Chapter 17
Cassie
When we get back to the PI office, there's a shiny car out front.
I'm immediately on alert. It belongs to someone fancy. There’s only one explanation for someone driving a vehicle like that in Pinecrest. A minute later, I spot the culprit, who is most likely the owner of the car.
Meredith Thornton stands by the front door with an annoyed expression. When I step out of the station wagon, a cool mask of politeness slips over her features. It almost startles me, reminding me that even Meredith Thornton, as respected as she is, can have her secrets.
It's hard to truly know anybody, especially someone like Meredith Thornton. Look at me and Lincoln. I thought I knew him, but now I’m not sure what’s hiding in his past exactly. It illustrates just how many secrets anyone could have.
A plastic smile slips into place as Meredith comes closer. I guess I’ve been learning about the truth hidden inside more than anyone lately .
“Cassie, I'm so glad I was able to catch you. I came by to talk to you about Anita's case.” Meredith approaches. She walks gingerly, placing her high-heeled shoes in advantageous positions so as not to topple over.
My stomach churns, and I glance back at Lincoln, who is pulling away in the station wagon. He said he had some errands to do, and I agreed to let him drop me off at the PI office.
For some reason, I expected him to stick around when he saw I wasn't there alone. Apparently, I was wrong. I put on my best I-know-exactly-what-I’m-doing tone and motion for her to follow me up the steps. What am I doing? Am I going to lie straight to her face or tell her the truth?
Buy some time.
Maybe Lincoln’s plan is the best, though I can’t imagine it will be easy.
“Why don't we go into the office for a while?” My voice sounds surprisingly calm.
She nods eagerly and follows me up the steps and into the little lobby to the couch where we spoke before.
“So, how can I help you?” I ask, grabbing a notebook and a pen. My heart is racing, and my thoughts are running a marathon, competing for first place.
“I know it’s unrealistic to have hoped you may have found Anita by now. After all, it's a bit of a needle in a haystack.” Meredith laughs, but no mirth reaches her eyes.
It's all forced and fake and plastic and prickly. I don't know why I didn't notice it before, but now it's easier to see where the fake meets with the real. It’s taking some time to adjust my view of her, more than I first anticipated. Talking to Anita has made me cautious about Meredith, even though I still don’t have any proof that I should be.
I pick a neutral answer. There is no way I am going to give up Anita. Not before I know that I can trust Meredith.
And right now, I'm not feeling super trusting. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Lincoln just lied to me again. He texted someone shortly before we showed up at that trailer park, and then he received another text and called the whole thing off.
I'm not convinced he gave me the real reason, especially since we'd gone to dead end after dead end for the following three hours. Of course, these sorts of things take time, but I was thinking...
Meredith pauses.
“Sometimes, when things take extra time, it's because we need more motivation. So, I've decided to make a generous donation to your office to make sure you can afford some of the best resources.” The smile on her face looks as if it might crumble at any minute.
My heart drops. “Oh, that’s not necessary at all. I wouldn’t want to promise you results in case we’re unable to find her. That’s why we charge a retainer fee for our work and a fee in case of success,” I try to explain our fees without getting ahead of myself.
“Oh, I know that. And this, of course, should not make you feel obligated in any way to give special attention to my case. However, if you did have any extra time, then a bit of gratitude would not be denied.” She pulls an envelope out of her purse and extends it to me.
It feels thin, like a sheet of paper is inside of it. My blood is pumping in my ears. Lincoln didn’t say what I should do if she donated something to our office .
I hadn’t even considered it.
“What happens if I’m unable to find Anita?”
“Then, of course, I’ll understand you gave it your best effort. Of course, I’m sure you will do your very best to find her because you know how important it is.” Meredith’s smile falters for a moment. “And if you are able to find her, my family and I would be very grateful to you.”
I nod, trying to keep the panicked feeling in my chest from showing on my face.
“I will make sure we put every resource to the task. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple of other things to finish today, but it was nice of you to stop by and thank you so much for the donation.”
I stand and walk her to the door. Things are very different between us than the last time she stopped by. It’s as if there’s some sort of unspoken caution from her side and a bit of suspicion from mine.
Anita’s fear and the way she looked when we mentioned Meredith—as if she were being hunted— play back in my mind. She had such a visceral reaction to the Thornton family and was so certain about what she’d discovered of them. There’s a little seed starting to grow in my heart that maybe, just maybe, she was right.
I close the office door behind Meredith, then go back and sit at the desk, my face in my hands, staring down at the little yellow envelope she left behind. After a good ten minutes, I gather enough courage to open it. I gently peel back the top and pull out a flimsy piece of paper, which happens to be a check.
I press my hand to my mouth when I read the amount: ten thousand dollars. My hand shakes as I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Lincoln .
He picks up on the second ring. “Cassie, is everything all right? Is it Meredith?”
I hear the sound of cars in the background. He’s driving somewhere, and he still answers the phone. Very irresponsible, but I’m glad he didn’t hang up.
“Where did you go, Lincoln?” I demand. Perhaps this would have been easier to deal with if he’d stuck around.
“Miss me already?” he teases through the phone, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying something mean. I did miss him, but I’d never tell him that.
“No, I don’t miss you. Meredith was just here.”
“Oh, was that her?” he asks, feigning innocence.
My eyes narrow. He knew exactly who it was and decided to leave me to deal with it myself.
“What did she want?” he asks. Of course, he already knows what she wants, so I have no idea why he’s asking.
“Clearly, she wanted to know where Anita was and left us a donation . Do we even accept donations?” I’m starting to question whether we do because not many people want to just hand out money unless it’s a bribe.”
“If somebody wants to give us free money, why not?”
“Um…” I pause. “Probably because we have no intention of finding the person she’s looking for. Doesn’t that seem a little dishonest?” My heart struggles with it, and I consider calling Meredith up and telling her that we are uncomfortable following through with the rest of her case due to details we can’t discuss.
“Well, we aren’t asking her to give us a donation.” Lincoln doubles down, and I can’t argue with his logic.
“I’m really freaking out here, Lincoln. Like, what are we going to do when she finds out that we already know where Anita is and aren’t going to tell her?”
The humor in Lincoln’s voice fades, and he takes an audible deep breath. “Calm down, Cassie. It’s all right. She can’t know that. I will figure it out, and I’ll deal with Meredith, all right? You don’t have to worry about her. She can’t do much to us anyway.”
“Actually, she can. She said if we found Anita, her family would be indebted to us, and call me crazy, but that almost sounds like a threat if we don’t find Anita.”
“Well, you’re many things, Cassie, but crazy isn’t one of them.” He chuckles, and the teasing is back in his voice.
I roll my eyes. “You know we’re on the phone, and I can hang up on you.”
“I’m well aware,” Lincoln says, and I can hear the smile on his lips.
I wish I could see it. It takes me a minute to realize I’m also smiling.
“All right, I’ll try not to think about it, but you said you’d take care of it, so I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Hold me to it as much as you’d like,” he says. “If you need anything else, call me.”
Those words of reassurance tug at my heart. How is it that one minute he’s infuriating me, making me question everything I think I know about him and the next, he’s being all sweet and thoughtful?
“All right, Lincoln, see you tonight,” I say without thinking.
“See you later,” he says.
When I hear the click of the phone, I immediately miss the connection of his voice. I wonder what he’s up to and what kind of trouble he’s getting into without me .
Link
I scribble a few notes into the pad in my lap and peer out of the darkened window. I’m on a stakeout with Phineas… how that happened? I have no idea.
He’s got a binder open on his lap, staring into it as if it holds all of life’s answers.
“What’s that?” I ask, taking a peek.
Frustration surges through me. There’s nothing important on the pages of the binder. It’s wedding stuff: seating charts, cake flavors, and little decorations, making it all look like a scrapbook. “Are you serious right now?”
He looks up, mischief in his gaze.
“Of course, I am.” He tugs at the leopard print handkerchief around his neck. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Wedding stuff is important, and so far, Nathan has been a no-show.”
I heave a sigh. Spending time with Phineas feels an awful lot like babysitting sometimes.
I’m stunned at his audacity. He dragged me out here to be on a stakeout and then he isn’t even paying attention. There were things I would have liked to be doing this evening instead of sitting in a tiny car in his company and with my distracted thoughts.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re after Nathan? I feel like I’ve been pretty good about being kept in the dark, and maybe I've earned a bit of information.”
“I’m not telling you everything, but I suppose a couple of details wouldn't hurt. In a way, I understand you more than you think. Nathan has a bit of evidence against me, similar to what I have against you.”
My mouth falls open. “He’s blackmailing you ? ”
“Not exactly.” Phineas frowns as if, for a moment, he’s reconsidering being honest with me after all. “Yes, he is blackmailing me, or more like his boss is—Nathan holds the evidence he needs to blackmail me. Once I marry Lorraine, I can’t keep working for them.”
“So, you need to find Nathan to remove his leverage over you, and then what?”
“And then I get married, ride off into the sunset, retire to a tropical country, and have half a dozen babies.”
“Please tell me you’re kidding about that last part.” I glower at him. There are a few people who shouldn’t fill the world with replicas of themselves, and Phineas is one of them.
“Don’t worry. I know that the life of crime is not a good role model. Lorraine taught me that. My children will never know of the good old days. I’ll raise them right: good principles, the right friends, private school, the works.” He grins, and I can’t tell for the life of me if he’s joking or is one hundred percent serious.
“Right, seeing as you know what it’s like to have a gun held to your head, I hope you mean to honor our deal once Nathan has given you what he wants.” I wait without breathing.
He nods. “Of course. I wouldn’t double-cross you, not anymore.”
His grin is borderline evil, but somehow, I believe him. I need to meet this Lorraine, the woman who changed a man I deemed unchangeable. She must be incredible.
Nathan doesn't show up for the next three hours, and I convince Phineas to let me go home and get some sleep before the next day .
When I get back to the house, I’m surprised to see Cassie sitting on the porch. She’s wearing a ruffled pajama top and sweatpants. She’s got her arms wrapped around her knees and looks lost in thought. I walk up, and her head jerks up to see me.
“Lincoln. You’re just now coming back?” Confusion creases her brow. “I figured you’d already gone to bed when Tommy dropped me off, and the lights were off.”
“Tommy?” It’s my turn to be surprised. I wasn't aware she was close with Tommy already, especially so much so that he was dropping her off.
“He and Quinn were headed out for dinner when I left the office. They gave me a ride home.” She shrugs, then shivers. I pull off my jacket and drape it around her shoulders before sitting down beside her.
“You shouldn't be out here without a jacket,” I say gruffly. I follow her gaze, finding her staring up at the stars, watching intently.
“What are you looking for?” I ask.
“Shooting stars. Dad and I would always sit out here and wait for them to fall, remember? It’s been a while.” Her voice shakes, and I remember the date. It’s her parents’ anniversary. How could I forget?
“I’m sorry. I forgot today was…”
“It’s all right. It was more something we mourned instead of celebrated. You know what I mean?” She meets my gaze, and something sad lingers there. “When we saw a shooting star, we would both make a wish and never share it with each other. Mine was the same every year.”
I look back at the sky in time to see a bright light slashing across the black—a shooting star, a rare but common sight all at once .
When I look at Cassie, her eyes are closed. She smiles sadly at me a moment later.
“I used to wish Mom would come home, and it was all a big misunderstanding.” Her gaze moves to her hands.
“Now that you’ve told me, it can’t come true,” I chide softly, knowing I shouldn’t. It seems cruel, telling her it won’t come true when she must already know that.
“I gave up on that wish a long time ago. This time, I wished for something different.”
“What was it?” I tease.
“I'm not telling you.”
A playful smile lights up her face, and man, does it tug at my heart. Did she wish for us, for me? No, that would be selfish of me to hope for, but maybe…