by M T Stone
Trey: Yeah, but there are lots of people coming and going.
Mandy: Wish I was there.
Trey: Me too.
Mandy: Try to get some sleep.
Trey: You too. I’ll keep you posted.
Mandy: XoXo
Trey: XXOO
Following our exchange, I’m taken aback by the strong yearning feeling inside of me. I want her to be here with me more than anything right now. I look at my watch and realize it has only been four hours since we parted ways at the airport, but it feels much longer. I sit back in the chair and think about the incredible sex we had on our return flight. I think that was the highlight of my sex life so far. Shit, thinking about that isn’t going to help me sleep. The door suddenly opens again, startling me. I quickly shift in my chair to hide any evidence of my thought-provoked arousal.
“Mr. Addison?” a uniformed officer asks.
“Yes,” I respond, rising carefully from the chair.
“Your mother’s suspicions were correct,” he starts out. “The suicide note was not written by your brother. Whoever wrote it though, obviously had access to a sample of his handwriting.”
“I knew that note didn’t sound like him,” I reply, confirming my suspicions.
“Thank you, by the way, for calling in and reporting what Vanessa had failed to tell us,” he says, pulling up an app on his iPad. “Does she know the name of the caller?”
“I don’t think so. She just heard one side of the conversation, but she said that it got heated almost immediately.” I reach back and rub my neck, which is getting sore from sitting too much lately.
“Do you know who it was?” he asks pointedly.
“How would I know?” I ask, completely confused by the officer’s question.
“Well, I was just on the phone with Detective Kelly and you are still under investigation for your father’s death and now your brother is nearly taken out,” he replies with steely eyes. “With your brother gone, you would be the sole heir to the entire fortune.”
“Whoa,” I reply. My mind instantly begins to whirl. “I don’t care what I would inherit. There is no way I would ever kill anyone, especially my father and brother!” I take a step back, reeling in shock from his accusation.
“Well, most crimes like this end up being domestics that are motivated by greed,” the officer continues to talk, but my mind is already going a million different directions. “I don’t see any motive for Vanessa to act alone, since they are only engaged,” he concludes and now silence fills the space between us.
“Vanessa said that he was arguing with the caller about Tommy Fowler. It had nothing to do with me!” I counter after my thoughts begin to clear. That seems like an obvious glitch in his disturbing theory.
“That’s what she says.” He gives me a disturbing glare. “Is there any history between you and Vanessa?”
His question nearly makes my already queasy stomach repel its limited contents. In fact, I feel the harsh grip of acid as it surges up into my throat. I stare at him for a moment in complete disbelief of the question. Is he really thinking that this could be some type of conspiracy between Vanessa and me?
“No!” I blurt out. “I mean, we are old friends from growing up together, but she has been with Tyler for years.” I reach out and allow myself to collapse back into the chair.
“Are you okay?” he asks, giving me a look of concern.
“Yeah, I have just had one hell of a day and now I’m being accused of trying to kill my brother.” I run my hand over my face and beads of sweat fall onto my lap.
“You seem more than a little stressed out,” he says, witnessing the sweat dripping from my face. “Are you sure you are okay?”
“I suffer from anxiety and I’ve had the most stressful two weeks anyone could possibly imagine. On top of that, hospitals make me feel claustrophobic. So no, I’m probably not okay.” I reach to the side for a paper towel and wipe the sweat from my face and brow. “I just can’t believe all of this shit.”
“I’m sorry, Trey but we need to evaluate whether or not you are a threat to your brother’s safety,” he adds, making me suddenly realize that they are concerned by the fact that I am alone with him in the room.
“Seriously?” I gasp, closing my eyes and throwing my head back against the wall. “I had nothing to do with this. I can’t believe you guys would even think that?”
“Well, for one thing, Vanessa didn’t seem all that upset when we interviewed her earlier. That’s normally a huge red flag,” he explains.
“I agree,” I reply. “I was thinking the same thing. Mom was a wreck tonight and Vanessa seemed to be a little unfazed by everything.”
“Then when I talked to Detective Kelly, he mentioned that you brought a girl to your father’s funeral that looked an awful lot like Vanessa,” he adds, sending another stabbing pain into my stomach. “He said that several people who attended had commented on it, so it must have been a pretty strong resemblance.”
He pauses, obviously searching for clues in my reaction to his statement. “I’m not going to say another word without consulting my attorney.” I move past him and out the door into the hallway trying to catch my breath.
“Your father was about to restructure his will and he ends up dead. Your brother was about to marry a woman who you have always loved and someone tries to take him out,” he speculates out loud as he follows me out of the room. “In the end, you and Vanessa get together and share the entire fortune.” He stares intently at me as I spin on my heel resulting in a stare down. “I can’t let you stay here tonight without supervision,” he adds after several seconds.
“I understand. I’ll go to Mom’s and have a long talk with my attorney first thing in the morning,” I tell him curtly. “I didn’t kill my father and I haven’t been conspiring with Vanessa on anything. I don’t love her anymore.”
“If that’s true, can I see your phone?” he asks, causing yet another shockwave to reverberate through my already taxed nervous system. I quickly assess how many times she has called me and sent text messages. Some of those messages could easily be misinterpreted. Fuck!
“I’ll talk with my attorney first thing tomorrow and then I’ll give you guys whatever you need,” I tell him with complete sincerity.
“That’s what I thought.” He taps the iPad twice against his hand and adds, “Don’t be leaving town for the next few days. This is just the beginning of the process.”
“Can I at least say goodbye to my brother?” I ask, looking back toward his room.
The cop gives me an unconvinced look and nods toward the elevator. “He’s stable. You can see him in the morning.”
I pull out my phone to let Tony know that I need a ride to Mom’s house. I overhear the officer telling the nurse at the front desk to not allow me any unsupervised visitation. I should be angry, but I just feel sick. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Addison,” he says with a firm lip as he steps into the elevator and the doors begin to close behind him.
I take two quick steps to reach the elevator and grab the closing door. “You aren’t going to find any evidence tying me to either of these crimes, because I had nothing to do with them!” I stand there face to face with him as the elevator dings and the doors pause for a long moment. “You are wasting time instead of finding who is actually behind this!”
“Like I said, sir, this is only the beginning of the process,” he says with an unapologetic glare. “I will be in touch,” he adds as the doors begin to close again.
I again stop the doors from closing. “Someone needs to stay here with him until Mom can get back up here. I’m not leaving him here alone.”
“How long will she be?” he asks, seeming to understand my concern.
“I’ll call her now, so twenty minutes?” I unlock my phone and punch her number.
“I can hang out here until she shows up,” he replies, exiting the elevator and walking back toward Tyler’s room.
I turn and glance over at the nurse’s s
tation where the head nurse’s stare is fixed upon me. I simply shrug my shoulders and shake my head. It’s not worth the time and breath it would take to explain everything to her. I reach over and punch the elevator button, hoping that Mom will hear the phone and pick up. Fuck my life.
Mandy
A sense of uneasiness washes over me while lying in my old bed. Just relax, everything will work out, I tell myself. The fact that Mom is so sick and Dad has been suffering through a loveless marriage for all these years is enough to make me sick. On top of that, I can tell by the silence of my phone that Trey is back in a world of shit. I want to call him, but I don’t want to bother him if he is at the hospital. I roll over on my side and try to push all of the thoughts from my mind.
After several attempts to focus on relaxation, I stretch to retrieve my phone from the nightstand. I’m pathetic. I click on the last conversation with him and read through the messages we exchanged. Suddenly my phone buzzes and a message pops into the bottom of the screen.
Trey: Call me if you are still up
A huge smile instantly transforms my mood. I click over to phone and press his name.
“What are you doing?” he asks in a sultry voice that makes my skin tingle.
“Just lying here in bed… thinking of you,” I reply as my lips curl up even more.
“I’ve been thinking about you too. Any luck talking to your dad?” He asks, seeming a bit impatient to get right down to business.
“No. But Mom and I talked most of the night and she knows about everything. In fact, she said your dad found cards and notes that Dad had sent to Silvia. That’s how he found out about the affair.”
“Really?” he asks, his voice perking up.
“Yeah, he found them in a cedar chest, along with your Mom’s diary,” I tell him, happy to be sharing some potentially good news with him.
“Well, I’m spending the night at her house,” he explains. “She’s going back to the hospital to stay with Tyler, since the cops are now treating me like a suspect in his case too.”
“They’re what?” His statement literally blows my mind. “You weren’t even in the country!”
“I know, but none of that matters. I was here last week, so I could’ve set it up just like I did with Dad’s. They seem to think that I only travel whenever I need an alibi.” He pauses and I can picture him shaking his head. “According to the cop tonight, their latest theory has Vanessa and I conspiring to inherit Dad’s entire fortune. I don’t even dare go online. I’m sure TMZ and the Enquirer are all over it already.”
“I’m so sorry. You sound exhausted,” I reply, totally feeling his pain. “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
“Well, please ask your Mom if there are any letters or cards that you can send to Jürgen and I will do the same on this end.”
“I’ll ask her in the morning. I thought about doing it tonight, but I couldn’t think of a good reason for making the request,” I tell him honestly. “I didn’t want to tell her the whole insider trading story.”
“Good point. Just ask her if she ever found any letters from Mom. At least then you will know if there is anything worth searching for,” he says, making it all sound easy. “You can always search for them when she is in the bathroom or something.”
“Alright, I’ll try that and see where it gets me,” I agree, even though it will be a little awkward if she catches me. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“I’ll do the same. Sleep well, Mandy. You have to be exhausted too.” He sighs into the phone.
“I know. I’m almost too tired to sleep, my eyes just burn.” I roll onto my back and close them, content to simply listen to him breath.
“When this is all over, you and I are going on the vacation of your dreams,” he says reverting back to that low, sultry voice.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I reply with a giggle. “For now you stay away from Vanessa!”
“I am completely over Vanessa. I want you to believe that,” he replies with an intensity I haven’t heard before in his voice.
“I’m starting to believe it. Maybe.” I pause waiting to see what kind of a response I get from him.
“I hate to have to admit this over the phone, but I’m falling pretty hard for you,” he says in an almost apologetic tone. “I miss you already.”
“Don’t feel too bad cause I miss you, too,” I admit. “I missed you about ten minutes into my flight home.”
“Good, that does make me feel better,” he says thoughtfully. “How is your mom doing?”
“She’s weak, but we really did have a good night. It seemed like she was really glad to see me for once.” I begin to choke up just thinking about it. “You know what’s really weird? She knows everything about the affair. She apparently knew the whole time.” I begin sharing all the sordid details of our conversation and how she had asked me to be open minded in regards to Dad.
“I’m glad you two had that talk. It will definitely help your relationship with your dad. Now get some sleep,” he replies, obviously noticing my increasingly emotional state.
“I will. I’m glad you called.”
“Me too. Good night, Mandy.”
I simply stare at the phone as it shows the call ending. He’s falling for me. That’s awesome. I continue to stare at the phone until the screen goes black. I have a warm tingling inside of me that only he can bring to the surface. It’s something that I never even knew existed until the night we first made love. I thought it was something in his touch, but it appears to transcend a thousand miles of distance between us. It’s amazing. I close my eyes and fall asleep with my phone still firmly locked in my grip.
CHAPTER 9
T rey
Jolting awake at 3:59 am, I quickly accept the fact that I most likely won’t be getting any more sleep. I dig through my bag for a Xanax and pop it into my mouth, hoping it will take effect quickly enough to allow for a little more rest. My attorney won’t be in for another four hours, so there really isn’t much for me to do. I decide to send Mom a text, so hopefully she left her phone on.
Me: Any changes over night?
She replies immediately, so it’s obvious that she isn’t getting any rest either.
Mom: No. I’m really getting worried about him. His blood pressure has stopped rising.
Me: As long as it’s stable, he’s probably ok.
I have no reason to believe what I just sent her, but I wanted to say something comforting. I’m sure Tyler is going through detox as a result of all the painkillers he has taken the past several years. It’s not going to make his recovery any easier. I sure hope he will make an effort to get off them completely this time, for Vanessa’s sake if not his own.
Mom: Are you coming back up?
Me: I will after I talk to my attorney. You will have to be there with me though. They won’t let me be alone in the room with him.
Mom: This whole thing is so crazy. Come up when you can.
I know it’s no good for Mom to be sitting up there by herself, so I send a quick text to Vanessa to see if she will go sit with her. After waiting ten minutes without a response I tell her that I will go instead and to come up when she can.
Before leaving the house, I decide this may be my best chance to look through Mom’s cedar chest since Charles is snoring so loudly that I can use it as a monitoring device. I slip into Mom’s bedroom and turn on the light, glad that her and Charles don’t share a space. There are several stacks of mail on top of the chest so I quickly move them to the bed and carefully open the lid. After removing several photo albums, I come upon her diary and beneath it is a stack of letters and cards neatly bound by opposing rubber bands. Bingo!
I scan through them quickly and find a postcard dated roughly a year before I was born. Ray had sent it from Hawaii, but it didn’t say anything romantic. I assume he was being discreet since it was a postcard that anyone could read. Right beneath it however, is a letter. I quickly open it and begin skimming
through it. Ray had also written this while they were in Hawaii and he talks about how lonely he is without her. Even though Maggie and Darla were with him, he couldn’t stop thinking about his true love. If Dad read any of these, I can see why he would have been devastated.
My heart continues to sink as I look through more of the letters. I’m not sure why he wrote so many of them, but apparently it was easier to write than to call on the phone. This was before cellphones were popular, so he probably had to talk on the phone at home or the one at work. I suddenly have a vision of them calling each other from payphones at a predetermined time. It gives me a new appreciation for living in the digital age.
I take three letters from the stack, spanning an entire decade. In one of the letters Ray suggests a paternity test to establish whether he or Victor is our father. Bingo! My intent is to get them photocopied and overnight them to Jürgen this afternoon. Hopefully Mandy will do the same, so we can put one portion of their circumstantial case against me to rest.
My stomach rumbles nervously due to the fact that it’s probably going to be up to me to find the real perpetrator. The detective and FBI will simply keep trying to connect me to whoever is committing these crimes. My stomach rumbles again, telling me that I need to pick up some breakfast on the way to the hospital. It’s going to be another long day. I send Tony a text, letting him know that I would like to go back to the hospital as soon as he is up.
“Good morning, Mom. I brought you some breakfast.” I hand her a box with a ham, egg and cheese sandwich on a freshly made croissant and a vanilla latte.
“Mmm, thank you. They both smell delicious.” She gives me a pain filled smile. “Tony got up to bring you in?”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure he slept in the car.” I open my box and pull out the sandwich.
“He’s a good man,” Mom muses, sipping her latte. “If I were twenty years younger.”
“Hey, cougars are all the rage right now. Especially ones that have money like you,” I tease her. “Instead you go for an old fart.”
“You be nice.” She shoots me a dirty look. “Charles has been good company for me.”
