Blood Ties (9 page)

“Have I allured you with my smile?” Jared asked grinning.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Kelly moved around the bed a bit and I worried that her IV line would tangle up or come off, but the cast in her leg and actual size of the bed stopped her from getting on her side. She moaned, opened her eyes and sighed.

“It wasn’t a bad dream?”

“No Kelly, I’m sorry.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost dinner time.”

“Did you get a hold of mom?”

“Yes, she’s here now. She’s with Rod; they’re talking with the doctor regarding your release. You’ll be staying with them until you get better.”

“Good, I could use the pampering. What about tomorrow? I want to go to Sandy’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry Kelly, but that’s not a possibility. I’ll go and send your condolences to her family, but you’re on bed rest until Monday afternoon.”

Kelly looked down and nodded; her eyes showed her reluctance to stay put, but the tone of my voice had made it crystal clear that she’d be going nowhere except our mom’s place on Monday.

A short while later a nurse came in and checked Kelly’s chart as well as the monitor that controlled her heart rate and different measures shown. After reassuring us that Kelly would be alright, she left and returned a few minutes later carrying a tray. As if on cue, my mom arrived and, after shedding some tears, proceeded to feed my sister.

Once Kelly was done, Jared and I took off. We stopped at a restaurant and ordered some food. Jared had insisted that with all that was going on, I deserved a break from having to do stuff; he didn’t get the fact that cooking relaxed me, but I decided to give in to his
resolve, mostly due to my lack of energy and will to argue.

“I know it’s a touchy subject, but won’t you call Noel? I mean, he deserves to know his sister is in the hospital,” Jared said slowly.

“Look, I’m seriously done with him. If my mom or Rod want to call him, they’re free to do so, but if I know my brother, he’s probably wasted right now, so I’m not even going to try to contact him.”

“Okay.”

“Have you received any news from Aidan?”

“No, I’ll call him when we get to your place if he hasn’t called by then.”

“Great, thanks. Jared, do you think my sister could have done this?”

“As a detective, I know it’s a possibility until the evidence
exonerates her or confirms her guilt.”

“And personally?”

“I honestly do not know. I’ve barely spoken to her, and I’m not a psychologist, so I can’t read her in a way that isn’t superficial.”

A silence overcame us and we continued eating, without speaking.

“Did you find out anything about the license plate from the car that almost ran us over?” I asked, remembering.

“The car was tracked to a rental place. Whoever
leased it was a woman who paid cash. Her driving registration was under the name Jane Smith, so this is a woman who’s resourceful enough to get fake ID’s and has for some reason planned this. Unfortunately, Captain Nicholson told me it was a dead end because the person who gave the car to the woman said she was wearing a wig and glasses, but as she paid cash up front and returned the car in perfect conditions, they didn’t ask any questions.”

“That sucks,” I said, findin
g very annoying the fact that there seemed to be no answers to all the problems that were occurring.

We continued eating silently.

Jared’s cell phone rang; I looked at him immediately and, without removing his eyes from mine, he grabbed it. I was unable to listen to what Aidan said, but I realized Jared’s expression grew more somber by the second. He mumbled a bit and hung up.

“What?” I asked, placing the fork and knife on the plate; my appetite was gone.

“I’m sorry, Sam. The bomb in Kelly’s car was also home-made, and Riley compared it to the one you received. Some of the materials were the same; two pieces of wire were actually analyzed and Riley concluded they were originally from the same cord. Kelly is a suspect right now, both in your attempted murder as well as in the staging of her own attempted demise. Aidan just got a judge to sign a search warrant and he’s going over to her house tonight. I need to check your correspondence with Kelly urgently.”

I felt
the blood draining from my face. I blinked repeatedly and took in a deep breath. Jared asked me if I was okay and I nodded; I just needed a minute to let all the information sink in.

Jared called a waiter, asked for the
bill, and paid. He led me to the car and drove swiftly through the streets of Memphis. The lights flashed and looked like a blur to me; I was shocked.

I felt like a puppet as Jared guided me through the garage to the elevator, into the hallway, through the door and towards my study. He snapped his fingers in front of my eyes and I
woke up from the trance I’d been in.

“Right,” I muttered as I turned on the computer.

All the files were organized in folders, and I walked Jared through them. I opened my e-mail account and let Jared sit on the chair.

“Sam, go and rest. Tomorrow morning is Sandy’s funeral, right?”

I nodded.

“You’ll need some energy, so go to sleep and I’ll manage. Are there any passwords locking the e-mails?”

“No, the passwords are used for my work files. All my correspondence with Kelly is completely accessible.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Okay, right. Good night Jared.”

“Good night Sam.”

And with no further activities for me to do I walked, again in a trance, into my bedroom; without the force to change into my pajamas, I barely got out of my clothes, plunged onto my bed, and dozed off, exhausted after the emotional rollercoaster the day had been. And feeling almost as lonely as I’d felt the night after Caleb died.

I opened my eyes and blinked, focusing my sight. I’d slept like crap, so I was
suffering a slight headache. I patted my bed, searching for my cell phone; I use its alarm clock, and now it was ringing annoyingly.

I closed my eyes and breathed.

Five minutes later, the alarm went off again, and I opened my eyes again. After turning the alarm off, I grunted and got up. I drowsily walked to the bathroom, peed, and got into the shower. The hot water ran down my body and eased some of the discomfort I felt all over.

Once I was clean, I wrapped myself in a towel,
brushed my teeth, disentangled and blow-dried my hair, returned to my room, and found a tray with coffee, yogurt and cornflakes waiting for me on my bed.

“Thanks Jared!” I yelled from the door
.

“You’re welcome
,” he yelled back.

I changed into black pants, a white blouse, a black vest and black boots, had my breakfast succeeding in not getting food over my clothes
—nothing short of a miracle—and met Jared in the living-room. He was ready to go and smiled tightly when he saw me. As we were running a bit late, I decided to leave the questions I had in my mind for the ride in the car, and just nodded, letting him know I was set to go as well.

“Did you find anything relevant?” I asked once we were on our way.

“I’ve gone through it with Aidan. He’s recommended me to keep you as objective and detached as possible.”

“What? Are you kidding me? Aidan’s kind of an ass
,” I cried, clearly mad at Aidan’s notion that I wouldn’t be able to stay objective if I knew what evidence and theories were in play.

“Aidan doesn’t want to force you into a situation of having to keep things from your family. He wants to have you make up your own mind about things.”

“Oh, please Jared! Aidan is only making sure I don’t run around telling Kelly there’s evidence against her!”

“Not at all, Sam. For whatever reason, Aidan trusts you. He doesn’t want to have you alienate yourself due to knowing too much. No matter how strange and unbelievable that may sound, Aidan’s trying to protect you, honestly.”

“Whatever. I should be able to decide objectively if I alienate myself from my family or not. I still think Kelly’s innocent, and if you tell me what you’ve found, I can either confirm or dismiss your suspicions.”

“You don’t have to talk me into anything Sam; I’ll tell you what I’ve found. I just wanted you to know that Aidan has suggested me to stay mum on the subject, for your own sake, okay?”

“Yes, fine, Aidan’s very protective and cares about me, whatever. Now Jared, please tell me if you found something incriminating.”

“This won’t be passed on to anyone else?”

“No!”

“Fine, I was just checking. The e-mails were normal, except I noticed that a few weeks ago, Kelly sent you many, indicating or practically ordering you to answer her. By the fifth e-mail, she was
cursing at you, and she seemed a bit violent. Why didn’t she just call you?”

“She did. All this has to do with her manuscript. She called me and left me messages, but I didn’t reply them because I was taking care of other clients. Kelly can’t stand not being everyone’s priority, but that wouldn’t drive her to kill me.”

“If you say so…”

“I
do.”

“Fine.”

“Anything else you’ve found you may consider of relevance?”

“I traced an e-mail from Maxwell asking to meet you. Not that there was anything suspicious in it, but it simply called my attention.”

“Yes, he wants to see me due to Kelly’s manuscript, but as I haven’t even read it yet, I don’t have anything to talk about with him.”

“Does Kelly know this? She could consider it backstabbing or something of sorts.”

“She knows. Max contacted her earlier; he had his lawyers try to sue her to avoid having the book published. But Kelly’s lawyer, Steven, found a loophole or something legal and she’s allowed to have what she’s written published.”

“And why does Maxwell want to
have a meeting with you?”

“Either he wants me to try and persuade Kelly not to become a published author, or he wants to bribe me to stop the manuscript from becoming something else.”

“Would he use violence?”

“He’s gone to anger management and is clean. I think he’d be pretty stupid to attempt any sort of violent act against anyone.”

“Okay. What about Raymond Parker? You’ve cleared him as Susan’s murderer, but could he hold grudges against you and Kelly?”

“There’s no motive that can confirm that, or evidence, or did you find incriminating e-mails?”

“Not at all; he’s only sent you jokes or dinner invitations, but nothing worthy of further investigation.”

“If my sister is cleared, there are no further leads, are there?”

“Unfortunately, you’re right. But Kelly is the only suspect and we’ve got the evidence that confirms our suspicions.”

I sighed. Jared
—and probably Aidan, Captain Nicholson and Riley—thought Kelly was guilty of at least my killing attempt and the staging of her own attempt.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. There wasn’t an elephant in the car, but we weren’t exactly at ease either.

Sandy’s mom was devastated; she was consoled a big number of people had gathered for the funeral; co-workers, classmates, friends…Annabel and Peter made an appearance, and I thought it was very considerate of them. Maggie was also there; Sandy and her had met setting appointments for Susie and me. I let Sandy’s mom know Kelly was unable to attend due to a slight accident; she appreciated my words and attempt of giving her some sort of solace, and resumed the fighting back tears and embracing company.

Jared stood by my side; he was very kind to everyone I introduced him to, offering words of comfort, listening to what people had to say about Sandy, and speaking marvelously about her, based on what I’d told him about her.

At around noon I had the urgent need to leave. Jared must have perceived the sense of suffocation I was feeling because he quiet and briskly led me back to my car and drove us, in silence, to a fast-food restaurant. He ordered a cheeseburger and fries for each of us, plus a diet Coke for me, a regular Coke for himself, and he paid for ice creams we’d be getting once we were done.

Jared waited for me to speak;
he could tell I had something on my mind, but he wasn’t going to force me into sharing.

“Susie, Sandy, Kelly, me…
Related or not, it’s a shitload of violence, Jared. My best friend died, and it’s a freaking miracle if I get to spend five minutes without thinking about her unsolved murder. You and your brother, as well as your boss, think my sister tried to kill me. I’m fed up with it all!” I whispered so as to not make a scene; my eyes swelled with tears.

Jared placed his hands on mine and looked with sensitive eyes into mine.
Two tears rolled down my cheeks and he wiped them, consequently placing his hands on mine again.

“I know it’s awful, Sam. I haven’t been in your situation, but I can tell it’s not easy. Whoever killed Susan will be caught, be sure about it. We’ll also confirm your sister’s involvement, or clear her if she’s innocent. I know you’re desolate right now, but trust me, you will overcome this situation. Sam, listen to me; you will overcome this, and you’ll be stronger person once it’s finished. This sorrow you’re feeling will pass.”

I breathed and looked into his eyes. For whatever reason, Jared’s sight made me feel better; there was a comforting effect that came from his eyes. Jared’s mere presence had eased me.

I nodded and we resumed our eating. Even if it wasn’t the healthiest food ever, it
tasted delightful, and I let my sorrow drown in it.

Once we were done, we went to the hospital. My mom looked like crap; she’d spent the night, barely slept, and when she did sleep, she did
so on an arm chair. Rod had gone back to their place, but had shown up at the hospital at eight sharp.

A nurse removed the lunch tray and left the room. Kelly’s bruised face lit up when Jared and I entered the room. I assumed she hadn’t yet been told that she was a suspect, otherwise she’d look much more upset.

“Mom’s been great, and Rod smuggled Cadbury. I know it’s not on the hospital diet, or my own diet, but hell, if I look this bad, a few extra calories won’t screw me up much more!”

Jared and I smiled at Kelly. She always managed to be cheerful, even if it was in an annoying superficial egotistical way.

“How was the funeral?” Kelly asked, and my mom’s face turned anxious, as she looked at me and implored with her eyes for me not to upset Kelly any further.

“A lot of people showed up; Sandy had many friends, and I think that somewhat comforted her mom,” I replied, trying to stay as upbeat as possible.

Jared mentioned the people he knew that he’d seen at the funeral, and I corrected and added names; Kelly smiled warmly at the quotation of most people. At a few she smirked, probably doubting the nature of the visit.

“Maggie?” Kelly asked,
disturbed by the name.

“Why are you surprised?” Jared enquired. “I thought you were friends.”

“Oh, no, Jared! Sandy and I were friends; Sandy and Maggie were friends. But I always had a feeling that Maggie is distant or something. I guess she’s jealous of me.”

I stopped myself from commenting on the arrogance that Kelly had no problem to express.

“Okay then. Anyway,” Jared said, changing the subject, “are you feeling any better?”

“I’m kind of doped up; I’ve got a wonderful nurse to thank for that. Fortunately, tomorrow morning I’m moving back home, because there are maddening factors here.”

“Like what?” I asked, intrigued.

“For starters, someone had a heart attack or something last night, and the doctors and nurses ran around yelling ‘Code blue’ or some other color. Then, there’s the matter of the food, but I’m not even going to tell you about it, you must have figured it out, Sammy. This bed is terribly uncomfortable, the blankets are too thin and rough, so I spent most of the n
ight shivering, and the pillow…Don’t get me started on the pillow!”

I stifled a giggle and looked at Jared, who bit his lip in order to avoid laughing. Rod also found it funny, but my mom didn’t.

“Sammy, do you know where Noel is? Mom tried reaching him, but she couldn’t,” Kelly enquired, surprisingly changing the subject from her favorite topics: Kelly being a victim, or Kelly being the focus of attention.

Seriously.

I shook my head.

“I can try to get a hold of him,” Jared offered, and my mom
lit up.

“That would be simply wonderful on your behalf, Jared. It isn’t an imposition, is it?”

I stared at my mom. Her eyes were twinkling, her smile was timid. Was she flirting with my alleged boyfriend?

Rod snorted and looked at me. Yes, she was flirting with my alleged boyfriend. I was grateful for Rod; he had the greatest sense of humor and knew when to take things lightly. He hadn’t snorted after Kelly’s comments because he
was aware that he’d hurt my mom’s feelings.

I gave Jared my
cell phone and he left the room. Kelly playfully demanded everyone’s attention, like any regular spoiled five-year-old. I wondered, and still do, if the fact that Kelly was born prematurely and had to stay in the hospital for a couple of weeks had anything to do with my mom’s pampering.

I excused myself for a moment and walked to the entrance. I spotted Kelly’s nurse smoking and asked for a cigarette. I smoke occasionally, especially if I’m fed up by a particular situation; I decided that that
exact moment justified the smoking.

“I was looking for you,” Jared said as he walked up to me, his gaze letting the nurse know she had to leave; she went back in.

“What?” I asked annoyed because I was convinced the answer would not make me happy.

“We have to go to Noel’s.”

“As if!” I replied.

“Look Sam, I know you don’t want to, but I just hung up the phone. I managed to get through to Noel; he sounded groggy and confused, like he’d just woken up.”

“Well, it’s three in the afternoon, he must have gone on a drinking binge last night; it would not be a flabbergasting occurrence!”

“Noel sounded desperate. The second he realized he was talking with me, he begged me to go over to his place, and to bring you too. I think he’s in serious trouble, Sam.”

“It’s his trouble, not mine, Jared! I’ve had it with Noel and his problems! Don’t you remember what happened a few nights ago? Surely you must! I refuse to continue picking up after him. He’s thirty years old, it’s time he starts acting like it!”

“Sam, you know that after
the exchange I heard between you two the last thing I want to do is hurt you by getting you next to him, but I’ve never heard anyone as desperate as Noel did over the phone.”

“Well then, what am I supposed to do? Leave my injured sister in the hospital in order to go and help my brother find his belt because he can’t remember where he placed it?”