“We need to talk then. It seems like someone might have taken out everything I found, because no one wanted to believe one of the Walters boys would be willing to kill themselves.” He sighed. “Unfortunately that’s the way things are sometimes.”
***
A man walked into the library and there was no doubt in Mary-Ann’s mind it was D.I. Harris. He walked straight over to her, a file under his arm, and their eyes met. “Thank you for being willing to listen to me.”
“Right now I need all the information I can get. Finding out who killed Theo Walters in my first priority, but I’d like to be able to tell Mrs Walters what really happened to Steven.”
“People believe the building you have your pie shop in is cursed and that’s not going to change.” He sat down opposite her. “There’s nothing you’re going to be able to do to convince people otherwise, because enough weird things, and murders, have happened there to make them believe it’s true. You don’t believe it.”
“No, I don’t, and I never will. I have to admit my luck there hasn’t always been the best, but then my luck anywhere isn’t the best. Murder, for some reason, seems to follow me around, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do to change that.”
“Unfortunately some people do have that sort of life.” He put the file on the table. “Even though I probably shouldn’t have done I kept a copy. Before O’Connor took over the homicide division it was under the control of D.I. Mark West. West was lazy. He didn’t want to do the job, so he always left it to us, and that’s why he ended up transferring to New York. He thought things would be simpler there for him. As I haven’t seen him since I think it’s possible he was right. It’s also possible the boss has made the decision he doesn’t want West back, because O’Connor works much harder to solve cases. I was the one who did the majority of the work on the Walters case. I talked to all of his friends, his brother, his sister, his girlfriend…”
“His girlfriend isn’t mentioned in the file.”
“Steven was dating a Melanie Michaelson.”
“Mel was in my year. She went to New York around about the same time I did.”
“According to everyone Melanie found it too hard in New York, so she came back to Green Springs. That was when she got with Steven and the two of them were happy enough together, apart from the depressive episodes. Every couple of weeks, at least, Steven would talk about how much he wanted to end it all, but she didn’t think he ever would. She thought it would be good if he talked to a professional about his problems. At the time he killed himself she believed he was in therapy. It turned out later he’d been lying to her the whole time and I know she was very angry about that. She didn’t want to believe the man she loved would be willing to do that to her.”
“Would you mind leaving your file here? I’ve been looking for a connection between two other murders, because they happened at the shop too, and I need all the help I can get to try to get to the bottom of this mess.”
Chapter 7
“Mare?”
“Hey, Mel. I hate to do this to you, but I need to talk to you about Steve, if you’re up to that.”
Melanie surprised Mary-Ann by smiling. “I was wondering when I was going to get a visit from you.” Melanie stepped back. “Come in. I’m happy to talk about Steve.”
“Happy?”
“It’s been a long time since he died and I’ve let go of a lot of the negative emotions I felt since then.”
Nodding, Mary-Ann stepped into the house. “Obviously you’ve heard about Theo’s murder.”
“Unfortunately, yes. Mrs Walters didn’t deserve that.”
“No, she didn’t, which is why I want to get to the bottom of everything in the hope it will help her to move on.”
“When I told her I was almost certain Steve had committed suicide she kicked me out. No one wanted to believe one of the Walters would do that, but he wasn’t going to show that side of himself to the people who couldn’t understand.” Melanie sighed. “We talked a lot about how he was feeling and that’s why I was so certain he was seeing a therapist when he did. I didn’t think he’d be willing to get to the point where he truly thought killing himself was the answer, although he had mentioned it before. It was just one of those things he felt sometimes. He was troubled.”
“Do you know why?”
“Steve and Phil were good friends. When Phil was murdered it really affected Steve. I had no idea they were friends, but then Steve would have done everything he could to hide that from everyone. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know that he liked to smoke occasionally.” Their eyes met. “He was a Walters and that meant living up to expectations. Those expectations included not going anywhere near weed, or any other drugs. When Phil died Steve started smoking more. He never smoked around me, but I knew he did. It’s not something you can hide from someone who knows the smell.”
“I never knew Steve was friends with Phil.” Mary-Ann shook her head. “I’m not surprised I didn’t know, though. Steve always was good at keeping secrets. I remember when he told me about the things he did he really didn’t want Mrs Walters to know about, and he made me promise I wouldn’t even tell Theo, so I didn’t. As far as I was concerned Steve was permitted to live his own life.”
“That’s exactly what I thought and it was as I got to know his family I realised why things were so hard for him. He was the eldest son and that meant that was a lot of pressure on him to act the right way. In the end I think it was that pressure that was too much for him. I think he killed himself, because he wasn’t ready to be the person his mom wanted him to be.”
***
“You spoke with Melanie.” Mrs Walters sounded disappointed. “She believes my son killed himself.”
“I know you don’t.”
“He was a Walters. He wouldn’t have done something like that.”
“Did you know your son well?”
“Of course I did.” Mrs Walters studied Mary-Ann. “You’ve known my family since you were a little girl, Mare, and you know how I treated my sons. You know how I treated my daughter.”
“Actually, is Anne home?”
“She got back a couple of days ago, but she isn’t home right now. She went out for coffee with a couple of friends.”
“Do you think you could tell her I want to talk with her?”
“She’ll tell you the same thing I am, and the same thing Theo would is he was still alive - Steven would never have killed himself, no matter how bad things got, and that’s why I believe he was murdered. Melanie can say what she wants about him. I know the truth. I know my son loved us too much to kill himself. I truly believe that if he was having real problems he would have come to us, to talk it all through, and we would have done anything we had to in order to help him.”
“Have you gone through Steve’s thing?”
“Yes, and there was nothing here to make me think Melanie might have been telling me the truth.”
“Would you mind if I had a look around up there? I want to get to the bottom of all this, if I can, and I really think it would help.”
***
Mary-Ann went straight to the place she remembered Steven hiding his journal. It was somewhere none of his family would have looked, so she wasn’t surprised how thick the layer of dust on it was. Without saying anything she took it out. “This might be something you need to read, Mrs Walters.” She turned. “I don’t know what it hold within it. I don’t even know if Steve was writing in it when he died, but I remember watching him write in this religiously when I was younger. It was his way of letting go of the pain he felt about everything.”
“He did.” Anne stepped into the room. “I didn’t know where he kept it, because he never wanted me to know, but I know he wrote in it all the time. I tried to find it after he died.” Her eyes met with Mary-Ann’s. “Did you know Theo named me after you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“At the time the two of you were best friends. Steve told me about the time
you were writing invisible ink messages to each other.”
“We were five, and once we realised how it all worked it was one of the best things in the world.”
“Theo kept all the messages you sent him. He was nostalgic like that. When he told me he was going to get a private detective to look into Steve’s death I told him he was making a mistake. Unlike the rest of my family I don’t believe Steve was murdered. Theo, on the other hand, was.”
Sighing, Mary-Ann nodded. “D.I. O’Connor has me looking into a theory that all of the recent deaths at the shop are connected, although I’m not beginning to think they weren’t.”
“You weren’t here at the time, were you?”
“Unfortunately not.”
“Then I think we have plenty to talk about. I…” Anne glanced at Mrs Walters. “We all kept secrets from Mom. It was a game, at least until Steve died, and then it wasn’t so much fun any more. I never thought my big brother would end up killing himself, although I do believe it when Mel says he did.”
“How can you say that?”
“You didn’t know Steve. You didn’t know me or Theo either, and the whole reason Theo hired that P.I. was because you wouldn’t stop going on and on about how you were certain Steve wouldn’t have killed himself. Then the P.I. told Theo there was a connection between the three deaths and disappeared.” Anne sighed. “I’m going to talk with Mare about our lives, because she will listen to me in a way you never have, and then we can have a very difficult conversation about what you’re going to read in Steve’s journal.”
“I’m not reading it.”
“Fine. I’ll read it to you. The time has come for you to understand what it’s like to be a Walters, Mom.”
***
Anne stroked the dust off the cover of Steven’s journal. “Steve smoked weed for as long as I can remember. Being the youngest meant I was five when he started high school and he made friends with Phil straight away. I think it was because the two of them were so different. Phil was laid back, and smoked for fun, while Steve was intense, and smoked to take his mind off everything. He was never that successful with it, unfortunately. He always thought too much about everything and he knew what was expected of him, because he was the eldest, the heir, the one who had to take on the burden of being a Walters. I never wanted that for him. I wanted him to be able to live the life he wanted and I would have done anything to help him. All he needed to do was come to me.”
“Maybe he couldn’t.”
“When he started dating Mel I thought there was a chance for him. She didn’t see him as a Walters. She saw him as Steve. Then she told me he was losing himself. He was smoking more and that’s when I realised the thought of opening a cafe with our family was too much for him. Before I could talk to him about anything he was found dead. I knew then it was suicide, and I told Theo exactly what I thought, but Theo… even though he knew how low Steve had been he didn’t want to believe it was possible. I can understand that. I didn’t want to believe it was possible either. Then Theo started looking into finding out the truth about Steve’s death, which then got connected to Phil’s death, and George’s.”
“Tell me about them.”
“Phil I’m pretty certain was a deal gone wrong. After you left for New York Phil started dealing and I know he was dealing things I never thought he’d touch. Weed is one thing. Coke is another entirely, and I tried to talk him out of it. He never was the sort of person who’d be willing to listen to sense. As he was one of Steve’s closest friends I wanted to do something to help and I couldn’t. When his body was found he didn’t have anything on him. George… I honestly don’t know what happened to George. I wish I did. I liked George. He used to talk to me occasionally about what book he was reading and I’d help him to find something new at the bookstore if he’d run out.”
“As I’m looking into both of them I’ll see what I can find.”
“You need to know about Harry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone thought Harry was a good guy.” Anne nibbled her bottom lip. “Theo included. There was nothing I could say that would convince him otherwise and there were times when I hate him for that. Harry’s not the person he seems, Mare, but there’s nothing I can do to prove it.” She shook her head. “I think he was the one who killed Theo and I think it was because Theo was getting too close to the truth.”
“They seemed fine when I saw them on Saturday.”
“One of the things Harry is very good at is pretending everything is fine, even when it’s not. I wish I had evidence. I wish I could prove to you that Harry is the person I know him to be, but I don’t have any, and I know better than to say the wrong thing to the wrong person.”
“You can talk to me about anything, Anne.”
“I just don’t want this to get back to Harry.”
“I promise it won’t.”
“Okay.” Anne looked down at Steven’s journal. “Harry and I were friends, for a while, until I realised what sort of person he was. After that he made certain Theo knew the ‘truth’. I was lying about Harry, because he’d turned me down when I asked him out.” She laughed. “I remember him asking me out. I was the one who turned him down and I know he never quite got over that. A couple of times I have wondered if Harry hurt Theo to get back at me, but I don’t think it was that. Harry is a liar. Unfortunately he’s a very good liar, because he can remember the lies he’s told, and he never screws up, sadly. He started off telling me little lies about things and then it grew from there.”
Chapter 8
“Have you found Harry?”
“No sign so far, but I have people out looking for him. I take it you’ve learnt something new about him.”
“Unfortunately.” Mary-Ann couldn’t help going over the conversation she’d had with Anne. “Theo’s sister Anne knew Harry far better than I did, although I still have trouble seeing him as the person she keeps saying he is.”
“You fell for the mask, Mare. Anyone would.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of research on Harry, because I thought he was a little too good to be true, and I was right. Harry isn’t even his name.”
“Yes, it is. It’s the one he used in high school.”
“Have you ever heard of those people who look young enough to be able to go back to high school when they were far older than they actual are.”
Mary-Ann stared out of the window. “Harry was adopted.”
“From what I’ve found it wasn’t a legal adoption, but something done outside of the normal system. When he was twenty-six he still looked to be young enough to be in high school, and he decided, for some reason, that was exactly what he was going to do. I have a feeling both Phil and George found out the truth, although I can’t be certain of that yet.”
“If he wanted to go back to high school why hasn’t he done it again?”
“Sometimes it’s a compulsion, but I think Harry found his place here. He felt comfortable enough to stay, so he did, even though he probably shouldn’t have done. I have all the information here and I can bring it to you if you want to see it.”
“Honestly I don’t know if I want to.” She sighed. “I don’t want to know that Harry’s been lying to us all for years.”
“There is a chance Theo found out the truth too, which is why he ended up dead.”
“Steve?”
“It was easier with Steven. He was suicidal. The only issue Harry had was the fact he wouldn’t have been able to write the same way Steve did, which is why there was no note.”
“Anne’s going through Steve’s journal. There is a chance we might find a note in there.”
“Possibly. I’m not ruling anything out right now. What I need to do is find out where Harry is and then…” Alex made a sound. “I have no way of connecting Harry to anything, Mare, even though he was one of the people with a key to the shop. I’m going to need your help, when I do eventually find him, because otherwise
he’s going to get away with this - he’s going to get away with killing Theo, Phil, and George. He might even get away with killing Steve.”
“We both know that isn’t going to happen. All you need to do is find him and then I’ll get him to admit what he did.”
***
Someone knocked on the door as Mary-Ann was going through the files from Phil and George’s murders. Even after going through Harry’s testimony more than twenty times she couldn’t find anything to link him to the murders, although he didn’t have an alibi. The only connection was the fact he had a key, but then a number of other people did too, so it was entirely possible he had nothing to do with the murders. As she went through it all again in her head she went to answer the door. Rob smiled at her.
“Alex sent me over with the information you didn’t want.”
“Sounds about right.” She shook her head. “How can someone hide who they are from everyone in their life for over as long as Harry did?”
“He’s good at what he does, and he made certain he didn’t get caught doing anything stupid.”
Mary-Ann stepped backwards and Rob entered the apartment. “I thought he was my friend.”
“I’m not saying he wasn’t. However I think Alex is probably right about Harry being willing to kill if someone found out the truth about him. People in that situation… they don’t want someone to bring an end to this. Alex said you found out from Anne Harry is a very good liar and it seems likely this was just another layer to the story.”
“What do we do?”
“Wait until Alex finds him, which could take days, and then you need to work out how you’re going to make Harry admit he killed at least three people.”
“Who was he before?”
“Benjamin Laurence.” Rob held the pile of papers out to Mary-Ann, but she shook her head. “He was born in Seattle. His parents weren’t good people, so I can understand why he would have wanted to get away from them, and the first time he studied at high school he didn’t do well. He dropped out a couple of weeks into his freshman year. For a few years he tried to sort himself out, but he found himself on the wrong side of the law a number of times. When he got out of juvy he headed to Green Springs, where no one knew him. He wanted to start all over again. He thought it was possible he might be able to make someone take him in and he wasn’t wrong about that.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 67
