Chapter 2 #2
But Louise didn’t know about any of that. She didn’t know about Drew Sylvester. Or that I’d discovered his brother had witnessed my sister’s murder nearly twenty years ago.
There was a whole hell of a lot I hadn’t told her, and suddenly all those lies didn’t sit right.
“Maybe,” I said finally, because I knew for a fact I hadn’t told Keith I was friends with Louise. And if he’d lied to her, that meant something.
“Why aren’t you calling me from your own phone?” Louise asked.
“I lost mine. That’s why I haven’t called you back.”
“Why not get a replacement?”
“I decided to upgrade to a newer model,” I said quickly. “It’s not here yet.”
“Huh.” Another pause. “Where do you suppose Malcolm’s taking his vacation?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. She wasn’t letting this go.
“How would I know?” I asked with a laugh. “It’s not like he’d run his travel plans by me. Why don’t you ask Misti, the bartender?”
“I did. She said she wasn’t privy to the information.” Louise’s voice tightened. “Which seemed odd, since he’s always acted pretty tight with his staff.”
“If they don’t know, what makes you think I would?”
“Because, even though he tried to be discreet, I could tell he has a thing for you.”
Funny how I hadn’t noticed. “You’re crazy.”
“Am I? He’s a good-lookin’ man. Mysterious and has a dangerous edge. That’s hard for some women to resist.”
“Do I strike you as most women?”
“No,” she said without hesitation. “But I can still see the appeal.”
“What exactly are you insinuating, Louise?” I asked lightly, purposely not giving her an excuse to latch on to.
“Are you sleeping with James Malcolm?” She didn’t even bother tiptoeing around it. “I mean, you’re not interested in Nate Davis. He’s a really nice guy—steady, dependable. But I always knew he wasn’t your type. So, I asked myself … who would be the polar opposite of Nate?”
“Why would I run off to Hot Springs to screw James Malcolm when I could just as easily do that in Lone County?”
“That’s the part I don’t get,” she said. “The timing’s off. Your mother just died.”
“Seems like it would be the best time to run off,” I said, going on the offensive. “I mean, I did run off.”
“But why would Malcolm run off?” Louise pressed. “I asked around, and no one remembers him being gone for more than a day or two at a time. Definitely not a week.”
“Then, I guess you’ll have to ask him when he gets back.”
She was silent again, heavy and deliberate.
“Rumor has it there was a big shootout off BB County Road last week,” she finally said. “The night you were supposed to meet your father.”
“Wow.” I was struggling to keep up the charade. Her questions were exactly how I would have played a suspect. Wear them down. Twist them up. Make it hard to remember the lies. “What happened?”
“Good question. The deputies who went out to investigate couldn’t find any evidence of anything except a car fire.”
Carter had said he’d clean up the scene, which included the bodies. Several of them.
“How’d the car catch on fire?”
“Good question. The deputies said it was put out by the owner.”
James Malcolm was the owner, and he sure as hell hadn’t put it out.
“So, then no shootout?”
“That’s what they’re claiming.”
“You sound skeptical.”
“It sounds sketchy.”
I could let the topic drop, but since she didn’t know I was involved, I pressed her. “Which part?”
“The part where you’re lying to me.”
The lump in my throat turned solid. “About what?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. But I know you’re not just having a self-care week in Hot Springs.”
I leaned my head back, struggling with my conscience.
This wasn’t how you treated a good friend.
But I’d been involved in multiple illegal activities over the last month, and Louise was a deputy sheriff.
If I told her too much, she’d be duty-bound to report it.
And once she knew, she’d be in trouble right along with me—whether she wanted to be or not.
Still, she could be helpful. Hell, she’d suspected the Little Rock PD was dirty before I had. Then again, I’d been idealistic and na?ve. I was neither of those things now.
“You’re right,” I said carefully. “But there are things I can’t tell you, for your own sake. And if I’m honest, for mine too.”
“Are you going after the Little Rock PD?” she asked, breathless.
I blinked. “No.”
“Don’t lie to me, Harper.” Frustration sharpened her words. “Friends don’t lie to one another.”
“You’re right.” My throat tightened. “And I’ve tried to not outright lie to you. I’ve just made some lies of omission.” I drew in a slow breath. “I’m not going after the LRPD. At least, not yet. I’m working on something else first.”
“What? Are you working a case?”
I decided to give her a nugget of truth.
“Yeah. I was working a case when I went to see my grandparents.” I paused.
I needed to be damn sure I wanted to do this, but I was tired of keeping so many secrets.
I could tell her this one. “My mother didn’t accidentally drive off the bridge.
And she didn’t do it on purpose either. She was murdered. ”
She gasped. “What? But the report says it was accidental.”
“Yeah, the autopsy report was doctored.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve seen the real one.” My pulse pounded in my ears.
“She was doped up on antidepressants, and she had a head wound to the back of her head, made by a cylindrical object.” I swallowed.
“Which means she didn’t hit her head in the wreck.
Someone hit her in the head, put her in the car, and pushed it off the bridge. ”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Accusation and pain laced her words.
“I didn’t want to put you in danger. Someone doctored the autopsy report, and everyone who’s aware of the real one is a threat.”
“A threat to who?”
I chewed on my bottom lip, unsure how much to disclose. If I gave her a name, she’d insist on handing it over to law enforcement, and I wasn’t willing to do that. I knew there were dirty cops, and I didn’t trust this wouldn’t get buried.
“I can’t tell you,” I finally said. “For your own safety.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Harper,” she snapped.
“This is big, Louise.” My voice went flat. “My mother uncovered some criminal activities, and they killed her to keep her quiet.”
“How do you know that?” she asked skeptically.
“She had a safe deposit box with evidence.”
“Your mother wasn’t exactly living on the edge,” Louise said dryly. “Did she uncover an illegal bridge game in her garden club?”
“No. Worse.” I pushed down the grief that caught me by surprise. “And I think she’s been collecting proof for years.”
“From where? How would she even get her hands on it?”
“If I tell you, you’ll be obligated to act,” I said, frustration leaking into my voice. “And I’m not ready for that yet.”
Her voice went cold. “So you’re investigating this on your own? Outside the law?”
“I have a PI license,” I said matter-of-factly. “I’m not outside the law.”
“But you’re not doing this alone.” It was a statement, not a question. “Malcolm’s helping you.”
I didn’t respond.
“Why would he do that?” she demanded.
“How would I know the inside of James Malcolm’s mind?” I said lightly. Too lightly.
“But you do know the inside of his pants?” she asked dryly.
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. I didn’t feel like lying, but I didn’t want to confirm it either.
Louise groaned. “I would hope to God that if you trust him enough to work this with you, you’d know why he’s doing it. How do you know you can trust him?”
“I need you to trust me on this, Louise.”
“Harper.”
“I can’t take this to law enforcement. I don’t trust them. And based on what you told me about the car fire? You don’t either.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?”
“There’s a lot of good people in this department,” she shot back.
“I think you’re right,” I agreed. “But all it takes is one or two who aren’t.”
“There are a hell of a lot more than one or two rotten apples in Little Rock,” she said in disgust.
“That’s not my concern right now,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Not that I have any plans to notify them of anything. I need to handle this on my own. If I involve anyone, it will likely be the state police and possibly Mason Deveraux.”
“So you did call him,” she said, satisfaction creeping into her tone.
“I did, but by the time he called me back, I already had the answers I was looking for.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing. And I hope to God you’re not placing your trust in the wrong people.”
“I’m going with my gut,” I said softly. “It’s worked for me in the past. I have to believe it will work for me now.” Especially since I was beginning to trust it again.
“If you need me for anything, let me know,” she said. “I’m guessing you called from a burner.”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me if you change your number again. I need to be able to get ahold of you.”
“Yeah. Okay.” James wouldn’t like it, but I suspected there were quite a few things I was getting ready to do that he wouldn’t like.
“Promise me one thing,” she said, her voice hard.
“What’s that?”
“When you’re ready to take down the LRPD, you’ll let me help you.”
I noticed she’d said when not if. And she was right. A month ago, I’d been ready to crawl under a rock and hide from what had happened. Not anymore. I was going to take down Keith and anyone else who was dirty, but I had to deal with this first.
But I knew this was personal to her too.
“When I decide to go after Keith and his fellow assholes, you’ll be the second to know.”
“Who’s the first?”
I let out a short, humorless laugh. “I don’t think you want me to answer that.”
She paused a beat. “I really hope you can trust him, Harper.”
“I have a small circle, and I trust that circle implicitly.”
“I hope I’m included in that circle.”
“That’s a given.”
“Then go get ‘em, Harper.” She hung up, and I wondered if I’d said too much or too little. Either way, I’d just dragged Louise closer to the fire.
Time would tell.