by Alice Ward
“The press isn’t our problem,” Ethan insisted. “My mother and Victor are the problem. What we’re about to tell you doesn’t leave this room, Melissa. Not until we have evidence to back it up.”
“And when you have the evidence?” she asked.
“The story is yours, if you want it,” he assured her.
“Of course I want it. I assume this has to do with the threats Victor made before Christmas?”
Ethan nodded. “That and so much more. Emily told you what Victor said when he demanded I break up with her. After the bowl game, I got cocky. I thought there was no way he’d actually follow through with any of it. I was wrong. But my mother’s the one who’s pulling all the strings.”
“And we do mean all the strings,” I added. “I’m pretty sure Marsha sent the thug to my school.”
As Melissa worked to pick her jaw up off the floor, I explained Marsha’s desperate determination to keep as much of Victor’s money as possible. I also filled her in on Heather and her visit to my school.
“This is your cousin?” Melissa asked Ethan.
He nodded. “Step-cousin. She has everything in common with Victor except his bank balance. Victor’s a self-made man and hasn’t been particularly generous to his extended family. But Heather would be more than happy to do a little dirty work for a nice paycheck.”
“But we still have no idea who the guy that broke into your classroom is?” she continued.
“Not yet. But Walt’s investigator is hoping he’ll turn up among Heather’s friends,” I explained.
“So at this point, we’re just waiting for the investigators to find something?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” Ethan agreed. “Emily wants to give an interview now in an attempt to quite some of the rumors. I feel if we speak out before we have proof, we’ll just make things worse.”
“I agree with you,” Melissa told him without hesitating. “I’m sorry Emily, but he’s right. That headline today was awful. But if you start talking now, without any evidence to back it up, it’s just going to look like a lame attempt to turn the blame away from Ethan. Without evidence, Victor and Marsha can twist your words however they want. You have to hit them with something they can’t deny.”
“That’s exactly what Ethan said,” I told her with a frown. “But we have to do something. This is getting out of control.”
“Then you need to find proof faster,” she advised. “Has your investigator checked with the airlines to see if Heather flew into town around the time Ben saw her at the school?”
“I’m not sure,” I confessed.
“Have you shown Heather’s picture to Ben to make sure she’s really the woman he spoke with?”
“No.”
“You think there’s a chance someone was impersonating my cousin?” Ethan asked.
Melissa shrugged. “I think getting a positive ID from Ben is the fastest and easiest way to make sure you’re on the right track.”
I turned to Ethan. “Do you have a picture of her?”
“No, but I can pull one off the internet. Heather’s the epitome of a social media whore.” Ethan pulled out his phone and a few moments later, he texted a picture of Heather to mine. I forwarded it to Ben and asked if that was the cousin he’d met at school. I checked the time after sending the text.
“If he’s still on his usual schedule, he’ll be at the club until nine tonight. We may have to wait a while for a response.”
“It had to be Heather,” Ethan insisted.
Melissa shrugged. “You could be right. Or your mother could have had someone pretend to be your cousin. They had to have known the visit would eventually get back to Emily. They could be distracting you, drawing your attention to Kansas City.”
“That’s an excellent point,” he agreed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ve been known to make them. Now, let’s focus on your situation. Obviously, I know you’ve been fired.”
Ethan nodded. “The league’s anti-doping commission is reviewing the results of my second blood draw. They may want to retest me themselves. But I’ll eventually be cleared of the doping charges. I’m not sure that will help me get another football contract.”
“How do we prove that Victor set you up?”
Ethan shrugged. “I’m not sure that we can. He apparently bribed one of the league doctors. But Victor’s good at covering his tracks. And I’m sure the doctor is highly motivated to keep his mouth shut.”
“The league won’t ban you for a simple assault charge,” she assured him.
“True. But how many teams will want to hire me knowing I punched out my last boss?”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “I think most people who’ve met Victor have had the urge to knock him out. Some people might even offer you a signing bonus to do it again on your way out of town.”
Ethan let out a light laugh. “Let’s hope so.”
My phone rang, drawing our attention. “Is it Ben?” Melissa asked.
“It’s Frank… hello?”
“Hey, Emily. I’m sorry to bother you this late, but there’s been a development in the Hollis case.”
“A development with our investigation or the police’s?”
Ethan and Melissa sat up a little straighter, listening in to my side of the conversation.
“The police’s. They’ve identified the man who broke into your classroom. His name is Kelvin Rhoads. He’s a minor league thug who lives in Dallas, Texas.”
“Dallas?”
“Yes. They now think that whoever set you up is someone connected to Ethan. They’d like to talk to both of you down at the station. I explained that you didn’t want to miss any more class, so the lead detectives agreed to meet with you tonight.”
“We’re on our way.”
“Emily, what’s going on?” Ethan asked patiently as I started rushing around the room, gathering my things.
“The cops identified the jackass who broke into my classroom. His name is Kelvin Rhoads and he lives in Dallas. Does the name ring any bells?” I slung my purse over my shoulder and turned to the door.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Well, they want to talk to both of us. Looks like you may have been right, Melissa.”
She stood and retrieved her coat. “I’ll go to the station and start researching Rhoads. Let me know if Ben gets back with you about the picture. And call me when you leave the station.”
“Thank you, Melissa.”
She pulled me into a hug and held me a few moments longer than usual. “This is a good thing, Emily. I know getting called to the station is stressful. But this is the beginning of the end of this nightmare,” she whispered.
“Please let us know if you find anything,” Ethan said. He held open the door and we filed out into the night.
“I will,” she promised. “Good luck.”
Melissa climbed behind the wheel of her Focus and Ethan and I continued on to my car. I tossed him the keys and settled into the passenger’s seat.
“The cops think I’m involved with this because of the Dallas connection, right?” he asked, firing the engine.
I reached across the console and put a comforting hand on his thigh. “They don’t think you sent the guy. But they think you may know him. They probably just want to show you his picture and ask a few questions about your time in Dallas.”
Ethan nodded, his eyes fixed on the road. The past few months had taken a toll on both of us, and the past few days had been the worst. We were exhausted, frustrated, and furious at our circumstances. But they also brought us closer. I had no idea what the future would hold, but I had no doubt that we’d face it together.
After a few silent miles, Ethan cleared his throat. “We need to tell the police our theory about my mother.”
I was shocked by his words. Ethan had been adamantly against sharing our suspicions with anyone until we had solid proof.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “We could be completely off base. B
ut if we’re not, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my mother brought her henchman in from Dallas. That throws the suspicion right back to me. At this point, I completely believe that Marsha is capable of this type of evil. And that alone is reason enough to talk to the police.”
***
“Good evening, Emily, Ethan. Thanks for coming down,” Detective Dickson greeted us.
“We’re happy to help.” I was relieved to see his cranky partner wasn’t able to make it to the meeting.
“Absolutely,” Ethan agreed. “Detective, I’ve never met anyone named Kelvin Rhoads. And Frank showed me the picture from the surveillance footage. I didn’t recognize him.”
“I just have a few questions,” the cop explained. “Miss Kinkaid, I’m sorry for the trouble you went through at the beginning of the case. I hope you understand that I was just doing my job. And all of the evidence—”
“Pointed at me. I understand,” I assured him. “And I sincerely hope you’re five times harder on Rhoads once you have him in custody.”
“Any idea when that will be?” Ethan asked.
Detective Dickson shook his head. “Dallas PD is looking for him, but his last known address leads to a condemned apartment complex. But trust me, he’ll get what’s coming to him once he’s back here.”
He cleared his throat and turned to Ethan. “I’m afraid I have some uncomfortable questions. It’s probably best if we speak privately.”
“Emily’s not going anywhere,” Ethan insisted. “We don’t have any secrets. Ask me whatever you’d like.”
Detective Dickson nodded. “You’re facing assault charges at the moment. How often would you say you lose your temper like that?”
Ethan’s face flushed red. “I’ve defended myself when other guys started shit. But that’s the first time I’ve ever thrown the first punch.”
“How many altercations would you say you were in during your time in Dallas?”
“Two, both with teammates. Alcohol was responsible for both, and no one held any hard feelings.”
Dickson slid Ethan a yellow legal pad and a blue pen. “Please write down their names.” Ethan scribbled on the paper while Dickson continued. “How many women were you involved with while you lived in Dallas?”
Here it comes. This is the part he thought I shouldn’t be here for.
“That depends on your definition of involved,” Ethan replied, his voice easy. I was thankful we’d already had this awkward conversation and I wouldn’t be learning anything new. But I didn’t relish the idea of going over it again with an audience.
“All definitions of the word,” Dickson answered.
“Well, we had three female trainers, I had a housekeeper—”
“Personally involved, not professionally,” Dickson interrupted impatiently.
“I was friends with most of the cheerleaders. Friends only, nothing physical. I casually dated about a dozen women while I lived there.”
A blend of awe and disgust crossed the detective’s face. “At the same time?”
“No. And not all of the relationships were sexual.”
Dickson pointed at the legal pad. “Names,” he grunted.
“Did any of these women get a little too attached to you?” he asked. “Any bad breakups? Did any of the women threaten to hurt you or themselves after you ended things?”
“Why do you assume I was always the one to end things?” Ethan countered.
It was Dickson’s turn to blush. “My apologies. But I still need you to answer the question.”
“No, Detective. None of the women I was involved with acted crazy when we ended because there was never anything to end in the first place. I wasn’t ready to settle down. I spent time with women who shared that opinion. There was never any drama.”
“You think that one of Ethan’s ex’s hired Rhoads?” I realized out loud.
“We’re investigating all possible angles. This is just one of them.”
The blonde at the school… maybe she really wasn’t Ethan’s cousin. Or maybe Ethan’s right and Marsha hired Rhoads to throw suspicion toward him. I can’t believe the woman would rather send us both to jail than part with the extra inheritance.
I cleared my throat. “There’s something we should tell you, Detective.”
“No, there isn’t,” Frank interrupted. He locked eyes with the detective.
“Would you like a few minutes of privacy with your clients?” he asked.
“Yes,” Frank replied, his voice scolding.
What the hell have I done wrong now?
Dickson pushed his folding chair away from the table and moved to the door. “Would anyone else like coffee or danish?”
“No, thank you,” we replied in unison.
“What was that about?” I asked Frank the moment the door closed behind the detective.
“That’s exactly what I want to know. What do you need to tell Dickson?”
I took a deep breath and filled him in on our theory.
“When did you find out about this Heather woman?” he demanded.
“Last week. I’m sorry, I assumed Walt told you,” I replied.
“Walt knows about this?” he exclaimed.
“Yes,” I confessed, twisting my fingers together.
“I’m sorry, Frank. I’m the one who wanted to keep this theory quiet. I’m in an impossible situation and I didn’t want to make accusations about my family without proof.”
Frank shook his head. “You should have talked to me as soon as you found out that woman was at your school. You two could get in real trouble for withholding evidence in an ongoing investigation.”
I felt my phone vibrate against my leg and retrieved it from my purse. Ben had finally responded to my text. Ethan’s cousin wasn’t the woman he met at the school. I gave Frank and Ethan the news.
“What do we tell Dickson?” Ethan asked.
“We tell him the truth… mostly. You have to tell him that you talked to Ben last week. Then Ethan was arrested, and you forgot about the conversation. Today, you mentioned the visit to Ethan. You started talking, got suspicious, and sent Heather’s picture to Ben.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ethan agreed.
The door opened and Dickson peeked his head in. “Do you need a few more minutes?”
“No, we’re ready for you,” Frank answered.
The detective sat back down and took a long sip from a small Styrofoam cup. “What did you need to tell me, Emily?”
I repeated exactly what Frank suggested, with a few added embellishments. “We were going to call you as soon as Ben got back with us. But as you can see, that just happened.”
“This is fantastic,” Dickson announced. “I’ll speak with Mr. Simmons tomorrow. Once I get him to narrow down the timeline, I’ll have my guys review the security footage again. If we can ID the female subject, we’ll double our odds of tracking these people down.”
I exchanged a glance with Ethan and he cleared his throat.
“Detective, there’s another angle you might want to look into.”
“What’s that?” Dickson looked up from the notepad he was writing on.
Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think my parents are involved,” he confessed. “My mother, mostly.”
“Interesting… what makes you think that?”
“After Emily was arrested, my parents tried to blackmail me into breaking up with her. We pretended to stay apart to keep them pacified. When Emily’s name was cleared, I expected them to relax. Instead, Victor made it clear he would tank my career if I didn’t do as my mother said. I believe you’ve seen the rest play out in the news.”
“You think your parents sent our suspects to the school?”
“I think it’s possible. I think my mother is capable of anything,” Ethan agreed with a cringe. I knew that as much as he hated what his parents were doing, it pained him to give them up to the police.
“If your parents were this determined to get rid of Emily, a
nd you believe they’re capable of anything, wouldn’t it make more sense for them to go after Emily directly? Why involve the Hollis boy at all?” the detective countered.
Ethan shrugged. “She must have trusted someone would notice Alfie collapse, and he’d get his Epi-pen in time. Emily’s ruined and sent to prison, but Marsha has no actual blood on her hands.”
Detective Dickson shook his head. “For what it’s worth, I believe your stepfather set you up on the doping. But I’m not buying your theory that your mother is involved with the Hollis case. To be honest, this interview was just a box I had to check off the list for the sake of being thorough. We have to investigate all connections, and Dallas connected our guy to you. But I think the Hollis family was the intended target. I expect our mystery woman will be linked to them, somehow. Is there anything else I need to know before we wrap this up?”
Ethan and I both shook our heads.
“We’ve told you everything, Detective. Like I told you the first time I was in this room, we want to do everything we can to help,” I replied.
“Do you happen to know Mr. Simmons’s schedule? I’d rather not interrupt any of his classes if I can help it.”
“His planning period is from two to three. If you want, I’ll tell him to expect you.”
“That will be perfect,” he agreed. He got back on his feet and ushered us out of the room.
“Just hold tight, kids. I know this has been rough. But now that we have pictures of two suspects, it’s only a matter of time before they’re in custody.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I can’t believe how many reporters are outside,” I groaned, my stomach churning with nerves. I looked around the packed courtroom and wondered how many of the spectators believed I was a battered girlfriend.
