Page 38 of The Golden Hour

She isn’t the person I see on television or in print—the polished socialite. I don’t examine my conviction, why I think I know her better than most. I just know it’s true.

From my seat at the kitchen table, I hear Molly mutter, “Thank you,” as she ends a phone call. Behind her, the TV is muted, the morning programs over.

Setting my pencil atop the crossword puzzle I’m dominating, I ask, “Well?”

She sighs. “No one will talk to me.”

My aunt’s career as a professional burglar ended before it started. The house in Ventura where my PI lived is now occupied by a family who has no idea what happened to the man’s personal effects. They bought the house from the bank and it was empty when they moved in a month ago.

Molly continues, “And I can’t pretend to be his sister or whatever because he didn’t have any family. Only child of only children. No wife or kids. Dead end after dead end.”

I give her a minute to soak in her thoughts, then say, “Maybe you should head back to Solstice Bay.”

She gives me a sharp glance. “So I can watch from afar as this blows up in your face?”

She wasn’t a fan of how I handled Callisto at the party on Sunday. I’m not especially proud of myself, either. I don’t know why I keep acting like an asshole when she’s around. Something inside me flips when I see her, and I start saying crazy shit.

Like I’m going to blackmail her.

The idea never even occurred to me until we were stuffed in that closet. I could smell her all around me, my skin felt two sizes too small, and I wanted to spank her for being so ornery before kissing her until she turned red all over… And since neither was an option, instead of charming her into compliance, I blurted out some bullshit about turning her in if she didn’t agree.

I rub the back of my neck. “I’ll apologize on Saturday. It was stupid, I know. I couldn’t think straight.”

Molly smirks. “Didn’t expect to be attracted to her, did you?”

I groan. “Please don’t go there.”

She grins. “The spider is caught in his own web.” Her smile falls, expression sobering. “I’m scared for you both, but I’m glad you’ll be there to help her. You’re creative thinkers. Survivors. Somehow, you’ll figure out the best course of action.”

I grunt in reply.

Molly finishes her tea and takes the cup to the kitchen. She rinses and dries it, then stands silently before the sink, her head bowed. I know she’s disappointed and battling helplessness. I’ve been there a thousand times over the last decade. I feel for her, I do.

But right now, for the first time in so long, there’s a spark of hope inside me. I finally have an in. An ally in the family. If I play my cards right, before the year is up, I’ll have hard evidence that Vivian Avellino is a crook of the highest order.

I think Vivian killed my father.

Maybe we’ll get her on murder charges, too. Wouldn’t that be rich? Avenging the death of the man who murdered my father in order to put his widow in jail?

A shadow falls over me and I look up at my aunt, taking in her newly determined expression.

“I want you to find out how many people work full-time in that house, and I want their names.”

“Molly—”

“You think you’re the only obstinate one in this family?” she interjects. “The only one passionate about this? You may want revenge, but I want Callisto home, in Solstice Bay.”

I shift in my chair, feeling six years old and on the wrong end of a verbal lashing. “Fine,” I agree.

“Good.”

She nods, satisfied, and turns away. On impulse, I touch her arm to stall her, and when she meets my gaze, I say, “I’m glad you’re here. Thank you. For everything.”

Her eyes moisten. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted when you came back. But more than that, I’m sorry that you’ve shouldered so much over the years. You’re not alone anymore, Finnegan.”

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer, clogging my throat with long-buried emotion.

“Thanks,” I choke out.

---