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“I figured. Do you need me to fly back to Tabiq and enjoy those lovely beaches again? Because I wouldn’t mind,” he joked.
“Not yet.”
“Damn. Then what do you need?”
“Get me Dean’s number. I need to speak to him.”
“Dean Henderson? Why? I thought we agreed that he wasn’t involved in what happened to Venus,” he asked.
“That hasn’t changed. Not that I like to admit this, but you were right. I should’ve spoken to him while we were in Tabiq. I need to know what the hell really happened in Tabiq and why they are there,” I said.
“That conversation is going to have to wait,” he said.
“Why is that?” I asked. “Because a couple of days ago you were pretty much begging me to speak to him. What changed?”
“He’s flying back to Boston. Won’t land till late tonight. Since his wife Tessa is with him, you probably don’t want to ask the kind of questions you want to.”
That was an acceptable reason to delay speaking to him. “Okay. Text me his number and I’ll reach out to him in the morning.”
“Do you really think he’ll have any clue who Michael is?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. Right now, I’m more concerned with figuring out if Venus is really Venus. She has so many lies that I’m not even sure if the guy's name is Michael. Until I have proof otherwise, I will have to keep searching based on what she’s told me.” That didn’t sit right with me at all. For all I knew, she could be playing me just like she had been MaKayla.
“I couldn’t believe it when you told me that no one has heard of her. I mean I understand that they don’t know MaKayla, but Venus was there the first eighteen years of her life.”
“And remember what I said, she is somehow related to one of the Hendersons’ mothers. That means she has or had family there.” I needed to speak to Venus again. MaKayla wasn’t expecting me until six. That gave me time to pop in for another chat with her dear mother. “I have to go. Don’t forget to send me that number.”
“You got it. Let me know how the conversation goes,” he said before ending the call.
One conversation at a time. I left my hotel room and headed for Venus’s house. I stopped far enough away to make sure MaKayla’s car wasn’t parked anywhere nearby. The last thing I needed was to get caught there a second time.
When I was confident Venus was alone, I knocked on her door.
She opened it and said, “I hope you’re here to tell me you’re leaving Halifax and going back to New York.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you were supposed to date my daughter, not be making out with her publicly. Don’t you think she will feel foolish when you leave?”
“Who said I’m going anywhere?”
“Damien, we both know why you are in Halifax. It’s not because you are thinking about relocating.”
“No. And I’m not here to discuss my living arrangements either. I have more questions for you,” I said.
“Then I guess you might as well come inside.” This time she had me sit in the living room. “What painful things are you going to make me recall this time?”
I felt like an ass, but I had to remember that this was for MaKayla. She deserved the truth.
“There seems to be an issue with the story you gave me last time.”
“I told you everything I know,” she replied.
“Then maybe it’s the question that I hadn’t asked that still has me puzzled.”
“And what is that?” she said, her lips in a fine line.
“What is your name?” I raised my hand before she spoke and said, “Yourrealname. The one you used back in Tabiq.”
