He held up his hand. “You made me think about things I would have preferred to keep buried.”
She shuddered with apprehension. But this was what she wanted. To know whether her parents were keeping secrets from her. Secrets that might be connected to Ethan’s disappearance. “What things?”
“In the past. My past, your mother’s past. And I began to wonder whether someone from those days could have kidnapped Ethan to get back at us.”
She sat up straighter. Her mother had denied this possibility last night. “Back at you for what? Tell me, Dad. You’re talking in riddles.”
A little girl in a long party dress with ribbons streaming from her hair came racing down the long hallway, giggling. She stopped a short distance from them and darted behind a heavy drape.
Her father stared at the shifting drape.
“What would someone want to get back at you for?” Aubrey asked again.
“Your mother and I were involved with a radical organization in college.”
Why hadn’t Mama told her this?
“Things went very wrong,” her father said. “Three of our friends died.”
“Jesus, Dad. Were you and Mom members of Stormdrain?”
His face paled. He covered it with his hands.
Aubrey became dizzy, as though she were standing on top of a ladder, about to fall over. “Were you?” she asked again. “Were you involved with Stormdrain?”
He didn’t answer. Just sat with his hands over his eyes.
She felt a sensation like hundreds of ants crawling over her arms and back. Her mother had said she’d been walking past the brownstone when it exploded, but she had specifically said she hadn’t been responsible.
Had Mama lied to her?
She couldn’t imagine either of her parents knowingly killing anyone. If they had, they would have been arrested and convicted.
“Dad. I need to know. Did you or Mom have something to do with the brownstone explosion?”
He met her eyes. They were filled with a pain she’d never seen before. “No,” he said. “Of course not.”
“Casey, come out,” a child’s voice called. A little boy wearing a bow tie and dress shorts was trotting down the hallway, looking left and right. “I don’t want to play anymore.”
Aubrey took a deep breath. She wanted so much to believe her father. “But you said things went very wrong, and your friends died.”
He hesitated. “Yes, but not because of us.”
Her parents were not murderers. Her father had to be telling the truth. “Is it possible someone might blame you anyway?” she asked.
“Casey,” the boy called. “Casey, come out now!”
“That’s what’s concerning me.” He blinked at something in the distance and tensed. Star was at the other end of the hallway, coming toward them. “Let’s not talk about this in front of her.”
“But if you think you know why someone kidnapped Ethan, you must tell the FBI.”
“Not now,” he said quietly as Star came within earshot.
“Hope I’m not interrupting,” Star said. “May I join you?”
He stood and offered Star his chair. He didn’t look happy. Neither was Aubrey. The clock was ticking. If her father knew something, they needed to act on it quickly.
Star sat down with her back straight, like someone taught in cotillion. “So what have you two been talking about?”
Her father’s eyes met Aubrey’s. They said, later. “Just about how worried we both are,” he said to Star.
“Of course.” Star reached over and patted his hand.
Aubrey needed to get her father away from Star. She was about to suggest that he go with her to check on Kevin, when her phone rang. Our love is stronger than the pain.
“That’s probably your mother,” Star said. “Please answer. Don’t mind us.”
Aubrey glanced at her father. He had a troubled expression on his face. She pressed “Answer.” “Are you okay, Mama?”
“I’m fine,” her mother said. “I didn’t want you to worry. I’m going to Jonathan’s apartment.”
“Jonathan’s? Wouldn’t it be better if you stayed home?”
“Home doesn’t feel like home.”
“I understand. I’ll let you know if anything happens here.”
Aubrey heard giggles erupt into laughter as she ended the call.
The little boy had pulled back the drape, exposing the little girl. “I found you!” he shouted.
“Is she all right?” her father asked.
“Yes,” Aubrey said.
“I wish I could say the same about me,” Star said, massaging her temples. “Here I’m supposed to be holding you up, Larry, and I keep fading.”
“Can I get you something?” His voice sounded off, like a mechanical recording.
“No, thank you, dearest.” She stood up. “The best thing for me is a little shut-eye. I’ll take a taxi back to the apartment.”
“I’ll drive you,” he said.
No! Aubrey wanted to shout at her father. I need you to stay here and talk to me.
“Absolutely not.” Star pushed her wispy white bangs back from her forehead. “You need to be here in case something happens. I’ll take a little nap; then I’ll be back later.”
She gave him a pat on the chest, nodded at Aubrey, then turned and walked down the hallway.
The two children ran past her, chasing each other.
“Okay,” Aubrey said. “She’s gone. Now tell me. Why do you think someone might blame you or Mama for the brownstone explosion?”
Her father was looking after Star, a frown on his face, though she was no longer in sight.
“What?” he said, clearly distracted.
Something was going on between her father and Star, but Aubrey had no idea what it was. She needed to bring him back to what mattered. “You said someone may have kidnapped Ethan to get back at you.”
He blinked. “Did I say that?”
“Yes. Dad, what’s going on? If you have a lead about Ethan, we have to let the FBI know.”