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“Are you sure you want to do this right now?” Audrey asked. “It’s a pretty big wound to open up.”
“We need their help. They’re the only people my parents won’t be able to pay off,” I told her. “And they deserve to know, even if it’s only that I think my parents were involved. I’m going to let them in on the plan.”
“Are you going to let me know what the plan is?” she asked.
“Yes, but later. I want the element of surprise to go to bat for us.”
“What about your parents?” she asked. “Are we going to confront them today?”
“Don’t worry. They’re on the list. I have plans for them.”
Audrey
James was on the phone for what felt like forever.
“I talked to Danielle’s parents. They’re going to help us,” he said when he finally came out. His face was drawn, and his eyes were red. “My mother’s going to have a nasty surprise waiting for her when we get back.”
He poured himself another cup of coffee. “I also called my lawyer. He’s better than my mother’s, by the way. He said that he’ll get the paperwork prepared for you to become Tommy’s sole guardian. You’ll have to sign it when we get back, and then he’ll start the process with the court. And I made a call to that private investigator, too—he said he was going to go to your mom’s house today with a large file and a larger threat.”
“But what if she tells Celia?” I asked.
“She won’t. We’re going to make her an offer she can’t refuse. So she’ll receive a financial incentive while simultaneously being blackmailed. It’s win-win.”
My heart sank. “I don’t want her getting any more of your money…”
“I’d rather she gets it from us than from my parents,” he said. “Plus, we can’t just let your mother stay in that apartment, living like that, when there’s more than enough money to take care of her. It’s not right.”
I wasn’t going to forgive my mother so easily, either for what she’d done to Tommy or what she’d done to James. “It’s exactly what she deserves,” I said. “She doesn’t seem unhappy to me. Just greedy. And scheming.”
“Well, you’re right. She is greedy. And she’ll just come looking, threatening us again. I don’t want to deal with that for the rest of my life, and I know you don’t either. It’s better to just manage her, Audrey. She’s your mother. She’s not going to change, and she’s not going anywhere.”
I sighed, understanding what he saying and wishing I didn’t. “How did it go with Danielle’s parents? That must have been such a tough conversation. It was so out of the blue.”
His eyes looked hollowed out. “It was awful. I’m sure hearing from me after all this time was the last thing they were expecting.”
“What did they say?” I asked. I couldn’t even imagine.
“I spoke with her father. I told him that I didn’t know the details, but that I believed my parents were directly involved with Danielle’s death. That it wasn’t an accident. I told him that you’d confronted my mother, and that she was threatening you, and that I needed his help.”
“What did you ask him to do?”
“I told him to go to the police. That we’d be back soon,” James said. His face was pale. I went to him and wrapped my arms around him. “He thanked me, Audrey—he said the way my mother had acted afterward had bothered him for years. He said he felt like she’d been relieved that Danielle was dead. He wants her to go to prison.”
“And you?” I asked. “Is that what you want, too?”
“I’m pretty sure prison’s too good for her,” he said. “But it’ll have to do.” He paused for a beat. “We need to call your mother. To let her know that she’s got company coming.”
I held up my hand. “I got this,” I said, picking up his fancy cell phone. “The farther I can keep you away from my mother, the better.”
* * *
Todd, Evie, Cole, and Jenny were waiting for us down at the dock again. “Good morning,” Cole called. He had a huge smile on his face, and so did Jenny. Since they’d professed their love for one another, I hadn’t seen them stop smiling.
Even though my world was on the edge of veering wildly out of control, their enthusiasm was infectious. I beamed at Jenny and gave her a big hug. “You look gorgeous,” I said, “and happy.”
“I am. Everything’s working out,” she said, holding me tight. “But I’m worried about you. Evie said Celia read you the riot act last night, and that you were wicked pale and upset after. What’s going on?”
