Hidden Threat (57 page)

Nina nodded in approval, perhaps pride. This was all good. Very good.

“
And you’re sure no one saw you in Sanford?”

Del thought of the Asian, Julie Nguyen. Their hookup had been so quick. It had to be, as he had to return and take care of Riley Dwyer in time to make it look like Jake Devereaux had done the job. But Julie had been too much to resist.

“
I’m sure, Gabrielle.”

Nina stared at him a moment, and he shook his head. “None.”

Nina nodded in approval.

Burning the house to destroy the physical memories had been phase one. Killing the psychiatrist to deny Amanda access to living memories had been phase two. There he had not succeeded, but had done well enough. Framing Jake for both the arson and the murder was the most they could do to separate Amanda from his strength of character. Lastly, offering Brianna to Dagus to not go public about Dangurs’ fictional news article was a perfect fit. Brianna needed the money, and she knew Dagus would not be able to resist.

It was a simple fix. He gets Brianna, Brianna gets $10,000, and the article sealing the fate of Amanda’s father endures for all eternity unchallenged. End of mission. And it was to be paid for with Zach’s insurance money.

“
We’re done, Del. I told you that from the beginning. We all serve a purpose, and you’ve served yours. I’ll pay you when we get things all sorted out.”

She watched him pull his shirt over his muscular frame. There was a part of her that would miss the sex, but not a large part. He was okay, a means to an end.

The best part? Nina Hastings’s fingerprints were nowhere on this thing except on the $100,000 check she had written out of her daughter’s checkbook. Melanie had been so absorbed in the rapid closing of the house, she hadn’t noticed Nina pull out her checkbook and sign her daughter’s name. Melanie wasn’t the only one who could forge a signature.

“
I’ll take my money now, if you don’t mind,” Del said, interrupting her train of thought.

“
You’ll get your money tomorrow, maybe later today. Like I said. I need to go to the bank. This all happened a day or two more quickly than I thought.”

He stood in front of her, still seated on the sofa. She locked eyes with him and seemed to telepathically move him to the door. Transmitting her will through her gaze, he understood that he needed to leave now.

“
I’ve got more to do today, Del. Thank you for your efforts.” She was a businesswoman thanking a salesperson for spending some time with her.
Thank you and have a nice day. Next.

She turned her head as she watched him leave. She felt no emotion. She would pay him to keep him quiet, not for the job he’d done. Besides, he had not completed the Dwyer job, now that she thought about it.

She turned her attention to the television. Flipping through all of the news channels with the remote, she took a sip of her coffee and placed the cup on the cherry wood end table. She kicked off her slippers as if she had just returned from a long day at work and tucked her feet underneath her on the sofa. Finding a station that seemed to have more video and less talk, she watched the video replay of the house burning over and over on different channels.

“
Glad I didn’t commit to that one,” she whispered to herself. She smacked her lips at the strong coffee, all the while contemplating her next move. Melanie would be bankrupt because she was certain that she had not insured the house prior to signing the contract and closing. Amanda obviously had learned things from her father’s house and the other people with whom she now consulted. But what else had she learned, and would it threaten their relationship?

On the contrary, with Melanie the clear instigator and manipulator in Amanda’s eyes, this panned out about as she’d expected and hoped it would. As Amanda went to college or moved out of the house, she would have to divide her time between her mother and grandmother, making difficult choices about who to see and when. The life of a young adult revolved around her friends and immediate social network more than her family, Nina knew. When the child came back for the holidays, whom would she see, spend time with, show affection to? Those were the key issues that dominated Nina’s thought process. Her goal was to make sure that Amanda tilted that balance in her favor.

Amanda’s love for her had always been a mainstay, undeniable and irrevocable. She was confident that would remain steadfast. Like a true believer, Amanda would remain loyal to her, she was certain. After all, there was nothing in any chain of events that could be traced back to Nina.

In her mind, morality was a rationalization. The moral thing, the right thing, was always to take care of yourself, take what you could get. Scratch and claw for it if you had to, but best to learn the polished approach and make it seem like everyone else was fighting, and you were just trying to make peace, the innocent bystander. And why go to those lengths? Well, if the thread came undone on the newspaper article, she had decided, the entire scheme could unravel and expose not only their most recent antics, but possibly years of petty crimes.

Most importantly, if Amanda were led to believe she should love her father, then there would be less for her. That was the reality.

Watching replays of her daughter on television screaming at firemen made her look casually around her confines and smile. Amanda had survived the night but was assuredly sweating bullets somewhere. The scared and insecure little girl would soon come running home to Nina. She swirled her coffee cup in her hand and offered a silent toast to Amanda as if to notch one on the scoreboard for her.

Yes, Nina Hastings was doing just fine, thank you.

She looked at her watch when she heard the key enter the deadbolt on the front door.

“
Right on time.”

CHAPTER 81

SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA

Amanda smoothed out her light green windbreaker, which she was wearing half zipped over a chartreuse short-sleeved sweater and blue jeans. She had changed and left her hoodie and other jeans at Brianna’s house for Brianna’s mother to wash. She rubbed her eyes again, then squeezed a few eye-drops into each, followed by a light tossing of her hair. The morning sun had crested and this Monday promised to be a turning point in her life. With graduation less than a week away, she was going to step into the big, bad world a new, wiser and stronger person.

Fumbling with the keys, Amanda burst through the front door, tripping in the foyer of her mother’s house. As she did so, it occurred to her that they had actually sold the house. They intended to vacate it this weekend for the new owners.

“
Nina! Nina! Are you here?”

Amanda darted into the dining room and the kitchen, but did not see her grandmother. Reversing course she entered the main hallway and shot straight back to the den, where she saw Nina standing with an expression of concern on her face. Amanda immediately ran to her and hugged her.

“
Oh, Nina, it was so bad! Have you turned on the television? Did you see what happened?”

“
What’s going on, Amanda? You can tell Nina.”

Amanda pressed her face into the silver silk blouse, feeling her grandmother flinch when she knew that Amanda’s tears might stain the fabric. Having the good fortune of hindsight now, it occurred to Amanda that when her grandmother referred to herself in the third person as Nina, she was full of the conceit that served as her fuel.

“
Mama, Dagus, it was all so bad last night. He was going to kill me, and then there was Mama. It was terrible.” She heaved into her grandmother’s bosom, holding her tight. She felt a little like Dorothy after she had returned to Kansas in
The
Wizard of Oz
.

“
It’s okay, Amanda. It’s okay. You know, it’s just you and me now, and I’m going to make it okay for you like I always have.”

She felt Nina embrace her, but it wasn’t a loving embrace. The way that she could feel her grandmother’s muscles flexing in her arms, Amanda sensed that she did not want so much to hold her close, but to prevent her from getting away. It was a clutch rather than a hug.

“
Oh, Nina, I’m so sorry for all of this. I know that you have been the one there for me all this time. It’s only you, Nina.”

“
It’s okay, Amanda. I’m here for you.”

Her conversation with Brianna had refined the path that she had finally chosen. She’d learned many lessons living within the confines of the psychological hell her grandmother and mother had created for her. Primarily though, she had discovered that everyone had a soft spot, a weakness.

For example, looking at Nina Hastings, the average person would believe she was a refined, cultured woman with a sense of humor and a tough edge. Her father’s revelations to her, even in his death, however, had given her the distance she required to look back on the situation and see it from a more objective standpoint. Like a diver surfacing to check his distance from land, she was able to break away just long enough to gain a balanced perspective.

But defeating Nina was probably not possible. The woman was simply too tough and too savvy. There was only one possible route: an indirect attack.

“
I know you’re here, Nina.” She pulled away, wiping at the ersatz tears. “You’ve always been there for me.”

“
And I’m here for you now,” Nina said, an edge to her voice, “once you level with me.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I checked, Amanda. Your father’s not buried in Arlington. That was some other loser’s funeral you went to. Why did you lie to us?”

Amanda’s mind raced. Her strategy had been cut short by what she should have considered the one obvious flaw in her plan, but she was prepared. Military funerals were highly publicized and easily researched. Again, Nina was punching and jabbing, circling the ring with her own flesh and blood, keeping her off balance and controlling the situation.

Not this time.

“
Because he was Special Operations we handled everything quietly at Arlington. Go check it out yourself.” This part was true as far as she knew. Matt had told her that he was the executor of her father’s estate. In his documents there was a clause that asserted, in the event of Zach’s death, that there was not to be a ceremony. He had already been buried once. In reality all they had handled at Arlington, was Sergeant Eversoll’s funeral.

“
I don’t appreciate you questioning me.” Amanda’s temper flared, counterpunching. “You don’t believe me? Here I come back to you for support, and you are suspicious of me? What in the world could I do to you, Nina?”

Nina stared at Amanda, her black eyes set upon her like a target finder. She watched her grandmother flinch, the tightness in her face eventually giving way to a more relaxed, if sagging, expression.

“
You’re right, Amanda. I’m sorry. You know, when I didn’t see you-know-who’s name in the paper for Arlington funerals I just began to wonder.”

“
Remember how crazy it was last time? They buried him, but he was really alive at Fort Bragg. I think they just wanted to get it over with. Yeah, we went to the ceremony for that guy, but it was right after that we sorted out everything about my dad.”

It bothered her to call Lance Eversoll “that guy,” but she transformed that feeling into a pained countenance.

“
Come here.” Nina clutched her again, her bony arms bruising Amanda’s back.

She felt her grandmother begin to shake. “What is it, Nina?” Perhaps her plan was back intact. “Let’s sit down.”

They sat close to one another on the sofa. The television was turned to mute and the network news had begun, but the fire still replayed in a small inset next to the anchor’s head as she spoke. Amanda wondered if Mary Ann had time to make the papers this morning.

“
Grandma, talk to me, please?”

Nina looked at her absently. “Grandma.” It was a statement, not a question. “That sounds nice. You always called me Nina because you couldn’t say ‘Grandma’ as a little child.”

Amanda knew this was a lie. Nina had named herself that and began reciting it with Amanda when she was three.

“
I know, but, you know, Grandma just sometimes feels good to say. It’s kind of like saying ‘I love you.’”

Again, she saw Nina’s features soften another notch.

“
Well, I guess that’s okay. Sure makes me feel good.”

“
You don’t feel good much, do you Grandma? I mean, you always seem on edge like you can’t trust anyone and you need to defend yourself.”

Nina paused a moment and then spoke. “I suppose, Amanda. I’ve lived a hard life, you know. Came from nothing. Anytime I let anyone get close to me it seems they wound up hurting me. So I just quit letting it happen.”

“
But you know, Grandma, you won’t even let me close to you. I mean, we’re sitting here next to each other, close and all, but not emotionally close.”

“
I can’t remember the last time I let someone get emotionally close to me, or me them.”

“
If you don’t allow yourself to be fully happy, what kind of life is that, Grandma?” Again with the name, like a hypnotist.

“
So many people out there, they want things. They take from you all the time.”