Chapter 10 #2
Thank heavens, Gilly knew how to handle it.
“I remember the first time I left the twins. I felt the same way. I cried every night, and Gio and I even cut our weekend away short, because I couldn’t stand being away from them.
” She rubbed Pippa’s back. “But you know what, they were perfectly happy at home, and I’d traumatized myself for no good reason.
It’s more than okay that you’re missing them, though.
But you know Tippy is taking great care of them both. ”
I nodded. “Besides, it’s not like we can ask the captain to turn the ship around.”
“You’re right. You’re both right.” Pippa blew her nose. “I called them from the WiFi bar last night,” she admitted sheepishly. “I’ll probably do it again tonight.”
“And you absolutely should,” Gilly encouraged. “Mommy blues are real, and sometimes you need to get your fix.”
“Are you equating my kids to drugs?”
Gilly hummed an “mmmm,” then said, “Nothing beats new baby smell.”
“This is verging on disturbing,” I told them, ending the comment with a laugh. “I suggest distraction. We have news. You have news. Let’s share.”
“Good idea.” Pippa sniffled. “You first.”
Since we were close together now, I kept my volume low as I told her about my vision at the hydrotherapy pool.
It was Pippa’s turn to laugh, when Gilly declared, “And then she fell in the pool.”
“Har har.” I reached over Pippa’s lap and flicked Gilly’s thigh.
“Ouch,” she said slowly for effect.
I ignored her. “In the room, Gilly found a secret stash of mementos from Callie’s first husband.”
“It was inside the lining of a Chanel bag,” Gilly confirmed. “The lining had been modified with Velcro to hide a small bottle of cologne, a square of sweatshirt fleece, and a small stack of love letters.”
“Seriously?” Pippa’s eyes were wide.
“Seriously.” I lowered my voice even more. “When I smelled the cologne, I got a really intimate memory of the two of them, Callie and Billie Grant. They were so much in love it hurt.” I gave her a play-by-play of what I could remember. When I finished, I touched my chest. “And I mean, hurt.”
“Nora cried,” Gilly added nonchalantly.
I pivoted my gaze to her. “Do you want to get flicked again?”
“Nope.” She scooted her chair out of my reach.
“That’s so sad,” Pippa said, her brow wrinkled in thought. “It kind of goes hand in hand with what I found out.”
“And what was that?”
“Billy Grant, the adopted son of William and Leta Grant, had been estranged from his family for years. Apparently, he suffered from depression off and on throughout his childhood. His parents were of the suck-it-up-butter-cup school of child-rearing. He went to college at Indiana University where he met Callie and dropped out his junior year to work full-time to support her dream of becoming a singer after they got married.”
None of this seemed revelatory. “The history of depression supports the idea that he committed suicide, right? So why did they initially list it as suspicious?”
Pippa nodded. “Yes. The forensics does as well. There was nothing to indicate he was pushed from the window of his hotel room.” She pursed her lips.
“This information wasn’t in the news or given to any journalists.
Reese contacted a friend at the Los Angeles PD.
When she asked them why they suspected foul play, her friend told her that they found an email chain between Callie and Billy, where Callie actively encouraged him to end his life. ”
Gilly gasped. I’m pretty sure I did as well. “No.” I couldn’t believe the woman I’d seen holding Billy in bed could ever do something so heinous. “Why would she do that?”
“After a thorough investigation by their cybercrime unit, it was determined that Callie, in fact, hadn’t sent those emails. It was someone else.”
“Who?” Gilly scooted forward. “Who did it?”
Pippa shrugged. “They could never trace where the IP originated, but Reese’s friend said that there were rumors it was Sebastian Caldwell. They never had any evidence to support the rumors, though, so they finally closed the case, and put Billy Grant’s death to bed.”
“Holy cow.” I pressed my chest again. It was getting uncomfortably tight. “Poor Billy. And poor Callie. I wonder if she knew about the rumors.”
“Are you okay?” Gilly’s face pinched with worry. “That’s the third or fourth time I’ve seen you touch your chest today. Are you having pain?”
“Nothing bad,” I told her. “I’m sure it’s just stress. Maybe a little indigestion.”
“You should get it checked out.”
“I’m fine.” I brushed off her suggestion. “What about the recording of Callie telling Billy she’d kill him on the podcast you listen to.”
“A total fabrication,” Pippa stated, her face incredulous. She threw up her hands. “They used AI to fake the voices.”
“God, I hate AI,” I said. “It’s the worst.” My neck felt uncomfortably warm and tense. “Maybe I should go to the medical clinic.”
Both my friends were out of their chairs.
“Don’t make a fuss,” I told them. “It’s probably the birria tacos. They really were spicy.”
“See,” Pippa said. “Not a wimp or a weenie.”
They linked their arms in mine, and together, our dynamic trio headed to the nearest elevator.