No One Left to Tell (40 page)

‘What’s wrong, Grayson?’ Lisa asked. She slid a plate onto his place at the table. ‘You look sick. Sit, honey. Eat.’

‘I don’t think I can yet,’ Grayson said, still standing.

Lisa took her place next to Brian. ‘Don’t let it sit too long. It’ll get cold. Plus I only have the sitter until ten.’

‘Then I’ll make it quick.’ Like ripping off a band-aid. ‘Thanks for coming out.’

Six sets of eyes met his. Jack and Katherine. Brian. Lisa and Joseph and Zoe.

‘I have something to tell you that Mom and I should have told you years ago, but we could never find the right time. At the beginning, we were scared. We’d been homeless and Mom would have done almost anything to keep me safe. Later . . . I wouldn’t let her tell. I didn’t want anyone to know. And for that, I’m sorry.’ He closed his eyes. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’

There was a long, long silence. Then Jack cleared his throat. ‘How about “Once upon a time I was a kid in Miami”?’ he said.

Grayson’s eyes flew open. Six pairs of eyes watched him, kindly. Unsurprised. For what seemed like an eternity, he couldn’t speak. Then he said hoarsely, ‘
You knew?
’

Katherine smiled. ‘Before I offered your mother the job as nanny. Do you think I’d trust my own children to just anyone? What kind of mother do you think I am?’

‘You
knew
?’ he repeated. ‘And you didn’t
care
?’

‘Of course we cared,’ Jack said. ‘We cared about you and Judy. Whatever happened was not your fault. Ever. You didn’t want to tell us and we understood. That was then. You’re part of our family now and we take care of our own.’

Slowly Grayson sank into the chair, his heart hammering in his chest. ‘How?’

‘You made the national news when you disappeared,’ Jack said. ‘Your mother cut her hair, but she couldn’t change your appearance that much. When she showed up for her interview, she had you with her. Katherine recognized you right away.’

Grayson looked at Katherine who shook her head, remembering. ‘You were this terrified child with big green eyes that had seen things no human should ever see. Your mother was desperate. We had the means to keep you safe. So we did.’

Grayson’s heart filled his throat. Tears stung his eyes. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘Mom and Dad told us the basics soon after you arrived,’ Joseph said. ‘We watched over you at school. Made sure nobody ever took your picture. By the time you were on the news saying “no comment” every other week, we figured you were ready to take care of yourself.’

Lisa rolled her eyes. ‘And then you get yourself on YouTube yesterday. Freaking worldwide celebrity overnight. We all thought that was extremely ironic.’

They laughed and Grayson felt a load lift from his shoulders. ‘I never even considered that. I haven’t worried about being photographed since I graduated from high school. I don’t look like him, thank God.’

‘You’re nothing like him,’ Lisa said fiercely. ‘I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.’

Although she was a whopping five-foot-nothing, Grayson would put his money on Lisa any day of the week. ‘Thank you.’

‘We learned the rest when we were old enough to do the research ourselves,’ Zoe said, her eyes growing haunted. ‘I remember the day I found the articles. I . . . was never the same. It changed my life. That’s why I became a criminal psychologist.’

‘And why I joined the Bureau,’ Joseph added quietly. ‘It changed us all.’

Grayson blew out a breath. ‘I thought you’d be mad.’

Katherine rose, came to his chair and put her arms around him. ‘We love you, Gray. We hoped you’d tell us yourself someday. But we would have been fine if you never had.’

‘Mom said to say that she’ll leave if you want her to.’ He winced when Katherine smacked his arm, even though it didn’t really hurt. ‘Ow,’ he said without feeling.

‘That was for your mother,’ she said. ‘The very thought.’

‘What we want to know is, why today, Grayson?’ Jack asked. ‘Why tell us today, and like this?’

Grayson looked at Joseph and saw his brother had figured it out. Joseph shrugged. ‘This is your party.’

‘You know?’ Jack asked his son. ‘And you’ve said nothing?’

‘I don’t know for sure,’ Joseph claimed and Jack scoffed.

‘Hah. So will
you
satisfy this old man’s curiosity, Grayson? Since my other son has a terminal case of poker face.’

Grayson found himself smiling. ‘You’ll never be old, Jack. You’re too damn wily.’ He picked up his fork, suddenly starving. ‘Let me eat a few bites. Then I’ll fill you in.’

Chapter Fifteen

Wednesday, April 6, 9.30
P.M
.

S
ilas dragged himself into his house, dropped onto the sofa. No cops were waiting outside, so he knew he was safe for now. Grayson Smith hadn’t recognized him.

I should be hurt
, he thought dryly.
All those years and he didn’t know me
.

To be fair it had been dark.
And I was wearing a mask. And my voice may have been a little higher than normal
. Adrenaline did it every time. Still . . .

I shouldn’t even be here. I should be driving across Canada like there’s no tomorrow
. But as long as his boss breathed, his wife and child would not be safe.

He reached for the business cell he’d left out in plain view. He figured if the cops were on to him, he might as well incriminate everyone he could. His boss’s number was in his phone log. A smart cop could put it together. He knew smart cops.

His old partner was one of the smartest. That he’d had to lie to her hurt. Every time he’d taken a life to protect his child he told himself she’d understand. But he knew it wasn’t true. Now he could only hope he didn’t put her in the position of having to take him down. Because she would, he had not a single doubt.

He opened the business cell and frowned. His employer had called eight times. There was a message.
Another job. I have to say no
. But that would alert the man and that was the last thing Silas wanted. He hit speed dial. ‘It’s me,’ Silas said.

‘Where have you been?’ The question was not kindly asked.

‘I had a migraine. Leveled me all day long. I never left my bed. Dry heaves.’

‘I’ll send you a fucking potted plant,’ he said sarcastically. ‘I need you at the Carrollwood Nursing Home at half past eleven.’

Silas frowned. ‘Why?’

‘Because I want you to read bedtime stories to the Q-tips,’ he snapped. ‘Fuck it, man. I want you to shoot someone, for God’s sake. Remember? That’s your
job
?’

Silas drew a steadying breath to keep from snapping back. ‘Who?’ he asked.

‘I’ll tell you when you get there. I’ve sent you an email with a map showing where you need to wait. Be prepared to take a shot from about a hundred yards. Questions?’

About a million, first of which is how do I fry your ass
. ‘No.’

‘Good. This is your last chance, Silas. You fuck up again and somebody’s going to need a priest. You’ll only wish it was you.’

Silas flinched when the phone clicked in his ear. Sonofabitch.

So don’t go
.

No, he’d go. He needed to know what the bastard was up to. He found the nursing home on the map. He had an hour before he needed to leave. Time for a shower and shave. And a meal. But first, a phone call to Violet to say goodnight. Priorities.

Wednesday, April 6, 11.00
P.M
.

‘Are we there?’

Grayson looked over to the passenger seat as Paige opened one eye, then the other, still half-asleep. But totally beautiful. She’d fallen asleep minutes after he’d picked her up from Giuseppe’s, where his mother had nodded her approval.

‘We’ve been here for ten minutes,’ he said. ‘I’ve been reading emails.’

She covered a yawn with one hand. ‘I guess I fell asleep.’

‘You needed it.’ He smiled at her. ‘All that girl talk must be exhausting.’

‘We had fun, your mother, Holly and me. We missed you, though.’

He’d arrived as they were finishing their meal. ‘Next time.’

‘Where did you go?’

‘I went home to walk Peabody and got sidetracked.’ He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to tell her the whole truth either. ‘What did you girls talk about?’

‘Oh, all kinds of things. Karate and fashion. Your mother and I are going sale-ing.’

He frowned. ‘My mother hates boats.’

She laughed softly. ‘Sale-ing as in finding sales. Shopping. Your mother likes that.’

‘Don’t I know it.’ He traced her mouth with his fingertip. ‘She liked you.’

‘It was mutual. Of course we talked about you. A lot. She’s a proud mama.’

He played with her lower lip, his breath catching when her tongue licked his finger, barely enough to feel. He swallowed hard, his body responding.

Really responding. He wished he knew what he was going to do about Paige. Joseph and Lisa had separately urged him not to blow it with her. His mother had done the same thing. In two days Paige had managed to impress all the family that she’d met.

He wasn’t surprised. She’d impressed him within two seconds of seeing her on TV.

He had about two hours to figure out his own mind, because that’s how long it would take to find and talk to Brittany Jones, then get back to his townhouse to pick up Paige’s dog. He’d take them to the Peabody Hotel where he
should
leave her under the guard of her partner. Possessive fury bubbled up at the thought and he knew he would not be leaving her under the care of another tonight.
I will guard her myself
.

She was watching him, dark eyes aroused and potent. Maybe they’d never leave his townhouse. He had a big bed. A really big bed. His mind tortured him with what he could do to her there. He’d make sure her eighteen-month fast was worth the breaking.

No, you can’t. Not unless you plan to keep her
. He went still. To keep her meant he’d have to tell her. She needed to know. Then she could leave if she wanted.

‘What am I going to do with you?’ he whispered.

Her eyes changed. The arousal remained, but it was tempered with a tenderness that made his heart hurt. ‘What do you
want
to do with me?’ she whispered back.

His body clenched, the breath leaving his lungs in a rush. He touched her cheek, caressing her smooth skin in the way he already knew she liked. ‘Everything,’ he said gruffly, and he knew it was true.

She continued to study him. ‘Everything is a lot,’ she said quietly.

He leaned toward her, smelling her hair, finding it soothed the rush of emotions churning inside him. ‘I know.’

She closed the distance between them, brushing his lips with hers. ‘I wish it didn’t make you so sad,’ she said. ‘I don’t want you to be sad.’

Startled, he stared as she pulled away and resettled herself in her seat. ‘What’s in your email?’ she asked before he could think of a thing to say.

‘What?’

‘Your email. You said you were reading your email.’

His heart still hurt. His body still wanted her. With difficulty he forced himself to focus. ‘Stevie and Fitzpatrick found Radcliffe. He voluntarily surrendered Logan’s computer once they showed him the court order. They’ve got the video at the lab, but they’re not hopeful that Logan caught the sniper’s face.’

‘That would be too easy.’

‘That it would. Ballistics tested the gun the detectives found in Sandoval’s car and the gun used to kill Delgado. No obvious connections.’

‘Again, too easy. What about Barb the banker?’

‘Barb came through. She said the account on Crystal’s check register belongs to Brittany Jones.’

‘What?
Brittany
was blackmailing someone? That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Apparently Brittany’s middle name is Amber.’

‘Which is the name Crystal used to get into Rex’s party. She also used Brittany’s name to open the account. Smart, actually.’

‘Barb said the account had been active until six months ago. That’s all she could say without a warrant.’

‘So either their mark didn’t find out that Crystal was dead or Brittany renewed the threat,’ Paige said thoughtfully. ‘The girl’s bold.’

‘She continued getting money every month. She just didn’t record it in the register.’

‘That’s also how she could afford to pay fifty grand to St Leo’s, assuming she got paid what Sandoval did. She used Crystal’s blackmail money for food and rent. I wonder why the payments stopped?’

‘Maybe the mark finally found out Crystal was dead.’ Grayson checked his watch. ‘It’s almost eleven. Let’s visit Brittany.’

‘If the front desk tells her it’s us, she might run. We need a ruse.’

His lips twitched unexpectedly. ‘A ruse?’

One dark brow arched. ‘Are you making fun of me?’

‘Only a little. So, Watson, what shall our
ruse
be?’

‘Why do you assume you’re Sherlock?’ Paige asked.

‘Good point. You can be Sherlock if you want.’

‘If anyone inside recognizes us from that damn news video we’re stuck being ourselves. If not, I’m her friend from nursing school and you’re my date.’

My date
. It gave him a kind of sophomoric pleasure. ‘Why do you assume I can’t go to nursing school too? Now you’re being sexist.’

‘No, now I’m being realistic. Few nursing students could afford a suit like yours.’

‘Plus you just want to be my date,’ he said lightly.

Now it was her eyes that grew sad. ‘Yes. I would.’ Abruptly, she opened her car door. ‘Let’s go. I want to know how Crystal got that McCloud medallion.’

The reception area of the nursing home was an institutional white. The front desk was occupied by a woman whose nametag read
Sue
.

Paige stopped at the desk. ‘Hi. Has Brittany Jones come in yet?’

Sue’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘What do you want with her?’

‘I go to school with her,’ Paige said. ‘I missed a class and she was going to give me some notes.’