Third to Die (22 page)

“Thank you, but this could have waited.”

“Edmond loved this place,” Betty sniffed. “He’d hate to think that in his…absence, things slipped.”

Aiden glanced down at the piece of paper Betty had given him. Edmond’s password contained only four letters:

ANDE

It was Edna spelt backwards. Aiden pinched his eyes shut as he felt the fresh threat of tears burning behind them.

“Did he say what will happen to this place?” Betty asked tentatively. She appeared smaller than normal, diminished by her sorrow. She continued to hold a crumpled tissue up to her eyes.

Aiden realized that, like him, she had nowhere else to go. It was either come into an empty office or sit at home alone. Sometimes you just needed to stare at a different set of four walls.

“We can discuss that another time,” Aiden reached out and tentatively touched her shoulder. “You should go home.”

“This is my home, Aiden. This place is my purpose, it gave me a reason to get out of bed every day.”

Aiden felt something in him break when she called him by his first name.

“Edmond left the company to me,” he told her. Betty blinked rapidly at him, catching any fallen tears in her tissues.

“He did?”

“Yes,” Aiden confirmed. “And I plan to continue everything here just as he would have. As long as I’m here, Betty, you’ll always have a job.”

“Thank you,” Betty trembled slightly. “But it doesn’t seem right, does it? To carry on with him gone?”

“No,” Aiden agreed. “It doesn’t.”

Betty left some ten minutes later after Aiden had told her to take the rest of the week off and then together they’d set about getting Copes and May back up and running. As she walked back down the street, Aiden knew she took the news of the new ownership of the company with her. Soon everyone would know.

Aiden glanced around the waiting area. Clyde’s distrusting words rang in his ears and he asked himself the questions he had been trying to evade; what if he wasn’t up to the task of running the company? What if he couldn’t honour Edmond’s legacy?

Chapter Ten

The Truth We Knew

The plane touched down on the runway with a jolt. Aiden was forced back into his seat as the brakes were firmly pressed and the world beyond his window finally slowed down and eventually stilled.

“Thank you for flying with Air America today and welcome to Chicago,” the captain declared jovially over the sound system. Aiden leaned forward to look out at the grey skies, at the bleak landscape of the runway.

Somehow he’d made it back to the city. As he disembarked from the plane and numbly followed his fellow passengers towards the baggage claim, he tried to make sense of the past week. Everything felt as though it had happened in a dream. He remembered sitting in the church where Father West had once presided over the congregation, listening to a new priest list Edmond’s positive attributes and fervently declare what an asset to the community he had been.

It was strange being back at the church. Aiden had tried to avoid the place of worship ever since Father West had been unceremoniously removed from his position and placed in prison. Even though the outer walls had been fiercely scrubbed clean, if you looked close enough you could still see the faint shadow of the cruel words which had been pasted across the building.

Aiden had showed Avalon that even the holy could fall. He wasn’t sure if the town would ever forgive him for that. At Edmond’s funeral he sat on the pew behind the Copes clan. If anyone wondered where Isla was, they were too polite to ask. He was certain he’d have to face their questions at some point, when the day wasn’t reserved for remembrance.

“I can come if you want,” Isla had told him over the phone. He could hear the pitch in her tone which meant that she didn’t want to come.

“It’s okay,” Aiden insisted. “Better I do it alone really.”

“I was terribly fond of Edmond,” Isla insisted.

“Everyone was.”

But Isla was now in Chicago. Aiden didn’t want to pull her back to Avalon when he knew she’d tried so hard to escape.

As Aiden watched the array of baggage slowly drop down on to the revolving terminal, he rubbed his throbbing temple. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept in days, which perhaps explained why his life currently felt like a waking dream.

He remembered the whispers at the funeral and the turned heads. He caught snippets of what was being said. He heard Father West’s name against his own. It seemed that people blamed Aiden for the popular priest being forced to leave. West was still awaiting trial. Aiden already knew that a man of the cloth wouldn’t die for his crime, at least not in the South.

Aiden was so lost to his thoughts that he almost missed his own holdall sliding round. He snapped out of his fatigue just in time to reach out and grab it before it was sent to commence another rotation.

*

“I’m actually coming back to Chicago in a few days,” Isla gripped the phone tightly in her hands as Aiden declared his impending visit. Biting her lip she glanced nervously around her new apartment. There were unopened boxes everywhere and the space was considerably smaller than she was used to. But when she looked out of the large windows she saw her beloved city and she knew that she was home. Meegan was sat on her playmat, eagerly engaged with some building blocks.

“Oh, how come?” Isla forced herself to sound amicable. Aiden was free to visit the city as and when he liked but she wasn’t sure she was ready to face him, not yet. The pain of the dissolution of their marriage was still so open and raw; if she saw him it would be like pouring lemon juice upon the wound, bitter and painful.

“For work,” Aiden had sighed.

“You’re back to work already?” This had surprised Isla. She moved closer to the window and watched the people moving on the sidewalk below. From her vantage point they looked like ants.

“It’s to do with the Greensburg case.”

“Oh.”

“Listen,” she heard Aiden clear his throat awkwardly. “I know it’s early days and we don’t have anything formal set up yet. But when I’m there, could I see her?”

Isla turned and looked back at her daughter, blissfully playing. She held a bright-red brick in her dumpy little hands which she was trying to force onto a blue brick which was the wrong size. No matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t fit together.

“Of course,” Isla lowered herself to perch on the edge of a box. “It’s just…”

“It will be weird to see me?”

“Yes,” Isla laughed slightly. “And I don’t want it to be.”

“Some things are inevitable.” Aiden sounded so distant when he spoke, so lost.

“Aid, are you all right? I mean, I know how hard Edmond’s death must have been for you.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Aiden replied sharply.

“Okay,” Isla cleared her throat nervously. “Okay, sure. Let’s sort out a time for you to see Meegs.”

*

Meegan was waiting for him in a small park located in the centre of the city. She was wearing a blue and white striped dress and her hair was held in bunches on either side of her head. She looked adorable. She didn’t see Aiden approaching her; she was too busy playing in the sandbox, focusing on the bucket she was trying to fill with all the amber grains.

When Aiden saw her, he froze. He still smelled of the stale air which circulated the aeroplane. He’d had time to check into his hotel and drop off his luggage but nothing else. He wished he’d had chance to shower. He wasn’t concerned about the odour of travel; it was everything else that clung to him which bothered Aiden. He feared that he carried death with him. Back in Avalon the air reeked of it. And now he was in the city investigating yet another death. Aiden was starting to feel detached from the world of the living.

“Aid, hey!” Isla looked up from the magazine she was reading. She was sat on a nearby bench keeping an eye on their daughter. Already she was transformed, wearing designer jeans, a trendy top and a mask of make-up which seemed excessive for an afternoon in a park.

Aiden had to quickly thaw and move towards them as he’d been spotted.

“Hi,” he greeted his estranged wife awkwardly. They briefly hugged and he went to kiss her on the cheek but she moved out of reach, blushing slightly.

“Daddy!” Meegan clambered onto her feet and began to try and get out of the sandbox. She held her little arms outstretched towards her father, her face aglow with pure delight.

“Hey, princess,” Aiden scooped her out of the sand and held her in his arms. His fears about the lingering shadow of death surrounding him instantly dispersed when forced to compete with his overwhelming love for his little girl.

“Daddy!” Meegan leaned her head against his chest and nuzzled against him.

“I missed you,” Aiden kissed her forehead and held her tightly. “Have you been a good girl while I’ve been gone?”

“The best!” Meegan confirmed, still pressing herself against him.

“She’s been doing really well,” Isla noted politely as she settled back down on the bench and returned to her magazine.

“Do you like being back in the city?” Aiden looked down at the precious bundle in his arms as he spoke.

“Yes!” she replied excitedly. “We went to the toy store and the park!”

“Sounds good,” Aiden felt slightly pained that Meegan didn’t seem to be missing Avalon. Did she not identify with the town as home?

“I was thinking that the next time I’m in the city we could catch a football game,” Aiden told her.

“Football!” Meegan began to squirm in his arms to be released so he lowered her back into the sandbox. She sat down beside her pail and tilted her head slightly to the left.

“We go football?”

“Yes,” Aiden sat on the edge of the sandbox and smiled at her. “Chicago has a great team we can go and support.”

“Football!” Meegan raised her arms up in delight, pretending she was waving one of her beloved foam fingers. Behind them, on the bench, Isla rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll take you to their next game,” Aiden smiled but sadness caused his shoulders to sag. He liked attending the Avalon Angels games. When you were there you got a real sense of community. It wouldn’t be the same at a bigger game, it would feel more impersonal.

“I was hoping the football thing might die out,” Isla noted a little sourly.

“She loves going,” Aiden turned to look back at her. “We have to keep up with the things that she loves. We owe that to her.”

*

It was just before three when Aiden approached the small burger bar he used to frequent as a college student. He thrust his hands into his trouser pockets and waited. Meegan had wailed when he left the park after their two hours together. It was a shrill, piercing sound which tore through him. He kept promising that he’d be back again soon but she didn’t understand, how could she? She was just a little girl, she shouldn’t have to comprehend grown-up issues.

Walking away from them had felt strange. Aiden felt like bit by bit he was losing his identity. He was no longer a husband. He was still a father but not all the time as he used to be. He could now walk away from it all. He was a lawyer but even that label struggled to fit. He now owned Copes and May but how was he supposed to run it without Edmond’s guidance?

“Wow, Connelly, you’ve barely changed.” Aiden snapped back into the moment as Guy Chambers approached him. He was wearing dark denim jeans, a crisp white shirt and had a pair of designer Aviators pulled up in his golden hair even though the sun hadn’t even shone that day.

“Guy, hey,” Aiden smiled at him as they shook hands. Guy’s handshake was strong and firm. His hands were as golden as his hair. He looked remarkably well. It was evident that beneath his shirt he had a strong physique. Aiden felt small and pale against him.

“Thanks for meeting me,” Aiden told him sincerely.

“Well, today is one of those rare occurrences for me; a day off.”

“Do you not get many of those?” Aiden asked as they entered the burger bar.

“Not really, no.” Guy shook his golden mane.

“So where did you get the tan?”

Guy looked at his sun-kissed hands and laughed.

“I was out in California last month working on a case.” They sat down and he removed his sunglasses with a flourish.

Aiden wasn’t surprised that Guy had been in California, there was something extremely West Coast about his appearance. He looked healthy, athletic and full of life. Aiden was pale with intense eyes, the look of someone who rarely saw daylight.

“California doesn’t sound too bad,” Aiden said jovially.

“It wasn’t,” Guy agreed, smiling lightly. “I’m lucky that I love my job. I get to travel the country, see some amazing places.”

“Glad you’re liking it.”

“Yeah,” Guy levelled his gaze upon Aiden. “I’m happy with my choices, with how my life has turned out.”

“Good for you,” Aiden stiffened slightly. He didn’t want to discuss their history. He didn’t want to bring up Claire and all that Guy had forsaken for his current life. Aiden hadn’t come there to cast judgement; he’d merely come seeking answers.

“Shall we cut the chit-chat?” Guy suddenly asked briskly.

“Sure,” Aiden replied uneasily.

“I’ve found out the truth about your friend,” Guy lowered his voice. “I’m just not sure you’ll want to hear it.”

*

Buck Fern pulled on the door to the offices of Copes and May. It didn’t budge, it was locked. Scowling, he drew up closer to the glass and peered inside. The waiting area was concealed in darkness and Betty was absent from her usual position behind the desk.

Buck briefly removed his Stetson and ran a hand through his thin hair. Clyde White had been adamant that Aiden Connelly had inherited the solicitors from Edmond prior to his passing. And Clyde was rarely misinformed. Buck tried the door once more. It was definitely locked. Wherever Aiden Connelly was, he wasn’t at work.

For a moment Buck considered the possibility that he’d finally achieved his goal and had successfully run Aiden out of town. Had the responsibility of taking on Copes and May single-handed been too much for him?

But if that was the case and Aiden had finally left Avalon, why didn’t Buck feel better about it? Concerned, he shoved a handful of tobacco into his mouth and began to thoughtfully chew on it as he wandered back down the street.