Fish (Time Served MC: Nomads #6)

PROLOGUE

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO

C ATHERINE

“Kitty Cat, you better hurry up and walk Toto or we’re going to be late.”

“I’m working on it, but he’s being difficult,” I replied, not sure Mom could hear me since I was halfway under the couch. “Come on, Toto. Just this one time, will you please not be such a pain in the ass?”

“I heard that!” Mom yelled.

Obviously, she could hear me. Maybe she hadn’t been lying when she said that a woman developed super strength and hearing along with eyes in the back of their head as soon as their first child was born.

“Got him!” I yelled back.

I had no idea why Mom insisted that we try and stay on a schedule. She was always the one that was late. I’d learned from a very early age to always keep track of her keys, her phone, and, when we were out somewhere, the car. I wondered when I’d start getting my superpowers, because sometimes it felt like I was the mom and she was the kid in our relationship.

With Toto the devil dog in my arms, I hurried across the room and opened the front door. I had just made it to the top step when I realized that I wasn’t alone - there were people everywhere . Men and women I didn’t recognize were congregating on our lawn with cameras and microphones aimed my way, and all of them were yelling.

“Are you Justice Anders' daughter?”

“When was the last time you saw your father?”

“Do you have a relationship with Justice Anders?”

“What the fuck? She’s just a kid!” Mom yelled from behind me right before I was yanked back into the house. She slammed the door, leaned back against it, and burst into tears. I stood there in utter confusion with Toto squirming in my arms. Mom sniffed and wiped her face as she said, “I’m so sorry, Cat. I never meant for you to find out this way!”

“Find out what? Who are those people? What are they talking about?”

Mom sucked in a breath and pushed me toward the back of the house, which was a good idea since those people were now on our porch. I could hear Ms. Belvin yelling for them to go away and knew that if anyone could make them disappear, it would be the mean old bat from next door. As Mom herded me into my bedroom and then rushed over to close the curtains, I asked, “Mom? Who are they talking about? My dad died.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.”

“Who is Justice Anders?”

“He’s your father. I thought we were far enough away that it wouldn’t touch us, but . . .”

“You told me my father died before I was born! I’ve got pictures of him. There’s a . . .”

“I lied, Cat. I’m so, so sorry.”

“My father is alive? Where is he? Why haven’t I met him?”

“He lives in Chicago.”

“Okay.So?”

“He’s married.” Mom looked down at the carpet and then tried to swipe the tears off her cheeks again, but they just kept falling. She explained, “He was married when I met him, and when I found out I was pregnant, he gave me enough money for me to start a new life with you here.”

“And you lied because he didn’t want me?”

“No, sweetie, it’s just that . . . Well, he has a very important job . . .”

“More important than me?”

“Never. You’re the most important thing in the world!”

“To you, maybe, but not to him.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a simple statement. No matter what my mom said to deny it, I knew that it was true.

◆◆◆

FISH

“I have to admit that I was quite surprised to get your invitation, Chai.”

“I was thinking the other day and realized that, even though you’ve been around for a while, I really don’t know you.”

“I think it’s normal for a boy to rebel when his position as the head of the house is handed over to someone else.”

“Is that what you are now? The head of our family?” I asked with barely restrained anger.

“Well, I am married to your mother and doing my best to take care of you and your sisters, so I believe that’s exactly what I am. I’ve gotten to know the girls, and I think it’s important that you and I become friends.”

“Is that so?” I asked, still fighting the urge to pull out my knife and gut the man like a fish.

“Things have been pretty tense between us, so I know your mom will be really happy when she finds out you’re starting to come around.”

I couldn’t disguise the disgust in my voice when I lied, “I’m sure she will.”

“Damn. How much tequila did you put in this?” Bryan asked as he grimaced.

“Just enough.”

“We’ve been out here a while. It’s probably just the sun. By the time we get back to shore, I should be sober enough to drive. I’ve gotta take little Dinah to her dance class this evening, and I promised her we’d go for ice cream when she’s finished.”

“I don’t think you’re going to make it.”

Bryan took a good look around for the first time in a while and saw that the shore was nowhere in sight. What he didn’t realize was that it hadn’t been in quite some time and he wasn’t ever going to see it again.

“How did we get so far out?” Bryan asked in alarm.

“It’s called an engine, dipshit.”

When Bryan met my eyes, I knew that he now understood that today’s get-together wasn’t so I could get to know him. No, it was so I could get rid of him.

“What are you doing? Why are we . . .” When he looked at me, his eyes were glassy.

“We’re going to sit here and wait for some of my friends to join us,” I explained as I looked down at the handheld GPS I’d stolen from one of the rich assholes who had been on a recent fishing charter I’d been hired to work. “I’ve been coming out here and chumming the waters at the same time every day for two weeks now, just waiting for you to come back from your work trip .”

Bryan’s eyes got wide when I used air quotes over those last two words. I had no doubt that he understood then that I knew exactly where he’d been and what he’d been doing. In reality, I knew where he’d been, and I didn’t want to imagine what he’d been doing there, but I had a pretty good idea.

Especially since I knew that he’d been doing much the same type of thing to my youngest sister.

“Let me ask you a question, Bryan. Did you marry my mom because of my sisters, or were they just an added bonus?”

“What are you talking about, Chai?”

“Look around. There’s no reason to bullshit me anymore because you know damn good and well you’re not going back to shore with me. Don’t you?”

“What are you . . .” His voice trailed off when he tried to stand up but couldn’t make it to his feet.

The drug I’d given him, along with the alcohol I’d been plying him with for the last few hours, was coursing through his bloodstream now and making his world tilt on its axis. It probably didn’t help that we were in open waters with the boat rocking back and forth.

I pulled a container of chum I’d made after dinner last night from the cooler. I carefully removed the lid so I didn’t get any on the boat interior and then shook it out into the water beside the boat. I’d been doing the same thing for weeks now, chumming the water and then tossing out some of the fish I’d caught that day, making friends with all sorts of aquatic creatures who didn’t always like to come close to the surface.

Bryan watched me and asked, “Why are you doing that, Chai? Why are you doing this?”

“Dinah told me what you’d been doing to her, Bryan. When Hannah found her crying in my arms, she broke down, too, and said that you’d been doing the same thing to her.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything to either of them! I’ve been nothing but a good father and . . .”

“Shut your fucking mouth!” I roared. “Fathers don’t treat their daughters like that.”

“What do you want from me, Chai? What can I say?”

“Have you ever touched Magda?”

“No! Not once! I’ve never even been alone with her! I swear!”

I scoffed before I gave it a little more thought and realized that might be the truth. Considering my relationship with my mother, I would never even think about leaving my daughter alone with her, and I knew that as much as Dawn hated Rebecca there wasn’t a chance she would either.

“Please, Chai! I’m telling you the truth! What else can I say?” “You can tell me whether or not Rebecca knows what you’ve been doing.”

“Why would I . . . Why would you think . . .”

“Does she know?” I asked again.

“If I tell you, will you take me back to shore? I promise I won’t tell a soul about . . .”

There was a splash next to the boat, and I glanced over to find my usual dinner time companions eagerly waiting for their grub. Today was their lucky day. The tidbits I’d brought them this evening were much bigger than any I’d brought before.

“Does Rebecca know?” I asked, noticing that Bryan’s eyes were glued to the sight in the water.

“I think she suspects but . . .”

“Has she made any move to protect Dinah and Hannah from you? Have you done the same things to Ruth or Rachel?”

“I promised Rebecca that I’d . . . She said that I could only . . . If you’ll just take me back to shore, I’ll turn myself in.”

“So, Rebecca did know.”

When Bryan nodded, I jumped up from my seat and grabbed him by the throat. The drugs coursing through his system were so strong that his fight or flight response was delayed enough that I had him over the edge of the boat before he even realized I was moving. Holding him by his throat with one hand, I pulled the knife out of my waistband with the other. Without a second’s hesitation, I gutted him like I would any other animal I’d hunted and then listened to his screams as the sharks in the water went into a frenzy.

It was quite the tug of war, but I held onto him until the light of life left his eyes and then let my friends in the water finish him off. I tossed my knife into the water to sink into oblivion and hide what some might consider a crime, but I considered justice, and then opened the vial of liquid I’d purchased at a nightclub and poured it over the side.

Once the drugs had been taken care of, I carefully leaned over the side and sank the small vial and the glass that Bryan had been drinking from. A look around the boat showed no signs that he had been there, and when I scanned the surface of the water, there wasn’t any part of him to be seen. All the pieces of my sisters’ molester were gone now, and he was just a bloody haze in the water that would disappear within minutes.

Now it was time to finish today’s task and plan for my next one.

The second I learned that she hadn’t done anything to stop Bryan from hurting the girls, she lost the last thread of respect I had left for her as my mother. I firmly believed that since she’d chosen him in life, she should join him to live forever in the ocean.

When I was within sight of the shoreline, I tossed the handheld GPS over the side and then settled in for a nice cruise down the coast toward the dock this lovely vessel called home. Luckily for my clients, the electrical problems that caused their GPS and tracking devices to malfunction would be in perfect working order about three minutes after I docked.

Funny how things like that happened, huh?

◆◆◆

SIX YEARS AGO

CATHERINE

When the doorbell sounded, my entire body jolted in alarm. Why in the world had I agreed to a blind date? In this day and age, the man on the other side of the door could be anything at all.

As I walked down the hall, I thought he might possibly be a gamer who crawled out of his mom’s basement, dodging the sun’s rays as he slithered his way across town to pick me up, sweating energy drink through every pore with soft hands covered in Flamin’ Hot Cheeto dust.

I stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath, wondering if he might be a suave and sophisticated professional who was irritated that he’d been conned into this stupid date by his so-called friend and worried that he might have to miss a work call that could garner him another chunk of money to add to his ever-growing portfolio.

I pulled the door open and all thoughts of how I might get revenge on the friend who set this up disappeared at the sight of the man standing on my porch with a bright bouquet of tulips and a smile that took my breath away.

“Hello, Catherine. I’m Joseph, the reason you’re wondering why in the world you ever considered Tiffany your friend.” I burst out laughing and shook the hand he extended, happy to find that he had a firm grip, not that soft, condescending shake that some men used when they took a woman’s hand. When he let my hand go, his fingers trailed over my palm and I felt a jolt of electricity that went all the way down to my toes. He nodded down at the tulips before he held them out to me and said, “These are for you. I hope they’re okay.”

“I love tulips.”

“Good because I had no idea what to bring and the young woman at the kiosk where I picked them up wasn’t any help at all, other than to tell me that you’d consider roses a sure sign that I was a serial killer out to make you my next unwitting victim.”

With a smile, I admitted, “She’s right, and the tulips don’t give off that vibe at all.”

He ran his hand over his brow as he said, “Whew. Cleared that hurdle.”

“Would you like to come in while I put these in water?”

“I’d love to.”

◆◆◆

FISH

“This is going to be your house.” I looked around - it was small by most people’s standards, but considering I’d been living in a cell that was six feet wide and eight feet long with a roommate for the last seven years, I had zero complaints. “It’s fully furnished, but you can add whatever furniture you want. We’ve got a storage bay full of things for you to pick through if there’s something you need.”

“What are the other rules?”

“Don’t screw up and go back to prison is the main one,” Sis said with a shrug. “Obviously, no drugs, and please don’t bring any women around here. In my experience, when guys first get out, they somehow find the clingiest, most . . .” Sis cleared her throat before she said, “Anyway, you can do your thing, just don’t be stupid about it, okay?”

It took everything I had not to smile at the disgust in her voice, but I felt the need to assure her that I had other things on my mind. Yes, I really needed to get laid, but more than that I needed a little time to decompress and I knew the best way to do that didn’t include easy pussy.

“Is there anywhere nearby to fish?”

Sis smiled when she asked, “You know what’s funny? I had another one of the new guys ask me that exact same question yesterday. He lives right across the street. I was planning to go over to tell him about what I found out once I got you settled in, but if you’ll come with me, I’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone.”

“He likes to fish?”

“I guess so. He asked if we had any fishing poles he could use, and Pop told me right where to find them. I was going to have him help me get them out of storage, but if you don’t mind . . .”

“Whatever you need,” I interrupted.

“Don’t you want to see your new home?”

“I appreciate the opportunity to live here for a while, and I am happy to see that I’ll be living in a really nice place, but there aren’t any words that can explain just how much I miss the water.”

“Oh, yeah! You’re from Florida, right?”

“Yes. Until I went to prison, I hadn’t ever lived more than a short walk away from the beach.”

“Well, let’s go get Quentin and dig out those poles so you two can find your peace.”

I looked around the neighborhood that would be my home for the foreseeable future and it sunk in that even though everything about it was different from where I grew up, it was home for now and I was content to be here. If I just so happened to make a few friends during my stay that would be even better.

◆◆◆

ONE YEAR AGO

CATHERINE

As soon as the man behind the counter called my name, I stood up and started walking his way, fighting a wave of nausea and dizziness that reminded me of how I felt when I was pregnant with my little Charlotte. Since she was nestled against my chest in the sling I used when we were out and about, I knew that the morning sickness flashbacks were coming from the terror I was feeling about what I planned to do today.

The older man met me at the door rather than wait for me behind the counter, and I smiled when I saw his rumpled shirt with crumbs scattered across the front of it, the tie that was hanging askew, and a patch of stubble on his chin that he’d obviously missed when he was shaving. He looked like every harried and rumpled reporter I’d seen on television - the ones who only cared about printing the truth instead of being the center of attention in their own news program.

After quite a bit of research, I had finally settled on Frank Downs, a relic from the days when newspapers were how everyday people accessed current news and integrity was more than just a word someone might throw around when they published a biased report.

Frank was doing his own assessment of me, and I watched his brow furrow when he recognized me through the haphazard disguise I’d thrown together. I had incorporated the wig I had kept after dressing up with Joseph for a Halloween party along with a T-shirt and sweats I had found in a tote at the back of my closet.

Joseph would have never tolerated me wearing anything like this for any reason, but it would be expressly forbidden if I was going to leave the house and possibly meet someone who could further his career.

“Do you have somewhere private we can talk?” I asked Frank.

He studied my face for a few long seconds before turning his head and calling out over his shoulder, “Edna, I’m going to take my niece over to the diner for a cup of coffee. Would you like me to bring you anything back?”

“I’d love a slice of coconut cream pie!” Edna replied from somewhere in the back.

“I’ve got you,” Frank assured her as he put his hand on my shoulder to turn me toward the door. Before long, we were back out on the street, ducking our head to walk into the wind as I made sure Charlotte’s face was covered. We were half a block down when he asked, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Holcomb?”

“Can I trust you?”

“This is DC, sweetheart. You can’t trust anyone.”

I sighed before I said, “You’re right, but I need help with something.”

“What kind of help?”

“I found some information in my husband’s office that will expose who he really is to the whole world.”

“And why would you want to do that?”

“Because he conned me into believing he was a good man and kept up that facade until I was so entrenched that I couldn’t find an escape.”

“And now?”

“I need help, Mr. Downs, and I believe you’re the kind of man who can give it to me.”

“You think I’m going to do a story on your husband that will divert his attention from you?”

“No, it’s going to bring his focus to me, but I want someone in my corner to protect me from him while the life he’s been so carefully constructing out of blood and lies comes crumbling down around him.”

“And what makes you think I’m the one who can help you do that?”

“Every time my Grammy reads some sort of fluff piece in the news that brushes away whatever sins that person has committed while telling lies about their character, she says that she misses the days when men like Frank Downs reported the truth.”

“Grammy?” Frank asked. “Is this Justice Anders' mother, Marjorie, or Charlotte Smithson’s mother?”

Maybe the man didn’t know everything about me after all.

“My mother’s mother.”

“That would be difficult since she died when your mother was in high school.”

I smiled and said, “So you do know everything.”

“I like details.”

“And you enjoy using them to try and trip up people you don’t trust.”

“Possibly.”

“Grammy is Marjorie Anders.”

“A formidable woman in her day.”

“She still is.”

“How will she feel when she finds out that you’re in the middle of another scandal?”

“Another one?”

“I reported on the last one, not that you really had anything to do with that other than being born to an easily susceptible young woman who fell for the charms of an unscrupulous older man.”

I burst out laughing and said, “You flowered that up very nicely, much nicer than the other reporters did when they found out about my existence. As far as my Grammy goes, she’s the one that reminded me of what an excellent journalist you’ve always been.”

Frank smirked before he asked, “And what sort of invaluable information do you think you have for me, Mrs. Holcomb?”

“I have handwritten ledgers that list the names of people in high-ranking positions who owe my husband for one favor or another and the details of what he’s done for each of them over the years along with the secrets and formulas that he has sold to even more prominent people outside of our government.”

Frank was stunned speechless for so long that I wondered if he was processing what I had just said or having some sort of medical episode. He finally asked, “And where is this ledger?”

“I’m not an idiot, Mr. Downs. I’m not tempting fate by walking around with my treasure, just waiting for someone to steal it from me. It’s hidden in a safe place where it will stay until I absolutely have to turn it over, and even then, no one will ever know for sure whether I kept some for myself or not. However, I brought copies of some pages that I think will interest you.”

“What exactly is in it for you if, by some miracle, Mr. Holcomb is prosecuted for these alleged crimes?”

“A safe escape for me and my daughter. That’s all I want.”

◆◆◆

FISH

“Bubbe, you’re going to be the death of me. You know that, right?”

“Chai, you’re much too straitlaced for a man your age. You should be sowing your wild oats while you search for a sweet woman to spend your life with so you can give me lots of great-grandchildren.”

“The girls have already given you more than enough babies to love on, Bubbe,” I said as I escorted her toward the golf cart that she’d driven over to the clubhouse but was way too drunk to drive home.

“Oh, wait! We forgot Dodie!”

“She’s here too?”

“Well, she was, but I saw her holding hands with that schlub, Joe. He probably convinced her to take a moonlight stroll or something.”

“If Mr. Tannenbaum is such a dumbass, why is Dodie paying him any attention?” I asked as I helped my grandmother get settled in the passenger seat.

“Honey, she doesn’t give a damn about that fool, but a little quality time in the moonlight might give her a reason to smile.”

I knew what Bubbe was implying and tried very hard not to gag at the thought of my seventy-something great-aunt getting freaky with a man who was at least a few years older than her. “Don’t frown like that, Mordechai Teitelbaum! One’s libido doesn’t diminish because they get wrinkles. Someday you’ll appreciate a little time and attention with a woman as beautiful as your Aunt Dodie.” This time I couldn’t stop myself and made a loud noise as I swallowed hard, trying my hardest not to even think about Aunt Dodie anywhere near that wrinkling, saggy old man. “I just hope she learned from my experience last year and avoids getting sand in places where it doesn’t belong.”

“Bubbe, please stop,” I begged as I squeezed my eyes closed and desperately tried to rid myself of the resurfaced memory of taking my grandmother to urgent care for a rash she got while “entertaining a gentleman caller” - her words, not mine.

“I have a question for you, Chai.”

As I pulled away from the clubhouse and started down the cart path that would lead us to the house my grandmother shared with her sister in the retirement community where they’d chosen to spend their golden years, I thought to myself, Please let it be something boring like how I managed to fix the toaster for her or what kind of fertilizer we should use on the grass.

Of course, it wasn’t.

“It occurred to me that you might not want to bring home a beautiful woman because you enjoy the company of men like we do.”

“Nope.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“I know that, but I’m not . . .”

“You know, I had the opportunity to spend some time with two of the snowbirds who rented Marvin’s guesthouse a few years ago. They had been a couple for ages, but they liked to spice things up occasionally. Lucky for me, I was just the spice they needed, and I got to see . . .”

“Please stop!” I begged as I pushed the gas pedal so hard that I heard the floor beneath it creak. I’d souped up the engine for Bubbe already, but in my opinion, it still didn’t go fast enough. I don’t know that anything would go fast enough to get me out of this hellhole I’d found myself in since the bartender called to let me know that Bubbe had too much to drink and needed a ride home.

“I’ve seen some of your friends, Chai, and I have to say that I would completely understand if you found any one of them attractive. Dodie and I certainly do, but unfortunately for us, their loyalty to you stopped them from accepting our offers to make their stay here in Florida more enjoyable.”

I was still being teased about those propositions from not just the men in my club, but their women too. I didn’t bother saying anything because Bubbe and Dodie had embraced the free love phase of their golden years and didn’t understand how they had traumatized me.

Finally , I pulled into the small carport at the edge of the house where Bubbe and Dodie parked to recharge their carts, and Bubbe got distracted when she heard her dogs going apeshit inside the house.

“Oh, my angels have missed me!” Bubbe said as she attempted to get out of the cart on her own. She was teetering and about to fall over into the grass when I caught her by the elbow and helped her catch her balance. I listened to her mutter about her “sweet babies” as I walked her up onto the porch. “I think I lost my house key!”

“It’s on the ring with the key to your cart,” I reminded her as I slipped it into the lock. I braced myself for yet another encounter with the furry demons my sisters and I referred to as the Hounds of Hell.

Once Bubbe was safely in her room, I walked back to the clubhouse to track down Aunt Dodie - hopefully she would be fully dressed after her moonlight stroll with what’s-his-name and ready for me to drive her home.

When my phone buzzed, I pulled it out and happily answered the call.

“Ajax! Please say you’ve got a job for me.”

“I do. I’m on my way to my place in New Orleans with some precious cargo. I’ll need look outs nearby to make sure no one finds them.”

“I can be there tomorrow afternoon,” I assured him.

“I’ve got my hands full, so will you make a few calls to see who else might be available?”

“Of course.”

“How is my sweet Bubbe?” Ajax asked.

“I just poured her into bed after a wild night of karaoke.”

“I do love that woman.” Ajax laughed before he said, “You know, if I hadn’t met Sandy when I did, I might have just taken your grandma up on that offer she gave me the last time I came down to visit.”

“That’s it. I quit.”

“No, you don’t. If you stop taking jobs for me, you’ll be stuck playing chauffeur to two of the horniest geriatrics that Florida has ever seen.”

“I hate you.”

“You can’t hate me, Fish. I was almost your grandpa.”