CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Holly had grown accustomed to Cole in the passenger seat. Riding all by herself at work seemed boring now. And lonely.
It was weird how much could change in only a few days. Right now, she was supposed to be married and in the throes of newlywed bliss. Instead, she was coming home alone, thinking of a man she’d just met and lamenting that she might never see him again. Thankfully, Alex called and derailed her train of thought.
“Yo,” Alex said. “You want me to go with you tomorrow?”
“Nah,” Holly said. “I got it. Thanks for the offer though.”
“All right. Call if you change your mind. You can tell us about it at dinner.”
“See you then.”
On her way home from work, Holly ran into the supermarket for a couple of deli sandwiches and a dog treat. Lady met her in the driveway, tail wagging in welcome.
Holly slept fitfully and woke the following morning with an uneasy feeling. She’d taken the day off to do something she’d put off too long already—visit her dad in prison.
While drinking coffee and eating leftover hoagie, she sorted a week’s worth of mail that had piled up on her entryway table. Junk, junk, bill, junk. An envelope caught her eye. There was no return address or stamp. Just her name scrawled on the front. She opened it and pulled out a single sheet of paper. Her heart stopped, and the sandwich turned to stone in her stomach.
It was a page from her high school yearbook. Specifically, the varsity girls basketball team—Holly and her friends beaming at the camera, organized around a three-foot trophy. Under the photo was a handwritten message. Testify, and the whole team dies !
The phone rang, causing her to jump. It was a New York area code. She took a breath and calmed herself enough to answer.
“Holly Bennett?” a man asked.
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“My name is Micky Ketchum. I’m with the DA’s office. The grand jury is scheduled for next week, and we need to meet with you before then. I understand you live out of state. When is the soonest you can come to New York?”
Holly stared at the yearbook page, her eyes blurring with tears. “I can’t testify,” she said.
“What do you mean?” the man said, voice instantly on edge.
“I’ve changed my mind. I didn’t get a good enough look at the killer to identify him.”
“Ms. Bennett, without your testimony, there is no case against Cruz. He will walk if you don’t testify.”
Holly thought of Cruz’s cold eyes. The way he shot the undercover officer without blinking an eye. The threat she held in her hand was not an idle one. And the subtext was that he knew where she lived and who meant the world to her. Her stomach turned over, and she worried she might be sick. “Isn’t there any other way?”
“There is not. The entire case hinges on you.”
What was she supposed to do? Let a murderer go free or bury her friends? The answer was as simple as it was complicated. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t.”
“But Miss—”
She hung up before he could say more. There was no choice. Even if she testified and Cruz went to jail, he still had a whole gang at his command to do his bidding. They could kill her and her friends as punishment for not obeying. Or just for the hell of it.
No. She would protect the only family she had left. They sometimes joked about taking a bullet for each other, but she had no intention of testing their mettle. The police would have to make a case against him without her testimony.
She was so upset that she almost canceled her trip to the prison. But in the end, decided she’d procrastinated long enough. Her father had betrayed many people financially, but Holly, he’d betrayed emotionally. Seeing him would be the first step toward working through it.
Two hours later, Holly wiped clammy palms on her pants, kicking herself for not taking Alex up on her offer to come with her. “Why am I nervous?” she asked herself. “ I’m not the crook.”
She moved up the line with the other families waiting to visit an inmate. A burly guard barked orders, telling everyone to put their personal belongings in a locker, then ushered them through a metal detector. Anything they wanted to take in—books, treats, even eyeglasses—had to be examined by a guard.
Once she passed through security, she entered a room that looked a lot like her junior high cafeteria. Holly had been expecting little phone booths separated by glass like they always showed in the movies, but this was less intense. Must be a perk of “minimum security.” Following the lead of those who’d clearly done this before, she sat at one of the small round tables and waited.
At exactly eleven o’clock, guards opened a set of double doors, and men in orange jumpsuits filtered in, searching for their loved ones. Holly was a little surprised at how many families there were. Young children ran to hug their dads. Wives and girlfriends got straight to kissing. Just when she thought he wasn’t coming, her dad came through the doors.
It had been two years since she’d seen him. She’d been away at school for the trial and sentencing hearing. She’d returned home just in time for a contentious, uncomfortable goodbye as her father went off to prison. Contentious because her mom was so angry. Uncomfortable because, well, what do you say in that situation?
“Holly,” her dad said, approaching as if she were a time bomb.
“Dad.” She stood and gave him a quick, awkward hug.
“I’ve missed you,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”
His eyes were weary, the happy spark from her childhood, gone. And in that moment, she felt sorry for him. Just for a moment though. Then she remembered all the harm he’d caused to so many people.
“How are things going? How’s work?”
She almost answered, but then focused on why she’d come. Not just to shoot the breeze. Not for witty conversation. She’d come for answers. For some kind of closure.
“Dad. I can’t just pretend we’re catching up after a semester at school. I can’t pretend I’m not hurt. And disappointed.”
He nodded. “Of course. I understand. You want to know why.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve given that a lot of thought. The only thing I’ve come up with is that I didn’t want you growing up like I did.”
“Poor?” Holly knew her grandfather had had a gambling problem. And that any money he or her grandma made was generally funneled directly into some bookie’s pockets or the state lottery coffers.
“Not just poor. Dirt poor. Our clothes were hand-me-downs from the neighborhood kids, we shopped at a food bank, and the utilities went on and off depending on how ‘lucky’ my father was that month.” He waved a hand. “But more than just having nothing, it was the uncertainty of it all. Never knowing where the next meal would come from. Or if it would come at all. I woke up every morning wondering if there’d be electricity or water. By the time I became a teenager, I’d gotten used to it and compensated. But as a young child, it was very distressing.”
“You never told me it was so bad.” Holly sympathized, picturing a hungry, scared little boy. “But—”
“I know,” he interrupted. “It’s not an excuse. I know that. It’s only my speculation on possible motives. I ask myself every day, why didn’t I just get a job like everyone else? Why did I have to scam money? There are more ways to make a living than by cheating.”
Holly raised an eyebrow.
“I never set out for this to be a career. It started with one guy, who practically begged me to get involved. Then, when I made him a decent return, he talked to a bunch of his friends and convinced them to invest with me too. The stress from controlling so many people’s money caused me to do stupid things. I felt pressure to perform, no matter what the cost.”
Holly said nothing, and he continued.
“Soon, customers were coming to me. Honestly, I don’t think I ever sought anyone’s business. It was all referrals, people dying to give me their money. I knew it was spiraling out of control, but the cash flow was so good. And I got high off the sense of accomplishment, knowing I was helping people get rich. It wasn’t just our family. Everyone was making money.”
“Until they weren’t.”
“Exactly,” her dad agreed. “Until they weren’t. I finally realized it wasn’t sustainable. That there was no way to continue the windfall. It all came crashing down, and I had no landing spot. I’d dug a crater so big, I couldn’t climb out.”
“So, someone caught on and wanted his money, then the rest followed?”
“Pretty much. It was like a run on the bank. You know banks don’t actually hold all the money people put in?”
“Yes, Dad. I know how banks work.” She fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“Of course you do. Sorry.” He folded his hands on the table and stared at them. “Well, in a nutshell, that’s what happened. It was a house of cards, and just like Grandpa, I’ve never been lucky with cards. I never meant to hurt anyone. Especially you and your mother.”
“Half the town still hates you,” she said.
“I know. Everyone eventually got their money back, but it’s the broken trust that can’t be rebuilt.”
“You don’t seem bitter. About being in here, I mean.” She expected angst or anger, but he seemed calm and relaxed.
“Actions have consequences. I broke the law, and paying for it is just.”
“Will you return to Green Valley Falls when you get out?”
“No,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Dealing with me every day is too much to ask of people. Some might move past it, but to the rest, I’d be a constant reminder of their anger, or they’d have to pretend to forgive me. I won’t go far because I’d still like to be a part of your life. If you’ll have me.”
“Is that a dig at Mom?”
“No. She did what she thought best for herself.”
The ink had barely dried on her dad’s conviction when her mom filed for divorce and signed up for a dating website. Two months later, she was in Washington State, eloping with some other guy. “You know she remarried, right?”
“I heard that, yes. Do you talk to her often?”
“Not really. Every couple of months. She moved on and hasn’t looked back.” Holly didn’t want to get into the complicated relationship she had with her mother, so she steered the conversation in a different direction. “Judging from Mom’s reaction, you guys must have had problems before all this.”
“Yes. We tried to keep it from you. Once you left for college, it went downhill fast. I don’t think we would have made it much longer even if all this,” he circled a hand around the room, “hadn’t happened.”
She’d come in with a head full of steam. Ready to write off her father for good. But she’d softened a little. Understood him better. There was still no excuse for what he did, but he took responsibility and felt remorse.
“So, what do you do all day?” she asked.
“Read. Take walks around the courtyard. School some punk in a pickup game every now and then.” He smiled.
Basketball was one love they shared. She’d gotten her height and dexterity from her dad. They’d spent countless hours in the driveway, practicing at the hoop screwed above the garage. The memory evoked a sad smile.
“How about you, Holly Bolly?” he said, using her childhood nickname. “What have you been up to?”
She recounted the story of the failed wedding and the eventful trip to New York. Since it was fresh in her mind, she even told him about the threatening letter.
“So, if you don’t testify, a cop-killer gets off? And you told the prosecutor you couldn’t?”
She nodded. “I didn’t have a choice. I can’t let my friends get hurt because of me.”
His silence was deafening.
“What? You think I should?”
“I’m in no position to tell you what’s right or wrong.”
“But what if the right thing is super dangerous?”
“Maybe that makes it all the more important.”
She left with a knot of guilt eating at her stomach. Partly for not visiting her dad before today, and partly for letting a killer go free. On the drive home, she thought about bugging out of dinner with her friends that night. But if she didn’t show, they would know something was wrong, and she’d have all four on her doorstep. So, she showered, dressed, fed Lady, and drove into town.
“What’s the matter?” Alex said as soon as they’d been seated.
“Are you bummed about Cole?” Juliet asked.
Holly shook her head. “I saw my dad this morning.”
A collective gasp rang out around the table. Alex was the only one who’d known she was going.
“How’d it go?” Alex asked.
“Okay, I guess.” Holly shrugged. “I haven’t totally forgiven him. But I’m closer than I was.” She gave them a CliffsNotes version of what he’d said without trying to sound like she was making excuses for him.
“There’s something else,” Alex said, and Faith nodded. “Spill it.”
Crap. Hiding anything from these four was impossible. That was why she’d considered skipping dinner. Should she tell them about the threat? They thought it was bad enough she was in danger. There was no sense in letting them know they might also be targets. It would only scare them.
“We’re not eating until you do,” Tess said.
Of course they wouldn’t let it go. And they knew her weakness for food would break her—damn her insatiable appetite.
“I found this in my mailbox.” She pulled the yearbook page from her purse and laid it on the table.
“Holy crap,” Juliet said. “This guy’s not messing around.”
“Don’t worry. I told the DA I wasn’t going to testify. That should put an end to it. You should all be safe now.”
“Can they still convict the guy?” Tess asked. “Without your testimony? Cole made it sound like the whole case hinged on you.”
“Probably not.” Holly sighed. “He’ll get out of jail and get away with killing that police officer. But I can’t risk your lives over it. I doubt Officer Adams would want six more deaths just to put Cruz away.” At least, that’s what she told herself.
“But, Holly, he’ll just keep killing people,” Faith said.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Holly snapped. “I don’t have a choice. If anything happened to any of you, I’d never forgive myself.”
Silence settled over the table.
“Why the gloomy faces?” Gwen asked when she came to take their orders. Holly snatched up the yearbook photo before Gwen could see it, shook her head, and shot her a “not now” look.
“I’ll give you guys a minute,” Gwen mumbled before walking away.
They must have been putting off a strong stay-away vibe, because no one approached them. Usually, everyone and their dog stopped by to say hello.
“I can’t speak for everybody,” Alex finally said. “But I think you should testify. If he goes to jail, I doubt his cronies will schlep all the way up here just to kill us.”
“And even if they do,” Tess said. “We can take care of ourselves.”
“You don’t understand,” Holly said. “These are cold-blooded killers. I watched Cruz shoot a man without a second thought. No emotion whatsoever. Life—or lives, as in ours—means nothing to him.”
No one said anything for a minute. Juliet broke the silence. “Have you told Cole?”
Holly shook her head. “You guys are all I have. I can’t lose you.”
The whole gang-member-threatening-to-kill-them put a real damper on dinner. They ordered and talked about inconsequential things, but eventually came back to the subject.
“I feel like we should revisit the threat thing,” Faith said. “I agree with Alex and Tess. You should testify. We can take care of ourselves. And each other.”
“Yeah,” Tess said. “I work in a store surrounded by weapons. Knives, bear spray, bows and arrows.”
“None of that stops a bullet,” Holly muttered.
“I have a kennel full of dogs I could sic on him,” Juliet said. That was a stretch, and they all knew it.
“Most of your dogs are only capable of licking someone to death,” Holly retorted.
“I could dump food on them, then lure ’em into the mountains to get eaten by a bear,” Alex said. The cabins she managed bordered the state park.
“I have scissors and razors at arm’s reach all day,” Faith said. “I could blind him with hairspray, tie him up in a smock, and give him a terrible haircut.”
“This isn’t funny, you guys,” Holly said but couldn’t help smiling. “You can’t Home Alone your way out of a bullet.”
“Everyone would be on alert,” Alex said. “We’d know the instant they came to town. If nothing else, we could hide until they got bored and left.”
“There are a million ways we could stay safe, Holly,” Tess said. “You should do what you need to—scratch that—what you want to do.”
“I’ll think about it.” Holly really did want to testify. She just wasn’t willing to risk her friends’ lives to do it.
She drove home with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Cole would be upset. The entire police department would. And she wouldn’t blame them one bit.
Lady met her at the door, tail wagging. “Hey, girl.”
Holly grabbed a soda and plopped down on the couch. Lady jumped up next to her. Finally, with a quiet moment to herself, everything hit at once—the jilted bride humiliation, the terror of witnessing a murder and subsequent fear of being targeted, her longing for “family,” the shame over her cowardice in declining to testify—and the tears fell fast and furious. Stopping them was impossible, so she didn’t bother to try. Lady stood by faithfully as all the pent-up emotions poured out.
Normally, she wasn’t a big crier, but apparently, there was a ceiling on how much she could take, and she’d breached the breaking point. After a few minutes, the tension eased, and the tears dried up. She blew her nose and wiped her eyes, still unsure how to handle it all but feeling a little better.
“Any advice?” she asked Lady.
Big brown eyes stared at her. No judgment. No conditions on her love. If only life were that easy.