Buried Secrets, page 6
During the drive here, she’d made mental notes on what she saw. The towns, roads, and landscapes. Now she tried to align what she’d noticed with her prior research. As she did every time a lead popped up, she attempted to put herself inside her brother’s head. What would he have seen? Where would he have gone? Who would he have been hanging with? What did he leave behind?
All roads led here. Twenty years. A dozen different paths. Her heart and mind kept telling her his journey had ended in this place. Anthony came here. He didn’t leave. And someone went to a lot of effort to erase all traces of him. Unfortunately for that someone, they hadn’t been a hundred percent successful.
Her phone rang. A video call and she smiled. Conchita didn’t like her Lone Ranger quests. “Yes, I’m here.”
“Of course, you are. You didn’t think to let me know?”
“I haven’t been here that long.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and then smiled. “Show me around.”
She picked up the phone and turned it so Conchita could see as she walked around. “It’s pretty nice. I could see myself staying here.”
“Not sure the owners would be down with that, and I’d definitely not be. Can’t be losing my best buddy to the Wild, Wild West.”
“Ah, I’d miss you too. I’ll amend that to say, I see myself staying at least for the week. I’ll be in beauty and comfort while I dig up the past.”
“You find anything yet?”
She walked out onto the porch and leaned against the railing. “No. I’ve only been here maybe an hour. Got my groceries put away. Dropped my suitcase and called it good. Who needs to unpack for a trip like this?”
“Right there with you, pal. I’m a big fan of living out of a suitcase. Not like you’re moving in. You feel me?”
The comment sounded casual. It wasn’t. Conchita’s subtle way of telling her to do her search and then get her ass home. “I feel ya, sister.”
Conchita laughed and her words grew lighter. “Just making sure.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Girl, I’ve been worried about you for years. I don’t want to say you have an obsessive-compulsive personality, but if the shoe fits.”
“I’ll give you that one. I’m afraid that particular shoe fits on both feet. I’ll do what I need to, wrap it up, and be home next week.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.” With her a finger, she traced an x across her chest.
“Okay. Stop talking and get to work. The clock is ticking.”
“Hey, you called me.”
“Details, details. Later, gator.”
“Love you too,” she said to the blank screen. She walked back inside and sat down once more in front of her computer. Her fingers started to fly over the keys, and she narrowed her eyes. “Now, where are you, Anthony?”
She studied the map she’d pulled up and tried to put it into context with the landscape revealed to her on the drive here. Sitting back, she pulled a file from her bag and began to flip through it. The transcripts of the interviews with several friends of Anthony at the University of Washington were what had brought her here. What had led Mary, using her wonderful research skills, to that almost invisible trail. It amazed her how Mary used time between their paying cases to scour records looking for anything that might pop up on Anthony. If Addie ever believed her quest to find her brother was a solitary pursuit, she’d be very wrong. Both Mary and Conchita were there for her, year in and year out.
As she thought about Anthony’s college friends whose recollections helped to bring her here, it pissed her off that the police hadn’t interviewed either of the students back when they’d first reported him missing. Things might have gone in a far different direction if they had. Most likely, she wouldn’t be sitting at this table right now.
Of course, the official line in those days had been that her brother probably took off and would be back. Happened all the time. College students homesick or partying hard. Nothing to worry about. No effort to expend on the part of law enforcement. Assholes.
She’d come to this out-of-the-way place for two reasons. First, Anthony had told his former classmates he planned a short trip to the eastside with his friend, Rob; and second, with Mary’s expertise, they’d uncovered a lone credit-card receipt for a gas station in Davenport. Not much to go on. It would be enough. She’d find him. She could feel it in her heart.
* * *
Resting his arm on the console, October leaned in and hummed. The music flowed through him, hard beats and dark lyrics. Perfect drive with relatively light traffic and beautiful skies. Fit with his mood. No set schedule and no expectations on when he’d return home to the impressive house and the beautiful wife. The freedom buoyed his spirits and made his mind whirl with a thousand possibilities.
Lately the boredom had weighed heavy. A guy could go only so long tripping down the straight and narrow path. He’d done an admirable job, good on him, even if he did stray from said path every now and again. Didn’t feel like skipping along that particular route any longer. He’d been born for something bigger and more exciting. To deny destiny felt wrong on a whole lot of levels.
In recent months, he’d been pondering many different options. Not that he’d ever abandoned his projects. He’d kept them going since starting all those years ago. They’d been more in the background, because all the pieces of the life, or should he say lives, that he’d built required the majority of his attention. It took dedicated effort to keep the train on the tracks, so to speak. He’d succeeded in everything in a spectacular fashion. It might surprise others. Not him. He never doubted his abilities. Not back then and certainly not now. The nice part of success came with the financial freedom to do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted. If the universe hadn’t destined him to evolve into such a superior being, it wouldn’t have allowed him to achieve such spectacular success.
Right now, an itch demanded to be scratched, and lights just off the freeway beckoned with promise. So many possibilities and so much fun to be had. He put on the blinker and pulled onto the off-ramp. An impressive number of cars, considering the time of day, took up at least half of the parking lot. His kind of place.
Well, his kind of place when he found himself in this particular mood, though he still had certain standards. The one thing he liked about the laws in Washington—no smoke inside bars. In the old days, he’d come out smelling like an ashtray. Hated that. Smoking in general. Nasty, dirty habit. No longer, thanks to the crusaders in the state that wanted to keep everything nice and tidy and carcinogen free. Made for much better hunting conditions.
Using the rearview mirror, he assessed his hair. No, not right. Too controlled. That look came off well in the office. Not so much where he was headed now. With his fingers, he ruffled his hair, letting loose the natural wave. He smiled. Oh yeah. That worked. Light, curly hair dropping down on his forehead, bright-blue eyes, and a sparkling white smile. The all-American boy with a really good dental plan. Worked every fucking time. Dim lights, walls filled with beer-themed neons, and the air filled with the low murmur of voices. So far, so good. The bartender did a nice pour, and the scotch on the rocks didn’t disappoint. Neither did tall, dark, and handsome, as clichéd as that sounded. October leaned on the bar, after he’d wiped it down with a napkin, of course, and stared into inquisitive and interested green eyes. It didn’t take a whole lot to get them interested.
“Hey.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip, and the green eyes widened.
“Hey to you too. I’m Teddy.” He smiled.
October smiled back. “You can call me Rick.” He had a whole slew of names he liked to use. Made the game even more fun. Also, kept any subsequent inquiries off-balance.
“I like Rick.” Teddy smiled wider, his front tooth a little crooked though nicely white. He did lean toward excellent oral hygiene.
He ran his finger around the top of his glass before putting it into his mouth and pulling it out slowly. “So, tell me, what’s happening in these parts? I’m just passing through and, well, you know, kind of looking for some fun.”
Teddy’s smile turned sly. Perfect. “You’ve come to the right place because I like fun.” Hook. Line. Sinker.
He put his hand over Teddy’s. “That’s good news.”
“Anything in particular?”
Yeah, he could, indeed, pick ’em well. Imagination and an adventurous spirit were most appreciated. He glanced down before bringing his gaze up to Teddy’s. “Want to go for a ride?”
“One more drink?” He held up an empty pint glass.
Despite the tightness in the crotch of his pants, October held up two fingers to the bartender. Delayed gratification had its advantages, and best, he didn’t mind a bit more of a buzz. Not too much, just enough to vibrate along the nerves. Added to the experience.
Chapter Seven
Tuesday finally made it out of the house in late afternoon. The last round of pills had kicked in, thank the gods, and her mother dropped into a deep sleep. Not a minute too soon either. Things hadn’t changed in the years she’d been gone. Even doped up on pain medication, her mother still found it easy to berate the daughter she’d always appeared to dislike. Her work as a probation officer had taught her that people could be masters at creating facades. In her mother’s case, she didn’t believe appearances were deceiving. In fact, the painkillers seemed to elicit a fair amount of free speech, and frankly, she didn’t need that. Hard enough to be here in the first place. Harder still to be thrown back into the old dynamic. Or, perhaps more accurately, the seventh circle of hell.
How many times did she have to hear about October and his ever-so-successful life? The money he made. The beautiful wife. The world-wide travels. Such a good boy who came periodically to visit his mother and pamper her, like an attentive child should. So much better than the older sister who dedicated her life to keeping track of federal offenders and who never came back home to see her dear, dear mother.
Yeah, well, where was the good boy right the fuck now? Didn’t see him bringing food and water at her beck and call. Making tea at just the right temperature. Helping her to the bathroom or talking to her doctor. Mr. Perfect wouldn’t even commit to when he would be here because his all-so-important schedule didn’t allow him to give her a firm arrival time. He didn’t seem to have the time to help his mother in her hour of need.
Several sharp pains shot through her shoulder, as if to tell her to shut up and concentrate on her own healing. Things for her were getting better, all things considered. Her role as a law-enforcement officer over, by her own choice. She could have accepted Adam’s offer to continue as operational staff, except it didn’t feel right. She hadn’t felt right since the moment she woke up in the hospital to the sounds of beeping equipment and the worried faces of her friends and colleagues. Life had changed that day, and it would never return to what had passed for normal. Like living in a perpetual fog and waiting for it to clear out. Except, so far, it hadn’t. She didn’t have a clue what her future would be.
Mother’s constant barrage of insults didn’t help either. She figured by this point in her life, she’d be beyond the hurt. Another thing she’d figured wrong. It still hit with more of a point than the pain from the bullets that had pierced her flesh. Discouraging how the wounds from childhood held onto their power. Sad considering how she could provide such excellent counsel to those who needed help but couldn’t do the same for herself. A good therapist would likely be in her future. If she were brave enough to start peeling back the layers. Not sure she would ever find that level of courage.
The late-afternoon sun shone warm and comforting on her face as Tripper ran through the pasture, and she followed at a leisurely pace. Hard not to smile at his joy in the freedom to run as he wished, unfettered by a harness or a lead. No other dogs to worry about, no strangers to interrupt their peace. The corral gates were open as they passed, the horses having been moved to a neighboring ranch when her mother got too sick to work them. She missed the horses. While she was growing up, they’d been a refuge, and even though the stables were empty, if she closed her eyes, she could still hear and smell them. It made her want to bring out a sleeping bag and spend the night on the stable floor. Would probably come to it before this ended.
A happy bark returned her attention to Tripper. She laughed. To see him joyful and carefree lifted her spirits. A lot of good luck with him. High drive and whip-smart, he made a perfect search partner. He could have been difficult to live with, as so many high-drive dogs tended to be, yet he wasn’t. Tripper could turn it off and turn it on with ease. She loved that about him. When she’d walked away from the search work at the same time she left her federal career, he’d adjusted probably better than she did. He must have realized his new job would be to keep her sane. So far, he got high marks.
The trees beyond the pastures beckoned. A breeze brought the smell of alfalfa and pine, the scents of unspoiled nature. Nothing quite like it in the city. A squirrel ran down a pine bough and jumped, catching the branch of a second tree. Chubby little fellow, too. He’d been eating well. Just the medicine she needed to banish the blues and way more effective than prescriptions. As she left the ranch behind, it hit her how long it had been since she’d walked here. Two decades, at least. When she’d left for college, she hadn’t looked back. It had been the first time in her life she’d been able to breathe. It helped her become a different person, one who’d had no desire to return to a place and a family that showed her little, if any, love.
Everything looked the same yet different. In the intervening years, the region had become more populated. This land, however, hadn’t changed. Her mother owned it all, passed on to her through generations of family ownership. Made her wonder what would happen once she died. Undoubtedly, it would go to October. She might be the oldest, but given she had never been the favorite, inheritance would rocket right past her. That reality didn’t hurt her because not a single thing could ever entice her to return here permanently. The thing about it, she didn’t see October moving back here either. Not nearly enough activity for him in this mostly rural area. Great for occasional quiet recreation. Not so great for someone who craved the constant stimulation of a metropolitan area.
“We better explore now, buddy.” Not that Tripper paid any attention to her. Too busy running and smelling and, as boys tended to do, marking. Creatures, great and small, would be alerted to his presence.
As her mother faded from this life, she’d take each chance to explore the property with Tripper so that when it disappeared, as it would surely do when in October’s hands, she’d have a few good memories. Precious few of those in her life to date. She’d take what she could get, and today, blue skies and sunshine made for a start on creating a good memory. Besides, once she walked away this time, there’d be no coming back. Worked for her.
Her phone rang, and she put it to her ear. “What’s up, sister?”
She hated it when he called her that. When they were kids, it typically precipitated him twisting her arm or pulling her hair. As soon as she’d cry out, he’d laugh, let her go, and say it was a joke. The look in his eyes always gave away the fact it wasn’t. “What do you want? Are you here?”
“No. Had to make some work stops. Probably be another day or so before I can get there.” His words were light and casual. A guy without a care in the world.
“October, you promised you’d come right away. Mother asks for you nonstop. Demands your appearance.” If she appealed to his sense of importance, perhaps he’d make it a little sooner.
“I don’t think I made any kind of promise to her. Said I’d come, period. Thing is, sister, you’re both just going to have to wait until I can make it.”
Pain shot through her shoulder again. “You’re a jackass.” As much as she wanted to scream at him, she kept her tone calm. No need to clue him in as to how much he irritated her. Experience had taught her that he got a real charge out of feeding off her negative emotions. Gave him some kind of sick high.
“Takes one to know one.”
“Really? At your age?”
“Gotta go.”
* * *
Addie walked along the country road and breathed in the clear, fresh air. Nice here, with a varied landscape that fascinated a woman who hailed from the Midwest. She’d grown up with little more than rolling hills to break up the terrain. She liked that she could look up and see mountains. Pretty awesome.
Except for the part about her brother disappearing here. More likely than not, he’d died nearby. She didn’t want to be fatalistic but couldn’t help it. Despite what law enforcement said, Anthony hadn’t taken off for a new life. That wasn’t to say she didn’t understand where they came from, and they weren’t wrong in most cases. The majority of those reported missing either turned up within a short period of time or were eventually located after “starting over.” Running away from home wasn’t reserved for children. The authorities were wrong when it came to Anthony. He didn’t run away, and he certainly didn’t have anything to start over from.
Okay, that might not be entirely correct. That they’d been born into money and privilege didn’t mean their lives had been easy. Substance abuse didn’t discriminate based on sex, religion, or economic status. They’d been children of a junkie, albeit a rich one. Their childhood had been difficult, private schools aside. It’s what the cops leaned on back when he’d been reported missing. It’s what they still leaned on. One cursory investigation into their mother and everything had ended there, their files noting the probability Anthony had decided to get away from her.
