Page 22 of Death in the Family
TEN
Bebe and Ned,” Tim repeated slowly. “She’s absolutely sure.”
I’d seen the shed Abella was talking about. It was visible from the library window where I’d listened, unmoving, to her story. Where Tim and I stood now, alone. “She’s sure,” I said.
“Flynn’s boyfriend and his sister. Man, it’s like...” Tim paused. “Like a bad soap opera or something.”
Together, we glanced over at the parlor. I’d questioned the wisdom of sending Abella back in there with Jasper’s family, but isolating her could tip off the others to what she revealed in her interview, and I needed to hear their side of things without that kind of interference. Tim had implemented a mandatory bathroom break, which meant he was on break, too. While the Sinclairs took turns stalking down the hall muttering about the absurdity of the routine, Tim and I took the opportunity to regroup.
“If it’s true,” I said, “they’d want to keep their affair secret. That, right there, is motive. Picture it—they’re in the shed while Flynn’s working here in the library—”
“That’s a hell of a risk to take,” Tim interrupted.
“But for whatever reason, they take it. They’re hyperaware of their surroundings. They had to know there was a chance that they’d get caught—and then, suddenly, they hear a sound and see someone running back to the house. The yard’s wide open, nothing to obstruct their view, and the someone they see is wearing Jasper’s raincoat. They assume it’s him and realize he saw them smack in the middle of... you know.” I tried not to blush. I hadn’t worked any sex crimes with Tim yet, so talk of lewd misconduct and inappropriate hookups was brand-new, but the fact that I felt like a teenager in an awkward conversation with my dad was downright embarrassing.
“Bebe is Jasper’s sister,” Tim said. “She couldn’t tell the difference between him and a girl she just met?”
“They were distracted. The shed windows are covered with cobwebs. I can see how Bebe could make that mistake.”
Just to be sure, I’d grilled Abella about the scene and what came afterward. It took until she looked down at Jasper’s raincoat in her arms for the horrible realization to sink in. They were close in height, and both she and Jasper wore jeans that day. Tim had a point, but I found myself wanting to side with Abella. There was a good chance Ned and Bebe believed the Peeping Tom was Jas.
“What kind of person cheats on her husband at her grandmother’s house with the whole family around?” Tim looked at me like he thought I might know the answer, what with all my years living in New York with a mixed bag of human garbage.
“The kind that kills her brother when she thinks he’s caught on?”
Tim’s eyes widened. “You think?”
“Could be. Ned has reason to freak, too, but Abella’s pinning the blame for the affair squarely on Bebe. She says Ned’s a close friend. They hang out together in the city—her, Jasper, and Ned. If you ask me she’s giving Ned a lot of credit, considering she caught him banging his friend’s sister, but she insists he’s innocent.”
“They hang out in the city,” Tim repeated thoughtfully. “Does the happy group include Flynn?”
“I got a hard no on that. It’s Ned, Jasper, and Abby who fraternize, no asshole brothers allowed. Flynn made it sound like he and Jasper are pals, but Abella says they hate each other. According to her, Flynn’s got a history of aggression. You should have heard the story she told me about Flynn torturing Jasper when they were kids. Way worse than your typical sibling stuff.”
“So does Flynn know about the affair, too?”
“Abella doesn’t think so. If he did, and he’s as violent as she’s suggesting, it’d be Ned or Bebe missing, not Jasper.” I paused. “You’ve had a look at Ned. He take a fist to the chin?”
“The fresh bruises on Flynn’s knuckles,” Tim said. After talking to Flynn, I’d texted Tim a truncated report of what I knew so far. It wasn’t as good as sharing my findings in person, but I wanted to keep him in the loop without having to constantly pull him off guard duty. It was kind of like backing up critical data. Tim made a useful hard drive. “No sign any of them took a punch.”
“Maybe there’s a wall somewhere missing some plaster?”
“Or maybe it was Jasper who got hit,” Tim said. I started to speak, but he cut me off. “You know, I bet that’s it. Jasper got in a fight with his brother and took off. Out here, so close to the border, he could easily make a dash for Canada. There are lots of places where he could have crossed, where the border’s just aninvisible line in the river. You’re supposed to check in with your passport on the other side, but it’s an honor system. Agents don’t patrol the border area much this time of year. Even if he went over without letting them know, it’s not so easy to slip into another country unnoticed if you plan to stay awhile. If that’s what happened, we’ll find him.”
“This doesn’t feel like a runaway situation,” I said. “Jasper’s phone is still charging upstairs. What twentysomething guy leaves the house without his phone? I think Jasper’s in trouble.” It was such a huge understatement; saying it out loud sounded stupid to my ear.
“We’ll find him,” Tim said again. “I know we will.”
“These people.” I shook my head. “This isn’t a soap opera, it’s a shit show.”
“They’re not from around here. So.”
I hadn’t meant the comment as an attack on the Thousand Islands and their residents. Tim was fiercely loyal to his community. It was my community now, too.
“Right, of course,” I said. “Wonder what the parents were like? Abella never met them, but she told me a little about their deaths. Car accident while on vacation.”
“Shit, I think I remember that,” Tim said. “Didn’t put two and two together—but yeah, the deaths would have been in the paper up here on account of their island connection. Google?” He reached for his phone.
“Already done,” I said with a smile. We were clicking in a way I’d hoped we would months down the line. Tim had worked at the state police Alexandria Bay station a long time, so while I was technically his superior, I’d come to rely on him to indoctrinate me in the ways of the North Country. The ease with which we couldbounce ideas off each other, his ability to read me and gauge where I was going next—those aren’t guarantees in a colleague, and finding it so soon with Tim was a nice surprise. “The accident was big news farther south.New York Textile Tycoon and Wife Killed While Vacationing in the Caribbean. Two years ago, Baldwin and Rachel Sinclair went on one of many quick getaways to Antigua and never came back.”
