Page 14 of Death in the Family
It was a risky thing to say. Tim and I, alone on an island full of witnesses... we had limited tools to work with. We needed these people to open up to us, and we had no hope of achieving that unless we gained their trust.
Flynn fixed me with a cold glare—but he was still in the room, and I counted that as a win. “I apologize,” I said. “That was unfair.”
“Unfair, and unoriginal. You think Ned’s my boy toy. That I dress him up and take him to lavish dinners in the city just to have a gorgeous guy on my arm. No,” Flynn said as I began to protest. “I get it. You see wealth and status and equate that with power. Why wouldn’t I take advantage of my position to woo a young YouTube star? It’s the only way a man like me could ever attract a man like Ned.”
Flynn squeezed the pillow in his lap harder, and the silence between us swelled like the belly of a blood-fat tick. Somethingabout him was still making me anxious. I couldn’t suss out what it was.
“Ned’s got a great gig with us—job security, total creative freedom. That’s far from guaranteed if he goes somewhere else. I only want the best for him. He doesn’t understand that,” said Flynn.
Because he doesn’t feel the same way. All at once it was perfectly clear, and I couldn’t believe Flynn didn’t see it, too. It was Flynn who’d stacked those wallets on the bedroom dresser. Flynn wanted Ned to stay with Sinclair Fabrics. He thought that by arranging Ned’s life to match his own he could keep the man for himself. Preserving the company brand might have factored into his desire to keep Ned on the job, but that wasn’t what made Flynn so desperate to hold on. Everything he’d implied about the differences between the men’s looks and status and age was true. Flynn didn’t think he deserved Ned. He was afraid when Ned left the company, he’d leave Flynn, too.
“Did you and Jasper argue with Ned yesterday?” I asked. “About his desire to quit?” An imminent breach of contract and the inevitable legal fallout, an office romance, two brothers and an unpredictable element they needed to control, and now Jasper was gone... the scenario spelled trouble.
“I told you,” Flynn said, “I barely saw Jas yesterday.”
“So it was you who did the arguing, then.”
Flynn sighed aggressively. “Look. Ned came to the island without me. When I confronted him, he refused to talk about it and gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the day. I was pissed, okay? We didn’tfight—I just didn’t feel like being social. My in-box was flooded with messages, and work was a convenient excuse for me to be alone, so I dropped in on Nana, took my laptop to the library, and shut everyone out. If I had to guess, I’d say Nedwas with Jas and Abby all afternoon. I didn’t see any of them again until cocktail hour.”
The babble of the others lured him to the parlor then. When he stepped into the room—the same room where his family now waited while Flynn, from the comfort of his bed, walked me through the previous day—he discovered Norton was already serving drinks. Everyone was there. Bebe Sinclair (Flynn and Jasper’s sister, the middle Sinclair child) who’d opted to keep the family name. Her husband, Miles Byrd. Miles’s daughter, Jade, the teen I’d seen downstairs and the product of a previous marriage, sat on the floor by the fire (Jade Byrd: the name sounded more like a Chinatown trinket to me than a kid). Jasper, Abella, Camilla, and Ned rounded out the group, and everyone was laughing with abandon. It was something Jasper said that set them off; Flynn knew this instinctively. Storytelling was as natural as breathing to Jasper, according to Flynn.
“What’d I miss?” Flynn asked the group, trying his best to sound cheerful. It was only five o’clock, not yet dark, but the clouds had choked the life from the sun and the rain was really coming down. The parlor was bathed in yellow lamplight and an empty crystal tumbler awaited Flynn on the table, but there was no sign of Norton. Awkwardly holding his empty glass while the others drank wine around him, Flynn sat down to wait.
“Jas was telling the story of how he met Ned,” Abella said. “I can’t believe I never heard it—you boys have been holding out on me. Did you really mistake Jas for the gofer and ask him to get you a sandwich?”
“I’d never met him before! I forgot to eat lunch!” Ned’s teeth flashed when he smiled, and the effect was dazzling. “You make me sound like a spoiled brat.”
Playfully, Abella said, “If the shoe fits,” and got a round of chuckles in reply.
“You’re in good company, Ned,” said Jasper. “Abby only likes this story because she can relate. Jas, get me a latte. Jas, grab me some water. Get me a—”
“Stop!” She elbowed Jasper in the ribs as she took another sip of wine. When he pinched her waist, Abella wriggled like a tickled child and almost slopped her drink into his lap. “That’s not true, I swear,” she said. “This isn’t the first impression I want to make!”
“You make a great first impression,” Ned said. “There’s no shame in loving a little attention.”
“He should know,” said Flynn. “If anyone loves attention, it’s Ned.”
That was a fact, but Jasper and Abella were too wrapped up in each other to acknowledge it, and Ned was still ignoring him. It irked Flynn that the three of them commanded the room like a main-stage comedy act while he played the role of spectator in the cheap seats.
When Norton finally appeared he was carrying a bottle of Johnnie Walker and more chardonnay, along with a cup of ice. Flynn was first to hold up his glass, but Norton went straight to Abella.
“Ice in wine?” she said as he plucked up a cube with silver tongs. “Is this an American thing?”
“This bottle could be colder,” said Norton as he dropped the ice into her glass. “This’ll help.”
“I don’t care if the scotch comes from a kettle, bring it the fuck over here,” said Flynn. From her place by the fire, Jade giggled as Norton finally made his way over to Flynn.
“Language,” Camilla warned in her creaky voice, and smoothedthe blanket draped over her lap. “Now, here’s an idea. Why doesn’t Abby work for us?”
Bebe snorted. “To keep Jas in line? Lord knows he needs it.”
“To help him,” said Camilla. “Well, why not?”
The guests fell silent.
“She does have PR experience,” Miles said thoughtfully, smiling at the couple. “And you already know you work well together.”
“You see? It’s perfect.” Camilla reached out to take Abella’s hand. “You’re all so busy, you always say so,” she told her three grandchildren. “I’m sure you could use another sharp mind.”
