Ravenous

by HELEN HARDT

“Nope.”

  “Isn’t Tamajor a village or something in Nepal?”

  “I have no clue. How would you even know that?”

  “Read it somewhere.”

  “You’re saying some Nepali corporation owns my dad’s cabin?”

  “I’m not saying anything. God only knows what Tamajor Corporation is. Keep digging. The property could have been transferred again.”

  I nodded and went through the rest of the file. Mostly sales invoices and receipts for various stuff, including firearms. I’d have to check them against the guns I’d found. The invoices were all in my father’s name.

  Next I found the police reports on my mother’s stolen jewelry. Why he’d kept them, I had no idea. He’d stolen the shit himself.

  I slammed the folder down on the desk. “I’m so fucking sick of this shit!”

  Joe laughed. Actually laughed. “You think you could possibly be sicker of it than I am? And now my mother.”

  “They won’t hurt her. They want something from us, and she’s their leverage.”

  “I know,” he said.

  “But you’re still worried. I get it. I am too.” I sighed and looked to the ceiling.

  The smoke alarm flashed a blue light at me in a hypnotizing rhythm.

  I’m watching you. I’m watching you.

  No way. I was making things up, letting the little imp in my mind go wild.

  Ruby had swept the place.

  But Ruby had swept for auditory devices…

  “Joe,” I said softly. “Let’s go outside.”

  He raised one eyebrow and nodded. We walked out of the office, through the house, and onto the deck.

  “What is it?”

  “I have a weird feeling that I’m being watched.”

  “You’re spooked from the calls.”

  “That’s probably part of it, but I tell you. It’s like I can feel a hidden camera on my skin.”

  I expected him to tell me I was nuts.

  Instead, he said, “I got the same feeling in my office today. Not so much that someone could hear me, but that someone could see me.

  “Then I’m not crazy?”

  “You probably are. We both probably are. Ruby looked the place over pretty closely.”

  “Yeah, but all she said was she didn’t see any evidence of tampering. She couldn’t do a full sweep without the right tools.”

  “True.”

  “Those phone calls. They specifically said they’re watching us.”

  “Shit. I didn’t even think about that. All this time we’ve been worried about people overhearing us.”

  “On the other hand,” I said, “it could just be a mindfuck. Whoever’s been calling us is trying to spook us, trip us up.”

  “Could be,” he agreed.

  “Damn!” I paced across the redwood. “When is this shit going to end?”

  “I don’t know, bro.” He shook his head. “I just don’t know. I hate burdening the whole family with our past. I hate it, especially with Melanie and Jade both being pregnant.”

  “They all seem to want to help.”

  “Of course they do. But how can we protect them if they’re helping?”

  “I don’t know. They’d say they don’t need protection.”

  “Whether they do or not isn’t the issue. I want to protect them.”

  “I know. They’re not even my family, and I want to protect them too.”

  Marjorie invaded my mind. I’d take a bullet for her, no thought required. Jump into the Grand Canyon if I thought it would keep her safe.

  “I love her, you know.” The words came out almost by themselves.

  “You’d better.”

  “I tried to stay away because I felt so broken after…”

  “You’re not broken, man.”

  “You’re right. I’m not. I’m a little fucked up is all. It’s all so stupid. I’m not responsible for the sins of my father. Life doesn’t work that way. But you know what bothers me the most?”

  “What?”

  “The memories. I have some really good memories of the time the three of us spent together. Justin Valente aside, and he made us forget that for decades.”

  “I know, man. I have the same memories. Your dad taught me a lot.”

  “He taught both of us.”

  Joe laughed. “My own father refused to teach me how to shoot. Said we were ranchers, and any man who held a gun to an animal—any animal, men included—was an animal himself. He never understood that I didn’t want to harm anyone. I just wanted to learn how to handle weapons. I taught Tal and Ryan. My father never knew.”

  “Brad Steel didn’t shoot?” I shook my head. “How did I never know that?”

  “He wasn’t any kind of pacifist or anything. He owned guns himself. It’s just another of the many things about my own father I’ll never understand.”

  “I get that. At least your father didn’t…”

  “Yeah. He wasn’t perfect, but I’ll let you win the shitty father award, though you may have to share it with Ruby.”

  “Mathias was a shitty father to Ruby. That’s the thing, man. My father was good to me. That’s what I’m having a hard time with. It’s hard to reconcile, you know?”

  “Yeah, I know. My father wasn’t who I thought he was either. And before you say it, yes, I know your situation is different. Worse. A lot worse.”

  “I’m done saying that,” I said. “I just wish I didn’t feel so guilty about the good memories. I feel like I should erase him from my mind, from my life.”

  “Have you talked to anyone yet?”

  “You mean therapy? No.”

  “I know a good one. She knows everything now anyway.”

  “She’s your wife, Joe. Your pregnant wife.”

  “She needs to keep working right now. I know her. This will get into her psyche, and she’ll work to keep herself from thinking about it.”

  “You’re saying this could help both of us?”

  “Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”

  I nodded. “Okay. She did wonders for Talon. She’s obviously the best.”

  “That she is.”

  “What was in your file, anyway?” I asked.

  “A lot of nothing. Mostly invoices for farming equipment.”

  “What would my father be doing with farm equipment?”

  Joe chuckled. “You’re right. I work a ranch, so I didn’t think anything of it. But fuck it all. You’re right.”

  “What kind of equipment?” I asked.

  “Let’s take a look.” We walked back inside.

  Again, that eerie feeling that invisible eyes watched me crackled along my skin like tiny gnats.

  We walked to the office anyway, and Joe opened the file. “This is for a mini Bobcat.”

  “What?”

  “You know. You can rent them. It’s a little excavator. Like a mini bulldozer.”

  “Why would my— Shit. You don’t think he buried Justin himself, do you?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him. What did he tell us? He was taking the body to the police, right? He could have just hidden it and come back and disposed of it later.”

  “Oh my God. The floorboards. I was afraid when we started pulling them up that I’d find…”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “No, thank God. But he could be there. Somewhere.”

  Joe went white. “This isn’t our fight. We were kids.”

  “Then why do I feel so responsible?”

  “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I feel the same way. Like we were part of it.”

  “We were,” I said, nausea sweeping up my throat. “We brought him there.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Marjorie

  I was getting ready for bed when my phone buzzed.

  Colin Morse.

  Not a person I wanted to speak to ever, but he could have information. More likely, though, he’d be bothering me to talk to Jade again.

  “What is it, Colin?” I said,
a little more harshly than I meant to, into the phone.

  “Hey, Marj. You called me, remember?”

  Right. I’d forgotten. I’d called and left a voicemail, but I hadn’t mentioned Jade. Only that I needed to talk to him.

  “You said you wanted to speak to me,” he said. “And I want to see you.”

  “I thought you wanted to talk to Jade.”

  “I changed my mind. She’s pregnant, and I don’t want—”

  I cut him off. I was so tired of all of this. “What do you want?”

  “I can’t talk over the phone. Can you meet me in town tonight?”

  “You’re still in Snow Creek?”

  “I’m staying at the hotel. You can meet me here.”

  “And you’re not going to insist that I bring Jade along?”

  “No. I said I changed my mind about that. It’s important.”

  After our family meeting outside this evening, I wasn’t sure I could take anything more. I opened my mouth to tell him I’d see him sometime tomorrow but then thought again. He was willing to talk now. What if he changed his mind by tomorrow?

  “All right.”

  “Meet me at the bar in the hotel.”

  “Sure. Give me a half hour or so. I’ll be there.” I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. Talon and Jade were both home for the evening, so the boys were taken care of. I was free as a bird.

  I’d much rather be at the guesthouse with Bryce, but maybe I could finally get some information out of Colin. I knew him almost as well as Jade did, and in fact, I’d known him longer. I met him before my best friend while we were in college.

  I should tell Talon and Jade I was leaving.

  The thought hovered in my mind. If they noticed I was gone, they’d be concerned. Not that I felt I had to check in with them, but I didn’t want them worrying.

  Something niggled at me, though. Something I couldn’t quite identify. A feeling that I shouldn’t tell anyone I was meeting Colin.

  Normally I ignored those silly feelings, but tonight I didn’t.

  Tonight, it was important I keep this under wraps. I had no idea why, but I felt it strongly.

  I walked quietly out of the house with no one the wiser.

  “Hey.” I sat down next to Colin at the small bar in the hotel.

  “Let’s move to a table,” he said.

  “Not even a ‘hi’?” I said.

  He didn’t respond, so I followed him to a small round table in the corner of the tiny room and sat down on one of the chairs.

  “Spit it out, Colin,” I said.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “How etiquette-minded of you. You couldn’t say hello, but you say thank you.”

  He opened his mouth, but I stopped him with a gesture.

  “I’m not interested in any explanation. Let’s just get to the meat of the matter. Why am I here?”

  He cleared his throat. “My therapist suggested I find someone I trust to share this with.”

  “And you trust me?”

  “Well, you and Jade. But she’s pregnant, and I don’t want to add to her stress. Besides, the beast probably wouldn’t have let her come anyway.”

  “If that’s your term for my brother—the one who didn’t abandon her at the altar, by the way—this conversation will end right now.” I stood. “See you.”

  “No. Wait. I’m sorry.”

  I sat back down. “You don’t sound remotely sorry.”

  “The guy kicked the tar out of me. I’m not a fan, okay?”

  I said nothing, just gave him the evil eye. My brother had overreacted when Colin showed up at our place last summer. He hadn’t been in a good place. All my brothers were prone to be hotheads, Joe most of all. I wasn’t going to share this with Colin, however.

  “I didn’t want to leave Jade,” he finally said, staring at the table.

  “What are you talking about? You mean for the wedding?”

  “Yeah. I said I got cold feet.”

  “A lot of people get cold feet on their wedding day. You took it one step further.”

  “This isn’t coming out right,” he said. “What I mean is, it wasn’t…”

  “Wasn’t what? Spit it out, Colin.” My voice came out harsh, and I regretted it, but only because of what Colin had been through at Bryce’s father’s hands.

  “It was my father,” he said. “My father’s idea for me not to marry Jade.”

  I jerked in surprise. “That’s what you wanted to tell me? You said your father called you a coward when you didn’t show up.”

  “He did. But not because I left Jade at the altar.”

  “All right. Slow down. You’re going to have to walk me through this because none of it makes any kind of sense. You left her. That’s a fact. Your father called you a coward. Another fact, at least according to you. Now start at the damned beginning.”

  He stared at the table again.

  And I stared at him. His hair had grown back quite a bit, but still I could see a scar on the top of his scalp. A very precise scar, as if he’d had brain surgery.

  He hadn’t had brain surgery. Tom Simpson had made that scar. I didn’t want to know how or why. The top of his left ear was also damaged. Odd that I hadn’t noticed before, except that it was more toward the back. Looking at him face-to-face, I wouldn’t have seen it. It almost looked like someone had taken a small bite out of the outer shell of his ear.

  This man had been brutally abused.

  And I was beginning to wonder…

  “Your father has controlled you since you were born, hasn’t he?” I said.

  Colin looked up, meeting my gaze. “No.”

  “Colin…”

  “He thinks he controls me. He doesn’t.”

  “How, then, was he able to get you to leave Jade on your wedding day? If indeed he was behind it as you say.”

  “He didn’t think Jade was good enough for me.”

  “Really? I’m not buying it. Jade was at the top of her class in college and law school, and she’s the daughter of a supermodel.”

  “There were other circumstances.”

  “Like what?”

  “She might be Brooke Bailey’s daughter, but she didn’t come from money.”

  “So?”

  He let out a soft huff. “You’re right. It’s all bullshit.”

  “Yeah. I already knew that. What’s really going on? Was your father behind your decision not to marry Jade, and if he was, why does it matter now?”

  He looked back down at the table.

  For several minutes.

  Then, finally, “Do you have anything keeping you here?” Colin asked.

  “What?”

  “Would it be possible for you to go away for a while? You and Jade?”

  “Are you kidding me? Jade is pregnant and just adopted two kids. You think she can just up and leave?”

  “I want the two of you safe.”

  “We are safe. Safe at home with Talon.” And Bryce, but I didn’t want to tell Colin about Bryce and me. I wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t a secret. It was just too new.

  “Marj, things are heating up.”

  “What things? You come to us and you talk in riddles. If you want our cooperation, you need to start spilling some facts.”

  “I don’t have any facts. I mean, I can’t substantiate anything. Not yet, anyway. But I’ve been looking. My father…” He rubbed his chin. “I don’t want to believe everything I’m seeing, you know? Things I’m finding out.”

  My mentally ill mother was missing, and I was getting nothing from Colin. I’d had enough. “What the hell is this all about?”

  He took a drink from the brown liquid in his glass. Probably Scotch. Colin used to drink a lot of Scotch. “My father has been meeting with someone. I don’t know who it is.”

  “Man? Woman? Black? White? You’ve got to give me something here, Colin.”

  “It’s a man. A white man. He has dark hair.”

  “Ey
e color?”

  “I haven’t seen him close enough to tell.”

  “Height?”

  “Average.”

  “And why do you think this person has anything to do with us?”

  Colin held his drink, swirling the amber liquid in the glass. “It’s a feeling.”

  I shook my head. “You’re lying. You wouldn’t bring me here and tell me Jade and I have to leave town over a feeling.”

  He stared at the mahogany wood of the table. “Like I said, I can’t substantiate anything. Not yet. That’s all I can say.”

  “I’m not buying it.”

  “You don’t understand. That’s all I can say.” Without moving his head, he looked to the doorway. Someone had entered.

  Someone I knew.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Bryce

  “We’re done here. At least for now.” I closed the file and regarded Joe. “I can’t deal with this anymore tonight.”

  “Amen to that.” Joe stood. “We can talk tomorrow. Most of these files look like dead ends anyway. I’ll let myself out.”

  I nodded. I tidied up the desk a little and then headed to my bedroom. Big. Big and empty.

  I wanted Marjorie. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to call her.

  She didn’t respond, so I called the landline at the main house. “Yeah?” Talon answered.

  “I’m trying to reach Marjorie,” I told him.

  “Oh? Didn’t she answer her phone?”

  “No.”

  “I assume she’s in her bedroom. Hold on a minute.”

  He hadn’t asked why I wanted to talk to her. Why should he? We were all adults.

  “She’s not in her room,” Talon said. “Jade hasn’t seen her.”

  Worry boiled in my gut. “It’s after nine.”

  “I know. I don’t like this. Not with everything that’s going on. I’m going to try texting her.”

  “I will too.”

  I hurriedly wrote out a text.

  Is everything okay? No one can

  reach you. Where are you?

  I didn’t get an answer.

  “Anything?” I asked Talon.

  “No.”

  “I’m going out to look for her,” I said.

  “I’ll come along,” he said.