“Knowing she was going to die at his hand, she asked me to see the baby safe. She couldn’t risk him hurting the baby. He had another six months on his tour, but they usually give compassionate leave when a baby is due. She knew he was going to get leave when she was so close to her due date. So she researched ways to induce labor. She had to keep the baby safe.”
“Induce labor?”
“Yes. When he was shot and was sent home from Afghanistan early, she had to move up the timetable. It was luck his mother got sick. She encouraged him to go to her, and the minute he left, Vivian took castor oil so she’d go into labor before he came home. She called me, said she was pulling the trigger. I got in the car and drove like a bat out of hell—you know that’s normally a two-day trip, from Denver to Nashville? I made it in a little less than eighteen hours, straight through. She was lucky, she was able to get her labor going, had the baby without incident. She’d just gotten rid of the midwife when I arrived. I hugged my friend and took her child to be my own. It was what she wanted. For Mindy to be safe.”
“Right. And then somehow she got herself stabbed to death at the same time?”
Lauren looks over at the mountains. “You’ll have to talk to Zack about that. Supposedly he was still out of town, but we all know how crafty he is. He could very easily have made the drive, killed her, then driven back to his mother’s funeral. He got away with it, and he’s been searching for me ever since.”
“I am having a hard time believing this.”
“He’s violent, Juliet. He’s a killer. He smothered her, wouldn’t let her out of his sight when he was home. She was being abused. And now he’s within a hands-breadth of my child, and God knows what he’s going to do. That’s why Jasper and I are keeping watch. That’s why we’re so afraid for her.”
Juliet is so confused. The certainty in Lauren’s voice is enough to convince anyone, but Juliet can’t believe this of Zack. He is too good. He is too kind. She takes another sip of the tea, sets it down with a grimace.
“You asked me to find him. You wanted me to find Zack. You practically handed Jasper the name to give to me.”
“I never thought you’d be able to locate him. The military scrapped his DNA from the system. Vivian told me they do that with all their intelligence operatives. God knows how many crimes he can be linked to. And he was supposed to be living off-grid, not easily findable. His career choices made him a target. And now we’re all going to be a target. His target.”
Juliet is hugging herself now, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She can’t believe the words she’s hearing, can’t understand them. Zack, a killer. Vivian, in danger from her own husband.
Has Juliet just signed their death warrants by finding the man who can save Mindy’s life? But she doesn’t have time to think it through; Lauren is on a roll now.
“And of course, super sleuth Juliet, our modern-day Nancy Drew, with your beakers and potions, you found him and brought that viper into our lives. And now what are we supposed to do? The media is watching, and he thinks he’s safe. That the grieving dad will supersede the truth. Well, it won’t. If something happens to me, there’s a letter ready to go to the press, explaining everything he’s done.”
“But the doctor, Castillo...why lie?”
“Don’t you see? I was trying to keep us safe. I couldn’t have any ties to Vivian. The Castillo story was the perfect cover. She was feeding babies into the system. It was the right timing, the right scenario. I saw the story in the paper, about that Graciela girl. I knew it was the perfect cover in case anyone—especially Zack—ever found out. There was no way anyone could prove I hadn’t received one of those babies.”
Juliet shakes her head, trying to absorb all of this. “Zack isn’t a bad man—”
“Says you? He’s charmed you to pieces. Him and his dog. Also a trained killer, mark my words. That beast is his weapon when he can’t hold the gun in his hand. You can’t see who he really is. You’re blinded. But don’t worry. Now that we have what we need from him, I’m going to take care of him. He won’t hurt anyone in this family. Ever.”
Lauren comes around the table to Juliet, sits next to her and takes her in her arms. Juliet is shaking, but Lauren is steady as a rock. “It’s okay, honey. I forgive you. I knew you’d break all the rules to save Mindy’s life. We both—all three of us—thank you for doing that. I’ll make sure Woody knows you weren’t responsible.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you broke into the files, took Mindy’s DNA, and put it into CODIS to look for a match. I’m so proud of you for breaking the rules. It must have been so difficult for you. I explain it all in the letter, because I didn’t want you to get in trouble for doing something so unethical.”
“That’s not exactly what happened. And don’t bother. He already knows. I’m on suspension.” And then she really hears what Lauren is saying. “Wait, you threw me under the bus in your letter?”
Lauren smiles and puts a finger on her lips. “I’m trying to save you, sweetie. Zack Armstrong is very dangerous, and if something happens, we need to be covered. We need to protect our family. I will do whatever’s necessary to protect us. Whatever it takes.”
“The man’s an English professor at Vanderbilt. He’s a grieving widower. He’s Mindy’s father. You’re wrong about him.”
Lauren’s chin rises. “I will not allow him to hurt my daughter.”
“So you’re going to discredit him? Or what, get rid of him? Dear God, Lauren, you’ve gone entirely insane. Has the lack of sleep made you psychotic? Does Jasper know how ill you are?”
“Jasper knows everything. I told him what Zack is, why he’s such a danger to us. What you did. And now I’ve told you as well, not that I think it will matter.”
“You can’t be serious, Lauren. You can’t just kill Zack. The police will be all over you in a heartbeat.”
“I’ve handled threats to this family before.”
Juliet stands up, the chair screeching back. “Like Vivian Armstrong? Did you kill her so you could steal her baby? Because that’s a hell of a lot more plausible to me than this whopper of a story you’ve just told me. You’re lying. Why are you lying about this?”
“You really don’t remember. It’s amazing.” Lauren shakes her head with an uncanny smile, and the frisson reverberates through Juliet’s spine. It is not Zack who is the problem. Her sister is a monster.
“Remember what?”
“Why we moved to Colorado. I know you were young, and Mom always said you blocked it out entirely.”
“What are you talking about, Lauren?”
“Bennett Thompson.”
“Our stepfather? He died when I was little. I don’t remember him.”
“Oh yes, he died. I took care of that for us. I paid the price. I lost a year of my life for you. You never even knew what I did for you.”
Lauren’s eyes are furious, and Juliet cringes.
“What do you mean?”
“He was molesting you.”
“What? No, he wasn’t. I would remember!”
“I found him in your bedroom, on top of you. I had to stop him. I cut his throat. Mom helped me. She made me swear never to talk to you about him.”
“You’re telling me you murdered our stepfather, and our mother helped?”
Lauren turns off as quickly as a switch flipped. She turns her head to the side, evaluating Juliet. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”
“Of course it matters.” A penny drops. “You didn’t go away to school. You went to jail.”
“I went to a fucking mental hospital with a bunch of criminally insane schizophrenics, so you could be safe and warm in mommy’s arms. No one ever worried about me. I was the one who had to deal with him. I was the one who had to deal with the consequences.”
Juliet’s memory feels foggy, but she is having a hard time believing this story. She would remember if she’d been molested. She remembers everything—except the face of the man who was her stepfather.
Her gorge rises, and she chokes it down. “Why would Mom help you cover up a murder? That’s wrong.”
“She figured out he was diddling her kids. When she found out the truth, well, Mom was sorry she didn’t cut his throat herself.”