by Jerry Cole
Fingers crossed, he wouldn’t need to look for a new partner. Kirsty was a reasonable woman. At least, Lee thought he was. His relationship with Andrew was none of her business.
Luke lived at the end of a road in a pretty little condominium, recently done up. There was a truck and a smart-looking SUV in the driveway. People were home. Lee pulled up outside and climbed out, taking a look at his surroundings. From what Kirsty had found out, Luke was big in the corporate businesses and had many fingers in many pies. It wasn’t a millionaire’s home, but it was cozy enough for a family.
How had they not known about him five years ago? Joseph’s mother Marie said that she was divorced, but she never said anything about her husband beyond that. Only that the divorce was when Joseph started acting out, which was to be expected in divorce proceedings. Joseph hadn’t mentioned him, either. So why were they only finding out about him now?
That was what Luke wanted to know.
He headed up the path and knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door opened and a tall, lean man with thinning blond hair looked out. One look at him, and there was no doubt that he was Joseph Gulliver’s father; he could have given birth to Joseph himself, they looked that alike. He looked Lee up and down with a frown.
“Can I help you?”
“Luke Gibbs?”
“Who wants to know?”
Lee took out his private eye card and held it out.
“My name’s Lee Brown. I’m a private investigator from Houston.”
Luke took the card and peered at it. Then he narrowed his eyes at Lee.
“I know you. You’re the one who reported Joseph for his crimes five years ago.”
“That was me.” Lee tilted his head. “Considering we didn’t know about you, how did you know about me?”
“Marie and I weren’t talking at the time. She was mad because I was getting married when she thought we could get back together. I found out later about all of this when it came up on the news.” Luke scowled as he opened the door, blocking the way and folding his arms. “What makes you think I’m going to talk to you?”
He was tall. Very tall. Lee was over six feet, but Luke Gibbs was even taller than him. He had to take a step back to look up at him.
“Joseph’s fake profile has turned up again and it’s focused on Andrew Chase.”
“And you think I took on the profile to get back at the boy?”
“Did you?”
Luke snorted.
“No, of course not. I hated what Joseph had done.” He looked away. “Hated that I knew it was my fault this all started.”
Lee could see that he had an opening. And he wasn’t about to let it go by.
“Mind if I come in, Mr. Gibbs? We do need to talk.”
“You can meet me around the back.” Luke gestured to the side of the house. “I’ll see you in the backyard.”
Then he closed the door. Luke stared at it, and then turned away with a sigh. At least it was a start. He headed around the side of the condo, noticing that all the curtains were drawn. It was early afternoon, and a warm day. At least the windows were open, or they would be cooking.
Luke was already out in the backyard, pacing around on the lawn. He turned as Lee approached him.
“Sorry about that. My wife’s sleeping and so’s the baby. He’s been unwell lately, so she’s up all night with him right now.”
That would certainly explain why Luke himself looked exhausted. Lee spread his hands.
“I won’t take up too much of your time, Mr. Gibbs. I’ll leave you with your family as soon as we’re through.”
“All right. From what Marie said, you were more than fair to her. I’ll trust her judgement.”
“You trust your ex-wife?”
Luke shrugged.
“We had our differences in the beginning, but since Joseph was put in jail, we put our problems behind us and moved forward. If I’m honest, we’re better friends than lovers.” Luke sighed. “It took her some time to come to that conclusion herself.”
Lee was confused by this. He hadn’t heard this come from a divorced party before. Normally, they were angry and wanting revenge or something to get one over on their former spouse. Then again, he got the vindictive side of marriage.
“Why do you say it was your fault Joseph became a catfish?”
Luke rubbed his hand over his eyes. Then he began to pace slowly again.
“Joseph started up the profile a few months after I left and filed. He couldn’t understand that his parents’ marriage had broken down and it was not healthy for him. He was acting out, more than a regular teenager would do. Especially after he came back from my place to the point that Marie thought I was abusing him. We came to the realization that this wasn’t the case, but we were really worried for a while.”
Lee could understand. He came from a happy family, but he had witnessed many broken families, a lot of them staying together because they thought it was the best thing for the children. In reality, it just made things worse.
“Marie and I have interacted several times. I found her to be a woman with her feet firmly on the ground.”
“And she is. But for a good few years, she thought we could reconcile and was furious when I got married again. It took until Joseph’s trial to get back the friendship we had once had.” Luke shook his head. “Joseph seemed delighted about that, until he realized that I wasn’t going to divorce Anna to get back with Marie.”
Lee put together the timeline in his head.
“He started making fake profiles online to cope with you leaving. He made up these fake lives and tormented people to make himself feel better.”
“Yes.” Luke sighed. “As you know, it wasn’t just your friend Andrew Chase. It was several others. At least eight across the south of the country that I knew of at the time of his arrest. He would take random pictures of guys his age and pretend to be someone else. A lucky dip, he called me.”
“Then once he was comfortable that he had a footing, the name would be changed to his victim’s name.” Lee said grimly. “It was then that he started turning these people into something they weren’t.”
Especially if the victims called him out on it. Lee knew at least two of Joseph’s other victims had said something about it, and the abuse towards them ramped up several notches. Andrew hadn’t been one of them, but Joseph seemed to have a special affection for him. Nobody had figured out why, and Joseph hadn’t said.
He certainly wouldn’t be saying anymore.
“He’s still my son, Mr. Brown.” Luke turned to him. “No matter what he’s done, he’s my kid.”
“You don’t need to justify that with me, Mr. Gibbs.” Lee shoved his hands into his pockets. “You visited him in jail over the years. How did those go?”
“Okay, for the most part. Joseph seemed to be doing well. He was going to therapy, and he was beginning to understand that what he did was wrong. He was going through all the necessary steps to put himself right.”
“Sounds like a good sign. It was what everyone wanted.”
“Until six months ago at my last visit.”
Lee frowned.
“What happened six months ago?”
Luke swallowed. He scratched his unshaven jaw.
“I told him that Anna had given birth. Our first child. Now Joseph had a baby sister. He had always wanted a sibling, so when I told him, I thought he would be pleased.”
“And it didn’t go well.”
Lee could imagine that it didn’t. If the animosity between Joseph and his father’s new life was anything to go by, this would have made him furious. He might have wanted a relationship with his father, but nothing more. As far as Joseph had been concerned, Anna didn’t exist. Now she did exist because of this baby sister.
“No.” Luke kicked at the grass. “He wanted me to have a child with his mother. If there were going to be siblings, they wouldn’t be half. Anna is a sweet woman, an absolute saint who has put up with the abuse from Joseph.
”
“Did Marie get on with Anna?”
“Now they do. They’re put their past to one side and Marie’s been great. Even helping out with little Maisie whenever we need it. Joseph hated that she was doing it. He wanted us back together, and if I was going to stray from the family that he and Marie were meant to be united in hating the stepmother.”
“And yet his mother and stepmother are actually friends.”
Luke spread his hands.
“Women are strange creatures. I was lucky to marry two decent women. It’s a shame that marriage with Marie didn’t work out, but life isn’t meant to be easy. We’ve all made our peace with it.”
Lee shook his head.
“Your family dynamic is the strangest I’ve seen in a while. And that’s saying something considering what I’ve seen in my time.”
“I can imagine.” Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked like he was about to keel over. “I didn’t go back after that. He threatened Anna and Maisie. I told him that I would get a restraining order against him if he so much as came near my family. I loved him, but I was going to protect my wife and daughter.”
“What did Joseph say to that?”
“Told me to go ahead.” Luke’s shoulders slumped and he headed towards the back porch. “That I was dead to him.”
Lee watched as he collapsed into a chair, almost hunched over himself with his head in his hands. He felt sorry watching the man. Things hadn’t gone well with his marriage, and he had left. Anyone with their head screwed on would have done the right thing. But children involved in a marriage made it messy, and Joseph had taken that to a different level. He had wanted attention.
And he got it the wrong way.
***
Work was going well. After talking to Claire over Skype, Andrew found himself getting on with a new plan to send over and getting on with the rest of his project. This was going to be good; he could feel it.
Lee had called him a short while ago. He had spoken to Luke Gibbs and had turned up nothing. The man was upset that his son had turned into a criminal, but he had no reason to become the cyber-stalker. Andrew didn’t think it could be the father, either. Parents could end up doing strange things, but this was not something he could see Luke doing. Fathers were more the overt type, not hiding away on the internet. Those who hid online were often those who couldn’t fight back.
Lee was coming back, only stopping off at his offices. He was going to give his contact in Port Arthur a call to go over the case files again, and hopefully produce a few more names. Kirsty had claimed to have done that, but after her strange behavior earlier, Lee seemed determined to make sure every stone had been turned over and checked. Andrew wondered if Lee was starting to distrust Kirsty. His actions said so.
He was confused himself. Kirsty seemed, to him, to be a put-together woman. Not one for going crazy when someone doesn’t answer their phone. And yet she had sounded off that morning. Andrew hadn’t heard her like that before, and from his expression, neither had Lee. Did she suspect something and object to it? That would make sense if she had a crush on Lee.
Well, she was going to have to deal with it. Andrew wasn’t walking away to make her happy.
Shortly after talking to Lee, Andrew was engrossed in a scene when he got a text message from him. It said that Kirsty was going to come over and sit with him for a bit until Lee got back. Then he would feel better knowing Andrew was safe. Andrew was startled by this. Lee said he didn’t trust Kirsty enough to let him into his home, so why now? And if she suspected they had become lovers; it was going to be an uncomfortable few hours.
But Andrew trusted Lee’s judgement. If that’s what he wanted, he would go with it. Kirsty might be acting oddly, but she was a good person. A sharp investigator and fiercely protective. After Lee, she was the best choice of bodyguard. Andrew could handle the discomfort if it ever came up.
About an hour after the text, Andrew looked up to see a car pulled into Lee’s driveway. Kirsty climbed out and was staring up at the house. She looked freshly done up with a simple blue blouse, black slacks and wedges, her hair done up in a ponytail. Very professional. Andrew had to admit that Kirsty was a very attractive woman.
He stood and went to the door, managing to get past the locks and open it before Kirsty got there.
“Hey. Sorry about that. Lee’s got this place pretty secure.”
“I can imagine.” Kirsty stepped past Andrew and came into the house. She looked around with a look of wonder. “Wow. This place is stunning. I didn’t think he would have something like this.”
“It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Andrew shut the door and locked it. “I was in a state of shock when I saw this.”
“Not what you were expecting?”
“Not really. But, at the same time, it’s very Lee.” He headed down the hall. “You want some coffee?”
“Please.”
Kirsty followed him and stood at the center counter island as Andrew went about making the coffee. Lee had shown him where the basics were, and already Andrew felt at home. As he went about fixing up the drinks, he couldn’t help but notice Kirsty’s demeanor. She looked awkward, shifting from foot to foot as she looked anywhere but at Andrew. Something flashed across her face whenever she thought Andrew was looking, but then it disappeared. Andrew couldn’t be sure as to what it was, but he thought Kirsty looked angry.
What was wrong with her? Was she put out that Andrew had been invited to Lee’s place and not her? That sounded like something that would happen back in high school, and Andrew was not interested in going back to that.
He handed her a mug, which Kirsty looked at as if it were about to explode. Then she took it gingerly and settled it on the counter.
“How are you getting on here?” The question was asked a little too brightly. “Lee said things happened at your apartment last night. The catfish is escalating to breaking in and trashing your things?”
“We don’t know if it was them specifically or someone who saw the posts and was angry enough to go after me.” Andrew sipped his coffee. “But the fact my laptop was stolen is very telling.”
“I thought I saw you with one.”
“Lee got that for me.”
“I see.” There was that flash again. Kirsty looked out of the window. “Maybe someone’s after your work and it’s not the catfish at all. Maybe you were writing something they objected to.”
Andrew snorted.
“I write romance, Kirsty. That’s hardly the crime of the century.”
“Does everyone know you write romance? Maybe they thought you were an investigative reporter and wanted to stop some important articles getting out.”
“I doubt it. Everyone knows I freelance, but I’ve said that I’m not a journalist. Besides,” Andrew put his mug down, “I don’t see romance novels being the be-all and end-all of everything.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Kirsty, this isn’t a sequel to Misery.”
“I know, but we’ve seen everything in this work. Even the flimsiest of excuses as to why they did what they did, have been used.”
“I know about that. Lee’s joked about it before.”
“Lee’s talked to you about his work?”
“Of course he does. We’re friends. We talk about practically everything.”
Friends. Did what they had done count as being friends still? Andrew wasn’t quite sure, but he knew Lee wasn’t the type to play around and then throw aside. Kirsty was staring at Andrew is disbelief.
“That’s...Lee doesn’t do that with just anyone. I thought it was just me he talked to about work because we work together.”
“Like I said, we’re friends.” Andrew looked up at the ceiling. Right above them was Lee’s bedroom. “Although I’m not sure what you would class us as right now.”
“What does that mean?”
Andrew chuckled.
“Let’s put it this way: the space bed was made up, but only one bed
was used last night.”
It didn’t take more than a second for Kirsty’s face to pale and her eyes widen in shock.
“You...you and Lee slept together? But...Lee never said he was gay.”
“He wasn’t too sure about what he was until recently.”
For a moment, Andrew was worried. Kirsty looked like she was about to faint. He had been right when he thought Kirsty had feelings for Lee, but she was taking this a lot harder than he expected. From the way Kirsty was acting, it was as if Lee’s sexuality being the be-all and end-all.
“He can’t be gay.” Kirsty murmured. She was swaying a little. “He can’t.”
“Well, he is.” Andrew frowned. “You haven’t got a problem with him being himself, do you?”
“I…” Still pale, Kirsty fumbled for her cell phone. Her hands were shaking. “I need to let Lee know I’m here. He said to call him when I arrive.”
Then she hurried out of the room. Andrew was bewildered. When he had confessed to being gay some years back, he had received many reactions. Some had been shocked and avoided him afterwards, others used it as an invitation to be even meaner to him, but those who cared had been very supportive. Kirsty’s reaction was something Andrew hadn’t encountered before. She looked like she was about to collapse.
Was she that bothered that Lee preferred men to women? It was possible, but that sort of reaction was still strange.
Andrew’s cell phone started beeping in his back pocket. He fished it out and saw it was from Lee. Odd. Shouldn’t he be on the phone with Kirsty?
Andrew opened the message and scanned it.
‘I know who catfish is. Let’s meet for dinner and talk. We can go get him after.’
Lee had figured out who it was? Thank God for that. Andrew grinned and hurried into the hall, searching for his sneakers. Kirsty was coming down the stairs, her cell phone in her hand. She looked confused at Andrew’s sudden spurt of movement.
“What are you doing?”
