“Probably. And once more thing before I go, the detective was at the memorial. She's trying to fuck with Amelia's head, scare her out of trusting Nightshade. It's the last thing that we need. We've got enough weeds on our lawn.”
“Everything will sort out, one way or the other, and this will be in our rear view soon enough,” Royal told him, his voice sounded tired, and for once he looked every year of his age. “I'll see you later at the bar. Ten o'clock. Don't be late.”
“Got it.” Danny checked the time on his phone. It was quarter to seven, which left him with plenty of time to grab something for breakfast and get back to the house before Amelia even woke up. She hadn't even stirred when he'd gotten out of bed.
He considered cooking but decided to instead stop at Baked and pick up something sugary and sweet. He knew that Amelia had a weakness for carrot cake, and they made really good muffins. There was a woman he didn't recognize behind the register, and she bagged his order with a smile. Danny paid, even though normally the owner, Wayne, gave him a freebie.
Danny grinned as he entered his own house as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake Amelia. He planned on making coffee and taking everything up to her but instead he found her at the kitchen table with his laptop. “Hey. You should still be in bed.”
“Couldn't sleep. I borrowed your laptop, I hope that's okay.”
“Yeah, thing just really sits around gathering dust. I got breakfast. I see you started the coffee.” He set the bag from Baked down on the table. She looked a little better this morning even though the bruise on her cheek was more prominent.
“I did, and you've got some really crappy coffee. Have I mentioned that before?”
“Get the coffee that you want the next time you go to the store. What do you need the laptop for?”
“I've got to look for a job if I'm staying. Can't take anything too far, because the Jeep isn't exactly the most reliable mode of transportation these days. Thing starts to shake if I go over thirty-five.”
“And when were you going to mention that?” Danny questioned as he began to unpack the bag from the bakery.
“I just did.” She replied.
“I'll have someone from Dave's place come and take a look at it, though I suspect that we're better off just putting that thing out of its misery.”
“That thing is my only means of transportation.” She informed him.
“So we'll take a look and find something else.” Danny didn't see the problem.
“You're not buying me a vehicle, and I certainly can't afford one without a job and there are no freaking jobs in this town, from what I can tell.” She shut the laptop with more force than necessary, but he knew better than to say a word. He recognized the edge to her voice. “I'll just go around tomorrow, see if I can find any help wanted signs.”
“Only place hiring around here is Foxy Bend, and something tells me that you're not desperate enough to work there.”
“Don't underestimate my desperation.” She replied. Her smile told Danny she was joking but it didn't quite meet her eyes. “I'm broke.”
“How broke are you?” Danny got his answer in the way that she wouldn't look at him, even when he put the muffin down in front of her. “Amelia?”
“I can't afford a new car, but I'll be fine. Why are we talking about this? Wait, is this a carrot cake muffin?”
“Yes, it is, and don't change the subject. Did you forget to pay your phone bill, or did your phone get turned off?” Danny was pissed for two reasons. The first being that she hadn't told him she was having any money problems and the second was that he hadn't realized it before. He should have by the way she'd acted whenever they'd gone to any store together.
“So what? I had to tighten my belt.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I'm going to toast my muffin. Do you want yours toasted?”
“No. I don't want mine toasted.” Danny sighed. “You need a phone, Amelia?”
“People got along fine for hundreds of years without cell phones,” she pointed out as she moved over to the toaster. “And they all survived just fine.”
“Fuck those people. We're not talking about them, we're talking about you. With everything that's going on right now, you definitely need a phone. We'll go get one after I get back from my meeting.” It wasn't a point of discussion, it was just fact.
“You've got a meeting this morning?” He heard the disappointment in her voice.
“Yeah, and Royal already warned me not to be late.” Danny told her. “So we'll go after, but I shouldn't be long. Don't argue with me on this.”
“Fine, I won't argue but I will pay you back.” She set the toaster and walked over to the fridge to take out the butter. “And I don't need a fancy phone. Just a burner will be fine.”
“Are you still crazy when it comes to money?” Danny knew that the question could get him in deep shit, but it needed to be asked.
“Crazy?” Amelia set the butter down and eyed him.
“Yes, crazy.” Danny replied. Crazy was crazy, and when it came to money she'd always been one to keep track, to try and keep things balanced. And her crazy made him crazy because he'd be damned if she paid him back for a sweater or pair of boots.
“It's not crazy to be aware of what you have available and what you're spending.” She huffed. “And just because you're my husband doesn't mean that I can't support myself. I can. I've been doing just fine. Just fucking fine.”
“Say that again.” He realized she didn't know what she'd said, and that made it even better to hear.
“Just fucking fine?” She looked over at him as if he'd lost his mind.
“No, say the part where you called me your husband again. And I'm going to tell you what I've always told you. It's my job to take care of you. I want to take care of you, and it pisses me off when you act like that doesn't matter.”
“I don't want to end up like my parents, alright? My mother didn't work. My father doled her out what he called pin money each week. A measly twenty dollars just for her. Everything else she spent, she reported it back to him down to the last penny. Gave him receipts and shit. If she was short, it came out of her pin money.”
Danny thought that he knew everything about Amelia. He hadn't known that. “Jesus Christ, we aren't your parents.”
“Yeah, I know it's not logical, but it is what it is. It's what I think about when you say things like buy a car or a phone. I can do it on my own.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned her back to him as the toaster dinged.
“I know. You could take care of me, too. You're smart, you work hard and there's nothing that you can't do.”
“Now it sounds like you're trying to pacify me.” She kept her back to him.
“I'm not trying to pacify you. It's the truth. Look, you need a phone and I'm buying you one. You aren't paying me back. Can we at least agree on that? What if Detective Harrison comes back around, what are you going to do? Look for a payphone? Send a smoke signal?”
“Fine. I won't pay you back.”
“And that doesn't mean you turn around and buy me something of similar value,” he told her as he reached into his pocket and took out the keys to the Oldsmobile, “you can use the Olds until we figure out what's wrong with the Jeep. But when we go and get the phone, I'm driving.”
Chapter Eight
“So, you guys aren't going to move back in here?” Jackie looked around the Mason living room. “What are you going to do?”
“I like Danny's place. I really do. I guess that I'm going to sell, not that there's much of a market these days. I thought about renting it out, but who is going to want to live in a house where people were likely killed?” An image of bloody princess sheets flashed through her mind.
“Don't take this the wrong way, but we would.” Jackie blushed. “Sorry, I've always loved this house. And I'm just frustrated. The three of us are on top of each other in the apartment. I can't even figure out where we're going to put this one.” She ran her hand over her stomach.
“You want to live here?” Amelia was a little surprised, but she could understand the draw of the house. It was a lovely little house. “Done.” It wasn't even a hard decision. Her friends needed a place to stay, and she never wanted to spend another night underneath the roof.
“Wait, what?” Jackie looked stunned.
“Done. You can keep whatever furniture you want, toss the rest.” Amelia replied. “Some of the stuff is crap, but there are good pieces too.”
“How much rent?” Jackie said.
“Five hundred a month? Or whatever. Like I said, I can't sell it, and I can't live here so someone might as well enjoy it.” It was a better solution than burning the house down or letting it sit and rot like so much of the neighborhood. “Think of it as renting to own. Pay me for four years and we'll call it even.”
“Twenty-four grand for this house? Are you shitting me?”
“No. I am not shitting you. Talk to Earl, let me know.” Amelia told her.
“I will. Holy shit. Really, are you sure?”
“I'm positive. I asked you to come here with me because I can't stand the idea of walking in the door alone, of being here alone. I just want to check the attic for my mother's jewelry box. I didn't think about it the last time I was here. She could have put it up there.” And if it wasn't there, Amelia truly had no clue where it would be. She needed to find it. She needed to sell it, because even though Mahone had told her he was comping the memorial because he was fond of Fiona, she knew that Danny had paid the tab.
“Let's get to it.” Jackie told her. “I love attics and basements. They're always full of history.”
“History in the form of junk. I haven't been up there in years. I have no idea if Fiona's touched anything up there.” Amelia tried to borrow some of Jackie's enthusiasm as they made their way up the stairs. The attic was as dusty as she'd figured it would be, but there were a few spots that were nearly clean. One of them was an old steamer trunk. There was some story about her great grandmother bringing it with her when she emigrated to America, but Amelia couldn't remember the details. She remembered the woman, old, tiny and blind as a bat but with the sharpest hearing ever.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the chest, so she moved on. Amelia finally found the jewelry box inside one of the drawers on a small dresser that she recognized from her childhood bedroom. “I found it.” Amelia cleared her throat and took the box out of it.
There was a small photo album underneath. Amelia had a feeling what she'd see when she opened it. She was right, it was a series of photographs of Fiona with Royal. Most were taken in selfie style with one of them, probably Royal, holding the camera at arm's length. There were others, a few of them taken by someone else, and towards the end, pictures of Taylor with her parents.
“Did you know about the two of them? Or did you just find out?” Jackie asked from behind her.
“I knew.” Amelia admitted.
“So did I.” Jackie's words couldn't have surprised her more. “I saw them once, they were having lunch at this restaurant by where my aunt lives. They saw me see them. The next day Fiona came to the house, asked me not to say anything to anyone. She didn't even want me telling Earl.”
“Did you?” Amelia's heart began to beat faster.
“No. I didn't want to open that kettle of fish.” Jackie admitted. “He was really surprised. I was surprised he told me at all.”
Amelia remembered that Jackie was in the dark about many of the club's dealings. It was what he wanted, and she assumed it was what Jackie wanted. She knew better than to ever ask. Quickly she changed the subject. “We should probably get going, even with the company I don't like being here.”
“Yeah, I should give my mother a break. Call me, though. Tomorrow we can have coffee or something.”
“I will.” Amelia knew that she wouldn't. She knew that Jackie was hanging around because she was worried about her, and she appreciated that. Jackie wasn't the only one worried; there had been more Nightshade foot traffic in and out of Danny's house than normal. They were all worried. All keeping an eye on her. It had to be affecting their own lives. It wasn't fair to them.
It had been nearly a month since she'd been slapped across the face in front of everyone only hours after she'd buried her family. Sure, Missy had apologized, but it was so obviously forced that it didn't even count. Nearly a month of people walking on eggshells and speaking in whispers when she wasn't in the room.
The Jeep was in front of the house when she pulled up. She hadn't expected Danny back, and something told her to check her phone. Sure enough, there were a dozen missed calls. Once again she'd set it on silent and forgotten to check it. “Fuck.” Amelia grabbed her bag and headed inside. This was going to be a fight. “I'm home.” She called out and let the door shut behind her.
“I called your phone.” Danny came out of the kitchen with a beer in his hand. “You didn't answer, again.”
“I was with Jackie. We went to the house. I found the stuff I was looking for. I forgot about the attic. I just realized that my phone was off. I'm sorry.” Amelia felt a little like a broken record. She'd said the same words numerous times, but there was some kind of disconnect between her brain and turning the phone on.
“Yeah, I've heard that before.”
“Don't get an attitude with me. I'm sorry I didn't have my phone on. I'll leave it on from now on, no more silent. Happy?” Amelia knew that her annoyance was obvious in her face.
“At the moment, not really.” Danny replied.
“Excuse me?” Amelia felt her heart starting to beat faster.
“I'm not happy that my wife just takes off and doesn't say a fucking word to me. It's not once or twice either, Amelia. It's constantly.”
“So I'm supposed to report to you?” Amelia threw her purse onto the couch. “Are you serious right now?”
“I don't want you to report to me. I want you to keep your phone on so that if something happens, I can reach you. I can be sure that you're safe”
“I'm sorry.” There was no attitude in her voice this time. “I'm just not used to having to keep it on all the time. I... The only person whoever called me was Fiona, and that was rare because we're not talk on the phone people. She and Taylor would text me.” Amelia saw his expression soften and realized how pathetic she must sound, a grown woman with no friends. “I'll make sure I keep it on. Okay?”
“Okay.” Danny took another sip of beer. “You want one?”
“Sure. You want to see the jewelry I found? I found pictures, too. And I found out something else.” Amelia didn't know when she made the decision to tell him everything that had been on her mind lately, even if he wasn't going to like some of it. “Jackie knew about Royal and Fiona.”
“What?” That got his attention just as it had gotten hers.
“She saw them out for lunch together, the whole clandestine family. Fiona told her the following day. Royal saw her. He knew that she knew but he didn't say anything about it.”
“Maybe he forgot. There's been a lot going on lately,” Danny pointed out, and the excuse sounded weak to Amelia.
“There's something else.” Amelia took a deep breath. He wasn't going to like that she'd kept it from him. She hadn't done it for any particular reason except that she didn't know what to make of it herself. Telling him, saying it out loud, made it real, and she hadn't been ready for that. She still wasn't sure that she was.
“What?”
“When I looked through Fiona's papers, I found out she was on payroll at Davenport Development and there was a life insurance policy.”
“Life insurance?” he repeated.
Amelia nodded. When Danny repeated key points of a conversation like this, it meant that he was thinking, thinking hard. “A million dollar policy with a clause for double payout in the event of the death being not natural.”
“Fiona left you two million dollars.” Now he just looked stunned.
“Not me.” Amelia swallowed hard. “Royal.”
/> Silence followed her words, and she just waited for him to take in the information. “That's not possible. He would have mentioned it.” Danny frowned. “Maybe he doesn't know about the policy, because why wouldn't he mention it?”
Amelia had spent many nights wondering just that thing. The only answer that she'd come up with was unthinkable. She felt guilty even thinking about even considering that Royal might have had a hand, directly or indirectly, in Fiona's death, especially with the Nightshade knife left behind at the scene. Of course, her brain argued, if he was going to take out Fiona or have her taken out, she'd hope that the person would be smart enough to not leave a very recognizable knife behind. “I don't know. Maybe you should ask him.”
“Why didn't you mention this sooner?”
“I didn't know what to make of it,” Amelia admitted. She moved past where he stood, went into the kitchen and came back with two beers. He took one from her. “I still don't.”
“You should have said something anyway. Jesus, just when I think that this whole situation can't get more fucked up, it does.”
“Tell me about it.” Amelia took a long drink from the beer bottle. She really wanted to get drunk, but she'd been drunk the night before and the night before that. It wasn't the time to make getting plastered a nightly habit. She'd have one beer and that would be it. “I just can't get all of this shit out of my head.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling. You know what we need? We need a night in.”
Amelia smiled. A night in was something they'd done at least once a month. There was no outside distraction, except of course the Nightshade phone, and they'd order tons of takeout, watch ridiculous movies and end up laughing until their sides hurt. “That sounds really really nice.”
“I'll get some menus, and you go check out Netflix. We'll have a much bigger selection than we used to at the video section at the grocery store.”
“I never minded the selection. If the movie sucked, we'd just make out through most of it anyway.”
“Even if the movie didn't suck, we'd just make out through most of it,” Danny reminded her with a grin. “And it doesn't matter what movie you pick tonight, we're going to make out so much you're not going to know anything that happened.”
Make It Right (Nightshade MC Book 1) Page 10
