Tell Me True (3 page)

"You'll tell me if you find anything else, right?" Bridgette asked as they left.

"Right," I said, lying to the second important person in my life in as many day
s
.

***

That night, while Ash slept and the clock read three in the morning, I finished reading all the research. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my neck as I thought about what I'd just learned.

I'd finally found one name I knew.
One name not destroyed in weather damage. One name not hidden by a mask.

And so I began to plot my revenge.

THE FIRE BURNED
so hot my cheeks felt feverish. I blinked away tears and reached for Ash, but he was gone. Everything sounded heavy and muffled, like I was underwater. Another tear leaked out the corner of my eye and then the screams started, cutting through the fog in my mind, pushing me into action. I ran toward Jon's car, kicking off my designer shoes, tripping over the train on my designer dress, all of this frill and fluff a cruel mockery of the carnage before me.

Grabbing Ash's arm, I pulled him away from the fire. "You can't
! It's too late!" I choked on smoke and stumbled back, cutting my foot on a piece of glass that had blown from the windshield. The air smelled of oil, fire and burning flesh. It was a cloying sweet smell, which surprised the part of my brain that had shut down the emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

I turned toward a bush and vomited. Ash placed a hand on my back as he dialed 9-1-1. All of this happened so fast. Seconds. Less than seconds. It felt slower, time playing tricks on me. Slowing down, then speeding up.

"Jon!"

Bridgette ran
toward the explosion as stunned guests stumbled toward us.

"Jon, no! No!" She
whirled around in her ice blue dress, eyes darting and intense, grief etched on her face like a map. "What happened? Where's Jon?"

Nothing seemed real as I walked toward her. Our eyes met. Her face crumbled when she saw the answer to her question in my unspoken words.

She collapsed in my arms. "No. Catelyn, no. This can't be. He told me he loved me. We made plans for our future. How did this happen?"

I wished I had an answer for her, some way of explaining this that would make sense, but I didn't. So I held her, and we cried together as the rest of the world moved into action.

The wedding planner became indispensable, bringing out drinks and chairs and blankets to guests and family as the police and fire truck sirens wailed closer and closer, turning the parking lot into a crime scene in a matter of minutes.

Bridgette went to her parents, who sat
on chairs on the opposite side of the lawn as the Davenports. My heart broke for the Bridgette's pain. For Ash's pain. And I watched their parents, stoic in their own corners, distanced from others as they shared matching expressions of suppressed emotion. Ash and I stood in the middle, his arm around me as I shivered despite the warmth of the summer sun. "Ash…"

I didn't know what to say. Had no idea how to comfort him.

He turned to me, unshed tears making his eyes luminescent, his face hard in unexpressed grief as he caught a tear off my cheek with his hand. I hadn’t even realized I'd been crying.

When Detective Grey walked over to us, Ash squeezed my hand and turned to face him.

"You two have the worst luck of any couple I've ever met," he said by way of greeting. Then he seemed to notice our grave faces. "Um… sorry. Walk me through the details."

"Som
eone killed my brother," said Ash.

Grey looked at me and then back at Ash. "Are you sure he was in the car when it exploded?"

I nodded. "I saw him get in. He'd forgotten the wedding rings and went back to get them and then…"

He questioned us for several more minutes, but we had nothing new to share. No, Jon didn't have any enemies that we knew of. No, he hadn't been acting strange lately. No, he hadn't received any threats. Yes, he seemed normal and happy when he arrived.

When I mentioned that he'd been dating Bridgette, Grey finished with us and moved on to her. I slumped into a chair and Ash sat next to me, his eyes glued to the wreckage. The fire had been put out and a team of firefighters swarmed the black twisted metal that used to be a car.

Mrs. Brown, our housekeeper and a long-time motherly figure to Ash, brought us both a plate of food. I looked down to see our wedding cake and a sob escaped my throat.

"You have to eat, my dear," said Mrs. Brown, putting a hand on my shoulder. "The sugar will help with the shock."

Ash nodded and shoveled the vanilla and lemon concoction into his mouth. I did my best, but it tasted like sand and I choked on the frosting, washing it down with a glass of punch Mrs. Brown had also provided.

Ash stood and Mrs. Brown hugged him, her face covered in tears. "I'm so sorry, my boy. So sorry."

The summer sun beat down on us, but I still felt chilled. As the paramedics and firefighters searched for a body in the
mangled remnants of Jon's car, guests from the hotel checked in and out and went about their plans and I wondered how a person lived through days like this. How could tragedy and normalcy live side-by-side without one destroying the other?

A firefighter's voice, gruff from too many years inhaling smoke, carried through the crowd. "We've found a body!"

I set my plate aside and followed Ash over to the parking lot. Yellow caution tape had been put up to keep the crime scene clear, but Ash ignored it.

A uniformed officer tried to stop him. "Excuse me, sir, you're not allowed to be here."

Detective Gray waved the officer away. "They're with me."

We stood with the detective as a body
charred beyond recognition was pulled from the car and placed on a stretcher. I gripped Ash's arm, fighting the bile rising in my throat. He'd turned white, his jaw clenched so hard I worried he'd break his teeth.

A thought had been running a loop in my mind ever since the explosion and then it slipped out of my mouth. "Is it possible… could it be that Lucky and Lauren were both working for som
eone else? That the Midnight Murderer is still out there?"

Ash and Detective Gray both looked at me, Gray speaking first. "It's highly unlikely. We caught the Midnight Murderer. That case has been
put to rest."

Ash nodded, but I caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes before he turned away.

I excused myself and half ran, half walked back to the grass and into the garden where we were supposed to have been married. Finding a bench away from the crowds, I sank down and rested my head in my lap, finally letting the tears take me.

I didn't hear Bridgette approach, only felt her hand rest on my arm as she sat next to me. She'd found time to change into jeans and a blouse, something I wish I'd thought of doing. My wedding dress tightened around me like a corset, fighting my lungs for space.

Bridgette's beautiful face, normally pale, looked even more so now. She'd washed the make up off, so instead of streaks of black down her cheeks, she just had red-rimmed eyes.

I held her hand, squeezing it. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No. What am I going to do, Catelyn? It's just… too much. I loved him, you know? Like, really loved him."

I nodded, unsure what to say.

She turned to me, her face serious. "I know what your mom's notes say about the Davenports. I know you had issues with Jon. So I need to know, as your best friend, I need to know the truth. Did you kill Jon Davenport?"

I pulled aware from her. "Of course I didn’t! What kind of question is that?"

Needing an escape from the smell of burning flesh, from the accusations and pity in the eyes of those around me, I fled to bathroom but stopped cold as I entered the ballroom where we'd planned our small reception. Over the enlarged wedding invitation resting on a stand, its cream paper dripped with red stains that stopped my heart.

Ash is next. The Davenports will pay for their sins.

SPRING FLOWERS WERE
in full bloom and the grass gleamed with that brilliantly perfect green that only golf course grass could pull off. Jon and I walked to the first tee-off. He picked a driver and hit the ball across the fairway.

I pulled out my club and did a few test swings, then squared my shoulders and swung. "I remember my dad taking me golfing when I was little. He'd let me drive the golf cart and even bought me a miniature golf set so I could play with him. I wasn't very good, but
they’re some of my best memories with him."

We walked to our balls and Jon took another swing at his. "I'm glad you could come today. I'm surprised Ash didn't give you a hard time about spending the day with me."

I didn't reply and instead hit my ball closer to the hole as I thought back to my fight with Ash yesterday.

***

We'd had the gym to ourselves in the afternoon, and Ash had continued teaching me self-defense. "I can't believe we're getting married in four months," I'd said, as he blocked my kick.

"You
’re giving away your moves with your body. Keep it tight and fast, like this." He demonstrated the kick I'd just failed at and I tried to block, but his kick was faster than my block. Then he leaned over and kissed me. "I can't wait to be your husband."

His dark hair fell around his face in a messy just-had-sex kind of way and I wished we were having sex instead of sparring. "I'd like to get to know Jon better. He invited me to go golfing tomorrow and I agreed
. It would be nice to get out and golf again. It reminds me of times with my dad, and I know you don't really enjoy it, so I thought it would be a good activity for me and Jon to do together."

Ash's stance became more serious and he pushed his offense more strongly. "Why?"

"Because he's about to be my brother-in-law," I said, trying to fight off his attack while countering with my own.

"He's an asshole. A jealous asshole who would love to have you for himself."

I punched him in the arm. "That's an overstatement, I think. I don't know why you two can't work things out, but I assure you I am yours regardless. It's just an innocent game of golf. Besides, you're going to be busy all day tomorrow with an investor's meeting."

He grunted and then blocked my attack, throwing me to the floor and pinning me.
We stared at each other, faces inches apart. I struggled and tried to free myself but his weight kept me pinned.

My breathing came fast, my chest rising and falling against his. And as our bodies rubbed together, I felt him harden, his cock pressing against my abdomen.

"You're leaving yourself too open," he said.

I wrapped my legs around him. "Only for you." I kissed him
and he didn't hesitate to respond, digging his fingers into my hair and pulling my head closer as he deepened our kiss.

His free hand rode up my shirt, cupping my breasts and squeezing my nipples alternately as he pushed himself closer to me.

"Too many clothes," I said, between kisses.

He nodded and
tore off my sports bra and yoga pants, pulling his cock out enough to shove into me. No foreplay—our sparring had been that—just hot, messy, needy, hard sex. We fucked deeply, wildly, his cock filling me completely and making me desperate for more. I scratched and bit at his skin as he pounded into me. Then I rolled him over and rode him as he flicked my nipples and grabbed my hips, pushing himself into me as I bounced on top of him until we both came fast and hard.

In the end, while he didn't like me spending time with Jon, he knew he didn't have a say
—and he knew I'd always be his.

***

As I focused back on golf, Jon came up behind me and repositioned my hands on my club. "Keep them like this and twist your hips this way a bit. It will help your aim."

"Thanks." I swung and found that it did in fact help my ball go in the correct direction. "What's up with you and Ash
, anyways? Why aren't you closer?"

We worked our way through the
golf course and Jon began to talk about their childhood. "I idolized my big brother," he said, swinging hard. His ball flew across a sand trap and landed near the hole.

Mine didn't do as well and we had to walk further away to retrieve it.

"When we were kids, I was a bit scrawny. I got picked on a lot, but Ash was always there to stand up for me."

I tried to hit my ball out of the sand but only dug it in deeper.

"As we got older, I was the studious one, always studying hard and getting good grades. Valedictorian material and AP classes. Ash got in with a bad crowd. The ones who always wore black and who smoked pot behind the school during lunch. Ash tried to get me involved with them, but I refused, knowing they could derail everything I was working so hard for."

He held out his hand for my club and I gave it to him, letting him hit my ball out of the
hazard, then taking the club back as we walked over to our balls, which were now side by side next to the hole.

"They called me Scrawny Jonny and liked to knock my books out of my hands, take
my stuff, that kind of thing. Ash didn't defend me anymore. He just let his new friends torment me. I missed my brother and wanted to be with him, but he'd changed and we grew apart. Of course, eventually Ash straightened out and got his life together, and I'm so glad he did. I'm happy for him. Even a little jealous." He looked at me and I felt an awkward energy between us. "He has the perfect career, the perfect woman. The perfect life. I hope I find that some day."

H
e hit his golf ball and it rolled smoothly into the hole.

I did the same and
then we both bent down to pick up our balls. As we straightened up, I reached for his hand, my own shaking with nerves at what I was about to do. "There's something I have to tell you."

He turned to me, his face flushed and confused. "What is it?"

"I found my mother's book."