Hmjeu died at home. That same night there was fatal train crash in Bingham--the closest county to our small isolated town. The moment he passed I called the coroner’s office. They were short staffed and said no one would be able to come until morning.
I was just fourteen. I didn’t know what to do, so I called the nuns at the Girl’s Home for help. They consulted with their priest. Father Ligos called me from his parish in Canada. He said some awful things about Hmjeu and then coldly said:
“A few hours shouldn’t cause too much unpleasantness.”
I kept vigil that night. I sat outside of Hmjeu’s bedroom until morning. I’d tried to sleep but it never came. It had been the most restless night of my life.
Last night was a close second.
When I wake the horror of last night come back to me. The betrayal. The murder. Murders.
Alec Moritz
Skylar Day
I’d called Cortland Day yesterday and made a deal with him. I promised him I wouldn’t speak a word of his (and the entire Board of Supervisor’s) decades long embezzlement scheme. I’d agreed to resign and move on. I couldn’t risk an investigation. I couldn’t risk the authorities finding out I’d accessed the information using my business laptop-- which held the intimate details of my wife’s client list. A handful of whom would sue the hell out of us if their kinks and fetishes were leaked.
Last night Day insisted I come to Old Town Hall and drop off my resignation letter and all the evidence I had. I should have been suspicious. Seconds after I arrived someone locked me in my office and set the fucking building on fire. They were destroying all the evidence---including me.
Al Moritz had been in Old Town Hall too. He’d been putting together the desk I’d tried and failed to put together myself. I’d escaped the inferno with my life and part of adossier detailing the board’s embezzlement. Al hadn’t gotten so lucky. He’d gotten trapped in the basement.
I close my eyes and think about Al Moritz. I can easily picture the smiling upbeat security officer.
Looking good, Mr. Prince.
Someone had gone the extra mile and planted lighter fluid in my car. It was supposed to look like I’d gone mad and died committing arson. My escape didn’t go unnoticed. Someone (Day…probably) chased me down in an SUV. Or I think it was an SUV. It was a big beige car.
Then
There was a gunshot.
A gun that made a strange whistle when it backfired. A defect. It probably needed to be refitted. I knew because Sera had a gun just like it. It was bright pink and I hadn’t seen it in a while…
I can’t think about that
I remember Emile’s kindness from last night. I’d shown up unannounced to his front door. I told him everything. It seemed like a good idea to leave the dossier hidden away at his isolated home. There is something about Emile. He seems like he knows how to keep a secret.
Then there is Seraphina
Seraphina had left for Manhattan yesterday to work the Saints and Sinner’s party at Rapture. She’d also packed a bag and made it clear she was planning on staying in the city for a few weeks. The last thing I expected after escaping the fire was for her to call. She’d sounded…strange over the phone. She was stranded at a roadside diner a few miles outside of town. I went to help her without question. When I arrived she took me to a back road and showed me where her car had slid off the road into a shallow embankment.
A few feet away from her car was Skylar Day’s overturned minivan. The scratched blue paint on Sera’s car told me everything I needed to know. My wife had run Skylar Day off the road. Sera had a temper. She could be reckless. She and Sky had already gotten into a fight at the cookout. Something must have happened and Sera lost control. She’d killed my boss’ wife…
And I helped cover it up. I had to protect her. She is everything to me.
Seraphina.
What the fuck had she even been doing in town?
My shoulder is still sore from trying to break down my office door and escape the fire. Sera had tended to it last night but a bruise had already formed. I should be grateful. I can imagine Al had done the same thing with his shoulder --
No.
I can’t think like that.
I shut off my alarm clock the second it starts blaring at 5:00 am. I hear Sera rousing herself awake next to me. Her heels had been discarded on the bed and she’d fallen asleep on top of the covers. She is still wrapped in the intricate strappy silk teddy she had on last night. I’d never seen it before and she definitely hadn’t been wearing it when she left for Rapture. It was real silk with gold accents. Last night I’d spied a NET-A-PORTER label tucked in the back.
I push myself out of bed and take a long hot shower. I can barely look myself in the eyes as I shave. After leaving the embankment—we made it back to the house just in time for Sherriff Rainer to come knocking. I thought we’d been caught. Instead she’d informed us about the arson and Al’s death. When she asked where we were that night…I’d lied. We’d lied.
“We were together all night”, is what I told Rainer. The lie came easily.
I had to lie. Not only to protect Sera but because I was afraid if I admitted to being present at the fire that somehow I’d be blamed for it. Cortland Day had influence and power. He could make the truth whatever he wanted. It also didn’t help that Sera had lost her fucking mind and threatened to burn the town down at Day’s cookout on Saturday. I smile to myself. That was probably where the real arsonist got the idea. I get dressed carefully. My all black attire now apropos for the county’s mourning.
Someone tried to kill me. I’m certain it was Cortland Day but I need to prove it. I need more time. Day thought he could walk all over me because he had wealth, power and privilege. Maybe a few years ago he could. But those days were fucking over.
+++
Sera comes down by the time I have the toast out the oven. She walks briskly past the kitchen on the way to the dining room. She’s wearing a dark green suit with shiny loafers. Her hair is in a low ponytail and her skin is bare, missing even a glow of moisturizer.
“Make coffee. We’re going to need It.” she says fiddling with her tie.
I have to sort through the moving boxes until I find the dinged up coffee maker I’d had since undergrad. A dusty bag of coffee is also at the bottom of the box. The coffee ends up tasting like shit but I’m so exhausted I barely notice. Sera doesn’t eat. She just stirs the coffee--her eyes occasionally flickering to the cabinet above the fridge.
It was clear that Sherriff Rainer hadn’t believed us when we told her we’d been home all evening. Rainer had good instincts. Luckily I had just the right software hack to make our alibi seem believable. We’d spent half the night concocting the perfect digital alibi. A fake livestream that would trick any computer into thinking Seraphina was in the basement streaming on CraveLive and not… running Skylar Day off the road.
“Sera, trust me. The Vacation hacks works. It will look like you were live all night.”
She stares at me for a long time and then stands up.
“We should get going”, she says, “We have to drive your car.”
“Of course.” Of course we did. In the light of day I can see the huge dent in Sera’s car. A few flecks of blue paint are still embedded in the metal. She notices me noticing and covers the car with a tarp.
Sera’s quiet until we pull out the neighborhood.
“This car seems a little big for you.” She says from the backseat. “Maybe I should get you something smaller.”
“Yeah”, I respond mechanically, “Maybe a Prius…”
“You lost your phone…” Sera says though it’s more of a statement since she already knew that. I’d lost it while breaking up her fight with Skylar Day on Saturday.
“Yeah, but I have a new one.”
Sera meets my eyes in the mirror.
“You need to get that phone, Paris.”
“Why? It isn’t active.”
“Just… get it.”
I stop the car and pull over.
“Sera…I need you to tell me what happened last night. Why did you run Sky off the road? I’ll help you. You know that.”
She sits there looking out the window.
“Sera”, I try again.
“Paris”, she snaps, “We just need to focus on getting through this police interview. Drive.”
I can tell by her tone there is no room for argument.
+++
I’m surprised how empty the parking lot is at the Sherriff’s office. I’d expected a full news crew looking for answers about the fire. I pull into a visitor space and Sera pushes her door open before I can get to it.
“Don’t say anything. Let me do the talking.” I remind her, “We’ll probably be under surveillance the minute we walk in. Be prepared.”
We enter the small building and step into a very quiet waiting room. There is a desk sergeant behind a glass wall but it’s an otherwise bland ordinary office space. There is a small family in one area and a young guy waiting for an interview. It was normal shit. Life moved on for everyone except Al. Did Al even have a family? He must have. Why else work that long? He must have liked the supervisors. Or maybe he wasn’t being paid enough to retire--
“Mistress---Ath—Sera…Mrs. Prince?”
Sera and I both turn to the front door and see Josie Landow with a lunchbox and a giant water bottle. She has shades on and her warm toned poodle perm is partially hidden beneath a stylish faux Hermes scarf. Carver Landow’s wife looks rightfully panicked to see her husband’s Domme …at what I now realize is her job. When Josie notices me she relaxes.
“Oh. Mr. Prince. Hi. You must be here because of last night. Such awful news.”
“You work here?” I blurt like an idiot.
She brightens.
“Unit secretary. 27 years this winter—“
“Mrs. Grigori”, the desk sergeant interrupts Josie, “Sheriff Rainer is ready for you.”
Josie slips past the desk sergeant and into the back.
Sera gets up and I follow.
“Sir, you’ll have to wait out here”, the desk sergeant says.
“I’m not letting my client go in there alone”, I tell her.
“Client?”
“Yes, I’m Seraphina Grigori’s lawyer. So…unless you want to
violate my client’s right to legal representation then—“
“Just let them in.” a very pissed off Rainer says from behind the dividing
door.
I was grateful for the interruption. I’d only skimmed my criminal law books briefly before going to bed. Rainer leads us into a small interview room.
“So”, says Rainer sitting down, “You’re her lawyer now?”
I nod, “My New York license is reciprocal in Connecticut so I might as well use it.”
“Okay.” Rainer says leaning in. She can probably smell an inexperienced lawyer, “Mrs. Prince, let’s get to it. Two days ago you attended the annual Day Summer Kick-Off cookout. Numerous attendees told my officers that at that event you said ‘fuck this town. I hate this fucking place. You fucking bitch you and this fucking town can burn in hell.’ Can you tell me about that?”
“That was taken out of context”, I jump in, “Seraphina had just taken a bad fall down the stairs and hit her head. She misunderstood the situation and it lead to that heated retort.”
“Okay well, you have to see where I’m coming from. Your client made that threat and 24 hours later a beloved town building burns down.”
I respond quickly.
“There were over thirty people at that party who heard her comment. Any one of them could have heard her say that and set her up. You should be questioning Day’s entire guest list or Day himself.”
“I know how to do my job, Mr. Prince. Okay. Mrs. Prince let’s clear this up. Where were you on Sunday evening June 18th?”
I nod to Seraphina to answer.
“I had a busy evening you’ll have to be specific”, Sera says just like we’d rehearsed last night. Never give them more than they need.
“Let’s say around 8:30pm, “Rainer suggests.
“I’d just gotten back from a party in Manhattan and went to work.” Sera says.
“Late shift. Where do you work?”
“Home.”
“Do you have someone who can place you there?”
“My husband.”
Rainer rubs her temples, “So… your lawyer.”
“Yes and 13 of her Sweethearts”, I cut in while taking Sera’s laptop out. I turn it on and swivel the screen to Rainer.
Rainer squints then looks up from the fake CraveLive stream playing on the screen. Her eyes move between the two of us, “What am I looking at?”
I clear my throat.
“Seraphina is a Virtual Domme. Last night she was doing a late night live stream for her subscribers. It’s called an after party live. She attended Rapture Saints and Sinner’s party in Manhattan and wanted to share her experience with her audience when she got home. As you can see she is displaying--or I should say suspending the new toy she brought home.”
Rainer squints at the scene playing out on the screen.
“Is that…a gimp?” she asks while picking up her pen. She seems to be studying the zooms and changing camera angles.
“It’s actually a bondage suit”, I explain.
“Let me guess, Paris”, Rainer says leaning over the table, “If I were to ask you were you were that night you’ll just say you were the one filming this. Let me also guess… you conveniently never show up on camera.”
“I wasn’t filming.”
She sits back.
“Really?”
“The cameras are controlled remotely.”
“Then where were you last night, Mr. Prince?” Rainer asks.
“I’m in the suit.”
“What?”
“I’m the gimp.”
She sits back down deflated, “I—okay.”
I relax and keep my tone calm and casual, just like I’ve trained myself when discussing kink or sex work with outsiders.
“I’ve been so busy with my new role as Supervisor that I forgot to hire someone to play the part for the livestream… so I filled in.”
“This…was live?” Rainer says.
“Yes, 8:30pm to elevenish. We had to cut the feed because we were interrupted by you. You remember? ”
Rainer writes a few sentences in her notebook while the video plays quietly in the background. Sera and I had spent all night recording this to look like a live show. I’d even placed decorative analog clocks in the frame and set it to the time the video was supposed to cover. I even had a recording of the 9 o’clock news from the DVR playing in the background at one point. The fake livestream was the same sensual but titillating level of all of Sera’s videos. Same dark upscale gothic aesthetic. She spoke with her actions more than her words. None of her over 100 subscribers seemed to care or notice that she barley took her clothes off.
Faking the stream was easy. I had to hope the CraveLive hack I’d spent thousands of dollars on would fool any forensic techs.
“I don’t know why, but I have a feeling you two are clearly hiding something”, Rainer admits.
“Trust me, Sheriff. I have nothing to hide. My wife and I were home alone last night. Well except for the viewers. ”
“How do I even know that is you, Paris?”
I reach over to the keyboard, “You can tell it’s me because if we fast forward there is a bit of cock and ball torture…which is just —“
“Okay”, Rainer closes the laptop, ”Just send me a copy or link to this. I’ll have the tech guys in Hartford review it. I’m sure you want to get to the press conference anyway.”
“The what?” I blurt.
Sera kicks my legs and I realize Rainer had taken note of my strange response.
“The press conference,” Rainer says, “At The Municipal Building? They never invite me to those types of things. Were you also not invited?”
I try to save face.
“Of course I was invited. I just forgot. I just…need my morning coffee.”
“Well, I think we’re done for now. Don’t go too far. Either of you.”
I let out a stream of air when we get into the parking lot.
“She’s suspicious”, Sera says.
“We’re out of the woods for now. I need to get to The Municipal Building”
“Why?” Sera says getting into the passenger seat, “You resigned yesterday.”
“That was before Day tried to kill me. My resignation letter burned up in the fire anyway.”
“Paris…what if it wasn’t Day.”
“It had to be. He was the only one who knew I was going to be there.”
I watch Sera put her seat belt on. She is very talkative all of a sudden. I realize this is my chance to question her about her missing gun. The gun I know I heard that night.
“Maybe I should take one of your guns for protection. That small one. Bright pink.”
“I…don’t have that one. It’s getting fixed, remember?”
I nod like I do.
“Actually”, I say pulling onto the road, “I lied. Day wasn’t the only one who knew I was going to be there. You did too.”
“What are you implying?” she asks.
“Nothing”, I lie.
+++
The Municipal Building parking lot is filled with news trucks and constituents. A few people pause to watch as I drive up. There is a long line to get into the parking lot. I have no idea where I am supposed to go.
I spot Mrs. Ginger getting out of her old school Volkswagen Beetle. I pull in beside her and she gives me a sad but optimistic smile. Mrs. Ginger’s gaze turns steely when she notices Seraphina. I get out the car and greet Mrs. Ginger. I expect Sera to do the same but instead she takes the keys from me and gets into the driver’s seat.
“I need to run some errands”, Sera says.
“Okay. Be careful”
“Paris”, Mrs. Ginger says hugging me as soon as the car is out of sight, “I’m so glad to see you. This is just…so awful. Al and I worked together for 42 years. His poor wife.”
Fuck he had a wife.
“Let’s get you inside.” I say to Mrs. Ginger and let her take my arm.
Mrs. Ginger seems to know what to do so I follow her lead. She is stopped by a police officer she seems to be friendly with. The officer leads us to the backdoor of the complex. An office assistant meets us and leads us down a series of long hallways. Eventually I start to see some familiar faces. I recognize the communications team and few representatives from the sheriff’s office. Some of them greet me by name and others just stare.
“How did you find out?” I ask Mrs. Ginger.
“Al’s wife called me last night,” She says, “And.... I’m sure you’ve heard about Sky by now. ”
“…I did.”
We reach a door at the end of the hall. Behind it I can hear the familiar chatter of the supervisors. It gets louder as I push the door open. On the other side is a large milquetoast conference room. Lee, Bruno, and Hollins stand when I walk in. I study their faces. They look at one another before speaking. It was possible they knew I’d threatened to blow the whistle on the embezzlement.
“Gentlemen”, I say.
“Molly”, Hollins says putting an arm over Mrs. Ginger’s shoulder, “Why don’t you let me take you to Mrs. Moritz…she’ll need the support”
“Yes, that’d be good.” Mrs. Ginger follows Hollins out leaving me with Bruno and Lee. The veterans. The old guard.
“Sorry I’m late”, I offer congenially to Bruno and Lee, “I didn’t get the invite.”
Bruno and Lee look at each other before speaking.
“Well…we heard you might be busy with the police”, Lee says.
“You barley knew Al anyway”, Bruno adds.
“I’m an altruistic man. I don’t need to know someone long to value their life.” They were nervous. I look around the room again, “Where is Cortland?”
They did it again. Watching each other before speaking.
“You heard about Sky’s car accident?” Lee asks.
I realize I hadn’t heard about it. No one had technically told me about it yet.
“Yes, Mrs. Ginger just let me know”
“Cort hasn’t left her bedside all night.” Bruno says passively.
Bruno’s words don’t hit me all at once. I try not to let my shock show but my mouth moves too fast. I blurt out:
“Sky’s alive?”, then I pull myself together, “I mean…it must have been a bad accident. I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“She’s in a coma”, Bruno continues, “The doctors are inducing to give her her best chance. You might as well know they are thinking it was a DUI. They found two empty bottle of some strong liquor in the backseat. Cheap imported shit. Sky’s always been….neurotic. I told Cortland women get like that especially when the kids are close to leaving the house. I’m telling you this because people are going to start spreading rumors. Figured you should at least know the truth.”
I let of a sigh of relief. Sera hadn’t killed her. Clearly the police believed the staged DUI. Of course if Sky got out of that coma…that was another problem entirely.
Lee slides a stack of papers over to me.
“Guess you’ll want to check out the arson report, kid.”
I read through the fire marshal’s report as fast as I can. I understand about half of what I am looking at. It doesn’t matter. I’d lived the fire. I knew what happened. It was a gasoline fire. Ignition points were started on the fifth floor in all the supervisor’s offices. What shocked me more was what I didn’t see. The items I’d left behind when I fled the building weren’t in any of the crime scene photos. Including my laptop. Someone had cleaned it up.
I flip another page and see a gruesome photo of Al. I make myself look at it. To remember what was lost. That was supposed to be me. I was supposed to die in that fire and be remembered as the mad man who killed himself while burning a building down.
The PR coordinator pokes her head into the office.
“Sirs, we’re ready.”
Hollins comes back in. He trades a nervous glance with Bruno and Lee.
“You know what, kid”, Bruno says handing me a print-out of the prepared statement, “Why don’t you speak. It’s what you’ve been wanting right?”
He was challenging me.
“No problem”, I take the statement and skim over the bland obligatory words.
The publicist leads us into the lobby of The Municipal Building. Rows of fold-out chairs have been lined up for media and residents. The flashing lights nearly blind me. The rush of loud voices and cameras is new to me. No degree was going to prepare me for this.
Bruno nudges me toward the podium. I set the statement down and make the mistake of clearing my throat into the microphone. The entire audience looks up. I squint past the news camera and see Seraphina sitting in the last row at the end of the aisle.
She’d stayed.
She gives me a soft encouraging smile. Then I remember to speak.
“Good Afternoon, my name is Paris Prince. I’m the supervisor for the 5th district of Harrison County.”, my brain remembers to cross out Lee’s name for mine, “Last night at or around 8:30 pm a fire was set at Old Town Hall. At this time the fire marshal has confirmed there were ignition points set on the first, second, third, fourth floor and fifth floor. Right now we can confirm this is being investigated as an arson. It is with great sympathy that I can confirm that there was one fatality…Alec Moritz …the head of security for Old Town Hall for over 40 years.”
My eyes find his wife, Viola Moritz, in the front row with her hand clasped in Mrs. Ginger’s. She seems so far away. So lost in her grief. Mrs. Moritz meets my eyes and looks at me like I should have answers.
“I…I didn’t know Mr. Moritz…Al very well. But I saw the energy and love he had for his job these past few weeks,” I find myself going off script, “This paper in front of me wants me to inform you that we lost 85% of vital and country records. We also lost 98% of our county severs which held the county archives. I haven’t been here long and I know this isn’t the first hardship or the last this county has been through. I just ask that we all stick together. If you have a moment in your day please keep the Moritz family and Al in your thoughts. I speak for my colleagues when I say we are here to support you. Thank you.”
I readjust the microphone as people start shouting questions.
“Mr. Prince”, a young woman says, “Can you speak to who made the 911 call?”
I try not to look lost. I hadn’t read the report that closely.
“I’ll have to—“I try to answer but the questions keeping coming.
“Can you advise why the fire alarm and sprinkler system weren’t operational?”
“Do we know if anything was taken?”
“Should citizens be worried about a serial arsonist-“
“Are there any leads?”
Bruno steps in front of me, “All questions can be submitted to our communications office. We will communicate with you as soon as we have answers.”
The county publicist steps back up to the podium while the supervisors file out. Bruno catches up with me and puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Never offer to take questions unless you see them in writing first.”
I shake him off. Something wasn’t right here.
“Why isn’t Rainer here or the fire marshal? Shouldn’t we all be coordinating?”
“That never works that way you think it will. Day said to keep it separate.”
Of course he would want the investigation to be stunted. It would probably lead back to him.
“You two don’t seem worried about the arsonist”, I say accusingly.
Bruno and Lee share glances again. Bruno rolls up his sleeves and drops the courtesy act. Hollins keeps a few paces behind me.
“Look Prince. You want the kid gloves off? Fine? We’re not worried because we know the police already have a suspect. We all heard what your wife said the other day about wanting the town to burn.”
“She didn’t mean it like that.”
Bruno shakes his head.
“I heard she got into with Emile of all people on your first day. Sounds like she has a short temper. I’ve heard she doesn’t like it here. I mean…where was she when this all went down?”
I thought about it. I thought about it hard.
I didn’t actually know. She was supposed to have been in New York City working her booth at Rapture. I still didn’t know why she was at that diner outside of town. Why she ran Skylar Day off the road. Sera’s clothes were different… so she must have been up to something.
“Look, Paris”, Bruno says, “If your wife goes down for this your career is over. Old Town Hall was a historic building. The FBI might get involved. I get it. Look Paris, you’re a well off kid. You’ll attract plenty of beautiful women in the future. My advice? Cut her loose.”
“Seraphina didn’t do this.” I say but they are already walking out the side door. I take out my phone to call a cab then remember what Sera said about getting my old phone back from Day house.
“Paris”, I turn to find Emile climbing the steps toward me.
“Emile.”, I say and then whisper, “How are you? Sorry I ran out on you last night.”
“It’s okay”, he says looking around, “I read everything that entire dossier last night. I can’t believe what the board’s been up to.”
“That dossier barley cover half of the stolen funds.”
“It’s still good work”, Emile says, “I knew something was off with the county’s finances.”
“I think Day set the fire to cover this up. He tried to get rid of the evidence…and me.”
Emile looks skeptical.
“…rumor is your wife did it.”
“She didn’t.”
Emile takes a deep breath.
“Look, I was talking to Melanie Hollins. She said she thought she saw Sera’s car at the gas station on Mill Street last night…just before the fire started. Melanie said her car has actually been there a few times… ”
I shake my head. That’s didn’t make sense.
“It wasn’t her. Sera drives a Tesla.”
“That’s why is stuck out. It was parked behind the station.”
“It’s rumors. That’s all.” I assure Emile.
“Well, what’s your next step?”
“Apart from proving Day set the fire…I also need to somehow get my old phone from his house.”
“I might be able to help with one of those things.”
+++
There is no sneaking up on The Day family. The guard at the Cherrywood Villas front gate makes sure we are announced before we could pull into the winding complex. I climb out of Emile’s cozy Fiat and peer at Day’s house—which somehow looks a lot less menacing. Before we can knock Kylie Day swings open the door. She is in a wrinkled Harrison High t-shirt and faded jeans. Her weary eyes brighten when she sees Emile. I see a few more teens in the living room. I recognize them from the cookout.
“Mr. Emile”, she says hugging him.
“How are you doing, Kylie?” He asks.
“I’m okay. Dad’s at the hospital he said Mom--”, Kylie stops and turns her attention to me.
“Uh. Hi Kylie. I’m so sorry about your mom. I’m sure she’s going to be okay.” I say.
Her clear green eyes are glassy. She’s sad but there is some anger there.
“I called my mom a bitch”, she says turning back to Emile. I realize that anger she has is directed at herself, “That might be the last thing I say to her. It was my fault.”
“Kylie it’s okay—“
“She was looking for me when she got in the accident. I ran away. I was just down the street at Lydia’s. I was just down the street…”
Kylie’s crying seems to alert her friends. A young blonde, who I’m pretty sure is Lydia, tries to lead Kylie away. Kylie manages to disentangle herself from Lydia and turns back to me.
“Mr. Emile introduced us to your wife at the party”, Kylie says, “Everyone is saying she burned down town hall and killed Mr. Al...but I don’t believe it.”
“Uh…don’t worry about that Kylie”, I try to say softly, “You have a lot to take on.”
She nods and leans against her friend.
“Hey, Kylie”, Emile suggest casually, “Is it okay if Mr. Prince grabs some stuff he left in your dad’s office on Saturday.”
“I guess.” she says.
I feel like absolute shit as I head upstairs. I press the button on my locator app and I hear the loud signal coming from the Day’s master bedroom. The tone is coming from underneath the bed. The hardwood floors are spotless. It must have slid under there during the fight. The room was spotless. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. Sky and I had similar cleaning habits. I reach my hand under and find my phone.
The bedroom has as a small balcony with an intimate bistro set. The room is filled with warm natural sunlight that makes the space feel warm. There are a few weights neatly stacked in the corner and fluffy pink house shoes by the door. Her nightstand has a pink phone stand, bible and a novel. His had an iPad and Marlin’s bobble head. The bed is neatly made and overflowing with pillows. The bedspread is a modern floral pattern that fits nicely with the white wooden accent furniture. Framed pictures of Kylie sit on small side table. This was a normal straight couple’s bedroom. They’d lived a normal happy life here…save for the secret embezzlement.
I didn’t want to believe Day tried to kill me. I didn’t want to put Kylie through that. But someone had to answer for Al. I’m on my way out when something on the floor catches the light. The object glints just under the bed. It’s so odd that something is out of place in this room. I get on my knees for a closer look. I see that the sun is reflecting off of a tiny sword shaped earring.
I flashback to last night. I remember Sera coming into my office before leaving for Manhattan Rapture. I remember the cut-out black dress she had on and how she’d asked me to fix her garter. I remember the way she’d fastened her white gold earrings before leaving. This earring.
“What the fuck, Sera.”
I pocket the earring and head downstairs. I gesture for Emile who is in deep conversation with the teens. He notices my panicked expression and stands up.
“I’ve got to”, Emile says, “If you need anything Kylie let me know. You kids take care of each other.”
“Mr. Emile”, Kylie says walking us to the door, “Are we still having our next
meeting at your place with Mrs. Prince—“
“I …guess we haven’t talked about it. We can reschedule—“
“No. I could use the distraction”, Kylie glanced at me then back at Emile, “Besides if there is some crazy person burning down buildings won’t we need to protect ourselves?”
“We’ll see.” Emile offers.
“Okay…Thanks for stopping by.” she says getting a feel for the words. She was trying to do what she’d seen her mother do. Take charge of the household. I knew that feeling. I’d been a few years younger than her when I took over the Boy’s home.
This girl needed her mother.
Emile I head down the drive way, we are about to get into his car when a bright orange BMW pulls in effectively blocks us in the driveway.
Day climbs out the car in a daze. He hasn’t shaved and his blond hair is a tousled mess. He’s wearing a wrinkled Marlins t-shirt and gray sweatpants. It takes him a while to register the scene in front of him.
“Paris”, he says looking at me. Really looking at me.
“I—we just came to check on you and the family”, Emile says, “How is Sky?”
“They still have her under. They said there is swelling so…”
Day deflates and gets a tighter grasp on the clear hospital bag of Sky’s belongings from the car.
“Emile, can you give us a second”, Days asks.
“Sure”, Emile agrees heading back to his car.
“Cortland--”, I start.
“Look. Paris I had an emergency meeting with the federal auditors this morning. I explained how we lost all the financial records and our digital servers in fire--they have agreed to post-pone the audit. Indefinitely. ”
Just like that the fire saved his reputation. Now he could run for governor without a scandal. It only cost a man’s life. This was lining up perfectly for him. Except for me. I was still a loose end because I hadn’t died in the fire.
“You know”, I say, “The funny thing is you asked me to drop my resignation letter and bring all that evidence last night. I mean I could have been in the building when the fire started.”Days jaw tightens.
“It’s a good thing you weren’t there”, he says, “Because if you were there…well…it might look like you set the fire. Because if you were there you certainly would have told the cops. If you were there why didn’t you call 911.”
There is a slight threat in his words. I could do the same.
“You know…I still have some of the evidence in a dossier”, I try to sound casual, “I think I’ll keep it for insurance encase you try to kill me again.”
Day breaks.
“Cut the crap, Paris.” He snaps, “Sky and I were out looking for Kylie when the fire happened. The audit isn’t happening. Let’s move passed this. Get rid of those copies and save us all the headache.“
“No. If you want them you’ll have to try and kill me again.” I say with a furiousity I didn’t know I had.
“If you really believe that I tried to kill you then why haven’t you told the cops?”
“Because you’d get away with it. Your family has power.”
“Daddy”, Kylie runs out to her father. Day puts an arm around her but he keeps staring at me. I take the moment to step back and get into Emile’s car.
“I got my phone.” I say watching as Day and Kylie gets in his car so he can move it out of our way.
“Great. I could feel the tension between you and Day. Do you think he set the fire?”
“Day was the only one who knew I was going to be there. I wish I’d have seen him.”
“If you didn’t see him how do you know it was him?”
“I know it was. He had a different car. It was a champagne SUV.”
“There are hundreds of those around here.” Emile points out.
“They hit the back of my car. So it would be damaged. Maybe I should see if anyone has gone to any body shops.”
“Paris, this sounds like police work.”
“Well I just—STOP !”
Emile slams on the brake and the car stutters to a stop in front of the security gate. I jump out the car and two security guards file out. One looks very young and confused. His eyes are a little puffy and his is holding a stack of paper. The other is older and all business.
“What’s going on”, the older guard says.
“Is there a camera?” I ask, “Do you record the gate?"
“Are you a resident?”
“No. I actually work with Cortland Day. I’m Paris Prince, supervisor with the fifth district”, I come up with a lie,” Cortland Day was hoping to get some information on his wife’s accident. Do you happen have footage from last night?”
The guard sighs and looks at the younger man.
“We don’t, sir. There was a glitch.”
“What kind of glitch?”
“Look”, the old man says, “Don’t tell the Days this but...the system was shut off last night.”
“It was an accident”, the younger guard squeaks, “I swear.”
I realize the younger guy has been divested of his badges. I must have interrupted his firing.
“Were you working last night” I ask the younger guy.
He nods.
“Do you remember if a silver Tesla came through yesterday. A visitor?”
“There are a ton of those…I don’t know.”
“What about Skylar Day? You must have seen her leave.”
“I…I don’t remember.”
“Tell Chairman Day this won’t happen again”, the older guard says.
I nod my thanks and get in the car. Dead end.
“Everything okay?” Emile asks.
“No.”, I squeeze the earring in my hand, “I think my wife is lying to me.”