Cast into Doubt

TWENTY-NINE

Shelby and Talia got back in the car, and Talia turned on the engine and the lights. ‘Phew,’ she said. ‘I thought we’d never get out of there. I didn’t realize Faith’s mother would be such a gabber.’

Shelby did not reply. She stared through the rain-spattered windshield as the wiper blades cleared it, over and over again.

After a few minutes of silence in the car, Talia glanced over at her sister as she drove. ‘How come you’re so quiet?’ she said disapprovingly.

‘I’m wondering something,’ Shelby said.

Talia did not bother to ask what it was.

‘Could you . . . hack into a person’s bank records?’

‘Of course,’ said Talia, now in her comfort zone. ‘The banks are constantly changing their systems to try to prevent it, but no sooner do they get them changed than some hacker gets through their firewalls. I’ve often thought that the answer to that would be . . .’

Shelby swiveled in the seat and looked at her sister. ‘No,’ she interrupted. ‘I mean can you, personally, hack into someone’s bank records for me?’

‘What?’

‘I need to look at someone’s credit card receipts.’

‘No,’ Talia bristled. ‘I cannot do that. That’s illegal.’

‘Please Talia,’ said Shelby. ‘You’re the only person I know who would be able to do it. Who would know how to do it. I’m sure you do know how.’

‘Whose records are you trying to pillage now? I take it you’re finished poking into mine?’ Talia asked.

‘I’m sorry about that, Talia. I should never have . . . I was wrong to think that of you. But I don’t think I was wrong entirely. Faith’s father got on that cruise because someone bought him a ticket, and after I accused him, he killed himself and left a note saying he couldn’t live with the guilt.’

‘So?’

‘So, when Faith’s mother mentioned that doctor, Harris Janssen, I suddenly realized . . .’

‘Realized what?’ Talia demanded.

‘There’s a connection. He’s married to the ex-wife of Chloe’s husband. Chloe used to work for him, some years ago.’

‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ said Talia impatiently.

‘It does. I know it does. I don’t know why yet, but there’s something. Talia, you’re the only one I can ask to help me,’ Shelby said.

‘Oh no you don’t,’ said Talia. ‘Don’t try that on me. If I ever got caught I’d lose my tenure at Franklin. No way.’

‘I wouldn’t ask you if it weren’t important, Talia.’

Talia shook her head. ‘I don’t care how important it is. I’m not doing it.’

‘Talia, I think he must be the one who paid for the Ridleys’ cruise.’

‘Oh, now he’s the one. Yesterday you thought I was the one who paid for their cruise,’ she sniffed.

‘I was wrong about that. But after what Faith’s mother said about Dr Janssen, I realized that it must have been him who arranged . . .’

‘La, La, La, La, La . . .’ Talia was chanting in a loud, singsong voice.

‘Stop that,’ said Shelby.

‘You stop it,’ said Talia. ‘I’m not doing it no matter what you say, and I don’t want to hear about what you think. You think everybody and his brother are buying cruise tickets for people so they could kill your daughter. You’re starting to sound like a crackpot.’

Shelby gazed at her sister’s pale face, rigid with defiance. Talia was not kidding and she was not about to change her mind. Shelby turned in her seat and resumed staring through the rainy windshield. Maybe I am a crackpot, she thought.

I just don’t care.

Talia dropped her off and they parted without so much as a word of good night. Shelby was not angry at her sister for refusing to help her. It was, in fact, perfectly in keeping with Talia’s character, and with their relationship. But it reminded Shelby of how strained was the bond between them. Nothing had changed about that. Each one was relieved to be rid of the other. As Talia pulled away, Shelby entered her building and rode the elevator up to her floor. It felt as if she were riding in slow motion, it took so long to arrive. She could not wait to get inside and just think, with no distractions.

Jen Brandon was waiting when the elevator doors opened. ‘Shelby,’ she said with genuine pleasure. ‘Hey, I’m going out to meet a couple of friends for a drink. Do you want to join us?’

‘Not tonight, Jen. Thanks.’ She hurried past her friend, fumbling for her apartment keys.

‘Are you back for good?’ Jen called after her.

‘I don’t know,’ said Shelby. ‘Maybe.’

Jen shrugged and hopped on the elevator. Shelby let herself in to the apartment and collapsed on to her living room sofa with a sigh.

Dr Harris Janssen. Lianna’s husband and the Ridleys’ doctor. Up until tonight, the images Shelby had of Harris in her head were all admirable. Well, mostly. He had stolen Rob’s first wife, but Shelby realized that she had always more or less blamed Lianna for that. And Chloe had thought the world of Harris when he was her boss. She always said how generous he was. It was this very generosity that Peggy Ridley was extolling tonight at the funeral home.

Shelby did not doubt for a minute that Harris had treated Peggy for free when she had her stroke, years ago. Chloe had often reported that Dr Janssen was known to be charitable, and to donate his services to people who were struggling or in need. He had taken care of Peggy, and he was taking care of Bud, without looking for compensation. Certainly, that was an act of charity. The US health insurance quagmire being what it was, there were millions of people with none or minimal coverage, particularly worthless when one needed a specialist like Harris Janssen. But something had changed in Harris Janssen’s life during those years. For some reason, Chloe had come to present a threat or obstacle to him. When he searched through his options, had he realized, at some point, that the Ridleys had incurred a debt that they could never repay? When he needed an enormous favor – a monstrous favor – had he turned to Bud Ridley?

Slow down, Shelby chided herself. You don’t know any such thing. And why in world would Harris Janssen want to hurt Chloe, of all people? He had been kindness itself when it came to Chloe. It was true that Chloe had dipped into Lianna’s medical files and uncovered the secret of Molly’s real father. But no one in the Janssen household seemed all that put out by her discovery. So why? Why would Harris Janssen enlist Bud Ridley to end Chloe’s life? For once, she had to agree with Talia. It made no sense.

It didn’t matter how much she reminded herself of that. Chloe was dead, and the last people to see her alive were the Ridleys, who owed their very lives to Harris Janssen. It was a chain – the link that she was seeking. But she had to find proof before she went any farther.

If only Talia had agreed to help her. There was no use thinking about it. She had refused, and that was the end of it. And Shelby didn’t know the first thing about hacking into a computer. Or anyone else who did either.

Even as she tried to imagine how she was going to obtain the truth she sought, an anguished word kept running through her mind: why? Stop, Shelby thought. Right now, it doesn’t matter why. The important thing is that you’ve found a connection. The ‘why’ is bound to reveal itself sooner or later. Right now you need to think about getting your proof – proof that Harris paid for the Ridleys to go on the Sunset Cruise. Once that is done, you can enlist the police to find out why.

Shelby closed her eyes and tried to think. If Harris had paid for the cruise, who else might know about it? Lianna, if she paid the bills. A charge for two cruise tickets would be rather a glaring expense on a monthly bill. For that very reason he probably charged it through the medical practice. So, his nurses or receptionists? She couldn’t very well ask them. They would never jeopardize their own jobs to give her that information without asking Harris. She thought about trying to break into his office and gain access to their computers. But it was a doctor’s office with a supply of drugs – it was probably wired with alarms that went off directly at the police station. It seemed impossible.

And then, suddenly, she realized that she was looking at this problem from the wrong angle. There were lots of places where Harris’s financial transactions were no secret. The bank knew about them. So did the credit card companies. And Sunset Cruise lines knew about it, in the sense that they all had records. All she had to do was to become one or the other, and soon, she would know too.