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I was too wound up to pack anything before sprinting out of Derek’s condo. Meredith and Katherine would be upset they had to leave their things, but their ire was the least of my worries right now.
I found the girls ambling through the crowded aisles of Bellevue Square, not appearing the least bit concerned about the threats to their safety. It broke my heart to see them giggling with each other, getting along so well in this sanctuary for teenage girls. I hoped what I needed to tell them didn’t completely extinguish their ability to laugh.
Their eyes widened, then narrowed, then hardened in turn as they spotted me racing toward them.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Katherine asked, her sharp tone suggesting that I’d just ruined her evening. Unfortunately, that truth was more accurate than she currently realized.
“We’ve got to go,” I wheezed, struggling to catch my breath. I grabbed her elbow, then reached over to take hold of Meredith before dragging them past some other shoppers.
Katherine yanked her arm away. “Jeez. What’s the big rush?”
“Don’t ask questions, just come,” I told her.
My voice must have held a certain authority it normally lacked. Her eyes grew larger, but she didn’t argue. Both girls allowed me to lead them away.
“Oh, Mom,” Katherine said once we reached the parking garage. “Larry’s niece attends Meredith’s school now. She’s a freshman.”
I suppressed a sob. How had I ever suspected Larry of such deception?
“Thank you, baby,” I managed to reply.
Meredith halted. “I parked Dad’s car on a different level.”
“We’re leaving your father’s car here,” I said.
Meredith raised her eyebrows, but she too seemed to sense the urgency of the situation. Instead of protesting, she trailed me the rest of the way in silence.
I caught Meredith’s frown as I started my vehicle, no doubt a reaction induced by her own recent exposure to a keyless ignition. I wondered how she’d handle the news that her father’s beloved sports car might only have been a possibility because of his involvement in unlawful activities. She would probably be heartbroken, another teenage dream of having it all—at least legally—dashed by her mother.
I drove fast, especially once I veered onto the freeway headed toward Seattle. As Bellevue shrank in the rearview mirror, so did some of my fears. My daughters were safe, a fact that alleviated much of my anxiety.
Ten minutes passed before Katherine poked her nose over the console from the back seat. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on, Mom?”
I tensed, unsure how much to confess. How did you disillusion a young girl about her father’s sense of integrity?
“Your father did something,” I began. “Something bad. A few years ago.”
Meredith sighed loudly from the passenger seat. “Yeah, we know he cheated on you, but I thought you guys were getting past all that.”
“Not just that,” I said.
I considered leaving the rest unspoken, but I couldn’t keep them in the dark and still maintain a clear conscience. The story outlined by Derek earlier involved two of my daughters’ closest male relatives: their father and grandfather. Both these men had engaged in illegal activities that had indirectly led to the death of my father, my daughters’ maternal grandfather. In my book, that solidified their right to know the details.
I clutched the steering wheel to steady myself. “Girls, your father was in the car with your grandfather the night he crashed.”
They didn’t say anything, having been appropriately shocked.
“They committed a crime together,” I said, “along with another woman who worked with your grandfather.”
“Leticia Robinson?” Katherine piped up.
My eyes darted toward the rearview mirror before I refocused on the road ahead. “How did you know about her?”
“I have ears, Mom,” she said with her normal dose of exasperation. “It’s not like you and Grandma are exactly the Secret Service.”
Sheepishly, her statement reminded me of when Charlie and I were young and had discovered a book of sexual poses hidden in one of our parents’ dresser drawers. From then on, whenever they’d make some comment about going to bed to read or encouraged us to do the same, we’d snicker behind their backs.
And although I had refrained from discussing my investigation in front of my daughters, apparently I had been less discreet than I’d thought. I wondered if Derek had felt this foolish when I first confronted him about his own family secret, the clandestine affair that had launched our divorce.
The affair I was now finding out could very well have been with Leticia Robinson.
“Yes, Leticia Robinson,” I said to Katherine. “I probably should have told you about her earlier.”
“Yeah,” she said, the word sounding like the duh Charlie and I had uttered during our own teenage years.
“I’m sorry,” I said, relaxing my grip on the steering wheel. “Sometimes I forget you both are growing up so quickly and I don’t have to shelter you from so many of life’s hardships.”
I switched on the windshield wipers as it started to drizzle, hoping my children weren’t so spoiled as to consider manual toggles a hardship.
“So what did Dad and Grandpa do?” Meredith asked.
“Well, as it happens, they stole from your grandfather’s startup company, the one that failed right before he died.” I watched the gray sky for a moment, the ambience perfect for this conversation. “They got greedy and took money that didn’t belong to them.”
Neither one of my daughters said anything.
“Girls, there will be times in your lives when you’ll be faced with difficult decisions,” I said. “It’s important that you never lose sight of the big picture and always do what’s right, even if that means struggling more yourselves.”
Meredith turned large eyes toward me. “Mom, what does this mean for us?”
I reached over to pat her knee. “I’m not sure yet, baby, but you’ll probably have to give up driving the sports car.”
* * *
“Betsy!” Charlie exclaimed when he answered his front door to find me standing there with dried tears streaked across my face and a daughter on each side.
“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this,” I said, pushing past him.
“No apology necessary,” Charlie replied. “You’re family.”
I attempted to smile at my brother, but the expression quickly turned into a frown as my tears threatened to start up again.
Chip ran toward me, barking with a frenzy that suggested he hadn’t just seen me yesterday. I emitted a strangled laugh as he stood on his hind feet to plant his front paws on my stomach, forcing me to lean against the wall before his greeting toppled me over. If only people could be as blatant with their intentions.
“Hi, Uncle Charlie,” Katherine said, following me into the house. Chip bounced toward her and barked twice.
“Baby Katie,” Charlie said, wrapping his arms around her and reaching out to squeeze Meredith’s arm at the same time. He released Katherine and gestured toward the living room. “Come in and have a seat. It’s not every day I get a visit from my favorite nieces.”
Katherine grinned as she approached the sofa, Meredith and Chip following close behind. “We’re your only nieces, Uncle Charlie.”
Charlie closed the front door. “And I can’t imagine anybody I’d rather have related to me.”
I collapsed onto the couch not occupied by my daughters, wondering whether Charlie’s comment was partially borne from spending the past few days with our mother.
Chip jumped onto Katherine’s lap and wriggled his rump in an attempt to get comfortable, sending my daughter into a fit of giggles. Once he was settled, he craned his neck and tried to lick Meredith’s face. She pulled back, but smiled at his antics.
Charlie planted himself next to me and ran his eyes over my face. “You look like hell.”
“I didn’t know where to go,” I told him, although this hardly explained my disheveled appearance.
He patted my arm. “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong.”
I flashed him a look that hopefully communicated my hesitation to discuss the matter with my children present. Although I’d already filled them in on the basics in the car, I had omitted my unconfirmed suspicions about Derek’s romantic relationship with Leticia and his responsibility for the Saturday call threatening their safety.
Chip abandoned my daughters and launched himself onto my lap instead, his tail whipping against my ribs. I ran my hands over his fur, only then noticing the two black dogs sitting off to the side. They watched our interaction in silence.
“They’re so composed,” I said, pointing to the dogs.
Charlie’s gaze followed the direction of my finger. “Oh, I told them to sit earlier. I must have forgotten to release them.” He cleared his throat. “Refrain,” he told the dogs.
“Refrain?” I repeated. “Raoul’s dogs understand that?”
As if in answer to my question, the black dogs lifted their haunches and ambled over to us, tails wagging. I couldn’t help but silently lament why people couldn’t be so obedient. How much trouble could have been saved if I’d ordered Derek to refrain from his activities of four years ago and he’d eagerly obliged?
I watched the dogs as Katherine slid off the sofa to pet them, wondering what other commands they knew. Chip had only been observed to reliably respond to the words food, walk, and ride, and the sound of a can opener.
“They’re cute,” Katherine said, hugging one of the Labradors.
“They’re hard not to love,” Charlie agreed. “Even Mom has taken to them.”
“Mom?” I echoed, thinking of her objections on Saturday. “You mean our mother?”
“Yep,” Charlie said. “Ramon even sleeps with her now.”
I blinked, trying to picture one of these black dogs curled up on the same bed as my mother without her awakening in screams.
Charlie lifted one shoulder. “I know. I never would have believed it myself until I saw them cuddling with my own eyes.”
My jaw dropped open. “They cuddle?”
“She had him curled up in her arms like he was her baby,” he confirmed.
“You mean her grandbaby,” I corrected, recalling her protests about dogs not being a decent substitute for grandchildren.
We both laughed.
“Raoul!” Charlie yelled toward the hall.
Raoul popped into the living room, greeting us with a smile that he rotated around the room. “Nice to see you again Betsy, Katie, Meredith.”
I smiled in return, but Charlie interrupted before I could speak. “Why don’t you take my nieces to the dog park down the street so they can get better acquainted with their cousins?”
“Okay.” Raoul snapped his fingers as he headed toward the door, and the Labradors trotted after him. “Follow me, ladies.”
Katherine’s mouth quirked up as she rushed after her new friends. Meredith followed more slowly, but her face had brightened. Chip scrambled after them, nudging their palms in case they had brought treats they’d neglected to hand over.
I watched my daughters exit, amazed by how quickly young people recovered from tragedies. Seeing them light up over the prospect of playing with a few dogs, I’d never guess they’d just received news threatening to alter their lives.
Charlie sobered the instant Raoul shut the front door. “So, what are you doing here?”
My face crumpled. “Derek.”
He clasped my hands in his. “What about Derek?”
I looked around. “Is Mom here? She should hear this too.”
Charlie let go of my hands and bent toward the hallway. “Mom!”
Our mother emerged a minute later. She took one look at my disintegrating composure and seated herself next to me. “Betsy, what’s wrong?”
“Derek,” I choked. “He was in the car that night. With Dad.”
“What?” Charlie shouted. “How? Why? What happened?” He fired off the questions as rapidly as machine-gun bullets.
“I found Dad’s red duffel bag in Derek’s closet,” I began. “Derek, Dad, and Leticia had all been involved in the embezzlement. Knowingly involved.”
My mother’s eyes widened. “Good heavens, sweetheart. You’re saying Rick knew all along?”
I nodded. “Derek said Dad had been siphoning funds from the company for eight months. Dad brought the cash in that duffel bag of his the night of the crash so they could split up what they’d stolen between the three of them.”
They sat in stunned silence for a moment. Finally, my mother rested a hand on my arm. “Go on, dear,” she coaxed.
I looked at her. “That’s why Dad took the car, because he had all that cash with him. And one of them, probably Leticia, dropped the lip balm when they were in your Buick.”
My mother didn’t move except to motion for me to proceed.
“They split the money, and Leticia left. I guess Dad had second thoughts about stealing, so Derek stayed behind to convince him not to tell Harold.” I took a deep breath. “They had to drive around to stay inconspicuous, and at some point Dad lost control of the car.”
The house fell quiet. From the tormented expression disfiguring my mother’s face, I knew she was reliving the night of my father’s death.
“So Leticia was never present during the accident,” my mother finally said.
“No,” I concurred. “At least, she wasn’t if Derek’s story is true.”
“Do you think he lied?” Charlie asked. “It sounds like a pretty incriminating story for somebody to make up.”
“I don’t think he made it up, I just think he omitted some details.” I looked down at my lap and twisted my hands together. “There’s something else I put together after he relayed the tale, something he didn’t mention.”
“What?”
I raised my eyes until I’d met Charlie’s. “I think Derek may have been the one having an affair with Leticia.”
“What?”
I shifted my gaze between Charlie and my mother. “Ursula claimed Leticia often met with her lover on Monday and Thursday nights. Those are also Derek’s group therapy nights, or so he told me. But Monday we all ate dinner together then sat around watching TV, so he couldn’t have had a group session then. And tonight while he was rushing off I mentioned group therapy and he looked confused, like he didn’t know what I was talking about. But then he said he was going to group therapy.” I let out a sob. “I think he was lying.”
My mother wrapped her arms around me as my tears started flowing again. Charlie patted me on the back, and I cried onto our mother’s shoulder.
Tiffany, Amanda, Kelly, Bambi . . . The names of Derek’s known girlfriends streamed through my head like a news ticker. And now a new addition: Leticia Robinson. How many more had there been that I’d never heard of?
My mother pulled away and held me in front of her. “If Leticia hadn’t been in my Buick and wasn’t worried about Rick discovering the embezzlement, why did she disappear?”
“She still had one hundred grand in stolen cash in her possession,” I reminded her, wiping my wet cheeks with my hands.
“But she could have easily tucked that away somewhere,” my mother said. “Why bother going into hiding?”
“She couldn’t be sure someone wouldn’t rat her out,” I said. “Between Derek and Dad, one of them might have cracked. After all, she didn’t know Dad was going to die that night, and he’d already been having regrets. She probably felt safer vanishing.”
And why hadn’t Derek told me about his personal relationship with Leticia tonight? I already knew he’d been cheating with someone back then. Given my knowledge of his affair, admitting that he’d slept with his criminal accomplice wouldn’t be much more damning than confessing to just the crime itself.
The only reasonable explanation was that Derek continued to hide more than just their relationship.
“Derek knows something about Leticia’s disappearance,” I said, the words leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “He denied it earlier, but he didn’t tell me about their affair either.”
What had Derek kept from me? Leticia’s new name? Her location? Possibly she’d even adopted a new look, undergoing plastic surgery that would render her unrecognizable. Had Derek helped to hook her up with an underground doctor before she went on the lam? Had he gone to medical school with someone who now discretely practiced cosmetic surgery?
“Maybe Derek didn’t have an affair with her,” Charlie suggested.
I shook my head. “He fits Ursula’s assessment of Leticia’s mystery man perfectly. He wasn’t too old to start a new family, he had an excuse for being away every Monday and Thursday, and he was married.”
And he was willing to throw his wife away like garbage, I thought, remembering how quickly he had confessed to his indiscretions when I’d confronted him three years ago. Had Derek been in love with Leticia, both of them eager to eliminate old baggage and begin a family of their own before her fears forced them to sever their ties so she could vanish? Or maybe Derek hadn’t been concerned about a divorce simply because he suddenly found himself with enough money to support two households.
I only took the money for us, he’d said. Looking at my mother’s stricken face, the disgusting idea turned my stomach.
“Do you think Derek is still in contact with her?” my mother asked.
Her question speared me straight through the heart. Could Derek have lied about never seeing Leticia again after she ran off with her third of the embezzled funds? He’d lied about everything else, I reminded myself, so why not?
Maybe Derek and Leticia had maintained their relationship all these years. I knew Derek had dated other women, but perhaps Leticia showed up in between all his other short-lived romances, them getting together whenever she could risk an appearance.
I thought about how easily Derek had seduced me earlier, as if I were just another bimbo. Had he only slept with me so he could better discourage my investigative efforts? Or would he have happily enacted a reconciliation, all the while keeping me in the dark about the circumstances of my father’s death? Would I never have figured out his romantic relationship with Leticia if he hadn’t gone along with my queries about group therapy before rushing off earlier, abandoning me when I had been so obviously distressed?
Just how many lies was Derek willing to feed me over the span of my lifetime? Just how many was I stupid enough to fall for?
My anger propelled me off the couch and toward the front door. “I need you to watch the girls for a while.”
Charlie scrambled upright. “Where are you going?”
I squeezed the doorknob, pretending it was part of Derek’s genitalia. Then I yanked the door open, half hoping the knob broke off in my hand. “I’m going to confront Derek.”
