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There’d been other fights and a shoving match that had garnered attention from the local police. They’d hadtoo much to drink and had gotten in the little two-seater convertible my dad had rebuilt, and then they’d sped down the narrow two-lane road up the side of the mountain, swerving to avoid cars head on.
Therehad been witnesses that had seen them drive over the side of the mountain. They saw the car swerve out of control and they all said there’d been no sign that the brakes had been used. The cops were quick to label it a double suicide after the way my parents had set the stage. They didn’t investigate much at all. And the bodies they’d recovered from the scene had been beyond recognition. Only dental records had confirmed their deaths, and obviously that had been as big a lie as the rest of it.
“I’ll start on the next one while you deal with that,” I said. I sliced into the third box and wasn’t surprised to see passports, cell phones, and driver’s licenses under multiple names. “Guess you were right about the planning.”
I was almost on autopilot now, slicing and dumping the contents, scanning through them quickly while my heart raced inside my chest. This is what my father had come back for. Money and fake IDs so he could slip through the cracks. He hadn’t come back for me. To tell me it had all been a big misunderstanding. That I had the wrong idea about the kind of people he and my mother had been.
Jack’s hand squeezed my shoulderand I dropped my head down, bracing my hands against the table.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” I said. “Every time I think I’ve put it behind me I see the proof of what they were. For a long time after the FBI came to question me I lived in a state of denial, even though they had irrefutable proof. I couldn’t believe that all of that had happened right under my nose. That my own parents had lied to me and betrayed me.”
“It shouldn’t make you feel guilty that you love them. They’re your parents, Jaye. You want them to be good and honest and kind. And it doesn’t make you less that you still have hope for that somewhere inside you. Their job was to love and protect you. It’s not your shame but theirs that they couldn’t manage to do it.”
As usual Jack cut right to the heart of the matter.Despite it all, I did still love them. They were my parents, and blood was supposed to be thicker than water. But there was no blood either. Just lies.
“Sometimes that psychology degree comes in handy,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
He kissed the back of my neck softly. “I love you. Just remember that.”
“I do. Every day. And I’m amazed by it. Humbled by it.”
I cleared my throat and moved to the next box. My hand was steadier as I sliced through the tape. The box rattled as I moved it and piqued my curiosity.
“Flash drives. What do you want to bet we’re not going tolike whatever we find on them?” The box was filled with silver flash drives, neatly labeled with a series of numbers, almost like binary coding found in a library.
“If your parents were as careful as I think they were, they’ll all be encrypted. I’ve got some skills in that area, but I’d be slow and I wouldn’t want to trigger any deletions if I made a mistake. Carver would be able to help us if I asked. He’s a freaking genius with computers.”
Ben Carver was a close friend of Jack’s and one ofthe few FBI agents who could be in the same vicinity as me without questioning me for illegal activity. He’d helped us on cases before and he was a good guy. But I didn’t know if I’d be comfortable, even with someone like Ben, knowing what might be on those flash drives.
“I’ll think about it.”
There was one box left and I grabbed for the coffee cup Jack had sat on the table. I took a sip and realized it had gone cold. I went to the sink and poured it out and then got myself a fresh cup.
“I need to tell you something.” I turned back to face Jack. What I had to say deserved to be said face to face.
His brows raised. “Do I need to sit down for this?”
“It probably wouldn’t hurt.”
He pulled out one of the dining chairs and took a seat, leaning his arms on the table. “Are you finally going to tell me what’s been bothering you?”
Quick. Like a Band-Aid, I thought.
“I saw my father yesterday.”
“I beg your pardon?” He looked more concerned than alarmed, and I wondered if he thought I was having some sort of psychotic episode.
“I’m serious. He was there when I walked into the house yesterday. Just walked right out of the dark like a fucking ghost. But he was real enough.” I took the silver ring he’d given me out of my pocket and tossed it on the table, and we both watched it bounce a couple of times before it spun to a stop.
“My mother’s wedding ring. She would have been wearing it when they went over the side of the mountain. But obviously it wasn’t them in the car. He’s alive. And he’s here in Bloody Mary.”
Jack was silent for a long while.He picked the ring up and held it between his thumb and forefinger and then stared at me out of hurt and angry eyes. “What the fuck, Jaye? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I knew the signs of Jack’s temper. He’d gotten a hold of it since his misspent youth, and he had a much longer fuse now, so it was slower to burn.
“I’m telling you now.” My own temper was frayed at the edges, and the night’s lack of sleep caused a vicious headache to pound behind my eyes. “I just had to get a handle on it.”
“By yourself. Because God forbid you lean on anyone or take any help from anyone. And while you were getting a handle on it a known felon and possible murderer is walking the streets.”
