RACHEL
“I need some information on a Warren Kieran Winchester. He’s local to New Jersey.”
The sound of Dead To Me’s voice in my ear was not a welcome one.
With no further threats and no calls, I’d been hoping that she’d forgotten about Hunter.
Naive, but I had enough shit on my agenda without her adding to it.
Trying to get ahead of myself so that I could have at least a couple weeks off after I gave birth was already feeling like an impossible feat without this BS.
“Who the fuck’s he?” I growled.
Dead To Me tutted. “Why do you think I’m asking you?”
And like that, she cut the call.
Hissing under my breath, I rang Hunter.
“Rach, today’s not a good day. My grandfather’s in court. It’s the closing arguments for the prosecution; the jury’s about to go into deliberation.”
Though I grimaced, I said, “I’m sorry, Hunter, but it’s Dead To Me. She made a call and you know we have to get her some answers.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he grated out. “What does she need now?”
“She wants some information on a guy called Warren Kieran Winchester. He’s based in New Jersey.”
I heard a scratching sound and knew he was taking note of the name.
“I’ll get something back to you by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, Hunter.”
He didn’t reply, which was a testament to how stressed he was.
Ironically enough, if I were his lawyer, I’d have been thrilled. The best part of the job was closing arguments.
I shoved thoughts of Hunter aside because I had a massive list of things I needed to accomplish before the day was out, and I never expected that only four hours later, I’d hear from him again.
When his name flashed up on my Caller ID, I answered, “That was fast.”
“Yeah, it was easy. He’s interred at Windy Ocean Pet Cemetery.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me right.”
“Windy Ocean Pet Cemetery?”
“You got a pen? I’ll give you the address if you want.”
“The fuck is she asking us about dead pets for?”
“Who the hell knows? At least this time it was an easy task.”
He had a point.
“What a weird name for a pet.”
“Heard of weirder. Do you want the address?” he asked hurriedly.
After I jotted down the address, I told him, “Best of luck today with your grandfather, Hunter.”
“I appreciate it, Rach. Thanks for everything.”
Sending the info over text to Dead To Me, relieved that that was off my to-do list, when she called me five minutes later, I ground out, “I got you the information you asked for. I have a job, you know?”
“You did. But it’s not enough. I need you to go to the grave.”
“You want me to visit a pet cemetery for you?” I spluttered.
“I can’t go. I’m out of the country.”
“What do you need to know?”
“I want a picture of the tombstone.”
Utterly confused, I snapped, “You’re asking too much.”
“To keep Hunter De Laurentiis alive?” She tsked. “I thought you’d do anything to make sure he was safe.”
I gritted my teeth and tried not to let my newly-found red hot temper get the better of me.
“Fine. I’ll get the photo to you tomorrow.”
“No. Tonight. I need it ASAP.”
I didn’t answer, just slammed the phone down on the desk. When that wasn’t good enough, I slammed it a couple more times, actually satisfied when I heard the screen crunch under the pressure.
Striding out of my office, I hollered, “PARKER.”
“For fuck’s sake, Rach, my office is next door to yours,” she groused.
I grumbled, “Why are you still here again?”
She’d finally told me about the loan sharks, but that didn’t mean I was going to cut her any slack. That was how she and I rolled, after all.
It was also why she’d moved in.
I’d gotten her out of the house once, and I considered that a win as well.
Her lips twitched. “You like having me around.”
“Uh-huh,” I drawled. “Right. I’m going out.”
Her brow furrowed. “You have no appointments scheduled.”
“I do now.”
“Do you want me to call Emile?”
“No. I won’t be long.”
I didn’t hang around to say goodbye. I was too pissed. If I’d been thinking clearly, I’d probably have second-guessed shit, but I didn’t. My ice-cold nature of before had melted under pregnancy hormones and too much sex.
Volatile wasn’t the word.
I typed in the address to Windy Ocean Pet Cemetery on my phone, pissed now at the state of the screen, but I took off a moment later.
It wasn’t far, a fifteen-minute drive max, but I bitterly resented each moment I was away from my desk.
When I got to the cemetery, I headed to the small office.
It was hard to be polite when I was so mad, but I gritted my teeth and lied, “I’m hoping you can help me, ma’am. My dad’s dog was buried here, but he never told us where he interred Warren before he died too—”
The older woman’s distress on my behalf was so genuine that I felt bad for manipulating her. “Oh dear, that’s so tragic.”
Before she could ask any questions about who’d registered the burial, information I didn’t have, I prayed the name was strange enough to trigger a memory. “His dog was called Warren Kieran Winchester.” A fucking mouthful for a dog. It made Giulia’s choice of pets’ names look normal.
And bingo—I was in luck.
A soft smile graced the older woman’s mouth. “Oh, I remember him! How could I forget a name like that? Your father said he named him after his brother but he called him Grizzly for short. He was so angry about his death.”
Whatever she could have said, I never expected that.
For a moment, I felt my heart surge in my chest until I was sure it would explode through my rib cage.
It couldn’t be…
Could it?!
Grizzly was probably a common pet name.
But why would Dead To Me have sent me here if there wasn’t something suspicious going on?
“Grizzly, yes,” I choked out, unsure about what was going on, just knowing that I felt as if I were dangling on the edge of a precipice that’d lead me only the fuck knew where. “Such a waste. So young.”
She nodded. “I remember because… well, Warren was one of the first to be interred here, and you’ll call me an old fool but Winchester? It reminded me of those fine Winchester brothers.”
Grizzly.
This couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?
“Here we are,” the receptionist said before she drew out a map and circled where ‘Grizzly’ was buried. “It’s not far from here,” she assured me, then her gaze took in my very pregnant self. “Do you think you’ll be able to manage? It’s ever so hot out.”
“I’ll be fine,” I rasped, just wanting to get out there and to understand what the fuck was going on. “Thank you so much for your help. You’ve been so kind.”
We parted, and I almost stumbled outside as, following the map, I rushed over to the burial site.
It was a pleasant place, massive. There had to be tens of thousands of graves here, and that made it harder to find the specific plot but find it I did.
There was a wooden cross atop the burial mound, with a small silver plaque that read:
‘Grizzly’
Warren Kieran Winchester
‘An animal in life, an animal in death.’
A shudder rushed through me.
This was no coincidence.
My stomach plummeted as did I. My knees caved out and landed in the soft lawn and I hovered there, shaking, until I had the strength to text Rex:
Rachel: Rex, does the name Warren Kieran Winchester mean anything to you?
Rex: Warren Kieran were Grizzly’s first and middle names. Winchester was my grandmother’s maiden name. Why? And how do you know that?
Rachel: Dead To Me asked me to find out some information about him. Hunter located him in a pet cemetery. You have to see what I’m looking at.
I didn’t bother sending him a photo, just started a video call.
Turning the camera toward the plaque on the grave so it’d be the first thing he saw, I watched as Rex’s eyes widened and, out loud, he whispered, “‘Grizzly’ Warren Kieran Winchester ‘An animal in life, an animal in death.’” He sucked down a breath. “How the fuck did you find that?”
“I don’t know how Hunter uncovered the info, but I’m here, and… this has to be Grizzly, doesn’t it?”
Rex scrubbed a hand over his face. “‘An animal in life, an animal in death.’ Yeah, that sounds like him, and it sounds like some kind of punishment my dad’d mete out.”
Relief swelled inside me, but I dampened it down to whisper, “I just don’t understand why Dead To Me wants to know—”
Before he could answer, I received an incoming text.
Dead To Me: You’re welcome.
A soft gasp escaped me, and that was when the tears started.
I had my closure, and because I’d been so busy, I’d never even realized that I’d been missing it.
Ten minutes later, more relief hit me when she sent one last message:
Dead To Me: Goodbye.