Closing Books

by Grace, Trisha

  Without any invitation, the man moved toward the couch and settled down as if it were his own house. He crossed his legs and leaned back, taking a glance around the living room.

  She moved to stand beside Dan. “Who’s that?” She’d never seen the man before, but something about him seemed uncannily familiar. Despite his polite smile, Evelyn couldn’t shake the urge to shiver.

  “Some David Morgan.”

  The name sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it. It couldn’t be one of her clients; she would have at least remembered the face.

  The answer hit her as she saw Tyler hurrying down the stairs.

  The name she’d seen on Lydia’s whiteboard.

  Evelyn’s eyes returned to David Morgan, and she observed him, trying to figure out the sort of person he was.

  Throughout the years in the foster system, Evelyn had learned that a person’s behavior gave away many telltale signs of who he or she truly was. Words were easy. Words could form their own story, but behavior was always a whole other matter.

  “What are you here for?”

  “Tyler Hayes,” David Morgan said, looking right at Tyler. Then, his eyes moved toward Evelyn and Dan. “Dan Riley and Evelyn Jordan. Or should I address you as Mandy?” For a moment, his smile morphed into a smirk.

  Although he was quick to remove it, his chin remained jutted in arrogance, and his eyes scanned them with absolute contempt.

  Dan immediately took a step forward, his hand stretched out protectively across her waist.

  “I hope you enjoyed my present for you. It’s always nice to catch up with old friends, isn’t it?”

  She clenched her jaws.

  Digging out her past wasn’t an easy affair, and for this man to accomplish it spoke a lot about his connections.

  The thought that a complete stranger held such knowledge of her past rattled her, but she was quick to take in a breath to soothe the anxiety from her face, leaving only the same polite smile that reflected David Morgan’s.

  It was then that she finally recognized the vibe he was giving.

  Something about him, perhaps it was the emptiness in his eyes, perhaps it was the way the smile hung on his face; she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what set her off, but she finally recognized it—the aura of evil.

  She couldn’t believe it took her so long to place it, but now that she’d figured it out, she had no problem connecting him to another devil she’d once lived with.

  Her smile faltered slightly at the reminder of Mrs. Moore, just slightly. She was no longer a kid, and this time, she wasn’t alone. Dan was right beside her, and she was sure Tyler wouldn’t let her get hurt either.

  Besides, who was more qualified to deal with psychos than she was?

  “Look—” Dan began.

  “Yes, I should thank you for that.” Evelyn gently took Dan’s hand away from her waist and stepped forward. She felt Dan taking a step with her, but she squeezed his hand, hoping he’d get the hint that she wanted him to stay right where he was. “It wasn’t nice seeing her, but it felt terrific to see her walk away, all flustered, after Dan nearly broke her arm. So, thanks. It was fun.”

  She sat next to David Morgan on the couch, propping her elbow casually against the top of the couch and leaning her head on her hand as if his presence was boring her.

  From the corner of her eyes, she could see Tyler moving behind David Morgan.

  She kept her eyes on David Morgan. “I’m a straightforward person, so let’s get to the point. If you’re the one behind Amy, I suppose Lydia is getting close to something.” She smiled and blinked, mimicking the facade of innocence that Kate had used on Amy. “You may strut in here with that smile and a five-thousand-dollar suit, but actually, you’re getting kind of worried, aren’t you?”

  It took much control not to smirk as Evelyn saw the arrogance David Morgan’s face faltering.

  “You don’t dare take all of us on at one time, so you’re starting with the weakest link?” She paused. “But they proved you wrong. So, back to Tyler’s question. What are you here for?”

  Evelyn stayed exactly where she was, her smile bright and brilliant, even when David Morgan’s smirk morphed into a devious scowl.

  “You think you’re smarter than me?”

  “No, I just don’t think you’re smart at all.”

  David Morgan shot to his feet and raised his hand. In the same instant, Dan moved forward, pulling Evelyn back, and Tyler moved in to grab David Morgan’s hand.

  Certain that Tyler had David Morgan under control, she patted lightly on Dan’s hand. “How is it possible that someone like you can commit crimes and escape the law for so many years?” she said as Tyler shoved David Morgan out of the door that Marianne had opened.

  “Not everyone is here today. Not everyone has someone to protect them right now.” David Morgan straightened his suit, and the annoying smirk returned to his face.

  Evelyn clasped her hands behind her, reigning in her temptation to claw at the smirk.

  Tyler didn’t bother to ask. He slammed the door closed and started calling Kate right away. While he did that, Evelyn called Lydia, but neither Kate nor Lydia was picking up their phones.

  “It’s probably nothing. Kate’s phone is always in her bag. She’s always missing calls. Try the office,” Evelyn said as she saw the disquiet on Tyler’s face.

  Evelyn redialed Lydia’s number. When Lydia didn’t pick up her call, Evelyn sent her a text, telling her to call once she saw the message.

  “Just stay at the office. I’ll pick you up, everything’s fine. No, just stay right where you are. Don’t go anywhere until I get there.” Tyler hung up the phone and grabbed the car keys by the door. “You guys should stay here.”

  “Are they in danger? This cannot be happening again,” Marianne said.

  “At least this time, we know who we’re dealing with. That was smart of you, Evelyn,” Mr. Sawyer said.

  Dan shook his head and said, “Smart? He could’ve hurt her.”

  “Dan, in that short conversation, Evelyn proved that Lydia found something that was making him anxious, and she made him reveal who he was—someone insecure.”

  Dan sighed, and she could tell that he didn’t care what she’d proven, only that she could have gotten hurt.

  She found herself wanting to laugh.

  She’d heard Kate complain, time and again, on how irritating it was when Tyler could hear of nothing but the slim chance that she could have gotten hurt.

  To Evelyn, it was important to size up the opponent, to know what kind of person she was dealing with. She’d come to the same conclusion that Mr. Sawyer had drawn, but she didn’t think it was the time to bring that up.

  She took Dan’s hand and gave him a small smile. She’d watched how Kate dealt with Tyler whenever he got frustrated with her for, in his point of view, not putting her safety first. Evelyn thought it was a perfect time to put the gentle tone and sweet words tactic to use now. “I didn’t step forward because I was stubborn. I stepped forward because I know, between you and Tyler, there was no way he could’ve laid his hands on me.”

  She grinned as the frustration melted from Dan’s face.

  “We’ll check that all the windows and side doors are locked,” Marianne said, pulling Mr. Sawyer along with her.

  “Let me call Kate. I think she must be going out of her mind.” Evelyn called Kate, putting her on speakerphone while she told her what had happened. But before she could finish her first sentence, Kate cut her off.

  “Eve? Something wrong with your phone? You sound so far away.”

  “Oh, maybe because we’re on speaker.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  Why wouldn’t she do that? “Dan’s here.”

  “Huh.”

  “What, huh?” Evelyn asked.

  “Dan, she never bothered to put me on speaker before. We always chat whenever we wanted for as long as we wanted.”

  Evelyn reached out
for the phone, intending to turn off the speaker when Dan snatched it from the table.

  “She was talking to me,” Dan said.

  “Do you want to know what happened or not?” she shouted in the direction of the phone.

  “Right, of course. What’s going on?”

  She took the phone back from Dan and gave Kate a summary of what happened. She offered to stay with Kate on the phone until Tyler got to the office, but she refused, saying that she was safe and there were still others in the office.

  “And I’m going to call Lydia until she picks up.”

  “Do you have her iTunes account?” Evelyn asked. Dan had already told her how Kate had tracked her to the meet up with Amy and how they found her after that.

  “I’m sorry, Eve. We were worried, and—”

  “Save it, Kate. I would’ve done the same if it were the other way around.”

  “Right. Okay, but I don’t have her password so I’m just going to spam her phone now.”

  “Do. Not. Leave. The. Office. You understand me?”

  “All right, I get it. You’re becoming like Ty. Bye.”

  Evelyn dropped her head back against the couch, the frown still on her face.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

  She nodded slowly, then said, “Lydia said that David Morgan was suspected of quite a few cases of rape and murder. It isn’t fair that scumbags like him get to walk around free while the women’s lives got stolen.”

  Dan pulled her into his arms, his hand rubbing up and down her arm. “What about you? Knowing that he was the one behind Amy’s appearance,” he asked after a minute.

  Instantly, the veneer of peace faded and Evelyn drew in a deep breath. “I was a minor, the records were sealed. If he can unseal it, I have no doubts he’s able to create more problems.”

  “You don’t mind that he knows?”

  She thought about it for a moment. The only concern she had was David Morgan’s connections to get the information, besides that, she didn’t seem to care.

  Mandy Shannon would always be part of her, but she had left that chapter behind and was ready to move on.

  Dan was right. She had a new name, a new life, but she had remained trapped by the life Mandy Shannon had.

  She was done with that. “I guess it doesn’t seem that important anymore.”

  Dan couldn’t help but break into a wide grin. He lifted her chin and she returned her gaze to him. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  He kissed her lightly on the lips.

  “What’s going on?”

  They broke from their kiss to see Ryan hopping out of the kitchen. Crap. She’d totally forgotten about him. He wouldn’t be happy about missing the entire drama.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Evelyn, Dan, and Ryan all sat on the bed while Evelyn filled Ryan in on what had happened. He lapped up their details, but the curiosity in his eyes left and a seriousness, which Evelyn never thought Ryan had, took over.

  His face was angled away from theirs, his eyes focused on the wall, seemingly considering what was going on. Then, the solemnness in his eyes vanished, and he smiled at her. “Don’t worry. Like you said, Lydia probably has something on him already.”

  How did he do that? How could he so easily brush aside his concerns and focus on the positive?

  She broke into a wry smile. “Something isn’t right though. Someone like him usually answers to someone else.”

  “What do you mean?” Dan asked.

  She sat up straight and sighed as she thought about the whole encounter with David Morgan. “He isn’t one who can keep his cool. He does stupid things like turning up here and letting us know that Lydia was getting too close to his case. How is it possible for someone like him to commit crimes for so many years, but never get caught?”

  “Are you saying there’s someone else? Like an accomplice?” Dan said.

  “Like a mastermind, but I don’t know. Something isn’t right. If we were in a foster home, he would be pick on and bullied. He’s like one of those idiots who think they’re strong and almighty, but burst into tears at the slightest shove.” She paused and shook her head. “Maybe I’m thinking too much,” she said, returning to find support on Dan’s arm.

  Usually, she would easily forget a man like David Morgan. He was too rash and too idiotic to cause much harm, but the difference between him and other men like him was the money.

  Money could change a lot of things.

  For one, she was sure David Morgan hadn’t personally sent the threats that Kate had received, and he wasn’t the one who set Kate’s house on fire.

  She didn’t have any proof, but she’d caught a glimpse of the arsonist; he was calm, methodical, and even a gunshot didn’t frighten him off. That man set out to burn down the house with them in it, and he did it with the alarm ringing and the knowledge that one of them had a gun, nothing like how David Morgan had reacted.

  “Something just doesn’t sit right with my gut,” she murmured under her breath.

  Silence lingered as each of them thought about what Evelyn had just said.

  “Ryan? Dan? Oh, I don’t know, but one of you should take this. It’s Joe.” Marianne stood at the door, her frown deepening the lines on her forehead. “I’ll pack some clothes for Lydia.”

  “Pack some clothes for Lydia?” Evelyn said as Marianne handed the phone to Dan.

  “Please don’t tell me Lydia is at your hospital.”

  Dan’s sigh was an answer that Evelyn didn’t want to hear. She shook her head and gave a frustrated sigh. “Kate’s going to freak.”

  “How bad is it?” Dan asked. His lips pressed into a thin line as he nodded away. “All right, we’ll get there as soon as possible. No, it’s fine, Eve will call Kate. All right.”

  “How bad is it?” Evelyn asked Dan once he put down the phone.

  “He isn’t sure; he hasn’t seen her. She’s being transferred there right now, but based on what he’s been told, it’s bad. Should we wait until Kate gets back before telling her?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not putting my neck out for that. We tell Kate, and we tell her right now,” Ryan said.

  Dan turned to Evelyn and waited for her to make the decision.

  “He’s right, we have to tell Kate. I don’t look forward to her reaction, but we’ve got to tell her, now.”

  As Evelyn expected, Kate didn’t want to wait for an update from Joseph. She insisted on heading down to the hospital immediately to see for herself how Lydia was doing. Dan, Evelyn, and Marianne headed down while Mr. Sawyer and Ryan stayed behind at the mansion, in case any new surprises sprang up.

  They waited for over half an hour before Joseph came out through the swinging doors.

  He didn’t smile even as he saw them. His face was clean of all expression, and the only sign of distress was the small sigh he gave before speaking. “She’s not in any danger, but she’s hurt quite badly.” His voice softened on the last two words, as though it would help lessened any anxiety they had.

  “What happened? Was it David Morgan?” Kate asked.

  “She doesn’t know. All she could remember was being shoved into her apartment while she was opening the door. The rest is just a blur.” He paused for a moment, allowing Kate to absorb the information.

  Evelyn could tell he had more to say, but was wondering if he should say it all at once. When Joseph’s eyes flickered onto hers, she gave him a small nod. It was better to spill everything at one time. Kate hated having to sniff out information piece by piece.

  “The paramedics said her house’s been trashed, but her money and jewelry are still on her table. She didn’t say anything except to send her here and my name.”

  Kate took in a ragged breath as her hand moved toward her necklace. She tugged on it, and the focus of her eyes drifted from him.

  “Did she tell you anything else?” Tyler asked, his hand around Kate, holding her protectively.

  “The assailant did give her a message
—back off or pay.”

  Kate’s face blanched. “Can we see her now?”

  “Yes, but not all at once. Her throat hurts, so she can’t really speak.”

  “Evelyn, would you go in with her? I need to talk to Dan,” Tyler said.

  Evelyn knew they were going to start planning their full security scheme that neither she nor Kate would have a say in. She went to her friend and looped her hand around Kate’s arm, following Joseph toward the wards.

  Even Evelyn couldn’t help but gasp when she saw Lydia’s swollen face. Her face was a mixture of purple and blue, her skin stretched to accommodate the swells. The white of her eyes were barely visible, and when she forced her eyes open, all Evelyn could see was the crimson red in her eyes.

  Kate couldn’t even speak. She stared dumbfounded as tears fell from her eyes.

  “I’m okay.” Lydia’s voice was soft. As she spoke, her hand flew to her throat and she winced slightly. “Phone,” she mouthed.

  Evelyn immediately stepped forward and handed Lydia the phone. Lydia typed away on the phone before handing it back to Evelyn.

  “I’ve synced all the info I had in all my devices and uploaded them to iCloud.” Evelyn read out what Lydia had typed, and smiled before continuing. “Even if the person took everything, trashed everything, I can still get back every article, info and interview I’ve conducted.”

  Despite the differences between Kate and Lydia, they had one thing in common—they always had a contingency plan. If anything went wrong, they’d be prepared.

  “I guess that’s a minor victory on our side,” Evelyn said, controlling her urge to show any disapproval. She wasn’t being unsupportive; she just didn’t understand how Lydia could dismiss her attack and injuries so easily.

  Kate pulled up a chair and reached over, cupping her hands over Lydia’s. “We’ll get the son-of-a-bitch.”

  Evelyn blinked, then laughed when she was sure she’d heard Kate swear. Lydia laughed, too, except hers became a soft cry of pain as her broken ribs throbbed within her chest.

  “The police want to talk to her, but I told them they’d have to wait. And they refuse to place patrols for her until they’re sure her life is still in danger.”