Thirty-Two #2
“What is wrong with you?” demanded Roger. “Don’t you want me to find her?”
“There were other ways to go about it that didn’t involve lying to our faces.”
Nico could not believe the woman’s sheer hypocrisy.
“You would say that,” said Valerie, her voice high and shaky. “You and David are both hiding something.”
“And Alice isn’t?” Penny glared at her sister-in-law. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how on edge you are around Roger.”
“It’s not what you think,” said Valerie.
Alice went red. “I’m getting married to Mark,” she mumbled.
“Oh.” Roger tried to smile. “Nice. Congratulations.”
Penny waved that away, then pointed at Valerie. “Since Little Miss Liar here thinks she knows everything, go ahead. Tell us what you know. Start with David.”
Valerie looked at the floor.
“It’s okay,” said Roger quietly. “Let’s get it all out on the table.”
She nodded, and Nico wished he could protect her from the Badgertons’ stares.
“David is in debt,” she said. “Heavy debt. It could be from paying Yvette’s family.”
“Total bull,” said David dismissively.
“Then why are you broke and renting out your house?” Valerie asked. “What’s the poor decision Jenn’s protecting?”
“You’re what?” said Roger. “Is that why you’re here for the entire summer? You said it was a reno.”
“I don’t have to answer you. This is my cottage as much as yours.”
“It’s not about the cottage, you dipshit. It’s about whether you paid off the mother of my child and kept her existence a secret.”
“The hell with you, Roger. You think you’re so cool because Dad picked you to run the company. You and Dad never respected me.”
“Who cares about that right now?” Roger stood up, fists clenched at his sides. “Where is Yvette? Is that where the money is going?”
David smirked at him, then flipped him the bird. Nico recognized elements of his relationship with Stefanie, the knee-jerk need to respond in the worst way possible. He was grateful they were moving past it before he ended up acting like this at David’s age.
“Go fuck yourself, little brother.”
“God, David, stop. Grow up.” Jenn glared at her husband as if she’d reached the end of her patience.
“Roger, he’s not paying off your old girlfriend.
He’s been buying into this absolutely ridiculous idea about building some sovereign community out in the woods for when society crumbles. I said it was a scam.”
“It’s called seed money! You ever heard of that, seed money?”
“David?” Roger sounded flabbergasted. “Is this true?”
“It’s none of your business.” David was almost sulky now. “I have the right to protect my family.”
In the ensuing silence, Valerie leaned close to Nico, as if despite this mess and the fight, they were united.
Roger stood in the middle of the room, gaze moving between Penny and David.
Jenn was watching her husband with disgust. Fernie’s face was miserable, and Brayden, who looked suddenly much younger, put his arm around her shoulder.
Of all of them, Alice looked the most like Nico felt, her hands up to her mouth and curled up in her chair as if hoping the storm would pass without drenching her.
To say feelings were heightened in the ancestral Badgerton cottage was not giving the level of tension its due, and Nico wished he was anywhere else.
Home in Toronto. The bottom of the lake.
Mars. He didn’t care, as long as he was far away from the heavy atmosphere that filled the room.
It was Penny who spoke first. “Incredible detective work, Valerie. I appreciate how you’re airing all our dirty laundry with no proof beyond a few wild guesses. Dad would never have trusted David with that kind of secret.”
“Fuck you very much, Penny,” snapped David.
“Come on. You got a new bike when you were ten and lorded it over Roger for a month. There’s no way you could have been involved without letting Roger know you knew something.”
“Yeah? Dad would have trusted me before you. You know what he thought of your gallery?”
“He was proud of me!”
“He said a monkey would have better taste and you were lucky you dealt with people as deluded as you. That’s why he refused to give you any money for it.”
“You’re lying.” Penny collected herself. “Anyway, it’s clear enough who knew. It was obviously Peter.”
At this accusation, Alice roused herself. “I told you Peter would never hurt Roger like that!” She was furious. “He never would put the Badgerton family name over a person’s feelings like Malcolm would.”
Penny shrugged. “It makes the most sense. You’re not part of this family, Alice. You don’t know what it means to be a Badgerton. You didn’t even take Peter’s name. No wonder he didn’t trust you enough to tell you what he’d done. He knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“I know you would do whatever your father said and David would take any chance to screw Roger over.” Alice stood up, her voice shaking.
Penny ignored her to turn on Valerie. “I hope you’re proud of yourself,” she said. “We’ve heard enough. I want you to pack your things and get the hell off my property.”
“Not yet,” said David loudly. “I want to know why she thinks it could be you, Pen. We all had a turn and you’re not getting off this easy.”
“Be my guest,” said Penny. “Come on, Valerie. What do you have? Well? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”
Valerie stood, almost in tears in the center of the room. She sent a pleading look to Nico.
Nico took a breath. They didn’t have incontrovertible proof but they had enough. He just had to make Penny admit it. “You claimed not to know Yvette, but she had a bracelet made by you. We saw it in the photo.”
“Tracey Jefferies made them.”
“She said you did. You also lied about thinking Roger was dating Tracey and not Yvette. You knew it wasn’t Tracey because she was already dating her future husband.”
“I wouldn’t have put it past her to date both.”
“She said you were upset Roger was keeping a secret and spending less time with you.”
“Please, we were both adults. I’m not dependent on my brother.” She turned to Roger. “I don’t particularly enjoy being interrogated by your assistant.”
“I don’t care,” said Roger. “Nico? Anything else?”