One the way back to the house, my cell phone buzzed. I thought it was going to be Dominick, but to my surprised it was Detective Stack.
“Hi, Detective Stack, anything new with the case?” I asked immediately without even giving the man a chance to respond to my greeting.
“I’m afraid so, Mrs. Kane.” His response was bleak.
“What’s wrong?” I know I sounded panicked.
Tommy looked at me and pulled over immediately, so he could focus on the conversation, as well.
“It’s Darian Mann.” That was all he said.
“What about Darian?”
“I hate to tell you this, but she was attacked this morning.” My body stilled. What the fuck was happening?
“Is she okay?” As much as I disliked that bitch, I would never wish any type of harm to her.
“I’m afraid not, Mrs. Kane. She lost a great deal of blood and she’s in critical condition at Southhampton Hospital. The doctors will be transporting her to the city once she is stabilized.”
I lost any ability to speak.
“Mrs. Kane, are you still there?”
“Yes, yes…I’m sorry, but this is just so shocking to me.”
“I’m sure it is, but there’s more.” He sounded ominous.
“More? What do you mean more?” I looked to Tommy, whose eyes were focused on the phone and me.
“Your number was the last one Ms. Mann dialed. I hate to ask you this, but did you receive a call from her this morning, even a missed one.”
“Not that I know of. Can you hold on and I’ll check my phone right now?”
“I’d appreciate that, Mrs. Kane.”
I looked through my call log, but there wasn’t any call from Darian. I immediately reported back to the detective.
“No, there are no incoming calls from her.” I stated.
“I see. Have you spoken with her at all recently?”
“No, the last time I spoke with her was when I found her with Dominick in the board room at the law firm before I had been attacked.”
“Do you know if Dominick has been in contact with her recently?”
“I don’t really know. Listen, Detective Stack, I don’t mean to come off as rude, but what exactly is this all about? I don’t know if Dominick has been in contact with her or not. He and my dad have been tight-lipped since all of these incidents started to occur. I’m sure now with Dominick’s arrest, they will be even less forthcoming with me.”
“Why is that?” I made him more curious.
“To be truthful, I’ve been sort of investigating my dad’s accident and my assault on my own.”
“You realize, Mrs. Kane, that you could be putting yourself in danger, don’t you?”
“Detective Stack, I’ve lived my entire life under the protective guise of my obsessive mother. I will not live like that any longer.”
“I understand that, but this situation is not about restricted living. It’s about people that are targeting your family and those people may very well be dangerous.”
“I get that, but I will not submit to them. They hurt my family and I intend to find out exactly who they are and make them pay through our justice system.”
“I see. Do you have any leads that you are willing to share with me?” He exhaled, because he knew that I wasn’t going to end my quest for the truth, especially after what he just revealed to me about Darian this morning.
“I’m not quite sure if what I found were leads, but I do have some interesting information that I obtained from Vincent Kane’s personal files.” I couldn’t keep this from Detective Stack. He had always been wonderful and forthcoming in the investigation with me. It was only right that I was that way with him.
“Mrs. Kane, could we possibly meet today? I’d love to hear what you have and I do have a few more questions that I need to ask you.”
“Sure, but it would have to be late in the day. I’m at our shore house and we still have to pack up before we head back to the city.”
“That’s fine, could we meet say around 4PM today? You pick the place and I’ll be there.” He suggested.
“Okay, 4PM is great. Let’s meet at my old place. My friend Tommy still lives there and it is more private than a restaurant. Tommy is actually with me, so he can drive me over to meet you.”
“Perfect! I’ll see both of you later.”
We ended our call and I just sat there. I composed myself and then explained to Tommy what had happened to Darian. He agreed that we needed to get back to the shore house, pack up, and then head to New York right away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Acceptance
Rain
We went back to the shore house and explained everything to Anna and Joseph. We changed our driving plans. Once we were packed, I left with Tommy, while Anna and Joseph took the twins and Max back to the city.
Both cars reached the townhouse in plenty of time for all of us to relax before Tommy and I had to leave to meet with Detective Stack. I was nervous, so I decided give the twins a bath and put them down for a nap. It helped me to burn through the nervous energy that had begun to build up inside of me when I found out the news about Darian Mann.
It was finally time to leave. Tommy took us back in his car to the brownstone. He said he would drive me home after the meeting was over. I hated not having my own vehicle. I never owned one until I met Dominick, but now I was completely lost without it.
Detective Stack was on time. We decided to sit at the dining room table. He had papers and I had my laptop with me, so that I could show him Vincent’s files.
Tommy asked if he should leave, but Detective Stack said that some of his questions related to Mike and he was hoping that Tommy would agree to answer them truthfully, which Tommy said he would.
“Miss Kane…”
“Please, for the millionth time, call me Rain.”
He smiled warmly. “Okay…Rain.” He took out some papers and I logged on to Vincent’s secure site. “Rain, I need to start by asking you some questions pertaining to Darian.”
“I’ll try my best, but you know that we weren’t exactly friends, right?”
“I understand completely, but these questions pertain to her assault.” He revealed.
“How does her assault involve Rain”? Tommy asked.
“Well, as I stated earlier, your number was the last call on her phone.” He answered Tommy’s question, but addressed me.
“Yes, but as I had said when you called this morning there wasn’t a call from her on my phone, not even a missed call.”
“Rain, forgive me, but we pulled your phone records and there was a call to you, so it must have somehow been erased or never recorded.”
Dominick.
Tommy and I looked at each other, as if the answer would come to us. Then Detective Stack continued.
“Also Rain, can I ask you which is your dominant hand? What I mean is, are you right-handed or left-handed?”
“I’m right-handed, why?”
He didn’t answer my question. He just continued with his inquisition of sorts.“What about Mr. Kane?”
“He’s also right-handed.” My concerns grew stronger with each passing question.
“Mr. Conte, I need to know if your brother is right-handed or left-handed.”
“My brother? What does Michael have to do with all of this shit?” Tommy raised his voice.
“Mr. Conte, I assure you that once you answer the question, I’ll explain further.”
“He’s also right-handed.”
“Good, that’s good” Detective Stack seemed almost relieved, but why?
“Detective Stack, what exactly is going on here?”
“We believe the person who assaulted you, also assaulted Ms. Mann.”
“How is that possible, when I told you that I believed it was Darian who assaulted me in the first place?”
“Because of the evidence we found at your shore house and the evidence we found at Ms. Mann’s beach house out on Lo
ng Island; we believe it’s one, in the same person who attacked you both.”
“Can you tell me what that evidence is?” I asked.
“I can tell you what affects your case, but I can’t discuss the details of Ms. Mann’s actual assault.”
“Fair enough.”
Tommy and I listened carefully in hopes that the information the detective was about to give us would in fact help us further, so Dominick would be cleared in my kidnapping.
“As you both already know, a witness stated that it was a redhead that ran down your dad. Your brother-in-law stated that the person leaving the scene of your shore house was a woman and confirmed that she had red hair. Yet, you stated that although you can’t remember your attacker, you had the feeling that they were familiar.” Detective Stack began to summarize.
“Yes, it kills me that I can’t remember. Perhaps that’s why I am trying so hard to get to the truth. Maybe it’s my need to remember what I buried away so deeply.” I felt useless and frustrated, and now I realized that was part of what had been driving me. My need to know who did this was also my need to remember.
“Maybe what I’m about to tell you will jar your memory?”
“I hope so, for everyone’s sake.”
“The person who assaulted both you and Ms. Mann, did have red hair, but it was dyed.”
I laughed. It wasn’t out of nervousness, but out of amusement. Many men didn’t get the fine art of hair coloring or the logic behind it. It’s not odd for a woman to color their hair the same shade as their natural color. Many do it to bring the vibrancy back or to cover unwanted grays.
“I don’t mean to laugh, but women do dye their hair.” I stated, as to explain my laughter.
He smiled. “I’m fully aware of that, Rain, but this clue is the evidence that now points to two assailants.”
“Two, how are there two?” Tommy inquired, although I did think there could be two when we discussed it.
Tommy was not as on board with that idea, but I had a funny feeling that there were two people.
“The person who assaulted both Mrs. Kane and Ms. Mann are one. And the person who ran down Mrs. Kane’s father is a different person altogether.”
“How is that possible? You had said originally that the person was a woman, but she had chestnut hair and then you said it was a redhead, but she possibly had on a wig, so now you're telling me that none of that is true?”
“Not exactly, Rain, the person who assaulted you and Ms. Mann was not wearing a wig. The person who ran down your father was. So we believe the person who ran down your dad could be a man or a woman, but the person who assaulted you and Ms. Mann was most definitely a woman with long hair, yet the red wasn’t her natural color based on the forensic evidence left behind at each crime scene. You see, the hair at the shore house and the hair left at Ms. Mann’s house matched. It was definitely dyed red and it was definitely human hair, not a wig. The red strands collected at the scene where your father was hit, was indeed a wig.”
“This seems to be getting worse by the minute.” I remarked, as I looked at Tommy; he shook his head, then nodded in agreement.
“I truly understand both of your frustrations, but I felt it was important to inform you of this, as I did with your father earlier.”
“You spoke with my dad?”
“Yes, that’s why I was able to meet with you at this time today. I had already had an appointment scheduled with your father. He and your husband asked me to keep this quiet, but I informed both of them that you had every right to know about your own case.”
“Was Kane part of the meeting?” Tommy asked.
“No, Mr. Medici called him in once it was over and explained everything to him. That was when Mr. Kane asked me not to disclose the information to you just yet.”
“Do they know that you were meeting with me today?”
“No, I told them that I would try to reach out to you and see if we could meet.”
“I’m going to ask you to do me a favor, Detective Stack. I’m not sure if this is ethical or not, so if it isn't and you can’t agree to it, then I perfectly understand.”
“Tell me what it is, and I’ll see what I can do.” His voice was comforting at that moment.
“I’d like it if you didn’t tell Dominick or my dad that you were able to reach me. I must tell you that they are far too over-protective and I really don’t want the added pressure right now.”
“I understand and that’s perfectly within your rights. You have my word.”
“The other reason is because what I’m about to show you is confidential. Neither Dominick nor my dad knows about this file in the state that it’s in and I’d like to keep it that way for the time being. I was going to tell them about it when they returned from Italy, but Dominick was arrested, as you know, and now just doesn’t seem like the right time to distract them while they are working on the case to clear him.”
“What is it that you need me to see?”
“These are Vincent Kane’s files on the clients the firm had back when Dominick was born and until Mr. Kane’s death. This list is of people who left and why. I continued to scroll through his file and found several things that connected each of these people. One, they were all clients of Kane and Medici. Two, all abruptly severed ties with the firm and three, they all seem to have gone to the Van Buren firm. I had originally thought because of something Dominick and my dad told me; that Mr. Van Buren was stealing from his clients. I also thought that my dad and Vincent Kane found out about it and privately in some way, were holding him accountable.”
“I see what you mean. It’s not that they chose just another firm; they all chose the same firm. Was the information that your dad and Vincent Kane saved, used as a form of blackmail towards Mr. Van Buren?” He understood, but he had questions.
“Sort of, but not entirely.”
“Rain, what exactly does that mean?” I knew by his last question that I had to tell him about Dominick and Madison’s relationship.
“Dominick and Madison Van Buren were in an extremely volatile relationship. The details are rather long, but to shorten it up, he tried to break it off with her. Even when they were no longer seeing each other, she began to stalk him. He couldn’t stop her and Mr. Van Buren threatened him, so Vincent stepped in and gave him a list of names that apparently proved whoVan Buren was embezzling money from. Madison stopped her drama immediately.”
“Rain, this is not a list of people who Van Buren stole money from, though. These people left your dad’s firm and signed with the Van Buren’s firm.”
“I know that, but they are all connected in some way and that list stopped his daughter and him in their tracks when it came to Dominick all of those years ago. Can you help us? Maybe there is a connection with this and the assaults on my family and now Darian. My issue is why? Why the Van Buren’s? For the sake of argument, let’s just say they left for better representation or they didn’t like who was representing them at Kane and Medici. For all of them to not only leave, but hire Mr. Van Buren is incredibly strange to me.”
“I would have to agree with you. Especially, since this has been going on for years. I would also agree that they have something far more in common than just hiring a new attorney. Let me see what I can come up with and I’ll get back to you. Can’t you print me this list?”
“The file can’t be printed for some reason, but I can send it to your email.” I stated.
“Great, you shouldn't have a problem with my email at the precinct. Its encrypted.”
After our discussion ended, I walked Detective Stack to the door. He stated not to worry and that he would be in touch. I felt better knowing that I told someone of authority, especially after finding out about Darian. Whoever is behind all of this appears to be quite desperate and dangerous. Having the authorities involved was the safe way to go.
Once Detective Stack left, Tommy drove me home. On the way there, I asked him about his trip.
“Are you going to he
ad to Bali now that the police are involved and we are kind of at a standstill?”
“No, I decided that I’ll head out there around Thanksgiving. There is no reason for me to stay here for the holiday weekend and I don’t want to have a run-in with Mike at our parents house.”
“I get it. I wish you could work it out at Thanksgiving, but I get it.”
“I’m going to stop for some take-out. Do you want to come along and pick up dinner?”
The Ties That Bind (Miss Taken Identity #3) Page 26
