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And, suddenly, I don’t feel safe anymore.
32
BRAD
* * *
How those two aren’t dead at the hands of each other, I don’t fucking know. Danny bundled Rose in James’s Range Rover and screeched off, leaving us hanging around waiting for Tank to pick us up, and Tank couldn’t leave Lennox’s until he got home with the ominous creature he’s hired to tail him. Something about a messy custody battle. I’m not so sure. Daniel naturally asked what happened to Lennox. We, naturally, fed him some bullshit about a fall down some stairs. Other than that, the journey back to the house was silent. The kid’s not stupid, he knows Lennox didn’t fall down any stairs. But he didn’t press.
James pulls through the gates of the house, raising his hand out of the window to Len as we pass the gatehouse. I see his Range Rover parked haphazardly, the doors open. “Jesus,” I breathe to myself, looking toward the back where Tank and the kid are. “Straight to the TV room.”
Daniel nods, looking at Tank. “You go,” Tank says, reading the silent order in my eyes. “I’ll be two minutes. I’ve got to help Uncle Brad with something. Go set up the Xbox.”
The kid returns his eyes to me. “Am I allowed to go back to school?”
“Yeah, kid.”
“Yes!” He hops out and runs through the doors, and I pray Danny and Rose have taken their argument upstairs. I look at Tank in the rearview mirror, filling the entire back seat apart from the small space Daniel just vacated. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking Rose is scarier than Danny these days.” He rubs at his beard, looking a bit shook up. “She was going to that school whether I agreed or not.”
I can’t skin him. He literally has the toughest job in the world. “Go make sure the kid stays out of their way until they’ve ironed this out.” Tank gets out, and I turn my wary gaze to a silent James. “You’re quiet.”
“Otto just texted me. The Escalade they found in Lake Harbor has been cloned.”
“Fuck off,” I breathe, rubbing at my forehead. “They—whoever they are—cloned a retired cop’s vehicle?”
“People who clone vehicles don’t dive deep. They find a car—same make, same model—and steal the license plate.”
“Major faux pas. So, chances are, the clone is still in Miami.”
“Dumped somewhere I expect. Burned out. It was full of holes after you and Tank opened fire on it. They’ll have another vehicle by now.”
“For fuck’s sake.”
“Agreed.” James opens the door, sliding out.
“Where are you going?” I’m going to need some backup when Danny emerges. If he emerges.
“I’m going to see my wife. Where are you going?” He slams the door and paces around the front of the car, closing the doors of his Range Rover on his way. “The lawyer?”
“Yeah, the lawyer.” I sigh and get out, following him into the house. “I’ll call her.” I don’t call Allison, but call Doc instead. He doesn’t answer. Since when does Doc not answer? He said this testing business would be quick. It’s been a week.
As I pass through the entrance hall to the kitchen, I listen for the sounds of murder. Nothing. Esther’s got Maggie in a travel cot by the island. She looks up but doesn’t say a word, going back to chopping zucchini. She doesn’t want to know.
“Have you eaten today?” James asks Beau.
“I thought you weren’t back until later,” she says, pulling some plates out of the dishwasher. “Or have you just popped home to check up on me?”
“Answer my question.”
“I had a ham and cheese croissant and a bag of chips.”
“No vegetables? No fruit?”
I smile as I lower to a stool, watching James go to the fridge. He starts pulling out all the things he needs for the green stuff. “She’s going to turn green soon,” I say, helping myself to the pot of tea on the island, dialing Doc again. I want the results of those tests. I want to take Pearl tonight with nothing between us. I can’t ask anyone if they’ve seen the old boy, that’ll raise too many questions.
Beau pauses stacking plates and looks at me with soft eyes.
