Page 39 of Now You See Him
“Wait…oh my god.”
The trembling words came from Derrick.
She realized that he’d just put all the pieces together, too. His brother’s killer was living in his brother’shouse. His brother’s ex-wife had aided and abetted in murder.
“Time to go,” she said. Tina immediately got up from the table to usher Derrick out of the Iron Fist, providing profuse apologies to Jackson for their abrupt departure. Jackson, having been Derrick’s friend since high school, didn’t bat an eye. He could read between the lines that something was up.
“I would rather get back to Penny, anyway,” he said as he downed the rest of his beer. “You two go ahead. I got your tab.”
Tina waved at him before gripping Derrick’s arm and leading him out through the front door. They didn’t say a word to each other until they were in the truck and Tina was behind the wheel. She had to move the seat up and adjust the mirrors because the vehicle was so much bigger than the car she was used to driving.
They were halfway down the highway towards her house before Derrick spoke. His deep, delicious voice sounded thin and reedy.
“Logan killed my brother, didn’t he?”
Tina was quiet for a long time before she answered. “Yes.” The fact that she shared his bed with Logan, that she’d brought him back here and he’d gone through with living in the house of the man he’d killed, was profoundly arrogant and cruel. Who had she been engaged to? What kind of monster would do something like that?
Any lingering guilt she’d possessed because of her infidelity vanished like smoke.
Derrick shoved his hands through his hair. His frustration was palpable. It radiated off of him and filled the car. “What do we do? How can we go to the police when it’s my dead brother that has been trying to tell us that he was murdered by his ex-wife and her lover?”
“We’re so close,” Tina said. She gripped the wheel and wanted to shake it with her frustration. “I feel like we’re so close to figuring out what Damien actually wants us to do to avenge his death. Now that we know it’s Logan, it makes sense why Logan has been the target of Damien’s attention.”
“But why amIinvolved? Why are you?”
“Does he want us to be there as Logan confesses?” Tina asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
Derrick grew quiet again, and Tina rested one hand over his clenched fist against his thigh. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling, what he was going through knowing that his brother’s killer was currently roaming free and Damien’s ex-wife had been a key part of the cover-up. Regardless of the state of their twin relationship, this was his family.
They drove the rest of the way to her house in silence. Tina pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. They looked up at the colonial home brightly lit with pathway lights and recess lighting in the awning. The front porch was awash with a warm glow.
If they walked in that house now, there was a very good chance that Damien would come find them. But then again, Damien was able to follow them into Derrick’s home as well.
“Why don’t we take a bath?” Tina asked. It was the one thing that always made her feel better. This was so much bigger than anything she’d solved with a bath before, but it couldn’t hurt. “Hopefully it’ll calm you. What do you think?”
Derrick let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Yeah, sure.”
They stepped out into the chilly October night air and walked up the stone pathway to the front of the house.
When they stepped inside, Tina had to admit that it felt a lot warmer than she’d anticipated. Damien’s presence was now recognizable by the chilly draft that wrapped around her. Right now, there was only the heat from the vents, and the stillness as they stepped out of the wind. No ghostly presence tonight.
After they toed off their shoes at the entrance, they walked hand in hand to the primary suite. Derrick had been here enough times to know her routine and what she liked. The same could be said about her knowledge of his preferences, too. She turned on the water in the claw-foot tub and put the stopper in the drain.
As the water filled, she dumped in a few cubes of solid bath soap. She twisted her hair in a topknot before walking out of the bathroom only to find Derrick sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped between his spread knees, his head hung in defeat.
“Derrick,” Tina said quietly.
She got to her knees in front of him, and he met her eyes, soft and somber.
“If I could take back coming to this town…”
“No.” His emphatic response eased some of the tension in her shoulders. He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over the slope of her cheekbone. “No,” he repeated, softer this time. “If there is one thing I’m grateful for, it’s that you came into my life. Otherwise I would spend the rest of my life not knowing the truth.”
Tina cocked her head and tried for a sly smile. “I’m also a great lay, right?”
Her comment elicited the exact response she was hoping for. Derrick chuckled and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “You’re more than great. And I want to spend more time with you. I want us to spend time together outside of the shadows. And I trust that you’re going to help give my brother the closure he needs. You’re part of this, sweetheart.”
