Chapter 23
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There's no use even trying to sleep. Nathan snores, and it's getting on my nerves.
Cassie’s reaction to Nathan's evidence keeps playing back for me. She’s too good for this world. She wants to save everyone, help them through their problems, and even take their problems on herself if she can.
There’s no approach we can take to get rid of the Thornton family that doesn't involve casualties. People will lose their jobs, their investments, their money, and their livelihoods. It’s a terrible business, and I hate that she has to be at the center of it and even consider taking a bit of the blame on her shoulders.
A tapping sound outside makes me tense up. I've been imagining noises all night.
Visions of Preston and his men finding us and knocking down our flimsy door are imprinted on my mind. I should have pushed harder for Cassie to stay somewhere else. What was I thinking, bringing us back to the most obvious place we would be? I'm such a moron.
I sit up and throw my feet over the side of the bed where Nathan isn't sleeping. Ready to go and grab Cassie and insist she listen to me when there's a sharp knock on the door. It's soft enough that no one else would hear but also loud and persistent enough to know someone is really out there.
It's certainly not Cassie because it's coming from outside. I grab my gun from its hiding spot and hold the grip so tightly that my hands ache. Slowly, I ease the door open just a crack.
Phineas. I shouldn't be surprised, and yet I am. He's changed into a bright purple dress shirt and black pants. He's still donning the zebra boots.
"Glad you're still awake," he says with a grim smile, lifting a pistol of his own, bringing us to an impasse. "Come on, Lincoln, you really want to get in a shootout right now? What would Cassie think?"
He gasps a bit, widening his eyes just enough to make fun of me. Of course, he finds it amusing that Cassie hasn't forgiven me in an instant the way Lorraine apparently did him. I clench my jaw and lower my pistol.
"What do you want, Phineas? Haven't you gotten me into enough trouble today?" I hiss.
"I'm the one who got you into trouble? Just so you know, I could have had Preston and twenty men here tearing this place to the ground and burning it to ash before dawn, with no one left to ask questions or point any fingers." He shakes his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have threatened you with such graphic violence. It's probably not what friends are supposed to do. ”
“Once again…” I start.
“Yes, yes, I know.” He holds up his hands. "We're not friends."
"That's right." I take a step back as he pushes his way into the room.
"I think you know what I'm here for," he says, his tone dropping a bit as his eyes land on Nathan. "So, you've adopted him?"
"No, we haven't adopted him." I roll my eyes in annoyance. "He's only here until we figure out what to do with the evidence he's given us. “I can’t risk him going running back to Preston and stabbing us in the back. I’m not sure I trust him.”
"Evidence against the Thornton family also includes the evidence his family has against me ," Phineas says, holding something else up in his free hand. My chest tightens when I see what it is.
It's the red USB containing the tapes of me committing various crimes for Phineas the last time we worked together. Granted, they were small-time crimes, but I'm sure the court of law will not care based on the light it puts me under.
For all I know, Phineas could manage to pin his entire operation on me if he wanted to.
“I found Nathan for you. That was the deal.” I keep my voice low. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Getting Nathan involved in this conversation or waking Cassie up and having her participate are two things I would rather avoid.
“Yes, technically, you did find Nathan, and then you kidnapped him out from underneath my nose before I could even speak to him, much less get what I needed. Do you really consider that fair? A deal's a deal." He holds the hand that doesn't have a gun in it palm up.
I glare at him. Of course, he's going to twist things around to suit his convenience.
I know I’m being a bit unreasonable, but it was worth a shot to convince him to let me off the hook.
Phineas looks around my apartment, his attention zoning in on Nathan’s laptop as if it’s a precious treasure he’s searched for years.
“I've been trying to get what they have on me for quite a while now, and now it's in my grasp. In fact, it's literally on the computer right there, I would guess.” He sighs as if he’s come to the end of a long road. “You can’t keep me from it, Lincoln. Friendship or not, I’ll get what I came for.”
He steps closer to the computer. I don’t doubt him. I never doubted that Phineas would do what was in his best interest, no matter what.
"Actually, I've had Nathan upload it into a black box, so if you do anything to me, Cassie, or him, it will be released for everyone, including the authorities, to see. I wouldn't suggest trying to strong-arm your way with this one."
I wish I had been so smart as to set something up like that before Nathan went to sleep. Maybe Phineas will believe me. He considers it for a few minutes and shakes his head.
"Look, I know you held up your end of the deal or at least most of it.” He sounds apologetic, like a friend who really needed a cup of sugar and accidentally woke me up coming to get it. “I promise that when you hand over the stuff they have on me, and I watch you wipe it in front of me, you get this USB.”
He holds up the little red computer stick with glee. It’s a carrot on a stick—my carrot. So motivating.
“Otherwise, I walk out that door and make sure every single news outlet within one hundred miles has it on its front page. I wonder what Cassie would think if she had to find out yet another one of your truths from someone else."
There’s the manipulative Phineas I know. Will Lorraine ever get him to be more open and kind-hearted? I doubt it.
I'm biting down so hard my jaw hurts. He knows exactly where to hit me, and it shows. There's no way I'm letting him walk out that door with the USB, but is it right for me to erase his crimes to save myself from my own?
"Think about it, Lincoln. You know I'm not the real problem here. You have the Thorntons. They are the head of the operation. I'm not even trying to keep a stake in all of this. I'm leaving with Lorraine, and you'll never see me again."
I'm not sure that gives me much comfort. I let out a long breath. He is right, as much as I hate to admit it. He’s not the real problem. If he goes out and makes me a number-one target, it will be hard to get cooperation or help from the authorities regarding taking the Thorntons down in a controlled manner. If I do what Phineas wants, I’ll get him out of our hair, at least for the moment, and not have to worry about his leverage over me any longer.
"Fine. I'll get Nathan up, and we'll do the exchange. But if you don't keep your word this time, I will personally hunt you down." He’s going to make me regret this, I can already tell .
"Noted." Phineas shrugs as if he can't help himself as I go over to Nathan and jolt his shoulder with my boot.
He jumps up, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth, his eyes widening when he spots Phineas.
"You let him in here? I knew you'd turn your back on me as soon as possible. You won't get away with this, you know that? I'll make another deal, and this time, I'll pin you under it, too. Don't you think that I have evidence on you? You made a big mistake here."
He doesn’t have evidence on me. Otherwise, he would have already used it to try and control me.
People like Nathan are predictable. It’s all about who they can control with what. No true loyalty to anything or anyone.
Nathan runs his mouth for a solid minute before I can get a word in edgewise.
"If you would just calm down for a minute and listen, then you could save yourself a heart attack," I say in a mildly amused voice. "We're going to make an exchange. I need you to help me erase everything we have on Phineas and do it in front of him. Then he's going to leave us alone."
Nathan still looks uncertain as he drags himself over to the laptop. He’s looking at me like I’m crazy, and he’s probably right. Is this selfish and thinking about the immediate moment instead of the future? Absolutely. But at the same time, I can’t come up with a better solution.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Once I erase this, you're giving him the upper hand," Nathan says, glaring between me and Phineas. I wonder what it is between them that's got him in such a bad mood. He’s right; we won’t have leverage on Phineas… but Phineas won’t have anything on me, either.
"Yes, I'm sure," I say.
I don't want to think about it too much because the more I think about it, the less sure I am. The sooner Nathan deletes it and it's over with, the better.
I watch as he pulls up the folder labeled ‘Phineas.’ All of our evidence, the videos, and the bank statements are separated into a labeled folder. We could have made it a bit harder for him. Regret tugs at me. I should have known he would try something like this.
With a couple of presses of the keyboard, it’s gone.
“Now go to the trash bin and empty it. I don’t want a trace of it anywhere, got it?” Phineas watches patiently.
Nathan heaves a sigh as if he actually thought Phineas would overlook that part. It hurts the second time he deletes the folder. Panic and dread hit me as soon as it’s gone. Trusting Phineas is the only thing I have left to rely on.
As if he’s a lockbox releasing a prize, Phineas dangles the USB stick from his hand.
"Here you are. A trade well made," he says with a chuckle.
"Just like that?" I ask, taking the USB into my hand. It's smooth and cool against my palm. To think that something so small could cause so much trouble.
"Just as easy as that. After all, I'm a man of my word." He’s a man of his word at his convenience. It’s easy to forget that. But I trust him enough to believe he’s given me the only copy of the evidence. He’s known for keeping deals, at least for the most part. Sometimes, he adds little caveats, just like he did with me .
"Go back to bed, Nathan," I say over my shoulder as I walk Phineas out toward the front of the garage.
"So, what happens now?" I ask. I need to make sure there’s no catch, something that will jump out at me right when I think everything is going well.
"Now, you will never see me again. I'm leaving with Lorraine. Remember, we're going to have a wedding somewhere tropical, perhaps somewhere foreign, or maybe both. Can't give away too many details, you know."
He looks sheepish, like a nervous young man on the eve of his wedding. I never saw Phineas in that light before. "I know that deep down, you'll always be an investigator on the right side of the law. Even our friendship couldn't mend that gap."
This time I don't bother to correct him. Working with him hasn't been all bad, and there were even a couple of halfway enjoyable conversations. Not that I am ever going to tell him that.
"For what it's worth, even though I don't agree with you, what you choose to do or what you're doing, I am glad you found happiness with Lorraine," I say as we stop at the front door. That’s the closest I’m getting to having any friendly talks with Phineas.
"It really means a lot to me to hear you say that." Phineas smiles, and he reaches out, clapping me on the shoulder as he tucks his pistol back into his belt.
I wish mine was more accessible now because maybe then I could restrain Phineas and still get my closure, but I force myself not to think about it and cause a scene tonight. Cassie’s dad taught me that violence with innocents around is too dangerous, and Cassie is asleep on the other side of the wall .
"In the line of business I was in, it was hard to know who my real friends were.” Phineas’s expression grows distant. “I feel like, despite our differences, there was something good between us."
I don't say anything, but a small laugh escapes me.
"It's been interesting, Phineas, but I'm glad it's over," I say.
"Me too." He nods decidedly. “As soon as we're in the clear, I will be tipping the authorities about the Thornton scheme. Within the month, they'll be brought down to the ground, and they'll never be able to threaten me or Lorraine ever again."
"Wait, what?" I step closer. "You can't do that." I keep my voice down as urgency washes through me. "We're going to find another way to deal with the Thorntons. We can't just expose them to the public out of nowhere; it will destroy this town. It'll cripple the economy, and people's lives will never be the same."
Phineas shrugs, and the man I know too well emerges.
"I can't say that's my problem," he says. "Lorraine and I need to be able to live a peaceful life without being scared of old skeletons from our closet poking their heads out to disturb us. The Thorntons are one of those things that have to be dealt with. What do you call it? A loose end?"
"It may be a loose end for you, but you're going to create hundreds of other loose ends for people who have no control over this." I'm channeling my inner Cassie, but Phineas isn't having any of it.
"It was nice knowing you, Lincoln, and I really do hope things go well with Cassie." He hurries down the steps and into his car, driving off, leaving me standing there feeling like a fool. Not only have I let a criminal who has been my enemy for years walk away unscathed, but I might have also doomed this entire town to ruin and let go of all our leverage.
With a shaking hand, I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and dial Quinn. She answers on the second ring with a sleepy voice.
"Lincoln, is everything all right?"
"No, it's not," I say. "Can you meet me at the house? I need to talk with you and Cassie about something. It's urgent."
"I'll be right there," she says.
I hang up and head to the door that divides my home from Cassie's. It's time to come clean and hope that, in the end, I still have two friends I can count on.
Cassie
It takes a while for me to register that someone is knocking on my door.
I jump out of bed and scramble down the stairs, almost tripping over my feet as I do. Something must be wrong. Lincoln wouldn't be waking me up in the middle of the night if that weren't the case.
Pulling open the door as I unlock it, I reveal a distressed Lincoln on the other side.
His arm is rested against the door frame, and his whole body sags as if he’s carrying a thousand pounds on his shoulders. He didn’t look this down when I went to bed. What’s happened?
"Cassie, sorry to wake you up so late, but we need to talk. Quinn should be here any minute. "
He called Quinn? I sent her a long text detailing everything that happened after we’d gotten back with Nathan.
I planned to catch up with her in the morning, not dead in the middle of the night.
The sound of a car driving up outside makes us turn toward the front door. We make it to the window at about the same time. To our surprise, it's Tommy's car, and Quinn is hopping out, a thick coat wrapped around her shoulders. She says something to Tommy before he drives off, then practically runs over to us, shivering as she comes.
"Hi, guys," she says. "Man, this is a bit late for a team meeting, don't you think?" She looks between us, curiosity and worry mingling together in her expression.
"That's what I think, too, but it looks like Lincoln here is turning over a new leaf with his schedule. This is a little too early, Lincoln if you know what I mean.”
I've been on him to change his schedule back a couple of hours, but I didn't mean three in the morning. I glance down at my watch to confirm. Yup, three thirty-one.
"Come on, guys, let's go into the living room, or Cassie's living room would be better so we don't have to deal with Nathan hearing everything we say." Lincoln barely cracks a smile at my joke. That’s odd. I know things are weird between us, but he’s never let that affect how we work with one another.
"But then, who's going to keep an eye on him?" Quinn asks, stepping past us. “I still can’t believe you brought a criminal here and haven’t taken him to a police station.” She glares in Nathan’s direction.
Lincoln sighs, long and hard. I notice the dark circles under his eyes. Lack of sleep is getting to him, and I wonder if tonight is the first time he hasn’t been able to sleep.
"Okay, fine, let's sit in here, but we'll have to talk quietly." Nathan’s loud snoring fills the small room. "He does seem to be a heavy sleeper." Lincoln rubs a hand over his face once, then twice before looking at us both as Quinn and I settle down shoulder to shoulder on the ratty couch.
"I really messed up in a lot of ways, and I hope when I'm done telling you how, somehow you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me." His words come out half-choked and uncertain.
Uneasiness washes over me. What has Lincoln so worried? And most importantly, what has he done to push him to the brink of being honest? Is he really going to tell us everything that’s been going on these past few months?
I’m ready to know the truth, no matter how hard it is to swallow.
"Whatever happened, Lincoln, we're here for you. That's what friends are for," Quinn says. Her voice is steady and sure. No hesitation. She is a solid friend, and I scold myself for hesitating even for a moment. Of course, we’ll be here for Lincoln. Second chances are important to me as long as a person wants one.
He nods with a slight smile on his face before turning to me.
"I'm here for you too, Lincoln," I assure him. There’s so much more to say, but I hold it back for another time. Right now, he needs space to be honest with us; he needs us to listen. "What happened?"
He takes a deep breath as if he’s preparing to open the doors of a dam, and I wonder what will flow out and how we’ll deal with the pieces afterward. That’s a problem for later, I suppose.
Lincoln looks right at me as he starts to speak. “After your father died, I was in a bad place. Combined with being low on funds, I took a job I thought would be simple and harmless, but it was for Phineas. He manipulated me, turned things all this way and that, and before I knew it, he had a bunch of video files of me doing different things that either looked illegal or would be considered illegal. He said that one day, I’d owe him a favor to get the videos back.”
He tells us how Phineas started harassing him about the favor, and he kept blowing him off until he kidnapped Quinn. When Phineas sent him a message at the end of our last case, he knew he had to pay up that favor, or we could all be in danger.
“So, you started working for Phineas?” At least it’s starting to make sense. He had a reason, and it was sort of a good reason, but is it enough to just go back to blindly following?
“Yes. I started working for him just to find Nathan. The more I got to know him, the more I believed he’d changed because of Lorraine. He never did any of the stuff he would have before.”
“So, you think he changed?” The idea of Phineas in love and turning over a new leaf seems unlikely.
“I… this is the bigger part where I messed up.” He looks embarrassed, devastated, crushed. I’ve never seen Lincoln this way, and it's starting to scare me. “He came here about an hour ago. He had the videos on a USB stick and wanted me to erase the evidence Nathan had ag ainst him, the evidence that the Thornton family has used to blackmail him.”
No. I can see where this is going, and I can’t help but hope…
“Tell me you didn’t do it.”
Lincoln meets my gaze, and I know the answer.
“I’m sorry. He explained it in a way that made sense. He didn’t want anything to do with the business anymore. He’s leaving with Lorraine. I guess… I thought we could finally both be free of having things held over our heads, and I made the deal.”
It’s so quiet I can hear the soft breeze outside brushing against the windows.
My stomach drops. The worst move he could have made, and he did it anyway. I don’t know whether to cry or try to salvage what we have. My own feelings are reflected on his face. I could shout or demand him to apologize or ask him to rationalize, but it won’t make us feel any better.
“So…we have nothing against Phineas. It’s not the worst thing in the world. At least that is all behind you, and you know what side you’re on now,” Quinn says with a shaky laugh.
She’s right. Getting Phineas off the streets might have been good, but maybe we can handle that another day. Right now, we have plenty on our plates with the Thorntons.
“Is there more?” Quinn asks, and my heart drops. Could there possibly be more after what he just said? Her shoulders are slumped, her expression barely hopeful. She knows as well as I do that there’s no coming back from this.
“When Phineas was leaving, he said that as soon as he’s in the clear, he’ll tip off the authorities about the Thorntons. I tried to explain about the town, the economy, how the families will be affected, but he didn’t seem to care.”
“How long do we have?” My voice sounds far away. I’ve been running through different solutions and different plans, but they all take time.
We could have used the information to barter with the FBI, only handing over what we have in exchange for them handling it how we want. Or maybe we could have spoken with people in the right places, convincing them to help all of the unsuspecting people about to be affected by this revelation. It can’t happen in one night.
If Phineas really does set the ball rolling, we won’t have a chance to try to move things in the town’s favor at all. It will all be swept up as quickly as possible, splashed through the news, people losing their jobs, their investments, everything. The mere thought of the catastrophe makes me a bit queasy.
“I don’t know. Could be as soon as tomorrow or the day after.” Lincoln’s tone is so low it’s barely audible.
I shoot up from the couch and start pacing.
“It never should have happened. I should have known better. He just… he fooled me. I’m so, so sorry.”
He is sorry. It’s written all over his face. I can’t bring myself to give in to my anger right now.
“You have to talk to him.” It’s as much of a shock for me as it is for everyone else in the room. I never imagined I’d be asking Lincoln to go talk to Phineas. “Talk to him and convince him to wait, to give us time.”
“He’s worried about the Thorntons going after him. If he thinks he’s in danger, I don't think he’ll risk himself to help the town.”
I stop right in front of Lincoln.
“If you thought there was some sort of change in Phineas, it had to be for a reason. What if you weren’t wrong, and he really has changed in some way? Or minimally, what if he really does care for Lorraine? You need to try to use whatever you can to convince him to give us more time. If he does this…”
I’m close to tears. I already feel bad enough that we didn’t figure everything out sooner and that I didn’t take Anita more seriously.
I’ve been fooled by the pretty presentation the Thorntons put on for everyone, just like every other person in their circle. We have to find a way to set this right before it’s too late and hundreds of people suffer the consequences.
“All right. I’ll talk to him. I don’t know if it will do any good, but I’ll see if I can track him down and talk to him.” His eyes jump over toward Nathan. “Do you two think you can handle him?”
Quinn raises her eyebrows.“I know we can. I can call Tommy back to help us. Not to mention, I know how to shoot a gun.”
“That’s debatable.” Lincoln shakes his head, then stops right in front of me. “I’m really sorry, Cassie. I’ve let you down in a lot of ways these past few months, but I’m going to make it up to you, and one of these days, we’re going to sit down and any question you ask, I’ll answer.”
I'm too dumbfounded to do anything but nod.
“Be careful with Nathan, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He hurries out of the garage apartment before I can say anything.
I stare after him, wondering if I did the right thing, sending him right back toward the man who nearly destroyed his life… and who might destroy this town that I’m starting to love as much as my dad did.