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It was over before Chase was murdered. They simply hadn’t acknowledged it.
“Stop it,” Regan told herself. She wouldn’t wallow in the past just because she was back in Virginia where her life had been destroyed. Being here...all the feelings, the anger, the pain, the regret...yes, she could acknowledge the past. But she could not fix it and she need not relive it. It wasn’t productive. Especially now, when there was a killer to find.
She would grieve her loss for the rest of her life, but after Chase’s birthday six weeks ago, after she’d sat at his grave and let herself just...be, her heart didn’t feel quite as heavy as it had. Moving away from Virginia had been the right thing to do to steady herself, but coming back to say goodbyeagain? That put her one step further on her journey to...she still didn’t know where. Though she remained in limbo, she felt like she was also moving forward. Slowly, but steadily. She had yet to figure out what to do with her life without her son.
But you will.
That’s what changed six weeks ago. She believed that she would find a new path.
Regan got up from the desk chair, stretched, made a fresh pot of coffee. She couldn’t help Tommy if she was thinking about herself and her losses.
Once she had a mug in hand, she returned to the library and refocused on the list of bank box holders. She put aside the retired couple and the single mom. The remaining three boxes were rented by businesses.
Novak Brothers Construction was a luxury residential homebuilder that had been around for more than a decade. Its home office was in Alexandria, not far from the Arlington bank.
Delarosa Equity, LLC, was a small investing firm with no physical street address and no public contact name. A listed PO box was in Arlington. Regan would have to request public corporate filings to get a name and phone number, but the information was public record. She made a note.
The third business was an accounting firm in DC doing business as Legacy CPA. Why would a DC-based business have a safe deposit box in a small Arlington branch office? Perhaps one of the principals of the company had a home nearby. Or they might have been a local business that had grown. It raised a red flag to Regan; perhaps it had done the same for Tommy.
She made a list of priorities—starting with Legacy, followed by the equity company, then Novak Brothers Construction.
Were one or all three businesses targeted? And if nothing was physically taken, had there been information inside valuable enough to steal? For an equity company, it could be financial. Ditto for accountants. Maybe for all three.
Regan rubbed her head. She was getting a headache. Her phone rang and she grabbed it, glad for a break.
“Regan, it’s Charlie. You’ll never believe it.”
“I’ll believe almost anything.”
“Peter Grey was transferred from Cumberland to Lee Penitentiary.”
“When?”
“April 29th.”
“That’s the day after Tommy met with him at Cumberland,” she said. “That’s no coincidence. Why?”
“The warden gave a nonanswer—for his safety. I pushed, and I honestly don’t think he knew the reason. The order came from the court. I asked for the documents, he’s sending them over in the morning.”
“We need to get in there.”
“And I made a call down to Lee. I’ll tell you when I know anything.”
Lee Penitentiary was as far southwest in Virginia as you could get and still be in the state. It would take six hours or more to drive.
“Thanks, Charlie.”
“I’m heading home, but call me if you need anything.”
“Appreciate it.”
She ended the call and looked at the time. Five. Time to get ready for her dinner with Grant.
Seventeen
Jenna had made the right decision to visit her grandmother. She stayed longer than she planned because she honestly didn’t want to go home. She was trying to time arriving home not much before Lance said he’d be there.
At four, she drove back across Bethesda to Trader Joe’s and bought a few things for dinner. When she saw the fresh bell peppers on display, she decided chicken fajitas were in order. She bought what she needed, headed for home.
