AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Would it make a difference if I told you that the woman in question, the one who almost died, is haunted by what happened? That she was too sick after the accident to even question the investigation?”
She bit her lip. “I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”
“Because of Leland?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Because ofFrederick."
“Frederick? Leland’s father?”
She laughed. “You think Leland is the one who covered everything up?” She shook her head. “Leland is a lot of things, but a criminal mastermind isn’t one of them. If you’re looking for a cover-up, you want Frederick. He’s the one who pulls the strings. He and Lillian.”
“Leland’s mother,” Nick said.
“Exactly.”
Nick moved the pieces around in his mind, making room for the new ones Karen was giving him. “What happened between you and Leland?”
He noticed a tremor in her hands and a moment later she clasped them together as if to keep them still. Her gaze swept the playground, and he braced himself for her to change her mind about talking to him.
“We met at The Matchbox,” she said.
He couldn’t hide his surprise. “The bar in Southie?”
“That’s the one,” she said. “Leland likes to slum, pretend he’s an average joe, troll for women who will be impressed by his money.”
“And were you?” he asked. “Impressed?”
“Not so much with the money,” she said. “My parents aren’t Walker rich, but they do okay. It was more the way he moved, you know?” She turned to look at him. “Like he owned the place. Like nothing could ever hurt him. I envied it, wanted it for myself.”
“What happened?” Nick asked.
She looked away again. “We started seeing each other, hot and heavy for a while actually.”
“How long?”
“Maybe three months?”
Nick wasn’t surprised. Aside from her beauty, Karen had a quick wit and an easy way about her. If it wasn’t for the subject matter, he would have enjoyed talking to her. “Then what?”
“Then…” She hesitated. “Then I realized he was a drug addict and an alcoholic who hurt people.”
“He was abusive,” Nick said.
“Not just that,” she said. “Before he started hitting me, I found out he’d been in trouble before.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“All kinds. DUIs, bar fights, vandalism, even a breaking and entering charge.”
“Really?” Leland hadn’t struck him as a brawler, but that was before he’d learned about the guy’s addiction. Nick knew better than anybody how drugs could change a person.
He pushed away the image of Erin, laying in the casket at her funeral, the long sleeves of her dress covering up the track marks on her arms.
“And assault against women,” Karen said. “Let’s not forget that.”
Nick thought about Leland’s run for the Senate, the rumors that he would run for the White House in four years. “Frederick’s been covering up for him.”
Karen nodded. “Leland’s one-man cleaning crew, two if you count Lillian, three if you count Elizabeth, Leland’s sister.”
