Page 5 of Awestruck at Dusk
“Most of your things have been moved to your old bedroom. If there’s anything else you need that wasn’t brought here, let me know, and we’ll have someone fetch that for you.”
“Thank you.”
“David, would you mind explaining to Billie what happened yesterday and why Thomas was allowed inside the building?” my father said with a stern voice. He didn’t look happy.
“Yes, Mr. Murphy,” David replied with a nod. His usual bubblier self was gone. We were all still processing Caleb’s death. It was strange to see David taking the lead instead of Aaron or Caleb. Not that David wasn’t capable of it. I just wished I knew him more.
“Thomas bribed one of the new door guards”—David continued with the briefing—“who, in return for that money, allowed Thomas to go up to Miss Murphy’s apartment with the excuse of giving her a surprise.
“He’s been fired, of course. Thomas wasn’t on the list of people allowed into your apartment, and he should’ve had knowledge of that fact. But he claims Thomas said you were back together and showed him keys to your apartment, which made him doubt, and well … he clearly wanted to take the money.”
Nathan squeezed my hand and rubbed my back a few times, showing me his support. And I needed it. I couldn’t stop thinking about how there had to be something I could’ve done to prevent Thomas from going this far. Maybe if I’d taken his calls and really explain my feelings, he would’ve eventually made peace with it and Caleb would still be here.
“The door guard in question orchestrated everything to clear the way for Thomas. He waited for Senad, who worked the shift with him, to go on a bathroom break. That’s when Thomas slipped in.”
“That being said,” my father cut in with one of his scary faces. The one he shows when he feels like things aren’t going his way. I’ve seen it only a few times, but it’s his way of showing people around him that he means business. David and Agent Robbins seemed to pick up on that because they both straightened in their seats as my father continued talking.
“I’ve convened a meeting with the building’s administration and the rest of the owners to talk about how we can increase security in the building. The Sjöbergs,” he said, “who basically own half the building, agreed immediately. We just need to talk about what changes can be implemented and when. And until all of that’s settled, I’d like for you to stay here, kiddo.” My father nodded once at David, prompting him to continue with the briefing.
David cleared his throat and said, “Nicholas and Senator Hill have been apprehended in D.C. Nicholas drove to his parents’ house as we expected he would. At first, he was aggressive and unwilling to cooperate. When he heard about Thomas’s death, he went into panic mode. We couldn’t get him to calm down.”
Nicholas and Thomas were close. I’m sure the news of his death must’ve been very hard for him to reconcile, especially when he was the one who constantly egged him on and aided him with his plans. I wondered if things could’ve ended differently for Thomas if he would’ve gotten the professional help he needed to deal with his family issues, including the death of his brother, and didn’t have Nicholas around him all the time. That friendship, in my opinion, led to Thomas’s downward spiral.
“A doctor had to be brought in to assess him since he wouldn’t calm down,” David continued. “But he did, eventually. And finally, after a tough round of negotiations, he agreed to share a great deal of information for a shorter sentence once he completes a drug rehabilitation program.”
“Nicholas was using?” I asked, not completely surprised by that fact.
“Cocaine and marijuana,” David replied quickly. “Not only was he using, but he was selling. And Thomas was his business partner.”
What? I squeezed Nathan’s arm and sat closer to him. My head shook from side to side as I bit on my lower lip. I lifted my gaze from the floor and David nodded a few times, allowing me to process the information.
“But was he selling while dating me?” I asked them. “And how is it that this never came up in the background check?”
“That’s my fault,” my father said, his lips going into a tight line. He seemed beyond disappointed now, embarrassed almost. “When Thomas came into the picture, I was careless about it. I ordered a quick background check because I already knew his father. Thomas was studying at Princeton. He had good grades. He rowed crew. There wasn’t anything there to make me believe we needed to be any more thorough with him.”
“I see,” I replied, fidgeting in my seat. “What else did Nicholas say? Was Thomas dealing while dating me?” I asked again. I needed to know this. How could I’ve missed something like that?
“Thomas wanted to stop selling when he met you,” David said. “Nicholas wasn’t happy about it. He didn’t want things to change. He kept promising Thomas he’d be able to get out soon. But the thing is, they used Thomas’s apartment to hide some of the product, so Nicholasneededhim for the operation to keep going as usual.”
That’s what Nicholas had on Thomas.
And now I understood many other things like why Thomas always carried a lot of cash with him, the errands he ran at random hours, him not wanting me to go to his apartment, and how he allowed Nicholas to be the obnoxious shit he was all the time.
I was in shock and furious beyond measure. At him, of course, but mostly at myself for not being able to see Thomas for who he really was. It was also scary to have someone standing in front of you and not fully know them when you think you do … that’s insane. What had I gotten myself into?
Caleb had sniffed out Thomas as a bad apple since day one. He had the most accurate internal radar, and I chose to ignore it, and with that I lost him. It only took one second for Thomas to pull that trigger and take him away from me. To takehislife away from him. I would never forgive myself for that. Never.
Nathan coddled me, and I allowed him to do so. It’d all been too much to process. I was still trying to avoid my mind from wandering too much about Caleb. I knew that once I went there, it would be very difficult to come back out.
“Anything else?” I muttered with a sigh. It was best if they laid it all out to me once and for all.
“Well, there’s the matter of Senator Hill. Thomas and his mother had been previously in contact with a detective behind Senator Hill’s back,” David continued. “We found that information in the folder he brought with him last night to your apartment.
“We contacted Detective Gomes, who had been putting together a case against Senator Hill. That made things easier in regard to having him apprehended in a timely fashion. There was a surveillance tape that Thomas had promised Detective Gomes to get a hold of, and he finally did. We assume that’s what he wanted to tell you.”
Thomas kept saying how he had proof now, and at the time, I didn’t understand what he meant by that. He wanted to tell me everything. To show me the evidence.
“And? What will happen to him?” I asked. I hoped he would go to jail for a long time. Not only did he murder his son, but he ruined both Thomas’s and his poor mother’s lives. And now Thomas was dead too, in part, because of his father and the trauma he inflicted on his family.
