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Chapter Thirty-Four Her

Present Day

Mom and I survived the first night together in a house in more than a decade. I’d left home as soon as possible, right after

high school, and had been on the run from her, more or less, since then. I’d leave. She’d find me. Then the cycle would start

again.

A few hours together and we fell back into old habits, which centered on me trying to please her and failing miserably. Ever

since the threat-scribbled-on-the-wall night, I’d slept in a guest room down the hall. Mom eyed the primary suite when she

arrived. The message on the wall was no longer readable but I couldn’t risk her somehow deciphering it, so I gave her Richmond’s

old suite instead. Seemed like cosmic justice to put her in his space.

While I hoped she’d scurry back out of town after a night or two it was more likely she’d move in and start raffling off the

furniture. She was accustomed to apartments and just getting by. This house, the property, the bank accounts, offered her

a life she’d been craving since before she got pregnant with me.

We sat across from each other at the kitchen table. I pre tended to scroll on my phone. She sipped her latte and hummed, which meant she was thinking. That was never good.

I had to ask .

“Where’s the new car?” The used one I bought her after much begging.

“What car?”

Not an unexpected answer but still. “I gave you money for... You know what? Never mind.”

Mom took a long sip of coffee. “I had other expenses, but now that you mention it my current car isn’t safe. I will need a

new one soon. Not a used one. A brand-new one with all the shiny extras.”

At this rate I’d run through Richmond’s stockpiled money in record time. “The estate hasn’t been resolved.”

“Why?”

“Because people think I killed Richmond.” That wasn’t the only reason. Richmond hadn’t been dead that long and Elias was still

settling all of the outstanding financial issues. I was fine because I had access to my account and the funds in other accounts

where I’d been listed as a joint owner, but Mom didn’t need that rundown. “Hell, even you think I killed him.”

“The man was garbage. He deserved an unglamorous end.” She shrugged. “But we’re talking about you and your responsibilities.

You always need to cover your tracks. Have a contingency plan. Not leave any loopholes his greedy family and friends can drive

through.”

Ping.

She frowned. “What’s that noise?”

My cell. I’d specifically given the security app a special ringtone because I couldn’t afford to ignore it. Not when it seemed to chime a warning every five seconds.

“You’ll quickly figure out that this house has a constant stream of unwanted visitors.” I was including her in that group.

“You should install a moat.”

She was full of good ideas this morning. “Tempting.”

“Who thinks it’s acceptable to stop by without an invitation?” She grabbed the cell out of my hand. “Oh, interesting. It’s

that handsome lawyer friend of yours.”

I grabbed the phone back. “No. He’s off-limits.”

We’d been down this road many times. I didn’t care who she flirted with or how, or who she slept with or even married, but

she had to pick from a pool of men I didn’t know. Like it or not, I knew Elias.

She threw me her patented what’s wrong with you look. “That’s ridiculous.”

“I need him to stay focused on keeping me out of prison.”

“He’s perfectly capable of defending you while spending money on me.” She let out what had to be a fake gasp. “Unless you’re

thinking that the two of you might get together and—”

“He’s old enough to be my dad.” An image of Mom and Elias kissing popped into my head. I blinked it out. “Stay away from him.

I mean it.”

Elias walked in the back door and stepped into the kitchen. “Ladies.”

A smile lit up Mom’s face. “It’s good to see you again, Elias.”

Elias didn’t appear to notice Mom’s rabid attention or the mother-daughter quibbling. He sat down at the table and set his

cell in front of him. “I wanted to check on you both.”

I didn’t buy it. Mom was pretty and tempting and eager. Elias was a man with a wallet. This could go sideways fast. “I thought you were done doing house calls.”

“Give the man some air, Addison.” Mom put a hand on Elias’s arm. “Would you like her to make you a latte? They’re really quite

good.”

Time to put the brakes on this mess. “What’s with the visit?”

Mom glared over my indelicate delivery, but Elias took the tone in stride. “I intended to talk about cellphone tracking, but

we have a more pressing issue.”

Days without a new problem or the threat of arrest? Zero. “I hate to ask.”

“Someone leaked the information about your trip to the police station.” He hesitated. If he was going for maximum dramatic

impact he achieved it. “A story, citing confidential sources, will link your questioning to the change in Richmond’s manner

of death. The official finding is a basilar skull fracture due to blunt force trauma.”

“That’s a lot.” And none of it sounded good for me.

“In other words, homicide. Specifics about a bat being the murder weapon won’t appear. The police will hold that back to disclose

at some later date, likely after their investigation is completed.”

Kathryn. The detective. Lurking, well-hidden journalists in the police parking lot. One of those or a combination of them

tattled on me. I’d bet Richmond’s trust fund on it. “I guess it’s a good thing I never leave the house these days.”

“Absolutely not.” Mom’s coffee mug clanked against the table as she set it down. “That’s not acceptable. She has an alibi.”

“We all know that, including Detective Sessions. But it’s clear he believes Addison killed Richmond with someone else’s help.”

There was no need to sugarcoat it. “He means you, Mom.”

“Ridiculous. Why would I kill the wealthy doctor my daughter married? Mothers dream of that sort of lucrative matchmaking.”

Dissecting that comment would get messy, so I skipped ahead. “Okay, what does this press attention mean for me?”

“For now, nothing except that many people who knew and admired Richmond will view you as the enemy,” he said.

So, status quo. “Wasn’t that already the case?”

“Did the detective leak this lie to hurt Addison? If so, we should sue him.” Mom shook her head. “He could cost his department

money with this slander.”

“He’s within his purview to apply pressure.” Elias didn’t sound impressed with Mom or the detective’s antics. “My guess is

he’s being pushed by... others.”

This time I only needed one guess. “Kathryn.”

Mom snorted. “She should find a hobby.”

Yeah, about that... “Annoying me is her hobby.”

“Kathryn is just the start. Richmond was connected. He had powerful friends, including a member of congress and the governor.

So, no trips off the property. No talking to anyone about Richmond or anything else. Keep the alarm on, the security up, and

the doors locked.” Elias ticked off his list. “Be vigilant.”

“We need to go out and enjoy life. Why don’t you stop all of this Richmond nonsense?” Mom asked.

Only Lizzy Jenkins would view a man’s murder as a nuisance to her.

“Let’s just be careful.” Elias switched from serious lawyer mode to smiling. “Will you be staying here for a short time?”

“Addison clearly needs my help and support. I plan to move in. Yes.”

She meant forever or until the money ran out. I pivoted to a less volatile topic even though I knew a showdown over money or stuff, or money and stuff, loomed in my future. “What about the cellphones? You said that was the original purpose of your visit.”

“Right.” Elias’s smile faded. “Nick’s next move is tracking. I wanted to double-check with you, Lizzy, about the location

of your cellphone the night Richmond died. You and your cellphone and any places you may have visited. If you moved without

it and, if so, how and where.”

She glanced at me. “What is he talking about?”

“He often uses too many words when he constructs a sentence. It’s a lawyer thing. You’ll get used to it.”

Elias sighed. “The police are going to use phone tracking data to determine where you both were in the days leading up to

the murder and at the time of the murder. Addison told me she had her cellphone with her at the diner. That alibi matches

the diner’s security footage. I’m hoping your cell’s data will show you also were nowhere near this house the day of the murder.”

Mom snorted. “As if I’d be stupid enough to kill Richmond and bring a trackable cellphone along with me when I did it. That

would be an amateur move.”

She was going to get me arrested. “That response isn’t disturbing at all, Mom.”

“I was being honest.”

“Maybe a little less honesty if you’re talking to anyone outside of this room,” Elias said.

Mom rolled her eyes. “I only know the two of you in this town.”

“What Mom meant to say was that of course she didn’t kill Richmond.” It was a guess and one I hoped was true.

Elias shrugged. “Then we have nothing to worry about.”

Easy for him to say. His freedom wasn’t dependent on the whims of a woman whose self-focused lens never shifted to another

person. And the idea of Mom killing Richmond now that I had the wedding ring and the money? Not hard to imagine at all.

For the thousandth time, I regretted killing Mom’s first husband. He was a twisted bastard who would have killed me if I hadn’t

acted first, so he deserved to die. I just wish I hadn’t been the one to do it because I’d been paying for that choice for

more than a decade.