by Jaden Skye
“Dr. Anguil, in your professional opinion would you say that Tyron was definitely pushed down the stairs?” Olivia asked.
“There’s no question at all in my mind,” he gruffly replied.
“And, just for the record, do you have any idea at all about who could have done something like this?”
“That question is beyond my scope,” he said. “I can speculate like everyone else, of course. But it would be pure speculation. What I can say without any question, though, is that from a medical point of view Tyron was definitely pushed.”
After thanking Dr. Anguil again, Olivia left the office and walked slowly back out onto the street under his front trellis. She felt spurred on by their meeting. Even though the information he could give her was limited, Dr. Anguil was plain, direct, and honest. It was absolutely clear now to Olivia that Tyron had definitely been pushed. It would now be up to her and Wayne to find out why and by whom.
Once out on the street, Olivia looked at her watch. It was already late morning. Megan would have had plenty of time to get up and be ready to talk. Olivia put in a quick call to her and to Olivia’s relief, Megan was not only ready to see Olivia, but seemed glad of the opportunity.
“Meet me at Wilmer’s coffee shop, down near the pier,” Megan answered quickly.
Olivia was surprised they weren’t meeting at her home.
“I can’t stand it here in the house, I have to get out,” Megan continued. “There’s a regular dragnet that’s forming here. It’s suffocating me.”
“I’ll be at Wilmer’s in about twenty minutes,” said Olivia.
“Fine,” said Megan, “I’ll see you there.”
*
Wilmer’s coffee place was one of many charming restaurants and cafes lining the pier. It was close to the ocean and Olivia felt good being down there, out of the main rush of town. It was quieter and the light breeze from the ocean was deeply refreshing.
The moment she walked into Wilmer’s, to Olivia’s surprise Megan was standing at the door, dressed in a light golden summer dress, her long, beautiful hair tied back off her shoulders. Her eyes looked blurry and tired, though. Once again Olivia was startled to see how young Megan was; they could have been friends in school.
“Thanks for coming down here,” Megan said immediately, grabbing Olivia’s hands.
“No problem, I like it here,” Olivia replied quickly.
“I still can’t get over how young you are,” Megan answered, looking Olivia over.
“Don’t worry, I can do this job,” Olivia replied.
Megan stared at her then. “I sure hope you can because they’re all closing in on me now.”
“Let’s sit down and talk,” said Olivia, leading Megan to a quiet, roomy booth in the back.
Once they sat down, Megan quickly pulled her hair loose and let it fall over her shoulders and face. For a second she looked wildly distraught.
“Who’s closing in on you, Megan?” Olivia started.
“The usual suspects.” Megan looked up at the ceiling. “Tyron’s hideous family who hate my guts. They’ve always hated my guts, and naturally it’s worse now.”
“You mean Tyron’s ex-wife and daughters?” asked Olivia.
“That’s right,” Megan snapped. “They’ve camped out at the house now, without even asking me if that would be okay! They’re acting as if the place and everything in it belongs to them now!”
“It doesn’t,” said Olivia. “Can you ask them to go?”
“No, I can’t,” Megan shot back. “That would only make me look worse in their eyes. Then I turn back into the evil stepmother. They’re all walking around downstairs, talking about Tyron constantly. I’ve heard they’re even going to invite their friends over soon.”
Olivia was startled to see how helpless Megan really felt.
“I did tell them that I don’t want them to invite all their friends over,” Megan said. “They say they’re doing it to plan for the funeral and memorial. Alice, his ex-wife, seems to think she’s still married to him! She always did.”
“She’s remarried though, hasn’t she?” said Olivia.
“How do you know that already?” Megan’s head shot up.
“I talked to Alice and Kayle and Lana,” Olivia replied.
Megan froze up. “You don’t miss a beat, do you?” she asked.
“I can’t, time is short,” said Olivia. “If we want to find out what really happened, we have to move fast.”
“Why?” Megan looked alarmed.
“Evidence has a way of disappearing or being hidden quickly,” said Olivia.
“Who would be hiding it?” Megan gasped. She seemed completely distraught and Olivia could understand now why she’d hired a tough lawyer.
“Is your lawyer around? Is she helping you out?” Olivia continued.
“We’re in touch every day,” said Megan. “She’ll be around more when the will gets contested. She’s not a criminal lawyer, but she advised me to lay low.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means to realize anyone could have done it, and to keep my mouth shut. It means they’re all going to try to bait me and make it look like it’s me. I can’t respond to any of that. My lawyer said it’s all a trap.”
Olivia listened carefully. “That’s good advice,” she replied. “What do you think happened to Tyron, Megan?”
“I already gave you some possibilities the first time we met,” said Megan. “Check Bella, the ex-wife, and his horrible daughters.”
“Wayne and I have,” Olivia replied.
“Check them more,” Megan insisted. “We’re all having a meeting to plan for funeral arrangements at the house this afternoon. Come over and join in. You’ll see another side of them all. You’ll hear things you never could have imagined. Something new could be revealed.”
The waiter came to take an order, but neither of them could eat. Olivia just ordered some coffee for herself and Megan.
“You guys have no real evidence yet of anything, though, do you?” Megan suddenly asked.
“If you mean hard evidence, forensic evidence, no, not yet,” said Olivia.
To Olivia’s surprise, Megan smiled, relieved.
“Don’t you want us to find real, hard evidence?” Olivia asked, suddenly wondering if Megan was covering something up.
“I don’t know what I want anymore,” Megan answered. “Right now I just want this to be over. Then I want to sell the damn house and get away from this life I’ve been living. I want to get as far out of town as I can.”
Olivia shivered. “You run networking parties here, don’t you?” Olivia needed more information.
“Yes, of course I do, why?” said Megan.
“Who are you introducing to whom exactly?” Olivia asked pointedly.
“What do you mean by that question?” Megan took exception.
“Who are your clientele? It’s important,” Olivia continued.
Megan stood up swiftly. “Are you accusing me too, now? Are you suggesting I’m into something rotten? Did you find out about my lousy past? Are you holding it against me?”
“No, I just need to know.” Olivia stood up as well.
“Go to hell.” Megan looked as if she were going to slap Olivia.
“I’m here for you, Megan,” Olivia insisted. “I just need to know the whole story.”
“No, you’re not here for me, you’re not,” Megan cried out. “But for your lousy information, I run networking parties for entrepreneurs, business people starting up small businesses, who need the support of each other. They need contacts and feel alone. I actually love what I do.”
“Okay,” said Olivia, surprised. “That’s good, it’s great, I needed to know that.”
“No, you didn’t!” Megan flared up again. “You wanted to know if I was still an escort, didn’t you? You thought I could be pimping for the girls. Confess! That’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”
Olivia decided to be straightforward. This
wasn’t a time to play games. “That thought did pass my mind,” she responded. “If that’s what you were doing, I needed to know.”
Megan immediately fell silent. “Well, thank you at least for being honest with me,” she replied. “I appreciate honesty, I need it.”
“So do I,” said Olivia.
“Well, for your information, yes, I’m still in touch with some escorts. Why shouldn’t I be? They were my good friends. I’ve known them for a long time. Is there something wrong with that?”
“I didn’t say there was,” Olivia murmured.
“And just because we’re friends,” Megan continued, “that doesn’t make me one of them!”
“No, it doesn’t,” Olivia agreed.
“They’re good girls, too. I like them,” Megan continued petulantly. “They’re definitely much better than Kayle and Lana, any day.”
Olivia grew silent. “I’d love to meet some of these friends, if I could,” she replied.
“When the time is right,” said Megan. “For now, just come to the house this afternoon for the family meeting. And bring your sidekick with you.” Megan suddenly smiled.
“My sidekick? You mean Wayne?” asked Olivia.
“Yeah, who else?” Megan laughed. “I liked him when I met him. He’s cute.”
Olivia was startled that Megan noticed another man’s attractiveness so soon after her husband had died. What did that say about her marriage to Tyron? It might well have been over a long time ago. For all Olivia even knew Megan could be really happy that he was finally gone. What if all this time Olivia had been getting behind a woman who was guilty?
“Of course my partner will come with me,” Olivia remarked offhandedly.
“Good.” Megan liked that. “And I’ll bring my sidekick, too, my lawyer, Cameron.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The family meeting at Tyron’s home was shaping up to be a bombshell, thought Olivia. She told Wayne he absolutely had to attend with her. Everybody was going to be there.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Wayne quickly agreed. He’d been busy digging into all kinds of records of Tyron’s assorted business dealings, looking for that one contact who might have been holding a vendetta against him.
“Great,” Olivia replied. She was particularly glad Wayne would be coming along. Her meeting with Megan had been unsettling. Olivia had felt somewhat frightened in the beginning, but as she spent more time with her, Olivia felt sad for Megan as well.
“How did your meeting with Megan go?” Wayne now asked over the phone.
“It was complicated,” Olivia replied. “I’ll tell you when we see each other in person. I’d love your take on Megan after this afternoon’s meeting, too.”
“Fine,” agreed Wayne. “I’ll meet you at Tyron’s home a few minutes before the meeting begins.”
Olivia hung up feeling relieved and supported. As the days went on it became clearer to her how much this work was really a group effort. All hands had to be on deck. All eyes had to look at circumstances from their own point of view. Then each one had something unique to contribute to the puzzle they were trying to put together.
*
As always, when Olivia arrived at Tyron’s home, Wayne was outside waiting, exactly on time. Standing under a nearby tree, wearing a light blue summer jacket and a checked shirt, he looked especially handsome. Olivia had also dressed for the occasion, wearing a beige summer suit and a lovely print blouse.
“Wow, don’t you look snazzy,” Wayne said as Olivia approached.
“I was thinking exactly the same thing about you.” Olivia smiled.
Pleased, Wayne pointed to the house. “Should we make our grand entrance?”
To her surprise, Olivia felt apprehensive. “Let’s go,” she said.
When they got to the front door, it was open and they just walked in. The moment Olivia entered the large entrance foyer, her apprehension intensified. The tension in the air was palpable and the sound of people talking and stirring in the next room had an abrasive feel to it.
“We’re walking into trouble,” she whispered to Wayne as they turned toward the large side room where the meeting was obviously taking place.
“Why else would we be here if there wasn’t trouble?” he whispered back.
Olivia and Wayne entered the room, which was filled with people. Many were walking around, talking to each other and holding cups of coffee. Megan was standing in the far corner, talking heatedly with a tall, stunning woman who was dressed to the gills. Along with her flashy, expensive jewelry, the woman’s hair was perfectly coiffed. She certainly seemed formidable.
“Whew, that’s some woman Megan’s talking to,” Wayne remarked, noticing her immediately.
“It must be her lawyer, Cameron Fern,” Olivia replied.
“I’d sure like to know what they’re talking about so heatedly,” said Wayne.
“Let’s go find out.” Olivia was right on it. She suddenly remembered how Megan had asked her to bring Wayne along, saying how much she liked him. Olivia decided not to tell Wayne about it at the moment. It was better for him to stay neutral, not caught in the web of the feelings flying all around.
Olivia and Wayne waded through the crowded room toward Megan. From the corner of her eye Olivia saw Kayle in another corner, a handsome guy standing beside her. That had to be her fiancé, Drew. Kayle’s sister, Lana, was in another corner, talking to an older man. Olivia wondered where Alice was. She scanned the room briefly, but she wasn’t there.
When Olivia and Wayne got closer, Megan turned on her heel, saw them, and immediately stopped talking to the woman.
“You’re here, finally!” Megan said, swiftly.
“This is the time the meeting was called for, wasn’t it?” Wayne responded.
Megan smiled. “Yes, it is. I wasn’t suggesting that you were late. I was just looking forward to introducing you to my lawyer, Cameron Fern.”
Cameron took a step toward them and extended her beautifully manicured hand. “So pleased to meet both of you,” she said. “Megan obviously needs all the support she can get.”
“The three of you are my team today,” Megan interjected. “I know you won’t let them mow me down.”
“No one is mowing you down, Megan,” Olivia responded. It was important to hold onto reality, not get swept away by fears.
Cameron spun toward Olivia angrily. “You have no way of knowing whether or not someone here wants to mow Megan down, do you?” she remarked. “From where I’m standing Megan is entirely in her rights to make that request and express those feelings.”
“I never suggested that Megan wasn’t within her rights.” Olivia stood up for herself in a flash. “I’m trying to say that there’s no evidence of anyone being out to get her yet.”
“The very worst possible thing you can do is blame the victim.” Cameron cut into Olivia’s comments. “Blaming the victim is actually a way of disempowering them and shutting them up.”
Wayne stepped in strongly then. “Olivia isn’t blaming anyone,” he said, trying to set Cameron straight. “Olivia’s just trying to defuse the situation. When things calm down, we can all see clearly what’s really happening.”
Cameron took well to Wayne’s comment and smiled at him unexpectedly.
“Okay, you win,” she said more softly. “But in case you don’t realize it, you actually sound like Olivia’s guardian angel, protecting her from me.”
Olivia bristled and was about to reply when Wayne continued. “Olivia can handle whatever she needs to on her own.”
“Really?” Cameron flushed a bit and stepped closer to him. “Please don’t take my comments the wrong way. It’s delightful to see a man who is a rescuer. You don’t see it much anymore these days. I only meant to say I was impressed with you.” Cameron ran her hand through her hair lightly.
Olivia flushed, watching Cameron openly flirt with Wayne. Thankfully, Wayne didn’t take the bait. He had no part of it. Olivia felt enormously relieved.
�
��This isn’t about me,” Wayne responded to Cameron. “It’s about Megan. We’re all here for her.”
“Well put,” Olivia chimed in, trying to put Cameron in her place.
“Okay, okay.” Megan waved her hands. “The meeting is starting in about three minutes. Let’s go over to the couches and sit down. Kayle is running the meeting and she has an agenda set up for us all to go through.”
“Why is Kayle in charge?” asked Olivia.
“Because she’s the favored daughter!” Cameron quipped. “Kayle’s claiming she’s the one in the family who was closest to her father! They’re all obviously trying to shove Megan out the door.”
“Let them try all they want.” Megan gritted her teeth now. “It’s all going to backfire on them all, believe me. I’ve been up against tigers before.”
Olivia, Wayne, Megan, and Cameron then walked to the center of the crowded room and sat together on one of the long leather couches. Cameron managed to sit close up, next to Wayne, and Megan took the spot beside Olivia. All of them sitting there together felt like a lineup to Olivia.
“Okay, okay.” Kayle rang a little hand bell. She was standing in front of the room, dressed in a long, black cotton dress and simple sandals. Actually, Kayle looked more like the grieving widow than Megan, thought Olivia.
“We have a lot to go over before the funeral,” Kayle spoke in a loud voice. “I really thank everyone for coming. Please take your seats.”
“Why didn’t you insist on running the meeting?” Olivia whispered to Megan, who trembled slightly beside her.
“I wasn’t up for it,” Megan whispered back. “I didn’t want to stand there and be a public target of their hatred and insinuations. Would you?”
“Now that the autopsy has been done and the medical examiner’s report is in, we must decide on disposal of the body,” Kayle started.
Olivia was horrified to hear her put it so clinically.
“Megan has stated that she wants my dad to be cremated immediately,” Kayle announced to all. “And I definitively oppose the idea.”
