Page 6 of Someone to Call My Own
“Are you implying that him digging into their background had something to do with the threats?” Dorchester asked.
I shrugged and said, “The timing works.”
“As does your appearance in his life,” Detective Wyatt said to me. “It’s pretty easy to deflect guilt on the dealings of a deceased couple.” He turned to Rick and asked, “Could there be any truth to what Silver said?”
“Not that I’m aware of, Detective. I wasn’t Charles and Marie’s attorney at the time of Nate’s adoption. I found out about Jonathon from Nate,” Rick replied. “I can attest that Nate was angry and bitter that he’d gone his entire life without knowing about Jonathon.”
“How’d you find out about Nate?” Detective Wyatt asked me.
“Nate was given up for adoption, but I was not. Our birth mom raised me, and she told me about Nate just before she died.” I swallowed hard because it was still difficult for me to discuss. “The details about the adoption are irrelevant to Nate’s death, and I prefer not to speak about them.” Of course, it was hard to talk about something I didn’t yet know. My mother refused to discuss the past and spent all her remaining energy on getting me focused to find Nate. First, I was too excited to meet Nate to delve deeper into it, and then the devastation over Nate’s death took up all my emotional energy. Learning the reasons why the Turners only adopted one of us no longer seemed to matter. It wouldn’t bring either my mother or my brother back to me. Besides, who would I ask about the incident when all the main players were deceased?
As logical as all of that sounded, the largest part of me was afraid to learn the truth about my biological father and the reasons my mother seemed afraid to speak about him. Killing had come easy to me and maybe I came by it honestly. Perhaps my father was a really bad person, and I inherited all of his evil DNA. I decided that the old adage about letting sleeping dogs lie seemed like the best approach for me to take when it came to my lineage. Poking a stick around might unearth truths I could never accept.
“I take it that you are the beneficiary of your brother’s estate,” Detective Wyatt commented.
“Yes,” I answered between gritted teeth. I knew where the detective was heading with his remark, and I didn’t like it one bit.
He arrogantly smiled when he realized he’d struck a nerve. “Can you tell us where you were between the years of your birth and 2014 when you magically appeared in Louisiana?” Score another point for the detective. He was more thorough than I first thought.
“Don’t answer that,” Rick said, speaking up. “Detective, that’s completely irrelevant and none of your business.”
“I don’t agree, counselor.” Detective Wyatt leaned forward and pinned me with a damning glare. “Your client surfaces out of nowhere with no past to speak of, and his wealthy brother gets killed within months. Now he owns his brother’s business, drives an identical car, and has access to his fortune. Do you live in his house too? Sleep in his bed?” he asked me.
“That’s enough, Detective!” Spizer said firmly.
Not reacting to his taunt was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I found that place I went when I was called to do things no human being would voluntarily do. I breathed evenly through my nose as if my blood pressure hadn’t soared to dangerous heights and I didn’t want to reach across the table and punch that smug smirk off his fucking face. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. I was ecstatic to find my brother, and I had no reason to hurt him.”
“Nate’s homicide was very personal,” Detective Wyatt said. “Someone stalked him, threatened him, ran his car off the road, and put a bullet in his head. We’re talking about a trained killer who leaves behind no evidence. Someone knows something, and they better start talking before whoever killed Nate decides to start eliminating risks.”
“Is this an example of how you deal with bereaved family members after a loss, Detective?” Rick asked. “If so, I’m not at all impressed.” Rick put his hand on my shoulder then said, “We’re done here, Jonathon.”
“Just one more thing,” Detective Wyatt demanded. Rick and I halted from rising from the chairs and looked at him. “Where were you the night of January twenty-second?” he asked me.
“You don’t have to answer that,” Rick told me.
“It’s okay, Rick,” I said, patting my attorney’s arm before I reached inside my suit jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. “These men can attest to my whereabouts that night and morning.” I winked lecherously to let them know we hadn’t been playing Monopoly all night long. I chuckled when I saw the scornful, yet curious, expression on Detective Wyatt’s face. “What can I say? I have a very healthy appetite.”
Rick and I rose to our feet and started to exit the room. “I’ll let you know if I have any more questions,” Detective Wyatt remarked. We didn’t stop to acknowledge him.
Neither Rick nor I spoke until we stood in the parking lot near our cars. “You take care, Jonathon. Please call me if there’s anything I can do for you.”
“Thanks,” I said before I got in my car. I sat there thinking things over long after Rick drove off.
I might not have liked Detective Wyatt’s methods, and his questions might’ve ruffled my feathers, but two things were clear: the man was on a mission, and I’d greatly underestimated him. I wouldn’t repeat my mistake again.
“How’s life in Blisstown?” Memphis asked when I answered his call bright and early. He caught me just as I was about to head out for a jog.
“Ville,” I corrected. “I moved to Blissville.”
“Excuuuuse me,” he replied sassily. “So, how’s it going?”
“Too soon to say,” I answered honestly. “It started out on the wrong foot when I met my neighbor, although I’m not sure why, but I think I’ve righted the ship.” Well, Josh’s pity for my tragic past played a bigger part than anything I did or said. “Good thing too because he’s also my hair stylist.”
“Maybe he’s only nice to lure you in so that he can take scissors to your mane of hair,” Memphis teased. “Maybe I should plant a bug in the guy’s ear. What’s the name of the salon? Don’t bother telling me, Em. I’ll just google it because there can’t be many salons in Blisstucky.”
I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me and I didn’t bother taking the bait. “How are things going on your end?”
“Same old thing, different day. Oh, I broke up with Caleb.”