Long Way Home by Carolyn Gray (12 page)

up. Chad really was the only one Screech loved. Had loved. The cat would have to make do with

him now. Thankfully they got along all right. “Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

“No problem.”

The detective said to Manny, “I’ll want to take a statement from you also, and anyone else

who might’ve seen Mr. Sinclair at the coffee shop this morning. After you’ve located the cat is

fine, but today.”

“Today’s good,” Manny said. “I can handle it.”

The detective’s gaze bore into Gev’s. Gev wanted to turn away, but he couldn’t move,

trapped as surely as a mouse by a starving cat. “I’m sure hoping you didn’t do this, Mr. Sinclair.”

“He didn’t,” Manny said. “But that means whoever did this is still out there, and he may

have meant to kill
him
, right?”

“Unfortunately, that’s correct, Mr. Gutierrez. If Mr. Sinclair didn’t commit this act

himself, we might not have seen the last of the attempts.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off Gev as he spoke, his cool blue stare sending icy chills down

Gev’s spine. Whoever had done this was still out there, maybe watching right now, waiting until

Gev was alone to finish the job.

He was going to puke.

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Carolyn Gray

Chapter Eight

Gev wasn’t sure how long he’d been answering questions. The detective had offered him

more coffee, which he turned down in favor of water. He was starting to really feel decidedly

sick, nothing solid to eat all day. He’d tossed the scone after a while. He wasn’t sure he could

ever eat one again—or even smell one—and not associate it with today.

They’d stayed at the house until Chad’s body was gone. Gev had insisted, couldn’t leave

Chad there like that. The detective hadn’t minded, had run around talking to people while Gev

stayed glued to the car, but eventually, finally, the silent ambulance had left with its lifeless

cargo inside. Manny left too, hell-bent on his cat-finding mission, calling out, “Here, kitty kitty.

Here, you little bitch. Where you at, Terror Screech? Come to Manny,” as he darted around by

the other houses. Gev doubted Manny’s endearments would convince Screech to come to him.

Gev hadn’t been allowed into the house, so he had no keys, no money, no identity, all of

which one of the cops would bring him later. He hoped they had called his sister for him. He’d

asked the cop to call only her, and then she would come and they could tell their parents

together.

But the questioning had lasted far longer than he’d thought it would. Same questions he’d

been asked at the house, and asked again, then one more time for grins. Boring and terrifying all

at once. Television crime shows barely touched what a crazy sort of scene this really was.

Finally, the detective put down the phone he’d been talking on for a few minutes and

motioned for Gev. He unclenched his hands, dreading what Harrison was going to say, even

though it had to be okay. Still, he found himself holding his breath.

“All right, Mr. Sinclair. Your alibis check out, though we’ve yet to talk to Mr. Kilmain and

his bodyguard. They’re still in the air.”

Gev let out his breath, but he was confused. “What about Lee?”

“Actually, he’s on his way, should be here shortly. You told me he was flying home this

morning.”

Gev fell silent at that. Lee had stayed? That was odd. But Gev was glad, he realized. He

was very glad, and Lee was coming to the station. Nina would be thrilled, though she’d been

little more than a baby when Lee left. He wasn’t sure if he wanted his parents to see Lee,

especially his mom. Then again, it might do them all good, maybe even Lee. The guy needed to

get the past behind him. He might be rich, but the life he was leading didn’t seem like very much

fun. Lonely as hell.

Gev knew all too well how that felt.

He realized Harrison was waiting for him to say something. “Thanks. I thought he was

going with them. Sorry.”

The detective said, “He changed his mind and was checking into another hotel when we

found him in Arlington.”

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“He lived there when he was a kid. So did we, but my parents moved to Plano later.”

“Also what he told me.” The detective stood. “Your sister is here, and Mr. Nelson will be

here shortly. You’ll be notified when you can return to the house, but it will be at least two days.

Possibly longer.”

“I’m not sure I want to go back there. Do you know if my cat was found?” He felt silly

asking, but he was really worried about the little terror.

“A neighbor had him, gave him to the coffee man.”

Gev relaxed a little at last. “Thanks. Sorry about Manny. He just… He’s nosy.”

“No problem. That nosiness is in your favor. He was able to help us a great deal,

identifying every customer who came in, except three businessmen.”

“We didn’t know them at all.”

“Exactly. But we won’t need them; there were at least five people who saw you there

during the approximate time of death.”

Gev had started to stand but sat again at that. “The time of death. When was it? Can you

tell me?” His voice was suddenly raw, and damn, he sounded scared, even to himself.

“Between eight thirty and nine. Best that can be determined at this time. A neighbor saw

you leaving for your run as he was leaving for work in his car. He had to return to the house to

get his lunch, and when he came out, he saw someone in front of the house. He was unable to

provide much of a description.”

Gev’s insides wanted dearly to revolt. “He saw someone.” He wrapped his arm around his

stomach, wishing he had eaten that scone after all. “Five minutes later.” Five minutes, and he

would’ve been dead too. Gev stood. He needed out of there. He needed to see his sister. “I

could’ve been killed.”

“You could’ve. Probably would’ve. Whatever the motive, he didn’t take any chances.”

“But they were found apart from each other. Chad was in my bed. Maybe it was random,

because of that?” Gev hoped.

“One of the many unexplained questions we have. But that also confirms that if you hadn’t

woken up and left when you did… Well. In any case, it looks like—barring any new

information—you’re no longer a suspect.” Harrison came from around the table and offered his

hand, which brought Gev intense relief.

He took the proffered hand and shook it. “Thank you, Detective. I appreciate it. This is…

If I’d been…” He hesitated. “My parents have been through this before. I’m glad—”

The detective dropped his hand and stared at Gev, eyebrows furrowed. “They’ve been

through this before? When?”

Then Gev remembered the ticket. There was no way this could be a coincidence, could it?

“Is there something you know, that you remembered, Mr. Sinclair?”

There was no avoiding it. “I told you Lee and I hadn’t seen each other in years? We only

met again last night because someone sent him tickets to the ballet. After we met last night, and

he realized it wasn’t me who had sent them, we both thought it very deliberate, that someone

wanted us to meet again.”

The detective returned to the pad on his desk and began to write. He motioned Gev to sit

back down.

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Carolyn Gray

Gev did so, stifling a sigh.

“Why would they do that; do you have any idea?”

“I don’t know. But my brother, when he and Lee were twelve, he disappeared. Lee was

there too.” He took a deep breath. “They never found out who did it. Stefan was gone. So was his

dog.”

“Mr. Nelson didn’t mention this.”

“He was pretty destroyed by it, but it was so long ago. He couldn’t remember anything

either. They found him hours later, hurt, and he’d been knocked out.”

“A shame. He might’ve been able to help find who took your brother.”

Gev’s face hardened. “He was a kid. It wasn’t his fault.” He realized he sounded angry, but

he’d grown up listening to his mother go over and over Lee’s inability to help. She’d called it

unwillingness, spite, even accused Lee of hating them and withholding what he knew, wanting to

punish her for some imagined hurt. His dad always said it wasn’t like that, that Lee was an

innocent victim. His mother never would be convinced of that, especially after she found out

about Dream.

The detective nodded. “Of course it wasn’t.”

“He’s lucky to have escaped, but my mom can’t seem to get that.”

“He’s lucky, or he might have been let go on purpose.”

Gev dropped his gaze. He’d thought that too. Stefan had been really beautiful, the kind of

kid that would attract someone’s attention. Lee was good-looking too, in his own way, but Stef

outshone him. Stef still outshone everyone, even though he was dead. Gev bit down that

resentment. “It might’ve been a coincidence about the tickets. They get presents and gifts and

tickets to things all the time. Usually, though, the fan lets them at least know who it was.”

“The tickets were anonymous, then?”

“Yes. And there were only two. Mutt, Nick’s bodyguard, never leaves his side. Margot saw

to it Mutt could attend too.”

The detective tapped the notepad with his pen. “It might be nothing. Likely is. How long

have you been with the ballet?”

“About a year.”

“Where were you before?”

Many places. “Chicago, Atlanta, wherever.”

“Places Dream had been.”

It had happened before. “Yeah. I guess so. There’s been a couple of times I knew they

were close to where I was, but I never went to see them.” He took a deep breath. “Total

coincidence, then.”

“More than likely. But given your brother wasn’t found—What was his name again?”

“Stefan.” The momentary relief at the thought that it was a coincidence snapped away.

“Stefan Sinclair.” Harrison wrote the name down, along with something else. Gev

wondered what. “How old were you?”

“Almost ten. Lee and my brother let me play with them sometimes.”

“I’d like to talk to your parents about your brother.”

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Gev grimaced. “My mom isn’t over it. She gets upset still.”

“Understandable.”

“I guess.” Gev avoided the detective’s eyes. When he met Gev’s mom, he’d understand.

“Do you remember who the detective was on the case? I’d like to notify him too.”

“Her, actually. Connie Ramirez. Consuelo.”

The detective’s eyes lit up. “Of course. I thought this situation sounded vaguely familiar.

I’ll talk to her about it tonight, if she hasn’t heard already.” Harrison looked more kindly at him

now.

Gev wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing. He was a mess, his emotions fractured; he

couldn’t keep up with how everything the detective said shot him in a different direction.

The door opened. A cop came in, carrying a brown bag and a suitcase. One of Chad’s. Gev

didn’t care, except he hoped his clothes were in there, not Chad’s. They had quite different

tastes. She set the suitcase down and handed the bag to Gev. “Wallet, keys. Suitcase has basic

personal items, some clothes.”

“Any idea when I can go back myself and get the rest?”

“Sorry. Just delivering. Hope I got everything you’ll need.”

“Thanks.” He took his wallet and keys out of the bag and pocketed both.

After the cop left, Harrison said, “Tell me more about what happened to your brother.”

“My parents waited for ransom notes, something, anything, but after Stefan was taken,

there was nothing. No other kids were taken, either. Detective Ramirez hasn’t given up. She

comes and sees me perform now and then.”

“She likes the ballet.” Detective Harrison closed his notebook, not explaining further. Gev

thought he must’ve missed something, but when the detective stood again, Gev did too. Was he

finally free to go? “All right. That’s all the questions I have for now, but I’ll be in touch. I have

all your contact numbers. Where will you be staying?”

“With my parents, I guess. Or my sister. One or the other.”

“All right. Thank you. You’ve been a great help.” Harrison flashed that disconcerting smile

again. “Remember, keep me aware of where you are at all times.”

“What? What do you mean?” Dread settled on him again.

“I mean, Mr. Sinclair, though you don’t appear to be a suspect, you are, in my eyes at least,

still a potential victim.”

“I could still be in danger, then, like Manny said.”

The detective nodded. “He’s a smart man.”

* * * *

the waiting room where his sister was, he realized he actually felt incredible relief from telling

the detective all he knew about the past. It’d been a pretty damn good release.

No one, after all, had really asked him anything about the case after the initial questioning.

He was too damn young when Stefan was kidnapped, barely remembered any of it, honestly.

Still, he’d known enough. He’d hurt. He’d missed his brother so damn much, it colored

everything he did, every day spent without him. He wasn’t meant to be the oldest kid. The only

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