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“You sound like Cooper,” Piper said.
“He seems fucking happy. We could all take a lesson from him.”
Zack couldn’t disagree. Of all of the siblings, Cooper seemed like the one that was the most content and satisfied with his life. Cooper had once told Zack that he didn’t believe in regrets because they were a waste of time. He couldn’t go back and change the past so he might as well face the future and plow through it.
“Are you okay?” Zack asked Sam. “This must have come as a shock to you.”
“I’m fine, bro. I’ve known for years that Dad was paying Tracy Daniels. I just didn’t know why. I assumed it was because he’d done something to get sued for which isn’t far from the actual truth.”
Piper sat up so abruptly her brownie broke into pieces down her shirt.
“What in the hell? You knew? You never said anything.”
“What was I going to say? I didn’t know what it was about. I just knew that he was sending her money every month. She worked for us at one point, so I honestly didn’t think much about it. I figured she had cause to sue him for sexual harassment or something and he was paying her off. And he was, but just for something else.”
“You never suspected anything?” Zack asked.
“Not about that,” Sam replied with a grim smile. “I know some of the shit our dad does, but not all of it.”
“I’m sure he’s not Winslow Heights most upstanding citizen.”
“He’s not,” Sam confirmed. “He doesn’t let me see everything, but I’m always shocked at what he doesn’t bother to hide.”
Zack was now positive that Sam had kept working at the family firm to keep an eye on Joel Winslow. Not because he wanted to be the favorite or inherit the company or any of that other bullshit. Sam was too smart for that.
“He hid this pretty well,” Piper replied bitterly. “I didn’t have a clue. And now Dad is linked to two people who disappeared. Finn better bring him in for questioning again.”
About that…
“That was something else I needed to tell you. The coroner may rule the death accidental or possibly inconclusive. It’s up to him to call for an inquest so that’s not a done deal either. If it’s accidental they won’t question anyone. The case will be closed.”
“Well, fuck a duck,” Piper drawled. “Case closed. No answers. Shit, where have we heard that before? Did our dear old dad pay someone off in the coroner’s office? Because I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Zack hated to admit it, but he’d had the same thought. Joel thought buying favors was simply a cost of doing business. Totally normal. He hadn’t mentioned it to Finn, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility.
“I told Finn that we might just hire our own investigator not only for Mom but also for Sarah.”
He dropped that bombshell and waited for the fallout. Sam and Piper hadn’t known Sarah at all so they might have a different outlook on all of this.
“That sounds good,” Sam replied. “The two cases might be linked. Or not. But it’s worth a look. Did Finn take it okay?”
“He was fine with it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if all of you would be though.”
“I support the decision,” Piper said, “But we need to talk to Cooper and Tate about it. They’re the ones finding the private investigator. They need to know what we’ve decided.”
“I’ll talk to them,” Sam offered. “We’ll find someone. I have to ask you, Zack. It seems you think that there was foul play involved with Sarah’s disappearance and death. Am I reading you correctly?”
Was he? That was the million-dollar question. What Zack mostly wanted was answers. He was tired of being told that no one knew anything. Someone, somewhere had to know something that would help them. They just had to find that person, right?
“Let’s just say that I’m not fond of unsolved mysteries. And Dad is a link between Mom and Sarah. It’s a strange coincidence that gives me pause. It just feels like we need to keep looking and searching. This can’t be over and done with. It’s unfinished.”
“She was our half-sister,” Piper said. “That means that she’s family. We don’t give up on family. We have to help her even if it’s all these years later.”
“I don’t think Tracy Daniels is going to help,” Zack replied. “She didn’t seem all that upset about her daughter’s remains being found. She seems to think that Sarah ran away and died in an accident.”
“That may be the case,” Sam said. “Do we have anything at all to go on? Anything that can even be investigated? Where do the cops or an investigator go from here?”
“According to a few people I’ve talked to Sarah had quite a bit going on in her life before she disappeared. One of the teachers heard that she went to a bar that served underage minors. You know that one? One of Dad’s friends owned it back then. One of my friends described Sarah as having a secret life. Don’t those investigation shows try to recreate someone’s last day? That might be where to start things off.”
