Hush (32 page)

―Like me being such an asshole,‖ Theo said with a smile. A moment later that smile left his face as if someone had stolen it away. ―I suppose you heard I went back to my ex-girlfriend, Heather.‖

―The one from Gresham?‖ Coby asked.

―I was screwing with no consequences then. She
was
pregnant, but she had a miscarriage, which I just thought was lucky at the time, though she didn‘t feel the same way. We just sort of stayed together because we were a couple, and it was high school, and it seemed like the thing to do, y‘know? We were long broken up by the time of the accident, though.‖

Coby was lost. ―What accident?‖

―Yeah, I guess you don‘t know,‖ Theo said. ―Heather got to be a gym rat. She was working out with weights, lifting them up, and the bar fell on her neck and killed her.‖

―That was your girlfriend?‖ Coby said, incredulous. ―I remember when that happened. It was all over the news. My God.‖

―Let‘s go inside,‖ Ellen said with a shiver.

―Have to wait till they open it,‖ Theo said. ―It‘s locked.‖

Coby shook her head, absorbing this latest bit of startling news. ―We‘ve had a lot of deaths of younger people associated with our group. What are the chances?‖

―Guess we‘re just unlucky,‖ Theo said.

Ellen dismissed that. ―Lucas Moore fell because he was drunk and stumbling around in the dark. Rhiannon fell because it was around Christmastime and there was ice. I don‘t know about Heather. I didn‘t ever know her. But Theo said she was kind of a risk taker. Maybe she just put on too many weights.‖

―You said you weren‘t dating her then?‖ Coby asked.

―Nah, she was with some other gym rat. Had a couple of first names. I saw him at Heather‘s memorial service. Edward something? No, Jerry.‖

―Edward Gerald,‖ Ellen put in.

―That‘s it. Ed Gerald.‖ Theo gave her a nod.

―Sometime after that Theo and I found each other on Facebook,‖ Ellen said, trying to right the conversation. ―We just started corresponding. McKenna found me that way, too. Are you on Facebook?‖

―I‘m . . . I think I‘m signed up for a few social networks, but I‘m only so-so about keeping up on them. What‘s Heather‘s full name?‖ she asked.

―Heather McCrae. Why?‖ Theo gave her a hard look. ―You‘re not going to make something weird of this, are you?‖

Coby shook her head. ―I don‘t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it makes you wonder if there‘s something behind it all, doesn‘t it? I mean, can it all just really be bad karma?‖

―You do kind of sound like a conspiracy theorist,‖ Theo said with that smile.

Maybe she did. ―Well . . .‖

The back door suddenly opened and McKenna stuck her head out, baseball cap still in place.

―Good God. Get in here before y‘all freeze your asses off.‖ She waved them inside and the conversation ended.

In the green room where McKenna was hanging out with some of the backstage staff, Coby found a seat on a beat-up couch where she could feel the springs poking through. McKenna paced around the room, asking what they thought of her routine. Ellen and Theo sat on another couch and held hands and told McKenna how great it all was. Coby felt like a wet blanket but couldn‘t join in the fun with much enthusiasm.

Was she wrong? Was this just all the coincidence of life?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Finally, McKenna wound down a bit and came over to Coby. ―Glad you came. I heard you‘re investigating Annette‘s death with Danner Lockwood. Got something going with him?‖

―Well . . .‖

―Yeah. It‘s all over you.‖ She grinned, then immediately sobered. ―Who do you think killed Annette?‖

―I don‘t know.‖

McKenna scooted a stool up to Coby. ―You think it‘s connected to Lucas‘s death, don‘t you? I heard about his lock of hair being found. Creepy. Sorry. Who would hang on to a dead person‘s hair?‖

―What are you talking about?‖ Ellen asked, looking repulsed.

Coby brought them up to date on everything Danner had discussed with the others at Annette‘s memorial service. There was a long stretch of silence after she finished while they all absorbed the information.

―No wonder you think there‘s some connection,‖ Ellen murmured. ―I don‘t mean Heather, but Lucas and Annette . . . it seems weird.‖

―Rhiannon died, too,‖ McKenna said.

―I think back on that campout and what we all said—‖ Ellen broke off.

―Well, it didn‘t have anything to do with that,‖ McKenna answered promptly.

―You said everybody got notes, later on,‖ Ellen reminded her.

―Yeah, but, they weren‘t all that bad. They were just stupid.‖

Coby looked at McKenna. ―Mine was kind of pointed about my father, which was the lie I told that night.‖

―So, you
were
lying.‖ She smiled. ―I wasn‘t. I really did wreck my parents‘ car and my brother covered for me. But the note wasn‘t about that. It just called me a lesbo. I figured it was Vic just being the ass he is. And Genevieve‘s was almost complimentary.‖

―You‘re kidding,‖ Coby said.

―No.‖ McKenna shook her head. ―Like the note writer was a secret admirer almost. You know Gen was screwing Lucas Moore that night, right? Well, whoever wrote Gen‘s note saw her with Lucas and thought it was really sexy. Probably Vic. He‘d be the kind to secretly watch somebody getting it on.‖

Coby hadn‘t known Gen and Lucas actually had sex and planned to ask more, like how McKenna knew so much, but Theo broke in.

―You guys don‘t know Vic at all,‖ he protested vehemently. ―He didn‘t write those notes.

He didn‘t! He‘s not sneaky like that. It wouldn‘t be him.‖

―You saying he wouldn‘t watch people having sex?‖ McKenna challenged.

―I‘m saying, if he‘d seen Genevieve with Lucas, he would have crowed about it,‖ Theo told her flatly. ―Even with Lucas dead, Genevieve would have never heard the end of doing the horizontal in the sand. That‘s Vic. That‘s what he would do. But this note stuff . . . it‘s more a girl thing, if you ask me.‖

Danner had said the notes seemed ―girly‖ as well, Coby recalled.

―But Lucas was Rhiannon‘s boyfriend,‖ Ellen protested. ―Who would side with Genevieve screwing around with Lucas behind Rhiannon‘s back? None of us.‖

Coby felt the weight of her own interest in Lucas back then like a stone aro und her neck now. ―I kissed Lucas that night, too,‖ she admitted, slightly embarrassed.

―Yeah, but you just kissed him,‖ McKenna said. ―Right?‖

Coby nodded. ―Yep.‖

―Well, then, that doesn‘t really count. Not like Gen,‖ she stated flatly.

―You kinda blame her, don‘t you?‖ Theo said, gazing at McKenna with a faint smile, needling her a little. ―For being a man-stealer.‖

She gave him a hard look. ―Pay attention. I‘m not into guys.‖

―Okay, a
lover-
stealer, then,‖ Theo said.

―What about Yvette?‖ Ellen asked, pulling the conversation back to the previous issue. ―She said she was Lucas‘s secret lover.‖

―You believed her?‖ McKenna tossed back at her.

―No . . . but why did she say it?‖

McKenna looked at Coby, then Theo. ―Did anyone believe her?‖

―At the time, I might have. Maybe. At least I entertained the idea. She was so adamant,‖

Coby reminded them. ―But not anymore. She told me at the beach house that Lucas definitely wasn‘t Benedict‘s father.‖

―I‘m surprised she admitted that much,‖ McKenna said with a sniff.

―Who is his father, then?‖ Theo asked. ―It wasn‘t any of us guys. That woulda come out long ago.‖

―I bet Annette knew,‖ Ellen said. ―Maybe all the Ettes know.‖

―I don‘t know why it‘s such a secret,‖ Theo said with a shrug. ―You all told a lot worse things at the campout.‖

―Hey.‖ Ellen looked upset.

―I‘m just saying,‖ Theo pointed out. ―Why is it such a big secret? Still now? The kid‘s, like, almost in junior high.‖

―Yvette‘s like that,‖ Coby said. ―Secretive and . . . fierce. Wynona is convinced she had something to do with Annette‘s death.‖

―Maybe over Benedict‘s ‗secret dad‘?‖ McKenna looked skeptical.

―Any DNA test would prove who the kid‘s dad is,‖ Theo said.

―As long as there‘s a match,‖ Ellen agreed.

―Well, it wasn‘t any of us guys who were there,‖ Theo said. ―Nobody wanted to touch Yvette. She‘s such a bitch.‖

―Maybe someone did, though,‖ Ellen said with a shrug.

―Maybe Lucas mighta taken a bite there,‖ Theo said, sounding skeptical, ―but Yvette already said he‘s not the father, and I don‘t get why she‘d lie about that now. The next one most likely woulda been . . . probably me.‖ He held up his hands in surrender. ―But the other guys—Paul, Vic—Yvette wouldn‘t even look at ‘em. And Galen, he‘s always been shy and pulled back.‖

―What about Kirk?‖ McKenna asked.

Theo shook his head slowly. ―The kid doesn‘t look anything like him, and Kirk‘s pickier about women than you might think. That leaves Jarrod. He could be the father, I suppose. Except he liked Coby back then, and when he wasn‘t with her he was with Genevieve. I‘m telling ya, it‘s none of us. You know what I think? I think Yvette was already pregnant at the campout, and she used Lucas‘s death as a means to pretend he was the father. Kept everyone from looking at anyone else.‖

―But now she doesn‘t want that myth to go on,‖ Coby said. ―She wants us to know Lucas isn‘t Benedict‘s father.‖

―Maybe she‘s ready to reveal who he is,‖ Ellen said.

―Probably a goddamn paternity test in the wings,‖ Theo said. ―It always comes down to money.‖

―You‘re a real cynic,‖ McKenna told him, and he just nodded.

Paternity test. Something niggled at Coby‘s brain. She tried to grab it but couldn‘t quite, and then suddenly it was there.

―Oh, my God. Dana was right,‖ she said. ―I did get it wrong.‖

Danner punched the button for the elevator and found Celek beside him. There was an officer assigned outside Lloyd‘s door, just in case he had some regrets about everything he‘d admitted to Danner, though it wasn‘t much more than they‘d already guessed. Lloyd had fallen for the mysterious Sheila and had been talked into putting his wife, Bethy, out of her misery; she was dying anyway was how Jarvis consoled himself. But then things had gone terribly awry.

Celek said, ―I‘m going over to that nightclub in Laurelton tonight. The one where your brother‘s playing.‖

Danner focused in on him. ―Think something‘s going down there?‖

―I don‘t know. But sometimes it seems like when certain groups are at a place, then that place gets targeted.‖

Danner, who‘d been getting into the elevator, felt a cold finger trace down his spine. ―Are you saying what I think you‘re saying?‖

Celek‘s cherub face tightened up. ―What do you think I‘m saying?‖

―That these burglaries have happened when Split Decision‘s at the venue?‖

―After they play at a place. Yeah. I guess that is what I‘m saying. Those places then get knocked over.‖

They stared at each other, and at the main floor Celek stepped out, but Danner stayed inside the car.

―You coming?‖ Celek asked, slightly uneasy.

―You go ahead,‖ Danner said. ―I‘ve got a few phone calls to make.‖

When Celek, after a moment‘s hesitation, headed for the front entrance, Danner exited the elevator car and stood in the hospital foyer, standing by a spiky rhapis plant and placing a call to Jarrod‘s cell. When he failed to pick up, Danner called the Knapp/Lockwood house phone because he didn‘t have Genevieve‘s cell, readying to leave a message when Gen herself picked up.

―Jarrod‘s with the band,‖ she said with a sniff and in a tone that suggested Danner should know that, too. ―They‘re playing at the Cellar in Laurelton this weekend.‖

―I‘m going to see them tomorrow night. Why aren‘t you there?‖

―‘Cause I hate the band,‖ she stated bluntly. ―Why‘re you so all-fired eager to talk to Jarrod?‖

―Who said I was?‖

―You just sound like it. What‘s wrong? What did he do?‖

―Nothing, that I know of,‖ Danner said.

―So this is about Annette, then? Come on over. I‘ve got a few things to say about her. I just need somebody to really listen to me, okay?‖

Danner checked the time. Nine thirty. All week he‘d wanted back on the Deneuve case but hadn‘t found the time. And now Genevieve was offering him a one-on-one without Jarrod even around, an opportunity that might, or might not, bear some kind of informational fruit.

Either way, it was a chance he wasn‘t going to squander. ―I‘ll be there in twenty minutes.‖

―What do you mean you got it wrong?‖ Ellen asked, frowning.

Coby shook her head. She needed to talk to Danner and she needed to do it tonight. ―I‘ve got to go. Could I get your cell numbers, so that we can talk some more later?‖

Ellen, Theo, and McKenna all exchanged cell phone numbers with Coby, who tried to make a quick exit. They wanted to keep discussing Yvette, and Benedict‘s paternity, but for all intents and purposes the subject had been exhausted.

As Coby headed out the side door and toward her car, she punched in Danner‘s cell number, but the call went straight to voice mail.

―I could get a complex,‖ she said aloud, though she knew he was on a job. When the beep sounded, she said, ―Hey, there. I‘ve left the Joker. McKenna was good. I was hoping I could see you tonight. Or talk to you? Give me a call.‖

She hung up and checked the time. Nearly ten.