Page 95 of Playing With Secrets
“You might not have to go to Europe. Start here first, then if needed, go to France.”
“Alright, but you didn’t answer me. Who is she, and why am I looking into her? I need something to go on.”
“She’s my mother. I don’t know much other than she lived here with my father before she left us for some mobster. That was twenty-four years ago. I don’t know if they’ve lived in France all this time, but that's her last known location.”
“You haven’t had any contact with her since you were ten?”
“That’s correct.”
“Why do you want information on her?”
“She’s up to something and I can’t figure out why.”
He gestures to the chip. “Is that part of this somehow?”
I hand it to him. “Yes. These were the betting markers the casinos used thirty-some years ago. Maybe even longer.”
“But they’re not now?”
“After my mother left us, my dad changed everything. These chips were removed from commission and changed to ones with a new design. As far as I know, the old ones were destroyed.”
“Is this the only remaining chip?” He works it through his fingers as he takes note of the details.
“No. When my mother left, she gave one to me and one to Jonah. She told me never to lose it, and when I received another one, that would mean she was on her way to make things right.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“You’re telling me.” I fold my arms over my chest. “I still have the chip she gave me, but I haven’t seen her since the day she left. The marker you’re holding was given to me by Jamison Stone.”
“What do you think it means?” Joe hands it back to me.
I place it on my desk. “It means she wants something from me. The problem is I can’t give her what she wants, and I think she’s figured that out.”
“What does she want?”
“I’ll get to that in a minute. I’m more interested in if you think you can get the information I need quickly.”
“I’ll do what I can and fast as possible.” He shrugs. “Tell me about the betting chip. Why did you receive it?”
“She sent that to me as a warning of some kind, but I don’t know what that could be. Obviously, it has something to do with her showing up on my doorstep, but I don’t know what she plans on doing when she does.”
“You said Jamison Stone was involved somehow?”
“Jamison isn’t involved. Ava Aldridge is. She’s been blackmailing me for years. She gave it to Jamison to give to me as a warning. She’s trying to prove to me she’s willing to get my adversary involved if I don’t comply with her demands. It’s clear she’s getting desperate.”
“Hunter, you need to tell me everything because this got twisted fast.” Joe pulls a small flip notepad out of his motorcycle jacket.
“Tell me about it. Let’s start at the beginning and see if we can piece together why my mother sent me the marker.”
“Start with Ava.”
I recline against the edge of my desk. “Ava and I dated in high school. I wouldn’t call it that, but she does. I took her virginity, so it makes her feel better to think we were in a relationship. She always told people we would end up together and have kids.”
“A jilted lover. Gotcha.”
“I never had those same thoughts as her because I was sleeping with anyone I could get my hands on. Fast forward to college, and we were still going through the same cycle. We’d hook up when I was having a dry spell, and I’d break it off as soon as someone else came along.”
“We all have that one girl who always waits around, don’t we?”
