Page 105 of Hold Your Breath
While she was driving them back to Simpson, they passed through one of the few sections with cell reception, and her phone rang. Callum plucked it out of the cup holder and glanced at the screen.
“Rob,” he said.
“Would you?”
He accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Hello.”
There was a short pause. “Callum?”
“Yes, but Lou’s here, too. You’re on speaker.”
“Good. I just wanted to update you on those emails we found on your mother’s computer.”
Lou winced, thinking of the seventeen calls from her mom’s phone she’d ignored when the search warrant was executed. “What’d you find?” she asked, dreading the answer. Callum took her hand in his, and she shot him a smile.
“He’d created quite a fantasy world for himself. He wrote about conversations the two of you had, going on dates with you, even how you were discussing living together when you returned to Connecticut.”
When she realized her mouth had fallen open, she closed it with a snap. “The fantasy me is kind of a fast mover.”
“He also mentioned another guy, who I’m assuming is you, Callum, but Lloyd didn’t see him as a lasting threat to your ‘relationship.’”
“Relationship?” She choked on the word.
“In his final email, he makes a reference to needing to ‘deal with an impediment to Louise’s happiness.’” Rob sounded as if he were reading directly from the email. “Your stepfather identified the voice of the caller who made the 9-1-1 call that night as Lloyd’s. Between that, these emails, your and Callum’s testimony, and his dive gear, this is a pretty clear ambush. There will be a hearing where you will both need to testify, but I can’t imagine anyone seeing this as anything but a solid case of self-defense.”
Because she’d been so focused on Callum’s recovery—as well as avoiding thinking about her mother’s betrayal and the way the life faded from Brent’s eyes—it hadn’t even occurred to Lou that she might be accused of murder. The idea slammed into her chest, and she couldn’t talk for several long moments. She tried to concentrate on just breathing.
Shooting her a concerned glance, Callum broke the silence. “Thanks, Rob.”
“Not a problem. I’ll keep you both informed about the details on the upcoming hearing. Oh, and Lou?”
Still rattled by the image of Brent’s face as he died—as she killed him—she only managed a grunt in reply.
“I hate to give you more bad news,” he started, making her cringe, “but I figured you’d want a heads-up. During the investigation into Lloyd, the Connecticut investigators found some suggestion of illegal activity involving your father’s business.”
“Stepfather,” she corrected automatically, still sounding as if she’d been punched in the belly. “What kind of illegal activity?”
“Misuse of funds and possible money laundering,” Rob answered, sounding tired. “It’s been turned over to the FBI.”
She couldn’t answer, couldn’t manage to speak, so she was relieved when Callum thanked Rob again.
By that time, Lou was able to wheeze out a good-bye that was semicoherent before Callum disconnected the call.
“You okay?” he asked mildly, tucking her phone back into the cup holder. His other hand slipped from hers so he could gently massage the back of her neck.
“Yeah. It just feels like everything is crashing down on me. I can’t believe that Richard…” Even as she said the words, she knew they weren’t true. Although he’d married her mother when Lou was twelve, she didn’t feel like she really knew him. He’d always been a remote figure, a workaholic.
“It’s been a hard month for you.” He was quiet while his hand worked the muscles connecting her shoulders to her neck. “You’ll need to talk to someone.”
As blissed-out by his mini-massage as she was, it took a moment for his meaning to register. “Talk to someone—like a professional someone?” She snorted. “I don’t think so.”
“Not optional.”
“Yes. As the one whose brain is supposed to get shrunk, I definitely get a say in this.”
“I’m not telling you as your boyfriend. I’m telling you as your team leader what the official policy is. Technically, you should have had to go after you discovered HDG.”
Although she grumbled under her breath, she didn’t push the argument further. It was a lot harder to debate official policy with her team leader than it was to blow off a well-meant suggestion from her boyfriend. Besides, she couldn’t keep shoving any thoughts of that night in the reservoir into a dark corner of her brain forever. Eventually, as terrifying as the thought was, she’d have to deal with it.
