We sat down at the kitchen table and made small talk until the girls returned.Jo looked a little better with more color in her cheeks, but I still hated how my typically fiery girl appeared so frail.
“You did a great job, Dom,” Dr.Foster said with a smile as Jo walked over and wrapped her arms around my neck before sitting on my thigh.
“Thank you.I did the best I could.”
Her attention shifted from me to the man on the floor.She walked over and stood beside him before squatting and moving his head around.Her lips pursed as she considered something, but before she spoke, she rolled him onto his side and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket.
She let it fall to the floor as she took his driver's license out and read the information.
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered, letting her head fall forward as she shook it.
“What’s wrong?”Axel asked, standing up and walking over to her.
“I thought I recognized him, but it’s been years since I’ve seen him,” she said softly.“His name was Al Parker.He was one of my father’s business associates.He made a couple of bad investments and got in over his head.He owed this mobster a lot of money and came to my dad to bail him out.My father was tired of always having to rescue him, so he told him no and fired him.Things escalated from there, and the mobster killed Al’s wife and daughter in front of him for not paying.”
“Holy shit,” I blurted out in surprise.“What did your dad do?”
“He cut Al off and told his men to kill him if he tried to get in touch with him.He knew that Al would hold him responsible for losing his family because my dad had always bailed him out before.I think my dad always knew that Al would try to come after me because he was very much aneye-for-an-eyekind of person.Right after it happened, my dad took me to Nowhere and helped me start a new life there.He knew that Al would never find me there.”
“So why do you think Al came now?”Jo asked.“If no one has been up to the cabin in forever, how did Al know that someone was here now?”
Dr.Foster stood up and shrugged.
“Al was always a technology-savvy guy, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t plant cameras around the area to tip him off if someone showed up.”
“Does Al know your dad is dead?”Axel asked.
“Probably.He was obsessed with getting revenge, so I’m sure he heard about it when it happened.”
“But if he knew your dad was dead, why keep watching the cabin?It’s not like he was going to catch your dad coming up here,” Jo said.
“Probably because he knewIwould be up here at some point,” Dr.Foster said sadly.“Nothing would make him feel like he got revenge like killing my father’s only child.”
“You think he’s just been hanging out up here, waiting for you to come visit so he could kill you?”Axel asked.
Dr.Foster nodded and let out a heavy sigh.
“Al was a sick man, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all.The only problem was that my dad always kept me hidden so Al had no idea what I looked like, which is why he tried killing you instead.”
Dr.Foster looked at Jo with so much sadness that it made my heart ache.
