“You’re not really arresting me are—”
Bolton grabbed his arm just above the elbow in a grip that managed to be painless and yet completely solid. He dragged Matthias through the front door without saying anything. Dotty, the elderly dispatcher, gaped. John turned from the white board he was studying and watched as Bolton shoved Matthias through the door of the single cell and slammed it shut.
“You cannot be serious.”
Bolton completely ignored him. He strode back to John and the two had a whispered conversation. John glanced once at Matthias, showing zero emotion on his face. And why did it bother Matthias the two of them might be disappointed in him anyway? So he got mad and nearly punched the doctor. This was a free country, wasn’t it?
“This is a free country, son.”
Papa’s grip on his hair stung, but Matthias refused to cry. He wasn’t going to be anything like him, not ever in his life. He’d seen Papa hit Mama last night, and now they were out in the truck on the freeway and Papa was acting like nothing was wrong.
Why did Papa bring him, anyway? Matthias had homework, but Papa didn’t care about school. He didn’t care about anything. He said he loved them, and then he yelled at Maria about her backpack. Like it was her fault Papa’s hook fell off the wall when she hung it up.
All they ever did was tiptoe around him, dead scared they’d get yelled at next. Papa was like a time-bomb waiting to blow up all over them.
The truck edged off the freeway. Papa pulled in behind a closed carpet store and stopped alongside a shiny old Cadillac and a tall man got out of the back. The tall man’s eyes made Matthias pull his feet up on the seat even though Papa would smack them back down when he saw.
He hugged his knees as Papa rolled down the window. Papa lifted the gun and shot the man through the window.
Matthias screamed. He felt the wetness on the seat of his jeans before he realized what he’d done. Papa swung the gun around and hit Matthias on the side of the head. His scream cut off, and he slumped in the seat.
The disposable cup was cold against his fingers.
“Take a drink.”
Matthias looked down at the water and then lifted it to sip. Bolton had crouched beside him, the cell door open now. Matthias didn’t look at his boss. He couldn’t.
“It’s okay to give yourself a minute.”
Matthias took another sip of water. “And I don’t need your sympathy.”
“You need something.”
Matthias looked at him then. There was no recrimination in Bolton’s eyes, only the same sense of connection he’d seen in his boss from the first day he’d met him. “I suppose you know what that is?”
He looked beyond Bolton to where John stood at the cell door. Dotty had vacated her desk. She’d probably gone home when Matthias started to freak out, scared he was some kind of mental patient.
“What triggered it?” John’s voice was calm.
Matthias shrugged, thinking it through. “Fenton blurted out about Susan’s death, and Frannie started yelling. The drug was affecting her. She said I killed Uncle Benny, and I was going to kill her, too. I think she was talking about her father, like she thought I was him. Then it just hit me that Fenton could be the killer. Any of us could. That’s why we’re all here, right?”
What was the point of trying to hide it anymore? There was only one reason they sent people to Sanctuary, and it wasn’t because they were innocent.
The door flew open, bouncing off the wall.
Matthias stood. “Mama—”
“Don’t tell them.” Her big eyes were tear-filled, and she clasped her hands in front of her belly, hugging her middle. “Please don’t tell them. Things are fine. They can stay the way they are.”
Bolton glanced between them, but he didn’t look surprised.
Matthias turned his head to lock eyes with his boss. “You know, don’t you?”
“Matty—”
“Mama, what’s the point?” He spat. “They’re not idiots. They probably figured it out already. Face it, it’s never going to go away. I need to accept the consequences of what I did.”
She pushed past the sheriff, filling the tiny cell with her girth. “You saved us. That’s what you did. Don’t you for one second think otherwise, Matthias Hernandez.”
“I’m done hiding it. I can’t do it anymore.”
John’s voice was completely even when he said, “You killed your father.” It wasn’t a revelation; it was a statement of fact. “I figured from the holes in your story there was more to it.”
Matthias frowned. “You knew?” His mom gripped his hand, but Matthias was way too resigned to what was about to happen to accept her solidarity.
John shrugged. “It didn’t add up, but it happened a long time ago.”
“So instead of finding whoever is killing people and hurting Frannie, you’ve been trying to catch me in a lie? Is that why you were outside the bakery?”
“I am able to multitask.” John motioned to the board and for the first time, Matthias saw the pictures and notes. “The list of suspects is dwindling, but I will find whoever’s doing this.”
“I want to help.”
“I know you do.”
Mama tutted. “Matthias, they’re cops. You just keep looking after Frannie.”
“No.” He looked at John, and then Bolton. “I want in. I’m not just going to sit around and wait for her to die. I want to do something.”
John said, “Fenton’s too tall to be the person who ran at Frannie.”
“And the old man, the bio-chemist?”
“Not mobile enough. He could barely walk, let alone run.”
“So you’re out of suspects.”
John said, “Just because we don’t know who it is doesn’t mean we’ll never figure it out.”
Matthias let go of his mom’s hand and folded his arms. “It wasn’t me. I’m not the killer.”
Bolton took a half-step toward him. “No one thinks that.”
“And I’m not crazy, having psychotic episodes.”
“That remains to be seen,” John said.
Everyone looked at him.
John kept his gaze on Matthias when he said, “I want you to talk to someone.”
“I thought that’s what I was doing.”
John smirked. “I mean a professional. Until you do, your judgment will be in question.” His mom looked like she was about to say something, but John continued. “No arguments. You can be here, and you will be in the loop. But you don’t call the shots.”
“Done.”
As long as he was helping keep Frannie safe, Matthias didn’t care how tied his hands were going to be. They weren’t questioning his judgment as such, but they would be—along with everything else he said or did. Because of what he’d done twenty years ago.
Matthias’s cheeks warmed. “Am I losing it?”
Bolton shook his head. “It was going to come out, sooner or later. I’m honestly surprised it took so long before it reared its head. Matthias, you’re not crazy but you do have a lot of junk to work through before you can get your temper under control. Until then, you have to check your reactions. You can’t go lighting in to people just because you’re mad.”
He hung his head. “I’ll apologize to Doctor Fenton.”
Bolton squeezed his shoulder. “I’d be surprised if he lets you in to see Frannie after you accused him of multiple murders.”
Matthias gritted his teeth. “I’ll convince him.”
“We’ll all talk to him,” his mom said. “We’ll tell him you’re only scared because you’re in love with Frannie.”
Matthias’s head whipped up to look at his mom.
Her eyes were dancing. “A mother always knows.”
Matthias nodded, but inside his stomach was wrenching. There might be a small chance Fenton would let him in to see Frannie. But when she woke up he was going to have to explain what he’d done.
Her father had killed her uncle and then tried to kill he
r. When she found out he was the one who killed his dad, Frannie was going to turn him away. She wouldn’t want to be with someone just like her father. Not when Matthias couldn’t handle his own anger. That was the worst part of it. Because there was no way he could ever let himself hurt Frannie. Until he got all this figured out, and got his feelings under control, there was no way Matthias deserved a strong, pure woman like Frannie.
It burned like fire through him, incinerating the hope he’d had that they could find a future together. Matthias had been kidding himself, refusing to see reality for what it was. Their dates had been amazing; there was no doubt about that. She might like him now, but once she knew the truth Frannie would walk away.
And he would let her.
His mom kissed his cheek. “Fenton will come around. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”
Matthias didn’t correct her. He knew what was coming.
The sheriff’s radio buzzed. He grabbed it off the table and pressed the button. “Sheriff Mason.”
“This is Sofia, um…sheriff.”
Matthias and his mom both rushed to where the sheriff stood by his desk.
“Maria’s at Antonia’s house. She’s going berserk. She’s trying to kill them both.”
Chapter 18
Matthias jumped out of Bolton’s truck before he’d come to a complete stop. Maria was on the front lawn, screeching at Tom and Antonia.
His brother-in-law looked like he always did. Beside him, looking disheveled and remorseless, was Antonia—barely covered by a silk robe.
Tom put both his hands up. “Maria, listen—”
“Oh, so now you want to talk? I haven’t seen you in days, and you’ve barely acknowledged me in weeks.”
Beyond them, Sofia stood on the sidewalk. Dressed in jeans and her nursery polo shirt, she still wore her gloves and looked like she’d run all the way from work. Probably the neighbors had called about the noise—but they hadn’t been the ones to call the sheriff. They left that up to her.
Matthias’s heart went out to his younger sister. Sure, he felt for Maria, but she seemed to be handling her anger justifiably. Sofia hadn’t asked for any of this. She’d been a baby when their father died and didn’t remember him or the impact he’d left on each of them, at all.
Maria strode over, hand raised to slap Antonia across the face. Sheriff Mason got between them, forcing her to back up just out of respect for his size and position. “Tempers are high. I get that.” Sheriff Mason kept his gaze on Maria. “Now isn’t the time to have this conversation, and it shouldn’t happen on the street.” He glanced between all of them. “Let’s not let this get any worse.”
Maria said, “Well excuse me for disturbing your precious town. But I just found out my own sister is a traitorous, backstabbing—” The word she used to describe Antonia made Matthias’s cheeks burn.
Sofia whimpered.
“How dare you!” Antonia flew at Maria, but Tom held her back.
“Don’t.”
“You heard what she just called me!”
The intimacy between Tom and Antonia was obvious, and it made Matthias’s heart break for Maria. At once the three of them were yelling, each trying to be heard over the other. Sheriff Mason did his best to interject, trying to de-escalate the situation, but they weren’t paying him any mind.
Matthias stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could. When he had everyone’s attention, he turned to Antonia. “Go inside and get dressed.”
He had nothing else to say to her. Not when her actions had torn their family apart, and not in any repairable way that Matthias could see. Antonia clearly hadn’t been concerned with anything other than her own pleasure. The least of which was what would happen to her nephews.
He turned to Maria. “Where are the boys?”
“At the park with Aaron and Pat.”
Matthias nodded. At least she’d had that figured out before she started this. His mom, who’d shown up sometime in the last couple of minutes said, “I’ll go to them.”
Mama hugged Sofia, kissing her on the forehead before she walked away down the sidewalk faster than he’d thought she could move.
Maria’s tear-filled voice broke through his thoughts. “How could you do this?” It was barely a whisper, her attention fully on her husband.
Matthias turned so he could find out the answer. Tom’s expression was brittle. “It’s not what you think, Maria. But you can’t understand that. Can you?”
Bolton huffed, like he had no patience for Matthias’s brother-in-law. The truth was, his friend was more like family to Matthias than Tom.
Tom sneered at the rancher. “Why are you even here?”
Bolton didn’t answer. He just looked at Tom.
Matthias turned back to his brother-in-law. “You’re here with Antonia, who was half-dressed. What are we supposed to think?”
“I was trying to stop her.” Tom rubbed his temple. “It’s not me she’s sleeping with. Maria—” He turned his earnest eyes to his wife. “You have to believe me, Maria. It’s not me. He was here before you showed up. I was trying to convince Antonia it’s a horrible idea to get involved with him, but she won’t listen.”
Maria folded her arms, not backing down. “Who is Antonia sleeping with?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Antonia came back out on her heeled boots wearing jeans that probably cost her a week’s pay and a designer shirt that she’d told him was supposed to look like it was old. Everyone saw the look that passed between them. Tom said, “Tell them it’s not me.”
Antonia lifted her chin. “I won’t say who it is. It’s none of any of your business.”
“You have to tell them!” Tom’s face was red. “Maria thinks it’s me!”
She slammed her hands on her slim hips and said to Maria, “So now you know.”
That was it. No remorse. Matthias’s heart sank. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
She looked like he’d slapped her. “It’s not like I planned it, okay?”
“You didn’t stop it either.” He glanced at Tom, the man’s regret was almost palpable. “You’re not even going to clear this up for Tom and Maria?”
Antonia didn’t say anything.
“Seriously?” Bolton shook his head. “You’ve done a serious wrong to your family and your sister, and you don’t even have the grace to apologize?”
Antonia glared at Bolton. “You don’t get to judge me. My personal life is none of any of your business.”
Matthias said, “It is if you’re hurting Tom and Maria.”
“I didn’t ask for him to stick his nose and his opinion into my business!” She huffed. “Besides, we’re in love.”
“Are you serious?” Sofia shoved past John, making everyone gape. “Can you even hear yourself? You don’t care about anyone. I don’t even believe you know what love is, let alone being capable of feeling it for someone else. I’ve lived with you for years, Antonia. I know you. The real you.”
Antonia butted in with, “Sofia.”
Matthias shot her a look and she gave up what she’d been about to say.
Sofia shook her head. “Antonia comes in at lunch every Monday and Thursday. If it’s just this one guy, it’s been going on for months.”
“So when I confronted her at the nursery, you knew?”
Sofia didn’t say anything. “I don’t want it to be any of my business. Not if it was Tom, or anyone else.”
“You could have told me, you shouldn’t have let me wonder.” Maria moved toward Sofia, at once full of anger again. An aggressive anger.
“Maria.” Matthias couldn’t let this get out of hand.
Sofia glanced at him, wide eyed. “You always side with her. None of you care about me.”
He tried again. “Sof—”
“No!” She turned to Antonia. “I’ll be finding a new place to live. You need to find a new job.”
“You can’t fire me, you’re not the boss!”
Matthias shook his head. “You don’t have the money to buy me out.”
“I’ll get the money. I’ll talk to Stan and get a loan. I don’t care. I won’t work with her anymore.” Sofia stormed away.
Antonia yelled after her. “You can’t do that. You have no right.”
“Antonia.” Matthias was at the end of his tether.
In the balance of Maria’s emotions and the family had Sofia been lost in the mix? Whether she had or not, she seemed to feel like she’d been forgotten or neglected. He would sell the nursery to Sofia for a dollar if it made her happy.
He stared at his sister. “I think you’ve done enough damage for one day.”
Maria, who’d been staring at Tom this whole time trying to illicit some kind of reaction, finally said, “How could you not tell me? I thought she was having an affair with you.”
Antonia didn’t say anything. Tom looked at the ground for a second, and then back up at his wife. “Maria—”
“I can’t live with this anymore. Your stuff will be on the front lawn.” She turned and walked away.
Matthias followed, catching her around the shoulders with his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Maria sighed as they walked. “I’m not a model wife. I know that.”
“Your shortcomings don’t have anything to do with not being able to trust Tom. He could have told you what Antonia was doing but he didn’t. He may have been trying to help. But he should have thought about how it would’ve looked.”
“I’m not blameless. But what’s going to happen to Reuben and Simeon? I don’t want them living in two houses.” She stopped then, burying her face in her hands. “What am I going to do? It was hard enough to keep my life together when he was helping, and now it’ll just be me. I don’t want to be a single mom!”
The anguish in her eyes tore at his heart.
“Maria—”
“I don’t want words, Matthias. You’ve always protected me, even when it was so hard it kills me to think about what you did.”
It affected him, too, realizing he was no less of a monster than his father, so easily killing him. It wasn’t solving the problem when he’d had to virtually destroy himself in the process. All that was left now was—what? He wanted to tell her they could work it out, that she and Tom could heal their relationship and fix what was wrong. But Maria wasn’t going to listen.
Sanctuary Buried WITSEC Town Series Book 2 Page 21
