Ties That Bind (36 page)

Pa’s news lifted everybody’s mood, and bowling turned out to be fun. When Reese and his dad were up on opposite lanes and the boys were drawing on the score sheet, Sofie came to sit by Kate. She was dressed normally in a short denim skirt and a pretty pink T-shirt. “Mama?”

“What, sweetie?”

“Do you think you can take me to Margaret’s salon after bowling?”

Margaret was Kate’s hairdresser, and used to be Sofie’s. “I can call and see if she’ll squeeze you in,” Kate said carefully nonchalant. “Why?”

Sofie’s hand crept to her hair and she looked directly at Kate. The baby Kate had birthed, the toddler she’d raised, the teenager who used to love her, surfaced. Sofie wrinkled her nose. “I hate this,” she said. “I don’t know why I did it.”

“Anger at me and Dad, rebellion against something you couldn’t control.”

“It was stupid.”

“Some things in life are fixable, honey. “ Kate squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “We’re lucky this is one of them.”

Sofie nodded to her dad. “He’s better when you’re around. This morning, when I got to his house and you were at your place, he was so depressed, it scared me. As soon as you came over, he cheered up.”

“Sofie, nothing’s been decided about me and Dad. There are still things we need to work out.”

So much like her dad, Sofie gave her a skeptical look. “But you’re thinking about getting back together, aren’t you?”

“It’s come up.”

“You still sleeping with Tyler?”

“Honey, that’s private.”

Sofie went on in that irrepressible way teenagers have even when they’d invaded personal territory. “I know Dray moved out. Just tell me if you’re still seeing Tyler?”

“No, I’m not, but Sofie, don’t get your hopes up.”

“Okay. That’s all I need right now.” She leaned over and kissed Kate’s cheek. “I’ll wait and see.”

When it was her turn to bowl, Sofie went up to the lane. Pa began to give her pointers, and Reese came back to sit with Kate.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

Kate reiterated the conversation. “Without meaning to, I think we got her hopes up.”

Reese squeezed her hand and didn’t let go. “She’s not the only one.”

The words frightened Kate. But not enough to make her back away. She held Reese’s hand tightly, and watched Sofie get a strike. Maybe everybody would be as lucky as her daughter.

o0o

“I WANNA EAT!” This time, Jason was acting up, while Reese was trying to fix dinner. Kate had taken Sofie to the beauty salon and his dad and Jimmy were napping.

“Soon, buddy.”

“Where’s Sofie?”

“With Aunt Kate at the hairdresser.”

“Mommy used to take us to the hairdresser when she went.” And with that memory, Jason burst into tears.

“Aw, buddy.” Reese quickly crossed to his nephew, picked him up and hugged him. “I know it hurts.”

The boy buried his face in Reese’s chest. “I want Mommy.”

“You know she’s in heaven.”

“Why?”

Dropping down on a chair, he rocked Jason. His own heart was torn to shreds by his nephew’s despair. “I don’t know, Jase. I just don’t know.”

When the emotional moment passed, Reese set the boy down. “As soon as I finish with the sauce, I’ll color with you while it cooks.”

“We brought our crayons and paper.”

“Good, go get your stuff and I’ll meet you in the family room.”

Reese made quick work of browning the meatballs he’d made and got the sauce simmering. He found Jason in the family room, at the coffee table, a big box of crayons spilled out over sheets of papers. He was scowling and scribbling at the same time.

When Reese reached him, he saw that Jimmy was coloring the pages Kate had ripped out of Anna Bingham’s journal for him to look at. Jesus Christ.

He bit his tongue not to snap the boy. What did it matter anyway? They’d gotten copies made. “Hey, buddy, that’s state’s evidence there. Let’s substitute some drawing paper for it.”

Jason looked up at Reese with rebellious eyes. Reese was reminded of Emily when she was little. “I wanna color in the secret ’partment, but I can’t open it.”

“A secret compartment?”

“Uh-huh. I found it when the book dropped to the floor.” His eyes misted. “I didn’t mean to Uncle Reese, honest. I think I ruined it. Some shiny stuff came off.”

“No harm done, Jase.” Reese’s heartbeat escalated. “Just show me, okay?”

And as soon as Reese picked up the journal, he realized what had been bothering him when he’d first seen it. Nancy Bingham had given him the key found in her sister’s personal effects. But the journal the warden had provided didn’t have a lock on the front.

However, the secret compartment, visible only when Jimmy dropped the journal and dislodged the false backing—the shiny stuff—did indeed have a little steel locking device.

Hurrying to his den, Reese tiptoed in so as not to awaken his father and found the key in his desk. Back in the family room, he tried it on the journal and, sure enough, it opened the lock. Inside Reese found several pages of entries. And he knew in his heart, he’d just struck gold.

o0o

SOFIE LIKED HER hair a lot better, now that it was back to its natural color. Margaret had scolded her for bleaching it, but that was cool. Sofie deserved it. She wished she could undo other damage she’d done with just a color and cut. The house smelled of spaghetti sauce and garlic bread when she walked in beside her mom. In the dining room ahead the table was set, but her father was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Daddy?” she wondered aloud.

“In here.” He called out from the family room. “Bring Mom.”

They’d come in the front door and stepped into family room. Jason was coloring at the coffee table, and her dad was on the floor, papers sprawled out before him. When he looked up, Sofie saw his face was animated like it hadn’t been since before Aunt Emily died.

“Hey, princess, you look terrific. Like my little girl again.”

She crossed to him and kissed his cheek. “I know, Daddy.”

“What’s happened?” her mother asked, coming up to them. Her rigid stance said she expected bad news. But Sofie was seeing something different in her father’s expression.

Jason said, “I found the secret ’partment, Aunt Kate. Uncle Reese says I saved the day.”

Her mom sent her dad a puzzled expression.

“He did, Katie.” He held up some kind of book. “Anna Bingham’s journal had a secret compartment.”

“Oh my God.”

Her father grinned.

“You said something was niggling at you about the journal.”

“Yeah, no lock. At least not in the front part. But the secret compartment was locked. That’s why the book has such a thick backing.”

“Good news?”

“Uh-huh. Seems like Mr. Alphabet Man was blackmailing Anna Bingham.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know yet. She calls him DD. But says he’s the same as the two guys who visited.”

“DD as in the ring.”

“Yep.”

“Does she identify him?”

“No, she was about to, but the entries stopped just before she could.”

“Come color with me, Sofie.” This from her cousin.

“Cool, Dad.” Sofie sat down to play with Jason, but listened to her parents’ conversation.

“DD was in collusion with the guard, Nell Sorenson. They got evidence of some bad behavior that could extend Bingham’s sentence. For a fee, which Bingham could very well afford on the outside, the guard was willing to overlook it.”

“Did she pay them?”

“Some. To stall them. But she was furious. These entries plot just how she was going to outsmart this DD.”

“Does it implicate the guy in her death?”

“No. But it sure as hell implies that she didn’t commit suicide. The last entry was the day before she died. She’s mad as hell, but not depressed.”

“This is big, isn’t it, Reese?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, this is big!”

Sofie watched them. Man, it was good to see them click like this, help and support each other. That looked pretty big to her, too.

o0o

THEY SHARED THE discovery of the hidden journal entries with Chase Sanders over the phone on Sunday morning when Pa took the boys to St. Peter’s for church. Sanders asked for copies to be faxed to him; he wanted to wait to meet with them until Monday night, after he’d visited Longshore. He also wanted the warden to see the journal entries. His comments were self-effacing and pithy. “Hell of a thing that an eight-year-old finds the jackpot when a lawyer, judge and private investigator missed any trace of it.”

Kate volunteered to fax the papers to Chase while Reese showered. She wanted to read the entries for herself anyway. Last night had been busy with the boys and Sofie and Pa. Reese had summarized the contents for her, but she wanted to see firsthand what was going on. When she finished faxing, she sat down and scrutinized Anna’s Bingham’s words. Several salient points stood out.

First…

Do you fucking believe it? DD’s blackmailing me. Says he’s got proof from one of the guards of my misbehavior, and I won’t see the world anytime soon if that so-called information makes itself into the warden’s hands. Damn it. He told me the disguises were to mislead the guards and the prison. But they were really for this, so nobody knows his real identity. Who the hell is in on this with him?

Next…

It’s Sorensen; she caught Lena and me snorting some coke. Of course, she provided the stuff, then took pictures of us doing it. We’re fucked, big time.

Another…

We’ll see who has the last laugh. I got a plan…

A fourth entry…

Lena’s acting funny. She says it’s just the blackmail. She wants me to give in.

A fifth…

I had a scuffle with Ruiz. Then a picture of us rolling on the floor turns up in my bunk. He’s playing dirty. Must be Sorensen is working me, too. I could kill her.

A final one…

I’m in the infirmary. I tripped and fell. Lena says Ruiz did it when I walked by her in the chow room. I hate to say this, but now I’m scared. I need to tell somebody who he is.

The last entry was never finished.

Reese came into the family room, carrying some coffee and the morning paper. His hair was damp and his feet bare. He wore a plain white T-shirt and sweatpants. And he smelled wonderful. Kate was hit by a sudden bolt of lust for her ex-husband, and it made her smile.

“Why the grin?”

“No reason you need to know.”

He cocked his head, and when she said no more, he nodded to the entries she still held. “They’re something else, aren’t they?”

She accepted the coffee. “Thanks. Yes, they are. It’s all got to mean something for the case, right? Bingham was being blackmailed, so maybe DD killed her to keep it quiet.”

“That’s my conclusion. But I still can’t figure out how this involves us. We don’t know any of the parties involved. And looking for DD is a long shot.”

“We’ve got to be connected somehow.”

They discussed possibilities for a while, but when they came to a wall, they left it to relax before the boys returned. Reese picked up the World News section of the newspaper, and Kate opted for the Local section. Funny, how they fell back into old patterns.

She scanned the front page. “Damn it. Eddie Wick’s got an article on the guy they arrested for assaulting me. I wish he’d back off. I hate this notoriety.”

“Hmm. He’s a busy guy. Here’s his byline on an article in the National News section. Why would he…” Reese’s eyes widened. “Shit, I didn’t even look at the headline.”

Alarmed, Kate put down the paper. “What is it?”

“SECOND INMATE DIES IN PRISON.” Reese skimmed the words. “Kate, it’s from Longshore.”

“Who was killed?”

“Anita Ruiz.”

“Oh, no.”

He read further. “It mentions us. That’s why Wick wrote it.”

“Hell, Reese, what’s next?”

“I have feeling the whole thing’s all coming to a head.”

“I can’t believe—”

The doorbell rang. Reese looked over at her. “I don’t want to answer that. Lord knows what piece of the sky is going to fall next.”

“Maybe we don’t have to. Pa, the boys and Sofie aren’t due back from church for a while.”

One more peal of the bell and the front door opened, then closed. A shuffling. Into the family room walked Dray Merrill. Her gaze shifted turned from Reese to Kate, then back to Reese. “You didn’t waste any time.”

“Dray.” He stood. “Are you all right?”

“Just peachy. I came over to get some papers of mine in your safe. I forgot them when I left. Since you’re here, I’ll give you back your house keys.” She set them on a side table.

Kate stood. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Dray gave her a searing look. For some reason Kate asked, “Have you seen Tyler?”

“Yes. He’s miserable. You could have called him. To see how he is.” She focused on Reese, and tossed back skeins of light hair. “You should have called me, too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Same old, same old.”

“I’ll call Tyler right now.” Kate left Dray with Reese and went into the kitchen. She punched in Tyler’s cell phone number from there. He answered right away. “Sloan.”

“Tyler, it’s Kate.”

No response.

“I called to see how you were.”

“Oh, just fine.” He still sounded angry.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call before.”

“Why did you now?”

“Lots of reasons.” She wasn’t about to tell him Dray Merrill had shamed her into remembering to do it. “Dray just stopped by to get stuff out of Reese’s safe. I asked how you were, then I decided to call and see for myself.”

“Dray’s there?”

“Yes.”

“How is she? I’ve been trying to reach her and can’t get her.”

“She seems sad, and upset. Do you want to talk to her?”

“Yes.”

“Before you do, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. Again.”

“Understood. Now get Dray.”

God this was strange. But Kate went back into the family room. Reese was just removing papers from the safe; Kate handed Dray the phone. “Tyler wants to talk to you.”

At the questioning look from Reese, Kate shrugged. Who the hell knew what this was all about?

Dray took the phone gingerly. “Hello.”

Tyler must be talking.

“No, I can’t today. I’m looking at houses…Yes, I know I can’t…Oh, all right, I’ll meet you at Starbucks…Fine, then.”