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"I talked to her on Thursday. She said nothing about my mother. She was just upset because she couldn't get my father to call her back. She was worried about him." My mind raced in a dozen different directions. "She thought he might be having an affair."
"With your mother?"
"No," I said. Then I realized I had no idea. "I mean, she didn't say anything about my mother."
"Not even after you told her your mother was alive?"
"I didn't give her that information. I didn't want to tell her before I spoke to my father." I swallowed hard. "Have you talked to either of them?"
"Your father hasn't gotten back to me. We're trying to trace his whereabouts. I'll give your stepmother a call now."
"Do you want me to talk to her first? Maybe she would tell me something before she'd tell you. I think she'll clam up and call her lawyer before she'll answer any of your questions."
"All right. See what you can find out. Then call me back."
"Also, I hired a private investigator."
"He's already been in touch with me. But believe me, Ms. Landry, we're doing everything we can to find the person who shot your mother."
"I understand. I'll call Vicky and then I'll call you back." As he clicked off the line, I played the video one more time. "I can't believe this," I murmured.
"That's your stepmother, huh?"
"Yes."
"How long has she been married to your father?"
"Since I was eleven. She happily stepped into my mom's shoes, which felt really weird, because she'd been one of my mom's best friends. They met at a yoga class. They both loved live music, and they'd go out together when my dad was traveling on business. Vicky was in and out of our house so much, I called her Aunt Vicky. After my mom died, Vicky was very comforting to me and to Dani. But that changed fast. When she would come over, she would just want to talk to my father. Four years later, they got married and six months after that, Dani and I went to boarding school."
"Seriously? She sent you to boarding school?"
"Well, it was a school specializing in artistic programs, so she sold it like it was a great opportunity for us. To be honest, we were okay with it. We didn't like living with them. Our dad retreated from us after our mom died, even before Vicky moved in. But once she became Mrs. Landry, he had even less to do with us. He thought we'd love her, because we'd loved her when she was our mother's friend, but we could see that she didn't have much use for us."
"What's your relationship now?"
"We tolerate each other. We're polite. They live in LA, and Dani and I live in Carmel, so we don't get together much."
"But she calls you when she's worried about your dad?"
"Sometimes. She hasn't been worried until lately, or if she has been, she hasn't said anything to us about it."
"But now, at the same time she's worried about your father having an affair, she shows up in San Francisco near your allegedly dead mother's house."
"It's damning," I murmured. "She had to know my mom was alive, but when did she find out? Was it the whole time? Or was it recently?"
Kade's lips drew into a tight line. "You need to call her."
"I know. I'm just not sure I'm ready for any more truth."
"Isn't that what you came here to get?"
I let out a sigh. "Yes. Fine, I'll call her."
"Can you put it on speaker? I'd like to hear her story."
"Why not?" I punched in Vicky's number and turned the speaker on. She answered on the third ring.
"Brynn," Vicky said, her voice rushed and a little thick. "Have you heard from your father?"
