Chapter 18Cassie
Chapter 18
Link
Cassie’s stare tells me she won’t be backing down anytime soon. I no longer have much choice when it comes to hiding everything from her. I have to give her something. I take a deep breath, trying to decide what I’ll share and how.
“Okay, I’ll talk. I’ll explain, but not here. We need to get out of here. Just in case he didn’t leave for good.” I’m not about to put anything past Phineas.
“You worked with him? I can’t believe you. Here you’re selling yourself as some righteous… I don’t know what…” Cassie makes crazy motions with her hands until she looks at Quinn.
Quinn is shaking and crying. Cassie rushes to her and wraps her arms around her, leading her from the laundromat, putting her into the backseat, and scooting beside her.
I take my place in the driver’s seat and head back toward the P.I. office, even though I’m unsure where I should be heading. My heart is filled with heavy, cold dread. They’re going to find out about Phineas, one way or another, sooner or later, though maybe there’s a way to delay that.
Telling them is one option, but I won’t. I already know Cassie needs to leave. If facing off with Phineas while watching one of my only friends have their life threatened hadn’t been enough, having Phineas refer to her as my new girlfriend was.
She isn’t safe back here. She needs to be back in New York, where she belongs, and the stains from my life can’t touch her.
Robby’s words come back to me. “Watch out for her, would you? Sometimes I think Cassie’s just… good, you know?” I’d promised to watch out for her, and I don’t think making her my girlfriend was her dad’s idea. Another reason she’s got to go—keeping my hands away from her body is getting harder by the day.
When I refuse to tell her about my past with Phineas, that will do the trick. She’ll stay out of duty, we’ll catch the necklace thief, and then she’ll hate me and have no reason to stay. The thought makes my stomach turn and remain in a knot, but it can’t be helped. This is me keeping my promise to Robby and also keeping my secret safe because I don’t want her to hate me a whole lot more.
That little voice of the angel on my shoulder sends a jolt of guilt through me. Who cares what the real reason is as long as Cassie’s safe?
Pulling to a stop at the office, we all get out, climbing the steps slowly. The door is ajar. That was locked when I’d left that morning. I stifle a groan as I take the last two steps and push through to find the place trashed. Of course, Phineas wants to drive his warning home.
Messing with the one place we all felt safe is a good way to do that. He has that down, at least. He’s smart, perhaps a little too smart.
“We should go to the house or something.” I position myself between Cassie and Quinn and the office entrance.
“What?” Cassie’s eyes flash. “I don’t think you have the power to tell us what to do until you come clean.”
Quinn walks with her, and the two push past me with little to no effort, not that I would have physically stopped them anyway. My shoulders drop as they take in the damage. Several things are shattered on the floor, like the picture frame holding a print of Cassie and her dad with the biggest catch they ever made on her fourteenth birthday.
“They…” Cassie’s voice is breathy, barely there.
Quinn’s sob is the only noise in the office. Cassie seems to realize the situation is only upsetting Quinn more, and she hugs her tighter.
“It’s okay. Nothing we can’t clean up. I’d bet Lincoln’s made a much worse mess in here when he was left alone with the place.”
Quinn nods, and a small smile pushes past the sad frown.
“Hey, not fair.”
“But true.” Quinn takes a Kleenex from Cassie and dabs at her eyes. “That was the worst date I’ve ever been on.”
It takes a second to realize she’s joking, and then Cassie and I laugh. The laughter seems to dislodge the weight of anger and tension sitting between us, and for a moment, it feels like we’re back to where we were before that, joking and prodding each other as we try to solve a case.
“We should let it go.” Of course, I had to open my big mouth and ruin the moment.
“The case?” Cassie’s fiery gaze meets mine. “No way.”
“It’s dangerous. See what he was willing to do?”
“No. This has to do with something you did. What did you do, Lincoln?”
“So, this is coming back on me? How?”
“Because somehow, you got this place into ten times more trouble than it can handle.” She intends to smack me, but I manage to duck out of the way with a chuckle.
“That’s half my charm. What would a P.I. office be without that?”
She glares at me, my laughter making her even angrier, and somehow, it’s so alluring I can’t stop watching her.
“Functional?” She lifts her eyebrows at me.
“Barely. Can’t function without its leading investigator. Come on, you both love me. You need me to finish this case.”
“Love is a very strong word. One I’d never use to describe you.”
“Ouch. That hurt.” I put my hand defensively over my heart, hiding that deep down, maybe her jab poked me just a bit.
“Guys, we have a lot of work to do.” Quinn’s stern voice pulls us from our bickering, but one look at her, and I see the glint of amusement in her eyes. She is having fun watching us squabble, whether she’d admit it or not.
“Okay, how about the two of you take care of this mess while I?—”
“Absolutely not. Grab a trash bag while we discuss our next steps.” Cassie shoves a bag into my hands with another stern glare.
“Yes, ma’am.” I start scooping up trash, hoping and praying it’s enough to keep them from questioning me further about Phineas, but knowing it’s not.
Cassie
“So, we’re dropping the case?” Lincoln’s back to his usual, joking, obnoxious self. You wouldn’t guess he’s an adult with how he sometimes acts. I roll my eyes.
“No, we are not. You have no idea if Phineas is connected, and I’m feeling less like he is.” I push down another wave of sadness while I pick up a bunch of ruined files. We’ll have to review these later and see if any of them are important.
Phineas went through a lot of trouble trying to make a point, and it has me furious. Of course, my dad experienced people breaking into his office before, but still, it hits close to home, and I hate it.
“You want Phineas not to be connected to this because you want to win the bet, but do I look like the type of person to be wrong?”
“No, I’m sure you’re always right, just like when you did whatever you did with Phineas.” I level him with my best look. “You going to start explaining now? Unless you think they bugged the office?” I’m joking, but it could have happened.
“Now that you mention it…”
“Lincoln!”
“I’m not going to explain, Cassie. It doesn’t have anything to do with you or this case. It’s not important.”
His response makes me start. Here I thought he meant to be honest, that he was going to be clear with me and Quinn and explain why the man who we’ve seen as a dangerous enemy just threatened her life and trashed our workspace.
“I can’t believe you.” The audacity he has to keep that information from me is ridiculous. He just put everyone’s lives at risk, and he’s more worried about protecting his past. “After everything we’ve gone through today, you refuse to talk? Quinn, what do you know about this?”
I’m hoping Quinn is on my side on this. She’s looking between me and Lincoln like she’s caught between two fighting parents.
“I…”
“Not you, too!” I shake my head, furious. I guess they’re both turning on me.
“I don’t know much. Just that he had dealings with Phineas. I barely knew the guy, remember?” Despite Quinn’s words, I can’t help but feel a little ganged up on.
“Fine, don’t tell me. You know, you both had me almost convinced that I belonged here, that we were a team. I guess I was wrong.” I grab another pile of folders and set them on Lincoln’s desk, wincing as my hand catches on a piece of loose glass. Red smears across my palm. Great. Now I’ve cut myself.
Lincoln is at my side in a second.
“Let me take a look.”
“I’m fine.” I’m not. My hand hurts like someone just put it in a bucket of hornets.
“You’re going to need this cleaned. Come on, I have a few supplies in the back.” He leads me through the office to the back room despite my protests. For some reason, my rage has all melted to tears, now pushing at the backs of my eyes, begging to get free.
He puts me in the waiting chair and then pulls out what looks like a child’s first aid box. I’m astonished to see it actually does have a couple of packets of gauze, some medical tape, and some peroxide in it. He fumbles around with the contents, making a big show of cleaning my hand. I’m suddenly aware of how close we are, of how his hand feels against mine.
“I’m sorry I can’t tell you what’s going on with Phineas. It’s for the best if you aren’t involved.”
“Right.” One of those pesky tears escapes, and I swipe it away with my hand, hopefully before he sees it.
“Cassie…” I don’t give him a chance to finish what he was going to say before I stand up abruptly. He’s finished bandaging my hand.
“I need some air.”
I get outside and sit on the steps of the office. Pulling out a little newspaper clipping I’d pulled from the office floor, I wipe away more tears.
Local Agency Brings Hope to Neighborhoods
The headline spreads across the top, like a banner over a picture of my dad, Lincoln, and myself, with the office behind us. Back then, it looked much more professional and put together, like we knew what we were doing. That’s all Dad wanted: to help people and make neighborhoods a better place. My mind goes straight to Lincoln. He managed to burn it down in a year. All that work to build it up has gone so fast. Now, it’s a heaping pile of bills and shattered hopes.
Is it all his fault? That little voice whispers to me. I hate that voice sometimes.
I left and never looked back, even when the lawyers begged me to come back and make a decision. I could have sold my half or taken up half of the partnership like I was supposed to. Maybe instead of buying designer clothes or plane tickets for trips, I could have at least covered some of the expenses. Lincoln won’t tell me what’s happening with Phineas, but am I ready to tell him every secret I have? No.
Gosh, why am I defending him?
Because he’s not as bad as you want to believe, there’s that voice of reason again.
I sigh. I don’t fit in with Lincoln and Quinn. They are their own little duo. Quinn is clearly keeping secrets for him, and I shouldn’t care. Just because I don’t belong here at the P.I. office, or even in this town, doesn’t mean they are to blame for that.
“Cassie?” Lincoln’s voice catches me off guard, and I stand, turning to find him watching me, his gaze soft and full of concern.
“Lincoln, I…” Words to express everything I’d just been thinking escape me. My body seems to have a mind of my own because I close the distance between us and hug him, leaning into him. His arms wrap around me, and he’s holding me, comforting me, just like when we were kids. I lean my head on his chest, just for a moment, enjoying feeling like everything is okay and I’m safe and happy back with him and my dad.
I pull back, reality like a cold bucket of water over my head.
“I’m… sorry for everything.”