Brutality (53 page)

Pamela’s lip curled. “A lot of good that did.”

“Oh, I think Kevin is going to get his due,” Fina said. “As far as a PR firm is concerned, you should speak with a man named Arthur Drummond. I’ll e-mail you his contact info. He’s worked with my family and some of our clients.”

“I may need some kind of legal representation, too.”

“I’m sure Arthur can give you a referral.”

There was a loud smacking sound as a student at a nearby pool table racked the balls and broke them with the cue ball.

“Coming clean is the right move,” Fina said. “You can craft a statement and make some kind of a deal with the university. And who knows? It might end up being a good time to leave, depending upon how this lawsuit shakes out.”

Pamela gazed across the room. “I’ll never get another job in academia. No one will hire me.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. This is America. Everybody loves a comeback,” Fina said, rising to her feet. “I’ll send you that e-mail, and if you need help in the meantime, you know how to reach me.”

“Thank you, Fina.” Pamela dipped her head. “I am ashamed by what I’ve done.”

Fina didn’t answer, just walked away.

People often debated the relative morality of lies of commission versus lies of omission; Pamela was a perfect example of the damage wrought by staying silent.

She was embarrassed and ashamed, but there were worse crimes.

Like mayhem and murder.

—

K
elly and her husband owned a Cape Cod–style house a few streets away from Liz and Jamie’s home. Fina parked out front and took note of the family decal on the back of the minivan in the driveway. The house was painted light blue and had a large bay window. Brick steps with a black wrought iron railing led to the door, which was only a few feet from the sidewalk.

Fina rang the bell and peered through the door’s glass panel. It was pebbled so you could see movement, but no actual detail. A shadow moved behind it, and Kelly appeared. She didn’t look particularly pleased to see Fina when she opened the door.

“Hi,” Kelly said.

“I’m sorry to drop by unannounced. I just need a few minutes.”

“This isn’t a good time. Why don’t you call me later and we’ll figure something out?”

“Kelly, we need to talk.” Fina pulled her shoulders back and looked Kelly in the eye. She wouldn’t force herself in, but Fina hoped that her posture communicated the urgency of the matter.

“Okay.” Kelly stepped back from the door. “Can you take off your boots? I don’t want stuff tracked in.”

“Of course.” Fina attended to her outerwear, and Kelly moved farther into the room. The front door opened directly onto the staircase and the living room. Kelly sat down on the couch and slipped a stack of papers into a folder, then put the folder into a portable file container.

“You’re so organized,” Fina commented, joining her on the couch.

Kelly shrugged. “I’m in charge of the spring fair at the kids’ school. There’s a lot to keep track of.”

The room was painted a sandy tone, and there were family photos on the walls and the mantel. A dried-flower arrangement stood on a side table, and a few unburnt logs were assembled in the hearth. The home looked much tidier than Jamie and Liz’s, but it was also smaller and darker.

“So what did you need to discuss?” Kelly asked. She pressed her hands between her knees.

Fina got comfortable on the couch. “I’m trying to understand why you’re providing Jamie with drugs.”

Kelly swallowed and looked away.

“It’s just such a bad idea,” Fina continued.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Kelly said, biting her lower lip.

“I don’t blame you, but what you’re doing is illegal, not to mention stupid.”

“Don’t lecture me, Fina.” Kelly’s tone was more pleading than angry.

“I’m not here to lecture you. I’m here to convince you to stop.”

Kelly looked at Fina with tear-filled eyes. “He needs my help.”

“Then help him. I’ve offered to connect him with people, maybe get him into rehab. That’s the help he needs.”

Kelly smiled bitterly and shook her head. “You sound like Liz.”

Fina stared at her. “So Liz knew he was an addict?”

“He’s not an addict! Do you know how much pain he’s in? How much stress he has?”

“I’m sure that’s true, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s addicted. You’re enabling him, Kelly. You and Gus Sibley.”

She started to cry. “He needed help, and Gus and I were willing to provide it, unlike Liz, who was completely unsympathetic.”

“She had a lot on her plate, too,” Fina noted.

“Don’t use the lawsuit as an excuse,” Kelly said. “She chose to pursue it.”

“Because she was getting worse and was worried about her kids’ future,” Fina said. “She thought the lawsuit would provide some financial relief.”

“And in the meantime, she was racking up lawyers’ and doctors’ bills, spending money they didn’t have. Thirty-seven hundred dollars? You may have that kind of money, but people like us don’t.”

“She needed to see those lawyers and doctors. Her health—and her family’s future—depended on it.” Fina held her hands up. “I still don’t understand how their financial troubles resulted in you getting drugs for Jamie.”

“He needed someone to talk to, and Liz wasn’t interested. He needed relief from the pain.”

“I’ll bet he did.”

“It’s not like that,” Kelly insisted. “The pills were going to be temporary.”

“So why are you still doing it?” Fina asked.

“Because Liz died, and things got even worse!”

“And why is he buying pills on the street
and
from Dr. Sibley?”

“Because Gus cut him off for a while,” Kelly said, “but I guess he changed his mind.”

“Or Jamie threatened to report him if Gus didn’t get back in the business,” Fina suggested.

Kelly shook her head. “Jamie wouldn’t do that.”

Fina fought not to roll her eyes. “So Liz is the villain in all this? She doesn’t take care of her poor husband at home, so he goes out and finds a woman who will? He’s using you, Kelly.”

“No, he’s not,” Kelly said. She crossed her arms tightly. “We have something.”

“You’re having an affair with a married man and supplying him with drugs. You could lose everything.”

“That’s not going to happen. We’re going to make it work.”

“How?” Fina was always amazed that smart women could act so stupid.

“Eventually,” Kelly said, wiping her eyes, “we’re going to be a family.”

“And
then
he’s going to stop being a drug addict?”

Kelly sniffled. “You need to leave.”

“You realize this gives you a serious motive for murder?” Fina asked.

“Liz was my friend,” Kelly said, clenching her hands together.

“Whose husband you were screwing. Some friend.” Fina stood and walked back to the front door. She got into her boots and jacket and looked at Kelly, who was wiping more tears from her cheeks. “I’m begging you—at the very least—to stop getting him pills,” Fina said. “If your husband or the cops find out, you could be in serious trouble.”

Kelly was silent. Fina opened the door and walked back to her car.

There was a heaviness in her chest, for a host of reasons. At the top of the list? Imagining the update she’d have to deliver to Bobbi Barone.

—

F
ina sat in a booth at a diner near police headquarters, waiting for Cristian. She was reluctant to tell him about the little drug trade she’d uncovered, but its existence—and Liz’s alleged knowledge of it—cast her death in a new light. If Liz knew that Gus was providing her addicted husband with drugs, she could have turned him in to the cops or the DEA. Kelly seemed to be harboring a fantasy about happily ever after with Jamie, and with his sick, nagging wife out of the way, Jamie’s life was less complicated. The whole sorry situation was almost enough to make Fina lose her appetite—almost.

Her phone rang while she studied the menu, and she answered the call from the unidentified number.

“You’ve been busy,” the man on the other end said.

Fina’s muscles tensed, and on instinct, she scanned the room.

“Who is this?”

“Come on, Sis, you know who this is.”

“What do you want, Rand?” Fina asked.

“You know what I want, but you never seem able to provide it. I want you to butt out of my life.”

“And I want you to stay away from Haley and all other little girls,” Fina snarled. “You do what I want, and I’ll do what you want.”

“You don’t get to dictate the terms of my life. How dare you interfere with Karla?” Fina could picture him puffing up his chest in outrage.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

“I know it was you,” Rand said. “It’s always you.”

“This conversation is over,” Fina said. “Let’s not talk again—ever.”

“Oh, but we’re going to. In fact, I think it’s time for me to visit, don’t you? See the family? Catch up?”

Fina balled up her free hand and watched her knuckles whiten. “Don’t,” she managed to say.

“I’ll see you soon.”

He ended the call, and Fina placed the phone on the table and rubbed her temples. When she’d hatched her plan to call Karla, she knew there would be fallout, but she’d hadn’t spent a lot of time contemplating it. Regardless of the consequences, she had to get her brother away from Karla’s kids, but what now? And what about the next girlfriend?

“What’s the matter?” Cristian asked, sliding onto the banquette across from her, his face creased in worry.

“It’s Rand.”

“What now?”

“He’s threatening me, saying he’s coming to town.”

“Why now?” A waitress approached the table, and Cristian waved her off. “Did you do something?”

“Yes, I did something,” she snapped. “I stopped him from molesting more little girls.”

“Easy, Fina,” Cristian said, reaching across the table, taking her hand.

“Fuck. What am I going to do?” She rested her head in her other hand and strained to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall.

“I don’t know, but I’ll help you figure something out.”

“Thanks, Cristian,” Fina said, sitting up and pulling her hand back from his.

“So what’s the update?” he asked once she’d composed herself.

“First, tell me what’s going on with Kevin Lafferty and Vikram Mehra.”

“We’re waiting on the search warrants, but Kevin’s our guy for the bomb.”

“Seriously? That douche bag,” Fina said, beaming. “Did Zack roll on him?”

“Yeah. Zack got a lawyer who very wisely advised him to make a deal.”

“But neither of them built it, right?”

Cristian shook his head. “We’re looking for a third guy. I think Kevin hatched and bankrolled the idea, and Zack planted it, but someone else did the actual cooking. We’ll find him.”

Fina shook her head. “Too bad you can’t arrest Vikram for being an ass.”

“Actually, your pal Vikram is also in the hot seat.”

Fina perked up. “Glad to hear it, but why?”

“When we were at the lab executing a search warrant, one of the other scientists led us around, and he found some things that seemed out of order.”

The waitress approached a second time, and Fina ordered a diet soda and a grilled cheese with fries. Cristian opted for black coffee to go.

“What sort of things?” Fina asked.

“Something related to the storage of chemicals. Anyway, this guy called in OSHA, and they’re investigating. Looks like Vikram may have been cutting corners.”

“I hope he gets radiation poisoning,” Fina said.

“Very nice.”

“You’ve met the guy. He’s as mean as a snake.”

“Okay,” Cristian said, pointing at her. “Your turn.”

“Okay. Jamie is a drug addict and has been buying pills from Gus Sibley. Kelly Wegner has been the go-between.”

Cristian rubbed his chin. “Do you have proof?”

“I have a witness who saw Jamie buy pills in a club, and there are witnesses to Kelly and Gus exchanging something. I’ve seen the drugs, and Kelly admitted it.”

“Did Liz know?” he asked.

“Yes, according to Kelly.”

The waitress dropped off the diet soda and coffee. “Things are supposed to be getting clearer, not more complicated,” Cristian said.

“Sorry about that,” Fina said. “I thought you’d want to know.”

“When did you figure this out?” he asked.

“I’ve been working on it, but I didn’t have confirmation until this morning.”

“Do you have a theory about how this all fits together? I’m not convinced that Kevin is a murderer in addition to hiring Zack Lawrence.”

“I have theories,” Fina said, popping open her drink, “but something’s off. I can’t put my finger on it.”

Cristian’s phone rang, and he glanced at the screen.

“You need to go?” Fina asked.

“Yeah, but there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Sure.”

“The other night . . .”

“Uh-huh.” Fina couldn’t help but smirk.

“It was great,” he said.

“I agree.”

“So I was wondering if maybe we should move things in a certain direction,” Cristian said.

Fina tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe we should actually date,” he suggested.

She took a sip of soda. Suspects weren’t the only ones who liked to buy time. “But you just ended a relationship because you didn’t want to make a commitment.”

“To her,” Cristian said.

Fina made a silent
O
with her mouth. She waited for him to say something else.

“I think we could do something different,” he added, bringing the to-go cup to his mouth. “I learned a lot in my relationship with Cindy about what I do and don’t want.”

“So you want to date exclusively?” Fina asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“With the idea that it would be serious?”

“Yes.”

Fina sighed deeply.

“That’s encouraging,” Cristian said sourly.

“I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting this,” Fina said. “I like how things are.”

“And maybe you’d like them even more this way,” he said.

“My head is in so many different places right now, Cristian. I need to think about this.”