Chapter 7
It doesn’t take me long to walk to Ava’s house. On my way I see one of the security guys riding a golf cart, and wave. At least they’re out doing their jobs. But really, no one is coming back tonight.
Not after the police presence. Whoever the shooter was will wait for a lull in security if they intend to return.
So I need to figure out what’s going on before that can happen.
On my way up the now empty driveway, I find Ryan on his phone halfway up my walk.
When he sees me, he holds up a hand and abruptly ends the call to whoever he’s talking to. “Hey, everything okay? I spoke to Ethan and he told me someone tried to break into the house. That someone shot at you?” There’s shock in his tone.
“Yeah, it all happened so fast. The cops think it might be linked to Cara’s murder.” I make myself say the word murder instead of death. The sanitized word.
His eyes widen slightly. “Really? Jesus.”
I nod, deciding to probe him for information. I still haven’t talked to Alex, so I have no idea if she heard or saw anything interesting at the memorial. “Do you know someone named Cory Powell?”
He blinks and it’s clear I’ve taken him off guard. “Ah, yeah, sort of. But he worked with Ava and Cara, not me.”
That’s good to know. I’m not sure what division Ryan is in, but I’ll be finding out.
“He got fired, right?” he continues.
“Yeah.”
“Do the cops think…he had something to do with…” He motions with his hand in the direction of Cara and Ethan’s house.
“I don’t know. They haven’t told us anything. I just know that he was fired by Cara and…” I shrug, trying to look casual. “Just looking for answers, I guess.”
He nods, looking sympathetic. Then he clears his throat.
“Look, earlier, I know you saw me with Hannah. She made a pass at me and I blew her off. But there’s something wrong with that woman.
She wouldn’t take no for an answer. I didn’t tell Ava because she’s already so upset with losing Cara, so if you don’t mind not saying anything to her, I’d appreciate it. ”
“Your marriage is your business” is all I say.
But it seems like enough to appease him, because he shoves out a clearly relieved breath. “Thanks. And I’m really sorry about your sister.”
“Me too. And thank you.” I nod past him. “Ava’s expecting me, so I’m going to head in.”
“Of course. She’s out by the pool, so you can just walk through or around. The front door is unlocked.” He’s already pulling his cell phone out, done with this conversation.
Which is just as well. Instead of walking around, I make my way through the house.
I don’t actually expect to see anything incriminating, but I look around as I head through the expansive place.
And he was right, Ava is sitting on the back patio area under one of the big heaters that probably cost more than my car.
She’s got a thick blanket pulled over her lap and she’s smoking a joint. “Hey, you want?” She holds it out as I sit next to her, then winces. “Jesus, sorry, I forgot,” she mutters as she pulls it back, takes another drag.
“It’s fine. Marijuana was never my thing anyway.” I’m fully sober, as in I don’t drink or do anything else. But I know some people who stay away from alcohol but still imbibe gummies or whatever. I think it’s called California sober.
“Nah, it’s shitty. I’m shitty.” She groans and covers her face with her arm.
“No you’re not, and Cara would hate to hear you say that.” I move her glass of wine out of the way, then set her joint in the ashtray. “Come here.” I’m not a hugger, but it’s clear Ava needs comfort.
She sits up and leans over, hugging me back tight.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” she whispers.
“It’s all so much. So awful. I just…” She swallows hard and sits back, staring up at the night sky.
“It doesn’t feel real. None of this feels real,” she whispers, picking her joint back up.
“I know I shouldn’t smoke. I should just take gummies.
Ryan hates it…but smoking feels like the last link to the me before…
all this.” She sweeps her hand out at the grand display of wealth in front of them.
The pool directly on Lake Washington, a house that costs more than I want to think about.
I’m not totally sure what she means, but I can guess. I’m glad for the heat lamps as I stretch out. I keep my hands in my jacket pockets because I forgot my gloves. I stare up at the quiet sky too. “Nothing about this feels real,” I murmur in response to her first comment.
“What happened at Cara’s place earlier? Ryan said someone shot at you or something?” I can hear the exhaustion in her voice.
“Cops aren’t sure. Might have been a break-in attempt.”
“Some asshole knew about the funeral and tried to capitalize.” Her words are laced with disgust. “Probably tried to rob them. As if they haven’t suffered enough.”
“Maybe.” I hold back what I suspect, because it won’t matter now. She’s already fading, likely a combination of the weed, alcohol, and pure grief and exhaustion.
“I loved her like a sister,” Ava says before I can jump into questioning her. “I never even knew anyone like her. Someone so nice. At first I thought it was an act, that no one could possibly be that kind.” She covers her face again. “The world is so fucked up.”
“Yeah, it is. And she loved you too, for the record.” I’m pretty sure Ava knows that, but I want to remind her anyway because it’s clear she’s hurting. “And she was grateful for how you helped her navigate this…world. When she and Ethan got married.”
“Really?” She drops her hand, her head rolling to the side as she looks at me.
“She always seemed like she had everything together. She handled everything—work, going back to school to get her degree, motherhood. She was too nice sometimes though. Kind, really.” She snorts and picks up her joint. “It used to piss me off.”
Ava is not wrong about that. “I think she wanted to see the best in people. It was why she was so forgiving.” I clear my throat, hoping this works as a segue. “Was she too forgiving with Cory Powell?”
Ava frowns, takes another drag. “That piece of shit? No. I mean, she was a hell of a lot nicer than I would have been when she fired him—I would have humiliated that prick. But no, once she realized he was stealing, she got IT to invalidate all his credentials, locked him out of everything. Had security walk him out immediately. She agreed to meet with him outside of work, but it was a mistake.”
“How so?”
“He just made excuses. Hell, at first he tried to deny it, which was stupid, but then he made excuses for why he was skimming off the top. What a dumb fuck,” Ava mutters more to herself than me.
“He was making a hefty six figures but wanted more. Couldn’t just do the work and get promoted like everyone else. Greedy bastard.”
“Why did he want to meet up with Cara? He had to know she wouldn’t rehire him.”
“He begged her not to let his firing become public, to give him a good reference when potential employers called. She couldn’t do it though, and he lost his mind.
Called her all sorts of nasty names, threatened her in public.
Right in the middle of a coffee shop.” Ava shakes her head in disgust. “There was an off-duty cop there and it got very messy.”
Cold seeps into my bones. Cara never told me any of this.
Not even a hint of that kind of anger. Months ago she mentioned that she fired someone but didn’t say anything about this kind of follow-up, the threats.
I know she could keep secrets, but I thought we told each other everything. “What happened after?”
“Nothing really. He ended up getting a fine or some shit. Then the threats started pouring in. All from anonymous emails, but it was clearly from him.”
“Is there any way I could look at them?” Cara’s laptop was stolen and it would be very difficult to hack her company’s files without access to the building. But I’m pretty sure that Ava has access to Cara’s work stuff. Or the ability to gain access.
Blinking, as if actually remembering I’m sitting with her, she frowns at me. “Ah…why?”
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to get a picture of what might have happened to Cara. To see the whole picture. I’m worried the cops will drop the ball.” As I say the words, I don’t know if they’re true or not. Garcia is more than capable, but Cara is still a job to him.
To me, she was everything.
“Come on.” Ava sits up and shoves her blanket off, but keeps her joint in hand. “I’ve got access to her accounts. I already sent them all to that hot detective so he knows about the threats.”
So she does have access. She takes me to a small office with a panel of windows overlooking the water, then turns her laptop on. I watch as she types in her password, make a note of it.
“I’ve been working from home,” she says, motioning to the piles of paperwork everywhere. “The last few days…” She trails off before setting her joint down then pulling something up on-screen. “They’re hard to look at. But I get wanting answers, so here you go.”
“Thank you.” I sit at her desk as she walks to the window, stares out into the illuminated backyard, covered pool and lake beyond. “So you have access to all her stuff now?” She’s clearly distracted so I’m hoping my question sounds casual.
She’s still smoking, the strong aroma at odds with the vanilla cashmere scent of her office.
She must realize that because she opens the window and waves the smoke out.
“Yeah. She had access to mine too. Made working on this project a lot easier. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.
” She trails off again, so I quickly scan some of the messages.
I also forward myself a couple of the nasty emails—including one that talks about shooting Cara.
I might be able to figure out where they came from, if they were from Cory Powell or someone else.
I wish I could do more, but Ava is being generous right now and I don’t want her to realize how weird it is that I’m asking to look at these emails once she sobers up.
“Thank you for having the memorial here,” I say as I stand.
She turns, and yeah, she’s going to be asleep soon. Her eyes are already drooping and she looks a million miles away. “Of course. Anything for Cara. And I hope you and I stay in touch.”
“Of course. I’m here for the rest of the holidays. The girls…” I swallow hard, but she nods in understanding and something I can’t read flickers across her face for the briefest moment.
“They shouldn’t have to grow up without a mom,” she finally rasps out.
“No, they shouldn’t.” I clear my throat. “I’ll be around. Please reach out if you need anything.”
She nods and looks back out at her patio and the dark lake beyond.
So I quietly make my exit.