Concealed Affliction

by Harlow Stone

  I turn my back to him and head toward the door. I don’t quite get there before I hear commotion in the hallway. It swings open and I come face to face with a very pissed off Denny, and an even angrier looking man about half the size of him, and much older.

  “You alright, Elle?”

  Denny looks over my head and into the room, scowling toward Becker, apparently they know each other.

  “Ah, Mr. Black. Pleasure to see you again,” the smug fucker behind me says.

  I look up at Denny, taking in his stoic expression. If these two have met before, that means he would’ve known what type of work Ryder was up to when he went to Chicago. It also means he probably knows about Claudia Becker. That would explain his body language when I mentioned Ryder was in Chicago, while Denny and the rest of the crew were here in Jacksonville.

  His loyalty lies with Ryder, not me.

  I lift my head high once again, refusing to feel like the dumb bitch who doesn’t know what’s going on around her.

  “Lock the door when you leave,” I say walking through the little bit of space there is, seeing as he takes up most of the doorway.

  I don’t bother with any greetings to Mr. Becker's associate in the hallway, probably because I don’t believe he deserves it.

  As I walk down the hallway, I think about how I always hated politics, and about how I hate them even more now. That arrogant prick Becker thinks he walks on water, and his associate out here in the hallway probably helps him stay afloat no matter what lengths they need to go to.

  I jog down the steps and out toward the parking lot. I don’t do the usual check of my surroundings, just a quick scan before I haul ass across the lot and get into my truck. I shove the keys in the ignition and pull out of the stall buckling my seat belt on the way. I don’t want to stay around here any longer than I have to, and I don’t want to talk to that arrogant man again. I just need to move, go, get the fuck away from here and figure out what the fuck just happened up in that room, and what the hell Ryder is hiding from me.

  I’m not a stupid woman. He was hiding Claudia fucking Becker. That’s what this was all about. I didn’t ask for Ryder’s half of the story when it came to Anna because I was leaving anyway. I knew I was, I used her as the excuse pushing me out sooner.

  I don’t want to use Claudia as an excuse this time. Perhaps I should talk to Ryder about it. But for what? I know he lied! It was written on Denny and Becker’s faces. He could say he has nothing to do with Claudia, but how does that explain Chicago? Especially when I know there wasn’t an election going on.

  It doesn’t explain it. And for once I don’t think Ryder can explain this either. My gut is never wrong and something here is telling me he fucked up.

  I pull onto the freeway with my raging thoughts and loud music. I don’t drive in the direction of home, I just keep driving west.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I pull into the parking lot of a grocery store about an hour from home. I don’t know if what I’m about to do is incredibly stupid, or just plain fucking dumb.

  My decision may be rash, and it may be because of the anger and other emotions I don’t care to admit running through my body. I hate that I feel anything right now, but in a sense I feel like I’ve just had so much shit dropped on me all at once that it’s time for a change.

  I can’t keep running.

  It’s impossible to hide from Ryder, and I have exhausted my energy in wanting to do so. Sometimes the best decisions are made under stress, not that I’m stressed right now. I’m just.....done?

  Yes, that’s it.

  I’m done.

  The finality of that statement helps me breathe a little easier.

  I reach into the glove box and pull out one of the burners I bought when I was in Indy. Yet another way to send them off the trail when it comes up nowhere near there. I open the dinosaur of a flip phone and punch in the number that’s burned into memory and wait while it rings.

  “Miller,” his sleepy voice says over the line.

  I smile a little at the thought of him with his guard down.

  “You must be on the night shift.”

  I hear rustling, most likely him throwing the covers off.

  “Jayne?”

  Hearing my given name sparks something inside and I lean my head back against the seat, closing my eyes.

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  My voice is quiet, my mood is somber. I’m mentally exhausted, tired of running. Tired of lying, tired of hiding. Tired of being lied to by people I thought I could trust. The voice from my past pulls me out of my head.

  “You gave me a little hope Jay, last time we talked. I didn’t expect it to be so long before I heard from you again.”

  I take in a deep breath and dive right in.

  “Don’t cut me off when I tell you this, and please don’t jump to conclusions.”

  He clears his throat. “Alright, I promise.”

  Detective Miller is a good guy, I know that. But when I left he didn’t have a lot of pull in the department. He was respected, but so long as Braumer put his two cents in everywhere, Miller didn’t stand a chance in defending me.

  So I ask him, “Andrew Roberts was adopted, right?”

  “Yes, by his Grandmother.”

  I brace myself for his reaction to my next question.

  “How possible is it the reason only one set of DNA was found in the basement is because he’s an identical twin?”

  There’s a long pause so I push on. “You there? Or are you calling the nuthouse from your landline?”

  Miller stutters through the phone. “I- Fuck! ‘Them’, she kept saying ‘them’. Fuck, it makes sense now.”

  He’s not talking to me, he’s talking to himself.

  “You said ‘them’ Miller. What are you talking about?”

  “I interviewed her! Or tried to. She wouldn’t talk much, strung out on god knows what.”

  “Who, Miller?”

  “Andrew’s biological mother! I tracked her down about a month after you left, off duty. Braumer didn’t see the need in investigating her, seeing as she apparently had no contact with him since the day she gave him up. I found her Jay, and she said ‘I couldn’t keep them’ over and over again. But in my mind I guess I thought she meant ‘couldn’t keep him’, or if she did say them I assumed she meant she gave up more than one child over the years. She was a mess Jayne, all ninety pounds of her. She practically lived on the street. I could barely understand a word she said, and then she just took off. Spooked and higher than a kite.”

  I take in everything he said and for once have hope that perhaps my case can come to a conclusion, one that doesn’t involve me being insane.

  “What’s her name, Miller?”

  “Shit Jayne, you know I’m not supposed to share this shit with you. It’s bad enough I gave you a copy of the files, which no one has figured out by the way.”

  “Don’t worry, being on the run doesn’t give me the opportunity to run to the authorities to let them know I have a document belonging to the Ontario Provincial Police.”

  I hear him let out a huff, but he gives in.

  “Lucille Roberts, but she changed it to Lucy Greer shortly after she gave up her son. That was her mother’s maiden name, the mother who raised Andrew Roberts.”

  A lot of questions run through my head.

  Why would she want to change her name?

  Why didn’t she have contact with her son?

  Why separate them?

  Most importantly, why couldn’t anyone else figure this shit out!

  I ask him, “you going to look into the twin thing Miller? Or are there no more tax dollars left for that?”

  “Dammit Jayne, you know I did everything within my power to help you out. Even went behind Braumers back.”

  I’m being hard on him, I know. I’m just pissed it has taken so long for me to figure this out, or more accurately, for Ryder to figure out there was a twin. I open my eyes with a new sense of purpose a
nd determination to get to the bottom of the nightmare still haunting me.

  “I’m coming back, Miller. Whether you help me figure this out or not is up to you. But with or without your help, I’ll find him.”

  “Jayne, if you come waltzing back into town, the first face you’re going to see is Braumers, and it’ll be on the other side of an interrogation desk.”

  Of course that fat lazy fuck won’t leave me alone.

  “Did you tell him I called you a few months ago?”

  “No.”

  Of course he didn’t, he’s too kind to me.

  “I won’t ask you to lie for me again Miller, and I won’t tell you exactly when I’ll be back. But I’m coming. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk. Until then, do me a favor and find that woman so we can figure out where her other kid was sent to, because if you don’t, it’s possible he’ll find me first. We both know how that ends.”

  There’s silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. I know he’s still there, he’s just contemplating what I said.

  “I’ll do what I can, Jayne. Braumer isn’t breathing down my neck anymore, and I made senior detective last month after he retired.”

  This is music to my ears.

  “Does that mean I won’t have the pleasure of seeing him again?”

  “You and I both know if you step foot in this department, he’ll be back here in five minutes flat. He may have retired Jayne, but that doesn’t mean he was finished with this case. He still pops in from time to time, sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong anymore.”

  The music in my ears stopped.

  “Alright, I’ll call you again soon.”

  “I’m guessing you’re not going to give me a number to reach you at?”

  “You guessed right.”

  I hang up the phone and put the window down in my truck. I put it back into gear and pull up beside a garbage can, tossing it into the trash.

  It’s time to go home, my little cottage home first, then, Ontario.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I turn onto my lane and note the number of vehicles in Ryder’s driveway. I recognize the extra two as both Denny and Cabe’s suburban, or at least the suburban his company uses for work. I continue driving, pulling into my own driveway. I pull out my phone and dial his number. He answers on the second ring.

  “Elle! Are you alright?”

  I brush off his mock concern, or maybe it’s genuine. However, after lying to me about Chicago and being involved with another woman, I’m not inclined to take his concern to heart. I may be jumping the gun here, seeing as what happened with his ex-fiancé Anna proved to be false accusations on my part, but this time I know better.

  “I’m fine. Is that Denny and Cabe at your place?”

  I hear him cover the phone and speak to the guys telling them ‘I’m fine’.

  “Yes, they’re here. Listen Elle-”

  I cut him off mid-sentence.

  “I’ll be over in thirty. Please keep them there, I’d like to speak with all three of you.”

  He’s silent for a moment before he responds.

  “Sure, we’ll be here.”

  I don’t say anything else and hang up the phone. I grab my belongings off the passenger seat in my truck and head into the house. Norma greets me as per usual, but I don’t spend long giving her attention.

  I head straight to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I’m a mess right now, and as much as I know I’m not trying to look good for the men next door, I need my full armor on. I’ve been made vulnerable twice today and I won’t let there be a third. The first was when William Becker entered my life and the second when I learned it’s possible Denny knew about Ryder’s indiscretions with the political fucking princess.

  I scrub fast, not wasting time to shave since I already did this morning. It’s a quick wash to get the sweat off me from the gym. I dry off quickly, leaving my mess of hair down in its usual dark brown riot.

  I head to my closet and throw on a pair of dark skinny jeans, followed by a black top and the rest of my usual attire. Scarf, black boots, etc. I bend down at the back of my closet and unlock the safe, retrieving my case files. I don’t need them where I’m going and I’ve memorized what’s left in there anyway. I stuff them in my messenger purse along with my cigarettes and shoot a quick whistle for Norm.

  Walking toward the kitchen, I head for the fridge. Not for wine, but the bottle of Grey Goose I keep on top of it. I unscrew the cap and pour a healthy portion into the rocks glass sitting on the counter from last night. I don’t waste time inhaling or savoring the light liquor. I toss it back and drop the cup in the sink.

  Liquid courage.

  Norm follows me as I make my way outside, down the steps and across the small beach I’ve grown to love. I don’t dwell on the loss that’ll soon come, I just keep moving toward my next destination.

  Reaching Ryder’s home, I walk up the steps toward his back door and notice the three men congregating around the island, a pizza in the middle and the empty beer bottles piling up. I don’t knock since I already told him I was coming, I just open the door and continue what I came here for.

  Three heads spin in my direction when I close the door behind me. I follow Norma over to the island where she happily parks her behind next to Ryder, waiting for some love and leftovers. He’s dressed in a worn-out pair of light jeans and a white short sleeve shirt. His hair is sticking in every direction. I know it’s because he’s stressed, running his hands through it nonstop.

  I don’t ogle him like I usually do, and don’t let myself feel anything (if that were even possible.) I open my mouth to get straight to the point of why I’m here but Ryder beats me to it.

  “Elle, I heard about Becker’s visit today.”

  It wasn’t a fucking visit, it was an ambush.

  His eyes hold remorse, and since he’s not immediately pulling me aside or trying to defend himself by saying he had no involvement with Becker’s daughter, I know he’s guilty of it. It’s possible that it happened before us, but that doesn’t explain his visit while we were together, or the fancy dress clothes when he came home.

  If he was innocent, he’d be embracing me right now. He’d be petting Norma or asking me how I’m doing.

  Maybe he doesn’t know what Becker said to me and he’s playing aloof hoping he didn’t say anything that would bruise his ego or make me think less of him. I remind myself that either way, I don’t care. Not because he wasn’t good to me when I needed it, but because there are more important things to deal with than the love affair I had with my neighbor. Regardless of what he said, regardless of him chasing after me, I was never meant to stay here.

  I can tell he wants to say more, but mid-thought I hold up my hand to stop him.

  “It wasn’t so much Becker’s visit that caught me off guard, it was the mention of his daughter Claudia.”

  I can tell he’s ready to cut me off so I hold my hand up further.

  “I’m not interested in what you did before me, and right now I don’t care what you did while you were with me. However, I may sign myself up for a health check, seeing as I can’t be certain anymore who you stuck your dick in while you were fucking me. None the less, not why I’m here, and definitely not my business anymore.

  “You said you’d help me so that’s what I’m here for, nothing else. How much does it usually cost for a few days work with you and a few men anyway? I’ve been curious.”

  He’s offended at my spiel, but I don’t care right now. My emotions are turned off, the numb is back and for once my head couldn’t be clearer.

  “Small jobs can be anywhere from a grand and up per day, depending on the client and depending on the risk,” Cabe answers for me seeing as Ryder is still standing with his hands braced on the counter, eyes closed.

  I reach into my purse, grabbing the other thing I stuffed in there from my safe.

  Money.

  Ryder’s eyes open when he hears the thump on the counter.
r />   “That’s twenty thousand dollars.”

  I reach back into my purse and pull out the case file, tossing it next to the money.

  “Got a pen, Cabe?”

  He grabs one off the counter and pulls a small notepad out of his back pocket.

  “Elle, I told you I’d help you, I don’t want your fucking money!” Ryder says angrily.

  I look into Ryder’s troubled eyes with my determined ones. Mirroring his stance with my hands braced on the counter.