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“No. I need to find someone.” He didn’t want to go into more detail because he knew his father would be angry if he knew the whole truth about his situation with Teigen. He’d never even told him about his interest in hypnotism, sure it would drive his father crazy.
“Who did you lose?”
“A friend of mine. She seems to have disappeared, and I’m worried about her.”
“Do you mean to tell me you’re chasing after some woman who may have dumped you?” His father got up and rounded his desk, fury etched on his harsh features. “What kind of man does that? Let her go and the hell with her.” He banged on his desk for emphasis.
Of course, that’s how he’d feel. He’d only stayed with Ellison’s mother for her social standing. Ellison wasn’t going to let that happen. He wasn’t giving up on Teigen until she told him that she never wanted to see him again and could give him a good reason why.
“Look, Dad, I’m only asking that you let me hire one of your detectives. You don’t have to agree with what I’m doing. Give me a name and number and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“How long do you think you’ll need him for?”
“I’m not sure. I need him to find a commune in Vermont.”
Ellison didn’t think his father could get any angrier, but he did. “A commune in Vermont? How the fuck did you get involved with this nut anyway?” he bellowed.
Forcing himself not to let his father get to him, he replied in a somewhat calm voice. “She’s a reporter forArchitecture D.C., and a good one at that. It’s her parents that live there.”
His father stood over him for what seemed like an eternity, opening and clasping his hands. Finally he turned and pressed the intercom on his phone.
“Margy, give my son the number for Frank Evans, please.” Looking Ellison dead in the eyes he said, “Make sure this doesn’t reflect back on me or my firm. I don’t want to hear about it again.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Ellison got up and left as his father waved him away as a goodbye, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind before Ellison left the building. He realized he didn’t give a fuck—finally—what his father said to him as long as he helped him out.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TEIGEN
Dread crawled up Teigen’s spine as they approached Trinity Farm. She thought she’d never be here again, but the looming wrought-iron gate mocked her as they passed through.We’ll never let you go, it whispered.
She shook her head to get the voice out of her mind. She didn’t get out when Bobby pulled up in front of her parent’s cabin.
“You planning on sitting here all night? You’ll freeze your ass off. C’mon. They’re waiting for you.” Bobby exited the car and came around to open her door. “C’mon!”
Without a word, she got out and preceded him up the steps to the house.
“Don’t you want your bag?” Bobby called after her.
She shrugged then knocked on the door. She barely recognized her father when he opened it. Gaunt, his eyes hollow in their sockets, he’d obviously taken her mother’s illness hard.
“Teigen. I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I’m not sure why I’m here.”
He stood aside to let her pass. “Because it’s your mama. You had to see her before she died.”
Everything was just as she’d seen it the last time she was here, except for one thing. A bed had been placed in the middle of the small living room, making it difficult to move from one end to the other. Her mother’s skeletal body was curled up under a ratty sheet. The lingering smell of urine, alcohol, and death hovered in the room.
“Is that you, Teigen?” Her mother’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Yes, Mama.”
She didn’t know whether to scream or cry. The residual anger she still had toward her parents clashed against the despair of seeing her mother reduced to such a horrible state. She couldn’t yell at her anymore. The woman who’d punished her, berated her, and pawned her off to Bobby was gone. In her place was a pathetic shell of her formerly self-possessed, merciless mother.
The despair won out. She sank to her knees beside the bed and took her mother’s hand in hers. She wanted to ask her why she’d waited so long to see a doctor, why she hadn’t sent Bobby sooner, why the God they worshipped hadn’t helped her. But she knew the stubborn, the-world-is-out-to-get-us attitude kept them isolated in their own world. She was surprised her father had taken her mother to the hospital in the first place.
Her biggest question to herself was why she cared. All the hurt and anguish of her childhood seeped away in the face of death. The love of the little girl who thought her parents were gods before they began to crush her soul emerged from its hiding place.
