Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
“Hey! Long time, no hear, stranger.” My brother singsongs as soon as he picks up the phone. He sounds cheerful, but I know him well enough to hear the edge in his words.
“Hey–is everything okay?” I ask.
“Mom and dad are going through it right now. Apparently the elders are upset with dad for–” I tune him out for a moment because it takes everything in me not to cut my brother off.
In truth, this is the reason I don’t call him much–because despite the fact that he no longer lives on the reservation with our dad and his mom, he sure has a way of getting wrapped up in their drama.
“Dad’s medical bills have been insane, the tribe has kicked in to help, but there’s a limit on what they’re willing to do so I’ve lent them some money but it’s not enough.
” He pauses. “Maybe if you could help out a little it would put their minds at ease.”
“Mav–I gave them money a few years ago and a year later he asked again. He won’t pick up the phone and call to see how I’m doing but he’ll send these long rambling letters asking for help and cash–the more I give the more he takes, and I’m not just talking about cash, I’m talking about…everything.”
“I know, I know. I just feel bad because they struggle so much.” Maverick’s voice is quiet. In truth, my birth parents don’t feel like my family at all, I have no connection to them. But I do feel bad for Maverick. They raised him and I know he feels like he has to repay the favor, literally.
“If you stopped by for a visit it might help.” Maverick pushes.
I scrunch my features even though he can’t see me. “I don’t think it’s going to make a difference if I’m there or not.”
“I think it would,” he says.
I sigh. “He put me in foster care, Mav. Seriously, there’s nothing good that can come from me being in his life. I don’t even remember him outside of the time I visited when I was twelve.”
“But Dad’s been sick, he probably doesn’t even have much time left. Don’t you want to see him before he’s dead?”
“It’s not that simple.” I soften my tone.
“No, it’s not. But maybe it should be. You made it out, Mac. Do you ever wonder what life has been like for the rest of us?”
Guilt slams into my chest. “Mav—you chose to stay.”
His face contorts with anger. “You don’t know what it’s like to grow up under a system that keeps you just fed enough, just educated enough—to make sure you never leave!
Do you know how it feels to suffer abuse at the hands of those teachers at the rez school?
There’s always a shortage, so they bring in volunteers.
And when no one is looking too closely at who they’re letting in…
some people come for the wrong reasons—whether you want to believe that or not. ”
“I know, I know—you’ve told me all about the abuses of growing up Native.”
“Not just abuse, McCullough—the worst kind of abuse. In every way—fuck—you can be such an asshole sometimes.”
“Mav—”
“You’re becoming one of them, you said you never would and then you did.”
Shame coils like a knot in my stomach. “How can you defend them so much? You overdosed with your mom at seventeen—she left you to die with a crack pipe on the couch while she partied with friends—Mav—”
“She’s clean now. Anyway, Dad’s the one that found me, called the ambulance….that’s why I show up for him. He saved me once, figure visiting him and giving him a little cash now and then is the least I can do. What would it hurt to give an old man a little happiness?”
“If I’m the only source of his happiness…”
“You’re not. Of course you’re not.” He sighs. “I’ve been stopping by once a week but every week just gets worse and worse and the elders are giving him hell about giving up his place on the tribal board. He feels abandoned by his tribe, by you, by life I guess.”
I don’t reply because there really isn’t any more to say.
I know he’s upset with me for not helping out more with our dad, but how can I?
I know I’m leaving him to handle everything but he’ll get over it.
I haven’t spent more than a few hours with them anyway, maybe if they’d made the effort a few times over the years to visit me or call I could muster some concern, but for me, they’re nothing more than strangers.
Anyway, Maverick will get over this. He always does.
My brother waits a long moment and then switches the topic. “So what did you call for if not to check on dad?”
I ignore his little dig and say, “Phillip moved in his mistress.”
“Well that’s an interesting turn of events.”
“I thought so. If he’s been hiding her for the last year, what else is he hiding?”
“The guy is good at keeping secrets, I’ll give him that.” Maverick comments. He sounds distracted, but then, he’s always busy so I can’t fault him for that.
“I have to find out what else he’s hiding.”
“Why?” he asks.
“Because my best friend is dead and he’s the last one that saw her, that’s why.”
Maverick doesn’t reply. I know my tone is clipped, but he’s the one that told me about all the money Phillip owes.
“Have you heard anything else about Phillip’s bad business deals?”
Maverick grunts. “No, told you I’d call if I did.”
I can tell this conversation is going nowhere fast. “Do you want to meet for a drink a night this week maybe?”
“I can’t. The club is keeping me pretty busy these days.”
“So you haven’t heard anything else suspicious–maybe Phillip had a business partner that the Seminoles have mentioned or…?”
“No…no haven’t heard a thing, Mac.” He calls me by my nickname and despite how testy he’s been this morning, his term of endearment makes my stomach heat with warmth. “Is this the only reason you called? No how ya doing or whatever?”
“I’m sorry,” I offer. “I’ve just been so consumed by this accident. Not only did I lose my best friend but I think she was murdered. It’s a lot to process.”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry about that.” The warmth in his tone returns. He must be under a lot of stress because he rarely gets agitated with me. “I guess I did hear one thing–”
“Really? What?”
“I didn’t call you because I’m not even sure that it’s about Phillip at all, but maybe it is…” he trails off as if lost in thought.
“What did you hear?”
“I overheard Butch on the phone a few days ago,” he mentions the president of the Seminoles, “it sounded like he was talking to a banker or a finance guy maybe. He kept complaining about waiting for deposits to come in to cover some loan.”
“Is that it?” I ask.
Maverick takes a long moment to answer. “He mentioned making a move on Tigertail.”
“On Tigertail?” I breathe. “What does that mean?”
Maverick mumbles, “I would imagine he’s talking about Phillip. Isn’t that the name of one of his holding companies?”
I frown, searching my memory for any mention of Tigertail.
Phillip has dozens of companies and corporations he’s created over the years.
Bennett does too, so it’s not really something that seemed suspicious before now, but the fact that the president of a motorcycle club is aware of the name of one of Phillip’s companies does seem odd.
“The conversation they were having seemed pretty heated. If the deposit doesn’t come through soon I get the sense Phillip will have a few more enemies to deal with.”
“Really?” I whisper. “How corrupt is this guy?”
Maverick laughs. “Not any more corrupt than any other successful businessman, I’d say.
You wouldn’t believe the kinda men involved with the club–everyone wants to think that motorcycle clubs are into drugs and human trafficking and shit, and some of them are, but that’s not Butch’s style.
Butch had bigger dreams for the Seminoles when he was elected president a decade ago and he’s surpassed them all.
The club is making more money than ever before and the funny thing is, I don’t think it’s by doing anything illegal.
He just hands out loans and invests in businesses all over South Florida–it’s the businesses that are operating outside of the law with their fancy ponzi schemes and shit that fall through. ”
“You think Phillip is running a ponzi scheme?”
“I don’t know what the fuck Phillip is up to and I really don’t care. He’s got enough lawyers to keep him bubble-wrapped from prosecution anyway, so why spend time worrying about it?”
“Why? Because I think he killed my friend to make this right, that’s why.”
Maverick doesn’t reply because I guess there really isn’t a good reply to a statement like that.
“Thanks for keeping me in the loop on everything.” I finally say. “I know you’re busy so I guess I should let you go. Let me know if you want to grab a drink or tacos or–”
“Sure, Mac. See ya.” He hangs up before I can say anything else. I know I’m getting under Bennett’s skin with this preoccupation I have with Whitney’s death, now it seems like I’m annoying Maverick too.
But what am I supposed to do?
Let investigators handle it?
They’re strangers, they’re not invested in the outcome of this situation at all, but I’m the one that knew Whitney and Phillip best. I’m the one that she handed the journals to because she had suspicions.
She left me in charge of getting to the bottom of anything odd that might happen, and now it has.
If I just sit on this and do nothing what kind of friend would that make me?
Especially after everything we’ve gone through together?
No, I won’t be able to sleep at night until I know what Whitney’s final moments looked like. I don’t care if it ruins me.
Whitney saved me from certain ruin that night at the debutante ball, all I can do is my best to repay the favor now, even if it kills me.