the dead ex’s mother likes you, man you’re sunk. You might as well plan the wedding date.” Brad’s boisterous laugh crackled through the phone line.
“Man, you’re not even going to get to me,” Tristan said. “I’ll meet you after work at the Brew.”
“Oh the new place down from the city building. See you there about six.” Brad ended the call.
Tristan placed the phone in its cradle and took a deep breath. Lizzy. He walked down the hall to her office. Her assistant had already left for the day, but her door was closed. He knocked quietly. “Lizzy, it’s me.”
“Come in,” she called.
He entered her large corner office and smiled. She was hunkered over some reports and her perfectly manicured hand was hovered over a large calculator. Lizzy looked up and grinned at him. “What are you doing here? What about the spreadsheet for the Freedom Concert?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, who’s the boss here? I’m supposed to be asking you things like that. I just came to say that I’m going to have drinks with Brad after work. So I’ll be home late.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes. Tristan, we’re both adults. I have two children who require a lot of my time. I know we can’t be together every second of our free time. I trust you.”
He was taken aback by her admission. “It must be the Irish in me. I keep thinking if it was me, I wouldn’t be so trusting.”
“Ask me again.”
“I’m going out for drinks with Brad Callahan.”
She cleared her throat. “What? Brad? Are you sure that’s where you’re going?” She put the back of her hand against her forehead. “Oh, what am I supposed to do alone with no man to comfort me?”
“All right, all right. I get it,” Tristan said. “Thanks for the ego boost.”
“You’re welcome. Anytime at all. Now get out of my office.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll see you later.” He left without another word. As he walked back to his office, he realized his old friend was right. There was nothing left but to pick out the wedding date.
Lizzy took a deep breath the minute Tristan left the room. That was close, she mused as she continued looking over the reports. Bea had faxed her some information and legal documents about Paul. He had several life insurance policies totaling over two million dollars. His mother was the beneficiary on two of them, she was on one and there was another to Justin Hall. Beatrice didn’t know who this Justin was and all she had was a social security number.
“Don’t worry, Bea, I’ll check it out,” Lizzy said.
“Thank you, dear. Curiosity is getting the best of me. He’s never mentioned this Justin before and I don’t have any relatives by that name.”
Lizzy wondered at the mysterious man’s identity. “As soon as I get some news good or bad, I’ll call you.”
“Thank you, dear.” She ended the call.
Lizzy looked over the policy. The life insurance policy was only three years old and was worth $250,000. Not an enormous amount, but enough to live on for a while, she mused. She noted the popular insurance company’s logo and dialed their toll free number.
“Barney Glassbow, please.” Lizzy hoped her old friend still worked there.
“Lizzy girl!” Barney shouted. “It’s been forever.”
Bernadette Glassbow, alias, Barney, was one of Lizzy’s sorority sisters. “Yes, it’s been too long. How are you?”
“Great, girl. Just got rid of husband number three. Might as well just get a cat and call it a day. Dirty dog was sleeping with one of my so-called best friends.”
“Oh, Barney, I’m so sorry,” Li
zzy said. Couldn’t anyone find happiness?
“You know he’s trying to win me back,” she said. “Like I’m just going to forget he was screwing her in my king-sized bed. Men!”
“I’m sorry. In your bed. Seriously?”
“Yes. In my bed.” She took a deep breath, no doubt calming down. “What’s up?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard Paul was killed.”
“Yes, I heard about it. How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. We were divorced over a year ago. I was calling about a policy he had with your company. The beneficiary is listed as Justin Hall. His mother didn’t recognize the name. I was hoping you could help me out a little.”
Barney laughed. “Do you ESP or something?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I have his policy on my desk. There’s been a lot of commotion around here about that policy.”
Lizzy was totally confused. “Why?”
“In cases like these, there’s someone left in trust since the beneficiary was under twenty-one, but no one was listed.”
“Is that normal?”
“No. We’d sent several letters and he’d gave us the name, but never sent in the paperwork to legally change it.”
Lizzy’s brain buzzed with the legality of it all. Questions popped in and out her brain. “How much under 21?”
“He’s five.”
“Five?”
“Lizzy, Justin was Paul’s son.”
Lizzy fumed as the information sank through her brain. “If this kid is five, Tatum is six, this means that son-ofa-bitch was messing around while we were still married.”
“Yes. The mother finally called me back this morning. She’s being a little uncooperative especially once she found out that Paul never changed his beneficiary in her favor. Then she tried to say that they were married a month ago, but couldn’t produce a valid marriage certificate.”
Lizzy winced at the legal mess. “Sorry, Barney. Sound like a lot of trouble.” She debated her next question, but she had to know for her kids’ sake. “Does Justin live here?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you, but you could get the information from public record anyway. “Yes, he lives here with his mother, Natasha Allen.”
Say what? The name sounded really familiar and in an instant, she knew exactly why. The social worker. No wonder she was giving her the blues at the meeting. They had a mutual party. Paul. Damn that man.
“Do you know her?”
“Not socially, no. She was the caseworker that had filed charges against me for neglect. They were groundless of course, but she made my life a living hell for about an hour. Now I know why.”
“Well once her superiors found out about that case, she was fired instantly for abuse of power. That should have never been a case. Now she’s livid Paul never placed her as a beneficiary. So now she’s S-O-L.”
Lizzy tried to muster up some kind of sympathy for this insane woman, but she couldn’t. Not when it involved her children. “So what happens now?”
“We can go either way. We could release the money, but not to her. All of Paul’s insurance policies were through us. Most likely, the money will be released to Paul’s mother and it’ll be up to her if she wants to release the money to Ms. Allen and her son. Since no one in the family knew of the child’s existence and his name isn’t on the birth certificate as the father, our hands are tied.”
Lizzy nodded. Allen had no grounds. “Why on earth didn’t she name him on the birth cert?”
“The Deadbeat Dad Act has just started. If his name showed up on anything concerning another child not in his marital union, you would probably have known Justin existed years ago.”
“True. I would have divorced his ass on the spot.”
“Exactly.”
“So I guess the next step is DNA, right?”
“Yes, but she’s reluctant to do it.”
Lizzy shook her head. “Doesn’t she realize that’s what standing between her and the money?”
“No, she thinks you are.”
THIRTEEN
Tristan walked into the Brew exactly on time. Brad was sitting at the bar with his brother, Sean. This can not be good, he thought as he navigated the lively crowd. He finally made it to his friend. “Wow, two Callahans?”
Brad laughed. “Yeah, I had to bring reinforcements. We got big news.”
Tristan ordered a beer, noticing that Brad hadn’t said good news, just big news. Once he had a drink in his hand, he would be able to handle the situation. “Why don’t we find a quiet place to talk?”
Brad slid off the barstool, grabbed his beer. His brother had did the same. “Lead the way.”
Tristan led them to the back of the trendy bar to a small private room. When both Callahans stared at him, he knew he had to explain. “A friend of mine owns it.”
“Oh. What’s her name?” Brad teased. “What socialite is backing this?”
“Actually, the mayor’s son is one of the owners,” Tristan said. Once everyone was seated at the small table, “Okay, what’s in this report that has my hair standing on end?”
“Okay, the bad news first. Paul had another child. His name is Justin and he’s about five. He listed Justin as the beneficiary, but being a minor, he can’t have the money.”
“So, where does the money go?”
“The insurance company is still working on that. Guess who the mother is?”
“I’ll bite,” Tristan said. Lizzy was going to heartbroken. Justin was conceived during her marriage to Paul. “Who’s the mother?”
“Natasha Allen.” Brad watched him for a moment. “If the name is not sending up any red flags, I give you a hint. She was the social worker who brought charges against Lizzy.”
“Shut up,” Tristan said. “I always knew he had some kind of connection in CPS to bring up those flimsy charges.”
“And that’s not all,” Sean joined the conversation.
He really didn’t know how much more he would be able to take, but he had to keep going. “What?”
“She was fired last week for bringing up those charges. She’s not happy about not getting Paul’s insurance money either. Apparently, she’s been doing Paul for the past eight years.”
“How do you know the exact time?” He looked at both men.
“People talk,” Brad said. “You’d be surprised what relatives will tell you. A cousin confirmed the affair, but couldn’t say for sure if Justin was Paul’s. My intel says that he is.”
“Oh my goodness,” Tristan said. “Lizzy would be a likely suspect, if you guys didn’t think it was a government hit.”
“About that,” Sean said, “closer investigation shows the bullet holes didn’t line up, and I can’t a find a connection to any agency. Not for a contract killing anyway.”
“Someone really needs to talk to this woman. Maybe she’s pissed enough to start talking. Especially, if she thinks it might get her that money.”
“Already on it,” Sean said. “Got an agent going to visit her in the morning for an interview. I think she’s just mad enough to start talking.:
Tristan’s brain digested all the information floating around the table. “Man, I’d love to be there, but she knows my face. I attended the meeting with Lizzy.”
Brad shook his head. “I told you man. Just pick the date already.”
“I’m so not listening to you.”
***
Lizzy was waiting for Tristan when he got home. She had so much to tell him. They had so much to discuss, thanks to Barney and her information. It was near ten o’clock and he still wasn’t back yet. She wasn’t worried, well maybe a little bit. What would he think of this now? Would this mean too much drama?
She sat on the couch and waited. She grabbed her cell phone, thinking of all things she had to do the next day. She’d narrowed the contract bids down the three. She’d have to schedule interviews with each company and make a final decision by next week. She had to put the finishing touches on Iz
zy’s celebration scheduled for the next weekend.
Finally, she heard the garage door opening, and closing. Soon Tristan walked through the kitchen door with his briefcase and looking extremely tipsy. Oh, my, she thought. He was going to be sick tomorrow.
“Hey baby,” he said as he took a seat by her on the couch. He leaned over and gave her the loudest, wettest kiss ever.
“Hey, yourself. How many drinks did you have?”
He shrugged those broad shoulders. “Two or three beers. Brad kept ordering more beer.”
“Did you eat any dinner?”
“Yes, we ate chicken wings, and fried cheese.” He shrugged out of his jacket. “I have so much to tell you. Brad had a report on Paul.” He took her hand in his, and looked deeply in her eyes. He filled her in on the contents of the report. “Baby, I hate to say this, but it has to be said. Paul has a son.”
“I know.”
“You know? And you didn’t say anything? I kept trying to think of a gentle way to tell you and you already knew.”
“Before you get your Irish dander up, I just found out tonight. Some problem about one of Paul’s policies. Bea didn’t know what to do, so I called a friend and she gave me the run down. I can’t believe this. It just keeps getting worse instead of better.”
He pulled her in his arms. “Now, Lizzy. This is bigger than both of us. We can’t run from Paul’s ever growing mess, no more that we can run from the fact that we’re going to be married. It’s just part of it. We’re combining two families into one.”
Did he just say the M word? She sat up and looked him in the face. “Did you just say something about married?”
“Did I?”
“I must be hearing things,” she muttered.
“Do you love me?” He asked, rubbing her hand.
“Yes.” She didn’t have to think about it. “Although I tried hard not to, but I was helpless to those Irish charms. Besides, PJ thinks you’re the bomb.”
“I love you, too. There’s no amount of drama that will make me run. We can’t control other people. Paul left a lot of messes and together we will find out what actually happened.”
“I would love to talk to Natasha,” Lizzy said. But she knew her face, so that was out.
