long time. What
else can I tell you about him?”
“Do you have any idea how Danny ended up
being surrounded by so many horrible people, criminals like Destiny
Gerard and Umberto Gutierrez?”
“Only one,” she said. “For as hard as
Danny tried to escape his family’s poisonous reach, I believe his
uncle never truly allowed it.”
We all live under an illusion of
independence. Maybe freedom too. I thought about my
father and how he managed to reach out from behind the walls of
Attica and manipulate me, how he drove a wedge between Johnny and
me that we almost didn’t surmount.
Yeah. Danny and I were an awfully lot
alike.
Chapter 7
He wasn’t happy with me.
Understandably. I preempted the coming tirade by wrapping my
arms around Johnny’s waist and breathing out a sobbed but very
genuine apology. I wouldn’t go so far to say his ire
evaporated, but it slid to the back burner at least.
“Where did you go?” he asked.
“Celeste’s penthouse.”
Apparently, no further explanation was
needed.
“Ah hell, baby,” Johnny soothed. “Did
she upset you?”
I shook my head. How did I tell him
that I was responsible now for the deaths of two innocent
men? While Rick wasn’t as lily white as Danny probably was,
if I’d bothered to do a proper investigation instead of jumping to
conclusions, I’d have known that the real guilty party was already
in custody, that all we needed to do was mop up Southerby and his
accomplices – which we’d almost done before Danny even returned to
Darkwater Bay.
And if I was so wrong about that case, how
many other people’s lives had I ruined because I simply knew I was right?
Johnny’s hand spanned my jaw and lifted it
until I couldn’t avoid his probing gaze. Yeah, his eyes were
filled with suspicion. I deserved at least that much.
“Tell me.”
“He was innocent. Of all of it.
Danny didn’t order a hit on anyone. He was forced to
participate in what happened at the medical examiner’s office,
Johnny.”
“Because his wife said so?”
“He didn’t have a gun. He was driving
the Escalade. In all the years you’ve been watching Danny,
how many times did you see him personally drive himself
anywhere?”
Johnny frowned.
“See? It was Southerby all along,
Johnny, and Marcos. He does know that Danny was
probably the leak to the FBI. But he wanted proof. Just
like we wanted proof that Marcos is a cold blooded killer, a
criminal of the worst kind.”
“Helen…”
“No, don’t argue with me. I knew
something was odd when he got out of that vehicle, when it turned
out that Danny was driving. When Southerby had me locked away
in the treatment room at Dunhaven, do you know what he said to
me? He talked about my father, Johnny. Celeste said
that Danny had no idea who my father was until after he was
approached by Seleeby.”
“Your husband didn’t know Wendell was
still alive?”
“I’ve been telling people he’s dead for
years, Johnny. It was easier that way, than answering all the
questions.”
Johnny manacled my bicep and half dragged me
into the house. “Sit,” one index finger extended to a chair
at the kitchen table.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I
don’t want you to interrogate me, Johnny.”
“Well too bad.”
“No, I want to tell you everything, not
because I’m backed into a corner, but because I finally get it,
Johnny. I know you love me. I know that I’m not alone
anymore.”
He was the one who sat. “Well all
right then,” he said.
There wasn’t a single interruption when I
told Johnny everything Celeste said. It was eerie how her
information explained the seeming dichotomies we’d uncovered in
years of investigations Johnny compiled. He’d never found a
single illegal act in any business practice, in any of Danny’s
personal actions – except for his suspicions that were confirmed
now by both Celeste and Dennis
else can I tell you about him?”
“Do you have any idea how Danny ended up
being surrounded by so many horrible people, criminals like Destiny
Gerard and Umberto Gutierrez?”
“Only one,” she said. “For as hard as
Danny tried to escape his family’s poisonous reach, I believe his
uncle never truly allowed it.”
We all live under an illusion of
independence. Maybe freedom too. I thought about my
father and how he managed to reach out from behind the walls of
Attica and manipulate me, how he drove a wedge between Johnny and
me that we almost didn’t surmount.
Yeah. Danny and I were an awfully lot
alike.
Chapter 7
He wasn’t happy with me.
Understandably. I preempted the coming tirade by wrapping my
arms around Johnny’s waist and breathing out a sobbed but very
genuine apology. I wouldn’t go so far to say his ire
evaporated, but it slid to the back burner at least.
“Where did you go?” he asked.
“Celeste’s penthouse.”
Apparently, no further explanation was
needed.
“Ah hell, baby,” Johnny soothed. “Did
she upset you?”
I shook my head. How did I tell him
that I was responsible now for the deaths of two innocent
men? While Rick wasn’t as lily white as Danny probably was,
if I’d bothered to do a proper investigation instead of jumping to
conclusions, I’d have known that the real guilty party was already
in custody, that all we needed to do was mop up Southerby and his
accomplices – which we’d almost done before Danny even returned to
Darkwater Bay.
And if I was so wrong about that case, how
many other people’s lives had I ruined because I simply knew I was right?
Johnny’s hand spanned my jaw and lifted it
until I couldn’t avoid his probing gaze. Yeah, his eyes were
filled with suspicion. I deserved at least that much.
“Tell me.”
“He was innocent. Of all of it.
Danny didn’t order a hit on anyone. He was forced to
participate in what happened at the medical examiner’s office,
Johnny.”
“Because his wife said so?”
“He didn’t have a gun. He was driving
the Escalade. In all the years you’ve been watching Danny,
how many times did you see him personally drive himself
anywhere?”
Johnny frowned.
“See? It was Southerby all along,
Johnny, and Marcos. He does know that Danny was
probably the leak to the FBI. But he wanted proof. Just
like we wanted proof that Marcos is a cold blooded killer, a
criminal of the worst kind.”
“Helen…”
“No, don’t argue with me. I knew
something was odd when he got out of that vehicle, when it turned
out that Danny was driving. When Southerby had me locked away
in the treatment room at Dunhaven, do you know what he said to
me? He talked about my father, Johnny. Celeste said
that Danny had no idea who my father was until after he was
approached by Seleeby.”
“Your husband didn’t know Wendell was
still alive?”
“I’ve been telling people he’s dead for
years, Johnny. It was easier that way, than answering all the
questions.”
Johnny manacled my bicep and half dragged me
into the house. “Sit,” one index finger extended to a chair
at the kitchen table.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I
don’t want you to interrogate me, Johnny.”
“Well too bad.”
“No, I want to tell you everything, not
because I’m backed into a corner, but because I finally get it,
Johnny. I know you love me. I know that I’m not alone
anymore.”
He was the one who sat. “Well all
right then,” he said.
There wasn’t a single interruption when I
told Johnny everything Celeste said. It was eerie how her
information explained the seeming dichotomies we’d uncovered in
years of investigations Johnny compiled. He’d never found a
single illegal act in any business practice, in any of Danny’s
personal actions – except for his suspicions that were confirmed
now by both Celeste and Dennis
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