Chapter 42
-
She’d been living in Scarlett’s home for the past two weeks, giving them a chance to get to know each other.
Flint had been there several times. Both Maddy and Whiskers already adored her the way they accepted everyone Scarlett brought home. Even Ruth, Scarlett’s housekeeper and long-time friend, was taken with her.
But she’d been wary. Understandably so. She’d been through a lot, and she didn’t quite trust Scarlett’s promise not to turn her over to Houston PD. It was a promise Flint hadn’t made.
Scarlett brought her in.
Two weeks of rest and three meals a day had changed her. The woman they’d collected from the Lazy M had been all dust and fight, wiry, stronger than she looked, spitting curses with her face in the dirt.
This one was the same lean body with the same hard miles on her, but she looked less likely to flee on a moment’s notice.
Her hair was clean and combed. She’d put on a little weight. But the eyes were the same. Perhaps a bit less fiery defiance, but still sharp and knowing. She was a couple of years older than Scarlett and even with improvements, she looked it.
Scarlett offered her a chair and sat down beside her.
“Nora, this is Gaspar,” she said, nodding toward the screen. “He works with us, out of Miami.”
Before she realized the trap, she fell into it. Nora glanced at the screen and said, “Nice to meet you, Gaspar.”
“We’ve been working on your situation for the past two weeks,” Scarlett said. “We’ve figured out a few things.”
“Such as?” Nora asked, as if she were genuinely curious, but she might have been hedging. She’d lived the lies for a long time. It must have been exhausting, even before she’d become a target living by her wits alone.
“You’re in a difficult situation,” Flint said. “And you’ve brought us into it right along with you. What we should do is turn everything over to Houston PD and let them sort it all out. But Scarlett has a soft spot for you, and we’ve got one for Scarlett.”
“So what are you going to do?” Nora asked.
“We’ve decided to give you three options.
None of them will be easy,” Scarlett replied.
“The first is the simplest to do and the hardest to live with. We can bring Nancy Keane back to life. Her body was never found, and she wasn’t on the Gulfstream when it exploded.
We can prove that since you’re obviously still alive, so we can reverse the death, thaw the accounts, and return your money along with what you’d inherit from Craig. You’d be a wealthy widow.”
“I thought about that before I asked you for money to start over.” Nora shook her head. “I’d be grieving a murdered man in a case that’s still open. Some people would never believe I didn’t kill him. The media and the authorities would hound me forever. I’d never have any peace.”
“That’s probably true. The other problem with it is worse, though,” Scarlett reminded her.
“You mean because Kyle Patterson found out who Edward Quinn became. Quinn was a monster and I was married to him and I never knew it. But Kyle wasn’t the only one who lost a child back then. Other parents might come looking, too.” Nora took a deep breath. “No thanks.”
“Fair enough,” Flint replied. “The second option is the one that should have happened when Nancy Bishop actually died of that drug overdose. We can correct the records and give you back your birth name. Nora Weiss.”
“But Nora Weiss has been dead a long time too, in her own way. There’s no work history, no record of a life.
A woman your age with no provable past also draws questions.
” Scarlett rotated her cup a quarter turn.
“I don’t know what happened to Nora Weiss after she left the Lazy M, but you do.
Only you know whether you want to make that choice. ”
Nora seemed to consider the idea briefly before she said, “And what’s my third option?”
Flint wondered why she didn’t want to resurrect herself, but he’d already guessed she wouldn’t make that choice. If she’d wanted to be Nora Weiss, she’d had years to do it. There was a story there, too.
“The third is the hardest to manage and easiest to disappear into,” Scarlett said. “It’s almost what you asked me for back at the safe house.”
“What do you mean?” Nora asked.
“We can build a completely new identity for you,” Gaspar replied.
“Like witness protection?” Nora asked. “Set me up somewhere and effectively make me a prisoner?”
“Not quite like that. We’d give you a new name, a new history, and all the proof you’d need to live anywhere you like,” Gaspar said. “You could move about freely, within the bounds of the law.”
“And no one would be able to track me down?”
“Only if you opened yourself up to that,” Scarlett said. “If you contacted old friends who might recognize you or tried to access your old life as Nancy Keane or Nora Weiss in some way. That’s the price. It’s also the whole point.”
Nora Weiss folded her hands in her lap and sat back in the chair. She seemed to consider everything while they waited for her to make up her mind.
“What about Houston PD? Are you going to turn me in or not?” Nora asked Flint, staring directly into his eyes. “Because if you are, it doesn’t much matter how I start out. I’ll be marked forever anyway.”
Flint had developed respect for Nora Weiss.
She was every bit as tough and hard as Scarlett said she was.
Regardless of her name, that twelve-year-old girl from the Lazy M was still inside her somewhere.
She had the kind of mental and physical toughness that would allow her to take care of herself. She’d be okay.
He’d already discussed the options with Cody Patterson. Dale Weathers had been Cody’s friend. The choice felt like Cody’s call.
And Cody had already made it. “Nothing will bring Dale back to life. He’s got no family to mourn him. She’s been through enough. Tell her to keep her nose clean and send her on her way.”
But he’d named the condition and Flint passed it along. “There’s no statute of limitations on murder. We’ll keep track of you, and we’ll know if you fall into crime again. Keep that in mind.”
Nora was quiet for a while. She stared at the empty cup in her hands.
“The first two are old business and I’m done with both,” she said finally. “One put a target on my back. I walked away from the other one and there’s nothing left for her to go back to.”
After another quiet moment, she set the cup down. “I’ll take the third. I’d like to become somebody new. Get a real fresh start. See what I can become, knowing what I know now, and without all the baggage.”
“All right,” Scarlett said. “Then you get to choose your new name. Who do you want to be?”
“I’ve actually given this a lot of thought,” Nora said. “I want something new and modern. But fun this time. Not so old-fashioned. A few more letters, too. But not too unusual. I’ve had enough attention to last a lifetime. Jade Jenkins. People can call me JJ.”
“Jade Jenkins it is,” Gaspar said from the screen. “You’ll have everything tomorrow.”
“Can I choose my birthday?” JJ looked at Gaspar.
“Sure. You can have any day you want.”
“July 4th. Every year, I’ll celebrate my independence at the same time the country does,” she said.
“July 4th is fine. I’d suggest changing the year slightly. A year older or younger would work well,” Gaspar said.
“You pick. Either is fine with me,” JJ replied. “I do want Nancy Keane’s money. Craig left it to his wife, and his wife is sitting right here. I’m not walking away broke.”
“It’s already on the list,” Gaspar said, with a quick glance at Flint.
Flint grinned. They’d made a bet. Flint said she’d take the money. Scarlett said she might not. Gaspar had refused to pick a side.
“That’s everything I need,” Gaspar said before signing off. “Welcome to the world, Ms. Jade Jenkins.”
“I’ve got an hour of cleanup here before I can leave, and JJ needs a ride back to the house.” Scarlett didn’t leave her chair. She glanced at Flint. “Ruth’s expecting you to handle Maddy and Whiskers on Sunday, so don’t think you’ve gotten out of anything.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Flint replied as he left.
Black Haven’s steel door sealed behind him like a vault. The glass offered a breathtaking view of Houston spread out below and gold in the sun.
“Flint.” Sebastian Shaw stood at the glass, hands in his pockets. “Katie Scarlett tells me she’s cooking tonight. Some kind of celebration. She was good enough to invite me.”
“Sounds like you have a pleasant evening in store,” Flint replied.
“Unfortunately not. A man in my position eats too many dinners he doesn’t want and misses the few he does.”
“Perhaps she’ll invite you again sometime,” Flint said politely and without warmth.
“I’m sure she will,” Shaw replied with certainty, which made Flint wonder exactly what he was getting at. He was Scarlett’s client, not Flint’s. “Let’s have lunch. Next week. We have things to discuss.”
“I’ll check my calendar,” Flint said, although they both knew he wouldn’t. He had nothing to say to Baz Shaw and nothing he wanted to hear from him, either.
Shaw turned back to the view. He’d said exactly what he meant to say, no more and no less.
He expected Flint to follow up. He’d pressure Scarlett until it happened.
The question was why.
Flint continued to the elevator and rode down alone, resisting the urge to think about Shaw for one moment longer.