Try Not to Breathe, page 37
But was anything in the win column enough to offset the losses?
Cross climbed back in, turned the vehicle around, and drove back to Rydell. They rode in silence for a few miles. Avery stared out the window, the blanket pulled tight around her body. Once the questions about Hank swirled, others swirled as well. They encased her head like a whirlwind. How was Anna related to these people? And how had none of Avery’s family known?
“What do you know about these people, Detective?” Avery asked. “What do you suspect about how my sister ended up here?”
Cross drove on, the tires humming over the pavement in the dark. Avery thought he was ignoring her. But then he said, “You understand I can’t say much, right?”
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want.”
“I’m going to say something,” he said. “I just have to be discreet. But you’re a former cop, so I know you understand.”
It felt good to be referred to that way, to have Cross include her in a fraternity.
“These are bad people,” he said. “Violent people. We’ve had our eye on them for a long time. Years. And there are bodies strewn along the way.”
“I can imagine that now.”
“If your sister is related to them, I hope she will make some peace with it,” he said, “but it’s a tough hand to be dealt. To find out your family has killers in it. But maybe your folks can help her. She was lucky to be raised in your family and not this one. She’ll understand that someday.”
They pulled into Rydell and stopped in front of the police station. Cross stepped out and opened the back door for Avery. She’d just started to feel warm as they drove along, and stepping out into the cold night made her shiver again. Would her body ever stop trembling? She’d felt the same way for days after the experience in the pond. Was she starting that all over again?
Outside the station, a couple of men stood on the sidewalk talking in low voices. They nodded to Cross as Avery and he passed. More cars were parked on the street in the middle of the night than Avery had seen in the daytime, and inside, the front room was full as well. Avery scanned the crowd, looking for Anna, but didn’t see her. She did see Hardeman, who sat off to the side, looking like an extra appendage.
Cross spoke to an officer in a suit and hooked his thumb in Avery’s direction. The guy in the suit nodded, and Cross led Avery through a closed door and down a short hallway, where bright fluorescent lights glowed off the dull linoleum floor. The glare gave Avery a headache. At the end of the hall, Cross knocked on a door and then stepped back.
“Go on,” he said.
Avery turned the knob, the blanket still draped over her shoulders like a poncho, and went in. Anna sat alone in a small wooden chair. She wore a matching blanket over her shoulders, and the two of them looked like twins. The harsh light made Anna look younger, like a child waiting in a nurse’s office. Her face brightened when Avery appeared. She stood up.
The two women went to each other. Anna collapsed into Avery’s arms.
“Avery, you’re here. You’re okay.”
“I’m okay. Don’t worry. I’m glad to see you.”
Avery pulled her tight. Like the baby she’d held a few hours earlier.
“I was terrified you were hurt.” Anna started to sob, her body shuddering against Avery’s. Avery held her, rubbed her sister’s back. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”
Tears filled Avery’s eyes as well. A few ran out and down her face. She let them go. She didn’t wipe them. She held on to Anna instead.
After a few minutes, Anna calmed down. She said, “They said you swam through an underground river or something. Is that right?”
Avery laughed a little. “I didn’t really swim. I was swept by the current. I held on for dear life.”
“You hate the water. You never swim. Alisha’s always said— Well, never mind.”
“I do hate the water. But I like living, so I did it.”
“And you saved all those people? And a baby?”
Avery loosened her hold on Anna, took a step back so she could meet her sister’s eyes. “I did what had to be done. That’s all. Are you okay?”
Anna nodded. “I didn’t get hurt. I just went through the woods like you said. I almost turned back . . . but you told me to go on, so I did.”
“Good.”
Anna looked at the floor.
“What?”
“I was able to call home. I talked to Dad for a minute. You know, just to let them know I was okay.”
“Good. I’m sure they were worried.”
“I guess. . . . I don’t know what I’m supposed to make of all of this.”
“I don’t know either, Anna.”
“They’re saying . . .” She looked at Avery, looked down again. Her breath came in huffs. “My parents, my biological parents, were murdered . . . and they’re saying maybe someone close to them did it . . . like maybe it was Taylor. Some beef over the drug business.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Hold on,” Avery said. She turned back to Anna. “I’m so sorry. But we’ll figure this out. Okay? Now that all of this has been broken open, the police can make some connections. They’ve arrested all of them, including Taylor Combs. They’ll find out what’s going on.” Avery remembered what Cross had said in the car. The brutality of the family stretching back many years. “I think the Combs family must have threatened Dad and Charlie years ago. Dad was always paranoid, but maybe it was with good reason. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll be there with you as this gets sorted out.”
“Who will?”
“We will. Your family who loves you.”
The knocking again. That time, someone pushed the door open. It was Cross. “We need to ask both of you a few more questions. Then you can go.”
“Do you mind waiting a minute?” Avery asked. “We’re talking.”
“Okay,” Cross said. “But we have a station full of people trying to work.” He closed the door.
“Fucking cops,” Avery said.
“It’s okay.” But Anna didn’t sound convinced.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s just— It’s Dad. On the phone before.”
“What did he do?”
“Can we just talk about it on the way home?”
Avery studied her sister’s face. “Sure. Okay.”
“I want to get out of here. Go get that cop so we can go.”
“Are you sure?”
It took Anna a moment to answer. Then she said, “I’m not sure of anything. But I know I want to go.”
“Okay.”
Avery opened the door. Cross waited in the hall. And with him was Detective Morris from Breckville.
“Hey, Avery,” he said. “When I heard about the excitement here, I just knew you had to be tied up in it in some way.”
99
Avery and Morris went into another room. That one was smaller than the one she’d been in with Anna. A gunmetal gray desk took up most of the space, along with a bookshelf that held ancient copies of law enforcement manuals. The same deadly bright lights burned from the ceiling.
Morris sat behind the desk, leaving Avery in the uncomfortable chair on the other side.
“You okay?” Morris asked. “I hear you had quite an adventure.”
“Can you answer a question for me?” Avery asked.
“I can try.”
“Officer Hank Landry. He was inside the farm. Undercover. Do you have an update on his condition?”
“Hmm. They were talking about him out there. Said he’s in surgery. Two gunshot wounds. They were cautiously optimistic.”
Avery felt like fifty pounds had been lifted off her shoulders. “Thank you.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Something like that.”
“There’s been plenty of excitement around these parts.”
“Enough for the rest of my life.”
“It looks like your sister’s okay.”
“She’s safe. She has a lot to work through.”
“Sure, I heard about that too.” Morris ran his hand over the laminated top of the desk like he was brushing off dust only he could see. “I know you want to get home. And get your sister back. I won’t take much time.”
“That’s merciful.”
“My only real interest here is the murder I’m investigating.”
“Kayla Garvey.”
“Right. This Nicholas Yates, who I understand is now deceased, is my prime suspect. Did you talk to him inside there? Did he say anything that could help me?”
Avery still wore the blanket, but her body temperature seemed to be returning to normal. She let the blanket slide off the top of her shoulders. “I talked to him only once, really, but not about Kayla. He went out of his way to tell me he didn’t have any power in the Combs organization. That he couldn’t make anything happen.” She shrugged. “I was more concerned with getting out of there than with anything else. I suspect Hogan is the guy you want to talk to. I suspect that he sent Yates after Anna and that he killed Yates to shut him up.”
“Hogan says they meant no harm to Anna. Yates was sent to her apartment merely to check her out, to see who this person was who was suddenly a genetic match to Brittany Combs. I guess Yates couldn’t follow instructions. Somehow he ended up killing Kayla instead of learning who your sister is.”
It felt like twenty years ago in some ways, but the memory of discovering Kayla’s body burned fresh in her mind. The way the lamp glowed over her face. Avery shuddered.
“Cold?” Morris asked.
“Bad memories.”
“Mmm. Sorry.”
“Well, I’ve lived with those before,” Avery said.
Morris nodded. “I don’t want to be more of a pain. If you didn’t hear anything else, I get it. We probably have enough on Yates as it stands. Now that he’s gone, unfortunately. Thanks.”
But Morris remained seated behind the desk. The swivel chair with green padding on the arms squeaked under his weight. He looked like a man in no hurry.
“Was there something else?” Avery asked.
Morris ran his fingers over the imaginary dust again. “I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but I am curious. Do you have any idea how your sister was related to the Combs family and yet raised by your father and stepmother?”
Avery laughed. The release felt good. “Detective, I’m not omniscient. Anna heard some things from Brittany Combs indicating there was bad blood between her birth father and Taylor Combs. Nobody could have anticipated that twenty-some years later we’d have online DNA tests to dig up all the old bones. They’re drug dealers. What do you know about it?”
“Not much. An execution-style killing. Three family members. Some in law enforcement are theorizing your sister was an infant at the time.”
“And she was handed over to the state to be adopted?”
“That’s a theory. We’d have to dig back into the records.”
“Any suspects?”
“Two shooters. Untraceable weapons. No surprise there.”
“They’re drug dealers. What do you expect?”
“Right. Sure.” He lifted his hand from the desk, rubbed the tips of his index and middle fingers with this thumb. “Did you know your father was on a KSP task force that was investigating the Combs and Douglas families?”
The rhythm of Avery’s heart altered slightly. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“It’s true. I learned that from Lieutenant Paulson. KSP. Do you know him?”
“I know the name.”
“He said the task force stopped working on the family a few months before the shooting. But still . . .”
“But still what?”
“I know you lost Charlie Ballard in Louisville. And I’m sorry for that. I’ve looked into this a little bit, and he was on that task force as well. Maybe he mentioned something when you were together—”
“He didn’t. And if you’re only here to investigate Kayla’s murder, and your suspect is dead, why are you hectoring me?”
“I want to find out if you know anything. This is your family. And it looks like your father was surveilling a drug ring. Members of the drug ring ended up dead. And your father ended up with their baby but never told anyone where she came from.”
“My dad—he’s not very open. Maybe he didn’t want Anna to feel strange about being adopted.”
“Yeah, maybe. Or . . .”
“Or what, Detective?”
Avery’s voice had come out louder than she’d planned. But the late hour, the cold, her exhaustion, had all conspired to push her to the limit.
Morris raised his hands. “You’re right. I’ll back off. I’m a cop. I’m curious. And I’m just thinking out loud. I’m sorry to have pushed you on it. I know you had a very rough few days.” He stood up from the squeaky chair and came around the desk. “I’ll let you get on your way.”
Avery remained in her chair. She felt like she couldn’t get up, that to do so required energy and will that she couldn’t summon.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe you want to crash in a hotel for a while. The pickings are slim, but I found a decent place over in Blanton. You and your sister could stay there.”
“No, I want to get Anna home. People are worried about her.”
“Sure.” He lingered a moment longer. “Have a safe trip.”
“When this shooting occurred, the murder of this family, the police talked to my dad, right? And Charlie?”
“I would think so.”
“And?”
“I guess your dad and Charlie Ballard cooperated with the investigation. They probably provided some leads. Names of other lowlifes who might have wanted to harm the Douglas family.”
“That’s probably a long list.”
“Undoubtedly.”
“And they followed all those leads?”
“They probably tried. There may not have been a lot of tears shed over Danny Douglas. And if your dad, well, cut some corners to adopt the surviving baby, I don’t think anyone would want to jam him up now.”
There was a fire . . . all the pictures . . . and she and Alisha were gone. . . .
“Thank you, Detective.”
“You’re welcome.”
He closed the door when he left, and Avery sat in the little room until Cross knocked on the door and told her she could take Anna home now.
100
Anna’s hands still shook. She couldn’t drive.
The sun was just about to come up, and they’d be on narrow back roads, so she let Avery do it. The cops said she could come back to Rydell and claim her car at any time—and if she didn’t want to go back, she could ask someone else to go get it. Rachel and Eric could make an afternoon of it if they wanted.
They rode in Charlie’s truck, which felt weird. It smelled like him, retained his presence, and Anna had trouble thinking of him being gone. She hadn’t seen him in several years. And now she never would again.
Avery mentioned going by Charlie’s house and getting her car. But she could do that another day as well. Anna got the feeling her sister wanted to get them home as soon as possible. Fulfill the promise she’d made to their dad to bring her back. Hell or high water, as the old man always said.
Hell or high water. Avery and she had found both.
Avery could tell their dad that she had swum through an underground river to save people. Alisha had always said that she traced the difficulties between their dad and Avery back to his tossing Avery into the deep end of the pool so she would learn how to swim. Maybe Avery was happy that his efforts had finally borne fruit.
The sky lightened as they drove. It turned salmon and coral while a few wisps of fog clung to the low-lying areas around the trees. The sisters rode mostly in silence. No radio. The tires hummed against the road, with the occasional bump. Anna tried not to think about what would come next. Walk in the door of the house. Her mom and dad fawning over her, telling her how glad they were she was safe. . . .
Then what?
Would she simply ask, Where the hell did I come from?
And what about school? She’d fucked up the semester by not going to class. No way on earth was she going back and living in the apartment where Kayla had died. Students could get a break from the college if they had a tragedy like a roommate dying. In Anna’s freshman year, a woman in her dorm had died in a car accident. The school let her traumatized roommate take her classes over. But Anna couldn’t ask for that. She’d bailed on school before Kayla died. Her trauma was self-inflicted. Or family inflicted, to be more precise.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?”
Avery’s voice pulled Anna out of her own head. She felt relieved to hear it. She recognized the spiral she could head into, trying to anticipate everything that lay ahead of her. She could tell there were no easy answers—maybe no answers at all. Avery’s voice brought her back to the present.
Anna turned from the window. She’d been staring out at the passing scenery, squinting as the sun got brighter.
“Sure.”
“When we were talking at the police station, you mentioned something Dad said on the phone. You said we could talk about it on the way home.”
“Oh, that.” Anna had stopped thinking about it back at the police station. “Just Dad being . . . Well, I almost said stupid. But let’s just say it was Dad being Dad.”
“What did he say?”
“Dad—Russ—said, ‘You know, this isn’t easy for your mother and me to remember either.’ What did he mean by that? Not easy for them to remember?”
“He said that?”
“I don’t know what he’s talking about. You and I are the ones who were here. What are they remembering?”
