Allen just laughed and walked away.
Josh collapsed to the ground. This wasn’t happening. He was dreaming. He was going to wake up, snug and toasty next to Aubrey. They’d make love and have breakfast, take Winston for a walk. He would stop taking the uppers, clean himself up. Spend more time with Aubrey.
And in his heart, the lies began to form, and he knew this was the beginning of the end.
CHAPTER 49
Aubrey
Today
Aubrey felt like she’d interrupted something when got back to the table. Meghan’s eyes were sheened with tears, and Cutter was staring at his lap.
“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s no problem.” Cutter gave her a brief smile. She sat back down, toyed with her straw.
“What can I expect from Derek Allen?”
Cutter shrugged. “It’s been my experience that he’s a dog with a bone. He’s not going to walk away, not until he’s satisfied Josh absolutely is dead.”
“But why now? Why start all this now?”
“The money, obviously. And he’s been in jail. He just got out. My guess is this is something he wants to handle himself. Otherwise, he would have told the police about Josh’s involvement in his business long ago.”
“You said he was shot the night my husband disappeared. Who shot him?”
Cutter didn’t answer, just looked at her.
“You think Josh shot him?”
“I think that’s a distinct possibility.”
Jesus. Josh, what did you do?
She slid the card across the table. “One last thing. Any idea who is behind DC Investigations?”
Cutter picked up the card, then turned white. Meghan said, “Is that you? DC—Daniel Cutter?”
He nodded. “I can’t believe he has that. It’s an old card. I changed the name of the business years ago.” He fished in his overstuffed wallet, pulled out a white rectangle, handed it over. “See?” The card was embossed with a large eye overlaid with a magnifying glass, with the name Sherlock’s across the top.
“Sherlock’s?”
“Get’s business like you can’t imagine.”
“So why does Derek Allen have your old business card, Mr. Cutter?”
He was still pale, and Aubrey wondered briefly if he’d been the one to take the picture. It made sense. But it didn’t matter. None of this mattered anymore.
“Like I said, I had a little problem back then. But I’ve cleaned myself up. I’m straight now.”
Aubrey looked at her watch. She needed some time alone. She needed to think. She needed to batten down the hatches and make sure Derek Allen didn’t ruin her life.
Damn you, Josh Hamilton, leaving me with this mess.
She stood up. “Meghan, do you think you can manage the rest of the day without me? I’d like some time to myself, if that’s okay. And Chase just called, he’s coming in early.”
Meghan shot a look at Cutter, then said, “Sure, sugar. I’ll go in search of the great mythological son of Daisy. Maybe Daniel here will help. You go home and get pretty for your boy.”
Aubrey smiled, trying very hard to make sure it was a sunny, happy grin. “You’re the best, Meghan. Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Cutter, for your insights. I appreciate your honesty.”
“Watch out for this guy, Mrs. Hamilton. He’s trouble.”
She nodded and left, mounting the stairs to the grand hall, out onto the street. She didn’t feel sunny. She felt overwhelmed. Too many decisions, too much happening. She ran down the street, back to the courthouse parking lot, drove home.
Tyler and Winston were perched on the front porch when she drove up—an eerie reminder of the previous weekend, when Daisy had pulled around the bend and seen Aubrey and Chase in the same spot.
The two were sitting in the sun, both sets of eyes closed. Tyler looked gray and unhappy but sober, and despite the spike of anger at his stupidity, she was glad to see him. She’d need his help to make all this work. Maybe a little deviousness would make him feel better. She wasn’t worried about tracking down Daisy’s other progeny, if there even was such a person. She needed to get all the pieces together from Josh’s puzzle first.
She left the car parked in the driveway and got out. The dog came to her immediately, tail wagging, the whole back end of him moving in time as he snuggled up next to her. “Winston. There’s my good boy.”
“I’m not your good boy?” Tyler said.
She laughed lightly. “Not even close. But I’m glad you’re here.”
Tyler nodded in acknowledgment that what she really meant was I’m happy you didn’t take the pizza money and fall off the wagon again and get yourself fucked up three ways to Sunday and betray me.
She sat next to him, took a stick from Tyler’s hand and tossed it into the yard for Winston. As the dog scampered away, she said, “I need to run something by you.”