Chapter 79
ARE THE HARRISONS HAVING a party?
Two cars I don’t recognize are parked in their driveway. I park on the curb and slowly make my way to the house. Loud voices are coming from the living room. One is Ben’s. The other voice? I’ve heard it before, but I can’t quite place it.
“Listen, Ray,” Ben says.
Now I know. The other guy is Ray Taggart, one of Ben’s pals from the club. Though hearing how they’re arguing, pal might not be the right word.
Where are Amber and Lily? Upstairs? I know they’re here. The carriage is in the front hall.
I walk into the living room and see Amber on the couch holding a sleepy Lily.
Hailey is next to them. Amber and Hailey look frightened.
They’re not the only ones. Ben is sitting at the edge of a club chair, pale, breathing heavily.
A heart attack waiting to happen. And Ray Taggart is in a chair across from him. Nobody says hello to me.
There’s no sign of Ray’s wife, Meg, but someone else is in the room, his back to us.
A bowlegged guy who’s looking out the window as if he’s waiting for someone.
From where I’m standing, he looks like… no.
That’s crazy. There are millions of bowlegged men in the world.
What would Carlos be doing here with Ray and Ben?
Then he turns around—it is Carlos!
I hear another car drive up. The front door opens.
If this is a party, I hope that’s the caterer.
“I told you how it would go down,” Ray says to Ben. “I warned you. But you didn’t believe me, did you?”
“I, uh, I didn’t… didn’t think—” Ben stammers.
“No, you certainly didn’t, my friend,” Ray says. He smiles, revealing the whitest, most perfect teeth money can buy. “But now that we know the whole story—”
“What story?” Amber asks nervously.
“Not important,” Ray says to Amber with a wave of his hand, dismissing her.
“Oh, I think it is,” says another voice. We all look over. Someone new has walked into the room. His arms are crossed and he’s surveying the whole scene.
Oh. My. God.
It’s Metcalf.
Amber looks stunned. “Alan?” she asks. And then again: “Alan?”
“Hello, Amber,” he says. Then he looks at me. He smiles.
If he’s here to arrest Ben or Carlos or Ben and Carlos, someone should tell him it looks like he left his handcuffs in the car.
And how does Amber know who he is?
“Hello, Elinor,” Metcalf says to me.
“I thought your name was Carol,” Amber says.
“No, it’s Caroline,” Hailey says.
“And I thought you worked for the FBI,” I say to Metcalf.
“No,” says Ray Taggart. “He works for me. So I guess that means you do too, Ellie.”
“Your name’s not Carol?” Amber asks.
Hailey rolls her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s Caroline.”
“Well, it was,” I tell them. “But actually it’s Elinor.”
“Then who’s Carol?” Amber asks again. She’s like a dog who won’t let go of the postman’s leg.
“There is no Carol,” I tell her. “There never was.”
She looks heartbroken. “I don’t understand any of this.”
Does she think I do??
Ray is not happy that he has lost the spotlight. “Allow me to continue,” he says. He turns to me. “I was the one who hired you to do a little snooping for us. Nice work, by the way. Had my doubts about you until today.”
“What’s this all about?” I ask.
“Your friend here,” Ray says, indicating Ben with his hand, “owes us something. Money. A painting, actually. But he says he doesn’t have it.”
“I don’t,” Ben says. The sweat on his forehead says otherwise.
“Well, the people we work with are going to be very, very unhappy if they don’t get what they want.”
“You’ll get your money,” Ben says.
“That’s not what they want. You know that.”
The people we work with. Does he mean the cartel? Has Ben been working with them? If so, why is he holding out on them now? Ben’s a smart guy. But double-crossing the cartel is not a smart move. Something is not adding up.
“It’s your choice,” Ray tells Ben.
“I don’t care what you do to me,” Ben says. This is clearly not what Ray was hoping to hear.
“I know you don’t care about yourself,” Ray says. “So let me raise the stakes a little.” His grin looks wider, his teeth look bigger, as he puts his hand in his pocket.
Metcalf tries to stop him. “Ray, you don’t have to—”
“Shut up,” Ray tells him as he pulls a gun out of his pocket. He walks to the couch. Amber and Hailey scream. Lily starts to cry. I hear the click as Ray Taggart releases the safety catch and aims the gun at Amber and Lily.
My Lily.
My baby.