Two Thousand Miles (25 page)

“Wow. Great,” I laughed, wondering if I should have congratulated her instead.

“You were right;
plannin’ it would have ruined it,” Bit gushed.

“You said it, now give me the phone back,” Shelby argued.

“Is that Kat?” I heard Russ ask.

“Yes! But I’m talking to her,” Shelby snapped. Russ hollered, “Hey, Kat, sorry I didn’t get to tell
ya bye.”

My stomach was
in knots. I missed them so much. I wished I was back in Slidell, and felt guilty about it. I’d just gotten home, and my dad wasn’t even out of the hospital yet.

A door slammed hard in the background and Shelby said, “Now I think that’ll keep ‘
em off me a minute.”

“Are you hiding in the bathroom?” I asked.

“Yep, it’s the only place you can almost get some privacy in this place,” she grumbled.

“So, did y’all stay the second night in New Orleans?”

“No. Mason needed to go home.”

The knot in my stomach jumped to my throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“We all understand. Just bad timin’—that’s not your fault. None of it’s your fault, really.”

“Feels like it is,” I muttered.

“I guess you haven’t talked to him,” Shelby said.

“No, have you?”

“Once. I called to check on him earlier. He didn’t feel like talkin’.”

“I miss him,” I said.

“I’ve never seen him like this over a girl, Kat, and I’ve known Mason most of my life. I think it would do him some good to hear your voice.” Hearing his voice would have done me some good, too. I just didn’t know what to say to him yet. I guess he didn’t know what to say to me either, because he didn’t answer when I called.

The next morning, I didn’t feel like doing anything. So, I didn’t. The pattern repeated for two more days before Marion intervened.

“You told your father you were going to register for classes almost a week ago.”

“Four days ago,” I corrected. “And I don’t feel like going out.”

“You can’t lay on my couch forever.”

“Is that an ultimatum?” I asked with a smile.

The corner of Marion’s mouth turned up. “Why don’t you call a friend, get out of the house?”

“What friends? I had one, or I thought I had one, and she completely betrayed me, so looks like you’re my new emergency contact,” I deadpanned.

“At least get some fresh air.”

“So far, I’ve managed not to have my picture taken and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“What are you going to do about Mason?”

I laughed, “Do you and my dad talk about everything?”

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to.

“There’s nothing I can do. He’s there. I’m here, and my dad’s going to need me around to take care of him.”

“Kat, there will be nurses to care for your dad. Your job is to get yourself into college. Go register at UCLA tomorrow
, or apply to LSU online. Either way, you need to do something. I don’t want to have to tattle to your dad,” she said. I rolled my eyes.

“Lenny’s coming over,” Marion said, fluffing the pillows around me on the couch. We’re going to go through some files your dad had hidden in his office.”

“Hidden?”

“Well, they were locked in a safe, in a compartment behind one of the bookcases.”

“Who found them?”

“Lenny.”

“Why was Lenny snooping around my house?”

“He had permission, Kat. We’ve been through every piece of information we had immediate access to—twice. We’re hoping there’s something useful in those files.
Something to aid in the investigation.”

“Are the police doing anything?”

“They closed their case when Veronica was found dead. They believe she shot your father.”

“Wait. What do you mean
they
believe? You don’t think Veronica was responsible?”

  Marion’s expression proved she wished she hadn’t said anything.

“Spill it,” I demanded.

“We’re looking into another possibility.”

“That’s obvious. Give me a name for this possibility.”

“Rick Collier,” Marion said, unflinchingly.

“Rick,” I repeated slowly. “No. No way.” I shook my head no. “Rick and my dad have known each other forever. They’re good friends. He would never hurt my dad.”

“I bet you thought the same thing about his daughter, Olivia.”

Marion was right. I never expected Olivia to do something so dirty to me.

“The police discovered that Veronica called Rick everyday for two months before she died. They questioned him and he said the two of them were having an affair.”

“What!” I shrieked.

“His wife, Lucida, corroborated the story.”

I felt like my head was going to explode.

“No. No,” I sputtered. “There’s no way.”

“Lenny and I think Rick was the one stealing from Manger clients. We think he’s the one who started the SEC investigation rumor about your dad to defer attention away from anything he may have been doing wrong.”

“Why? What made you think that he could do something like that?” I asked her.

“Do you know how many times Rick has been to visit your dad in the hospital?”  Marion’s expression gave me the heartbreaking answer.  “None,” I breathed, swallowing hard.

“None,” she repeated. “Why would someone so close to him not show up even once? “Because that someone is hidi
ng something,” I answered. “But what if Rick really was having an affair with Veronica?”

“I think we both know that lie was used to cover-up something bigger.”

“How could this be?” I asked Marion. “How could Rick steal from Manger and try to blame it on my dad? How could he hire someone to murder his oldest friend? How could he be such a bastard and I not see it?”

“Nobody saw it right off, Kat.”

Then something Olivia said to me clicked. “Wait,” I said, seeing a clearer picture in my mind. “The night Olivia and I fought, she told me she wouldn’t have been surprised if her dad had hidden her phone from her. She said he wouldn’t replace it when she told him it was missing. It’s because he was using it. He knew I’d gone to my house my first night back in Malibu. He told Olivia I was there. How else would she have found me? Ray was the only other person who knew, and he’d been camped out front the whole time.” I looked at Marion, sick to my stomach. “I told Rick I was staying with you. He’s the one who told the press I was here!” I proclaimed.

“We don’t have rock solid proof yet. We have to search those files. Lenny should have been here by now,” Marion said, picking up her cell. She dialed Lenny and got no answer. I felt a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. Marion was worried.

“I’m going to your house. You stay here. I’ll send Ray up to stay with you.”

“I’m going, too,” I protested.

“You’re staying put, Kat, please,” Marion said, her tone commanding, before walking out the door.

As soon as Ray appeared, I began convincing him that we needed to go to my house because something wasn’t right, and I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing while Marion was possibly in danger.

A black Jaguar I suspected belonged to Lenny was parked in front of Marion’s red Volvo. Ray and I peeked in a couple windows before approaching the front door. We didn’t see anything, which made me nervous. Marion and Lenny should have been milling around the front rooms of the house.

I went to open the front door, but Ray stopped me. “Wait; let me look around back first.”

Ray left me camouflaged in a group of red crape myrtles, planted beside the house, where I waited. And waited.

Ray was taking too long. Something had happened to him, I could feel it. It was time to call the police. I stepped out of the bushes and took a few steps before
being grabbed from behind.

My mouth was covered, muffling my screams. I was dragged to the back of the house, where Ray was lying face down on the grass with blood leaking from his head. Flashes from the night my father was shot surfaced; I was suddenly afraid the same thing might happen to me.
I should have told Mason that I loved him. I should have left when Marion gave me the chance
.

Before I was blindfolded, I caught a glimpse of Marion across the room. She was tied to a chair and had a handkerchief tied tightly over her eyes. “Who’s there?” Marion asked. My mouth was uncovered as whoever had me, had taken the gag away from my mouth to blindfold me
with.

“Kat,” I said, meekly, and was smacked hard in the mouth for it.
I gasped. The metallic taste of blood lazily seeped inside my mouth.

“Don’t hurt her, please,” Marion cried.

My arms were pulled behind me, my wrists tied together, and then I was not so gently laid face down on the floor.

“The noise of my father’s office being roughly torn apart filled the room.
Then I heard my captor’s voice. “Where is it!” the man yelled. It wasn’t Rick, which heightened my fear. I felt I could have negotiated with Rick, but not a stranger.

“Where is the second recorder? I know your father told one of you about it! Where is it?”
Panic enveloped me.

“I don’t know anything,” I cried. I felt a shoe shove
my hip, rolling me onto my back. The man’s warm breath spread across my face as he ground out the words, “I know he told you and you better tell me or your daddy’s girlfriend gets a bullet.”

I sobbed. “I swear I don’t know. I swear. He didn’t tell me anything.”

“She said she doesn’t know,” Marion yelped. “Leave her alone!”

“Shut up, bitch. You had your turn,” the man growled. His breath in my ear, he whispered, “All I need is that recorder, and the two of you can walk right out of here like nothing ever happened.”

“Maybe if you let me help you look,” I offered.

“And let you see my face? No thanks,” the man scoffed. He paced the floor in front of me while dialing on his phone
; the tones cutting through the scared silence in the room.

“I’ve torn this place up and didn’t find it,” the man said. “That’s not all. I was interrupted by two men, that lawyer friend of William’s and his daughter. She doesn’t know where it is either.”

The man on the other end got loud, but I couldn’t make out his words.

“I tied them up and blindfolded them,” he said.

The voice became louder.

“Yeah, well, what was I supposed to do?” the man defended. “Let ‘
em see me? When you said I could make a quick buck, that’s all I was after. I didn’t sign up for this,” he said, and hung up the phone.

“If you let us go, we won’t press charges,” Marion said.

“You don’t know who I am, lady. How are you gonna press charges against somebody you didn’t see?”

“I’ll find out who you are, and if you leave us like this, I’ll make sure you go to jail.”

The man laughed.

“Who hired you?” Marion demanded.

“Uh-uh lady, I’m more afraid of him than you. You should be afraid of him, too.”

The deadbolt on the front door clicked. Someone was coming inside. “Hey, is that you?” the man asked, his voice fading as he left the room.

“Casper! What are you doing here?” Olivia’s voice
echoed in the foyer.Before I could scream her name, my mouth was gagged. Since Marion was also silent, I knew she’d been gagged, too. I recognized the scent in the air. Rick’s cologne.

“Working out a few bugs with the audio/video system,” Casper said.

“Is Kat here?” Olivia asked, warily.

“No. That lawyer lady let me in.”

“Marion?”

“Uh, yeah, her.
Hey, if Kat shows up, I’ll tell her you came by. I need to finish up.”

“Thanks,” Olivia said
, and then the door closed.

I thought I would puke when Olivia walked out. Who knew what Rick would do to Marion and me? He’d felt no guilt about
my father’s shooting. Marion and I meant nothing to him in comparison to my dad. We were witnesses, and the only successful way to keep a witness quiet—according to old school mob guys and movies—was to off them.

“You know what happens to guys who violate their parole?
They go straight back to prison. I’m not goin’ back there, man. So, you better fix this,” Casper threatened Rick. The door slammed. I hoped Casper was gone. He seemed just as desperate as Rick to stay out of prison.

Rick’s scent filled the air around me again. “I’m sorry about this, Kat. It’s all gone awry. I never meant for you or your father to get hurt. Casper told me he installed a second video recorder when he updated your security system a few months back. William moved it; all I need to know is where.”

Rick pulled the gag out of my mouth. “I don’t know,” I whimpered.

“Tell me where it is and nobody will get hurt,” he growled