Chapter 16 #2
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I hadn’t ever planned to tell them about what I do, but…
I just hope Fallon will forgive me later. We’re very cautious about our covers, and for good reason. If someone found out that Alex and I are private investigators, it could damage the company and likely put us all in danger, considering the cases we’ve taken on.
I reach across the small table and take Fiona’s hand, grateful when she doesn’t pull back. “I’m going to tell you something now in confidence, but you have to swear you won’t tell anyone. If you do, it will put me and others in danger.”
She stares at me in shock, but nods.
I look behind us, but this place is nearly empty with only two other women on the far side of the shop. For a Wednesday afternoon, it probably makes sense.
Reasonably certain that no one can overhear, I turn back to Fiona, hating the pain I see in her eyes.
“I’m not a contract pilot. I am a pilot, but my actual profession is private investigator.
I use my skills as a cover to get into places that other investigators wouldn’t be able to—usually private jets.
And the reason I keep disappearing isn’t because I’m ditching you guys.
I love you all so much. But I’m trying to solve Cara’s murder. ”
Her mouth falls open, but just as quickly she shuts it. She pauses for another beat. “You’re serious?”
“I would never joke about this.”
“Okay…I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m sorry for springing this on you. And I don’t even know if I’m making the right decision by telling you and giving you more crap to worry about.” Fiona is still a teenager who lost her mom. Is this too much? I feel like it’s better than letting her think I’m abandoning her.
“No, I’m glad you told me. Are you working with the police?”
“Kind of. Detective Garcia knows I’m doing my own investigation but…I’m mostly working with Alex.”
She blinked again. “Oh, your partner. Of course. If you’re an investigator,” she whispers, “then she is too.”
I nod. “That’s why you can’t tell anyone. I mean ever. Not a boyfriend, not your dad. No one.”
“Did my mom know?”
I give her a look. “Come on. Of course she did.”
Fiona gives me a ghost of a smile as she nods. But just as quickly she straightens. “I want to help.”
“I would love that, but—”
“Don’t tell me I’m just a kid.”
Okay, I was going to say just that. But now I can’t.
“I was simply going to say that I need to know you’re safe at home with your dad and sisters.
I can’t investigate properly if I’m distracted by worrying about you.
” Guilt flickers in her eyes and then guilt floods me.
“I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty.
Just explaining that I need all my focus to be on… ”
“Finding mom’s killer.” Her eyes grow hard as she nods. Then she waves at the server, looking so much like Cara in this moment. “Can we please get the cakes to go?”
“Of course.”
I start to give her my card, but the woman waves me away. “It’s on the house today.”
I want to argue, but it’s clear why they’re covering today.
“They loved Mom,” Fiona says, clarifying.
“She was easy to love… Can you give me a ride to my car? I left it not far from here.”
“Sure. But fair warning, I have a question.”
Yeah, I do too. Now that I’ve admitted what I do for a living, I’m going to see if I can get some answers about her neighbors. And why Fiona seems to dislike Hannah so much. I feel like there’s something there, even if I don’t know what yet.
Once we’re in the car, I decide to just ask. “At the memorial, I noticed that you were standoffish with Hannah. Is there a reason why?”
Fiona glances at me as she pulls up to a stoplight. “You think she’s involved?” Her fingers tighten around the steering wheel.
“No,” I lie. “I’m still in the process of painting a picture of Cara’s daily life. Of neighbors, nannies, anything.”
“Oh…okay.” She turns back to the road, chews on her bottom lip for a moment. “I don’t know why this would matter, but fine. She was always flirty with my…with this guy I was sorta seeing.” She shoots me another quick look before focusing on the road.
“Boyfriend?”
“No.” Her response is way too quick.
I just make a hmm sound.
“We were like…just hanging out sometimes, that’s all.”
“When your parents were gone?” I already know the answer, but I want to see how truthful she’ll be.
She winces but nods. “Yeah. Hannah knew, promised not to say anything.”
A red flag if I ever heard one. What kind of nanny—the adult in charge—keeps secrets from the parents? I really do need to dig deeper into her. “Is that why you don’t like her?”
“No. She was very flirty with him. It was so gross. And even worse, he liked it. I swear he was talking to her behind my back. Maybe even hooking up. He swore he wasn’t, but he acted so weird around her. I ended things, but he keeps texting.”
“What’s his name?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
“You’re not going to, like…interrogate him, right?”
“First of all, that’s not what I do. I just follow evidence.” Mostly.
“Oh, okay. Pete Harper. He goes to school with me.”
I don’t respond, but make a mental note of it. Smitten teenage boys can do a lot of dumb shit if asked. Not that anything like that has necessarily happened, but something about Hannah is bothering me, so this is a thread I can pull on.
As Fiona drives, I text Foxe the kid’s name and the school he goes to in an effort to narrow down a way to find out more details about him. His phone plan will likely be under his parents’ family plan but that won’t be a problem for Foxe to figure out.
She gives me a thumbs-up, then a few minutes after that she texts me back details of the men Ryan Chatelain had been golfing with at the time of Cara’s murder. I asked her to look into it and she was faster than I hoped.
Milo Cole, their boss, is on the list so I’ll be talking to him as well as Ryan. Two birds, one stone and all that.
“So can you tell me what you’ve found so far?” Fiona’s tone is way too casual.
“I could, but I have to know I can trust you, Fi. I’m not kidding when I say if this gets out, it could put me and others in danger.” I’ve helped to bring down some real assholes, and if they find out… I don’t want to think about the consequences.
“Of course you can trust me.” Her tone is heated. But then she deflates. “I’m just angry and want to help. I feel so useless just waiting around.”
She’s only sixteen, but feelings don’t always make sense.
“I haven’t discovered much, just that a person of interest was found murdered today.
” I leave out that I found the body because I know she’d ask even more questions.
“The police think they have a solid lead on who killed him.” A teeny tiny lie, but I’m hoping to ease her mind a little.
Though I’m not sure that’s even possible. She won’t find closure until she knows who killed her mom.
And neither will I.
Knowing won’t bring Cara back, but it will give her justice. The person who killed her should go to prison for the rest of their life.
In reality, I want them dead. I want them dead so bad I burn with the rage of it. It scares me a little because I’ve never thought I’d want anyone killed. Maybe in an abstract way, but this is real.
The darkness of my thoughts scare me, so I lock them away. For now.
If I discover the identity of her killer, I don’t know what I’ll do if I get to them before the cops do.