My throat went dry. “I—I hired him to make me look famous. Like celebrities chased by paparazzi.” I struggled to breathe. “And to publish an article in the tabloids.”
Dumbfounded, Colton kept staring at me, his mouth slightly open. Then he let out a whistling breath. “Jeez ... I’ll need to know more about this paparazzo business, but let’s finish the witness list first.” He looked at the paper in his hand. “We’re expecting Detective Stanek to testify about every detail of the case: fingerprints, video, murder weapon. But there’s someone here I know nothing about.”
The expression on his face had me worried. “Who?” I asked in a faint, choked whisper.
“Do you know an Avery Sinclair?”
46
Ghosts
It couldn’t be . . .
I must’ve heard wrong. “Who?” I asked again, my heart thundering in my chest.
“Avery Sinclair. Do you know him?”
“No!” I wailed, feeling the blood drain from my face. I sprang from my chair and started pacing the floor, wringing my hands, ignoring the tears rolling down my face. “Is there anything we can do? He can’t testify, Colton!”
“Why?” He stood and walked over to me. Concerned, Billy Ray rinsed his hands quickly and joined us, wiping them against his apron.
“No, no, no,” I repeated obsessively, shaking my head. “He can’t ... no.”
Colton looked at the witness list, then at me. “He’s a sixteen-year-old kid. Did you have sex with him?”
“What? No!” I cried, turning my back to him and burying my face in my hands, sobbing hard.
“Then what could he possibly have to say that’s so damaging to you, Hattie?”
It should’ve never happened, but it had, and there was no escaping it. Billy Ray rubbed my back and held me while I collected myself, andColton stared at me in panicked disbelief. When I was sure I could speak without choking on my tears, I met his glance.
“Not Hattie,” I whispered. “Melanie Gates. In Seattle, I was Melanie Gates. That’s who he’ll testify about.”
“What?” Colton shouted. “What are you talking about?”
Billy Ray whistled quietly and took his ballcap off, throwing it on the couch.
I straightened my back and lifted my chin. “Avery Sinclair is from Seattle and knows me under that name.”
“What will he testify about?” Colton asked in a tense whisper. “What will he have to say about you?”
My lips trembled before I could bring myself to let the words come out. “You asked how I make my money.” I sat on the couch, too weary to keep standing. “Avery will tell you his father, Alan Sinclair of Sinclair Airlines, fell in love with me. At some point, he proposed, with a ring and everything.”
“Sounds familiar, now, doesn’t it?” Colton snapped, the sarcasm in his voice searing. There was an ominous darkness in his eyes, like I’d never seen before.
I chose to ignore his comment. “After the proposal, I took evidence of the affair to Mrs. Sinclair and offered her the option to buy back her husband from me.”
Billy Ray whistled again. “Holy shit, sis!”
I shrugged, forcing my eyes from them for a moment, then facing Colton again. “At the least, I offered her a very lucrative divorce from Mr. Sinclair, which was what she was really after. She gladly paid ... they always did. Then she divorced him. Cleaned him out.”
“Always?” Colton’s eyes widened. “My God, Hattie ... Who the hell are you?” He took his hand to his forehead, rubbing it furiously as if that helped him understand things better. “What does this kid want, then? How did he find you?”
I chuckled bitterly. “Vengeance, I guess. Avery blamed me for the divorce, for everything he lost financially. Status. Full control of his father’s business upon his death. Things like that.”
“He’ll have a damning story to tell,” Colton said. I saw on his face how the pieces of the puzzle were trickling in, settling in place. “His mother told Avery about you? About what you did?”
“No. The wives sign NDAs, or there’s no deal. Must’ve been some other way. Maybe he figured it out on his own.”
