Scarlet Falls: Hour of Need Part 26

"Let's see if this works." Grant parked behind the office. He dug some loose change out of the ashtray. The phone was live. McNamara didn't answer the call, and Grant left an anonymous message, though the cop might recognize his voice. He wiped his prints off the phone and went back to the car.

"Are we going to sit here and wait?"

"No." It took all of Grant's willpower to turn the car toward the exit and drive out of the trailer park. The urge to confront his brother's killer seethed under Grant's skin like bits of shrapnel, but deep down, he was afraid he'd lose control, that he'd kill Donnie before he found out who'd hired him. "I don't want to tip off Donnie."

"He'd definitely bolt if he saw us."

"Hopefully, the cops will pick up Donnie, and he'll tell them who paid him. His stuff was still in the trailer. I a.s.sume he was coming back." But under all the civilized pretense, Grant's heart and soul were screaming for revenge, and instinct told him that Donnie would cave faster to him than to the police. When put in just the right place, there was no better motivator than a sharp blade.

His fingers tightened on the wheel. "I hope we're doing the right thing."

"We are," Mac said. "I've operated outside the law. It's not a good place to be."

"No. I imagine not."

Mac pointed at him. "You know Lee wouldn't want us to take risks. We can't take care of the kids if we're dead or in prison. Plus, if you go all apes.h.i.t and kill this guy, how will we find out who hired him?"

It seemed as if Mac was reading his mind.

"I know, but I don't like it." At a stop sign, Grant texted Ellie to let her know they were headed home. He could do this, but sitting back and waiting wouldn't be easy. He'd only be able to hold back for a short time. If the police couldn't find Donnie, Grant would go hunting.

Chapter Thirty.

The hall bathroom of the Barretts' house needed a serious renovation. Ellie attempted to duplicate an intricate braid in her daughter's hair, but her mind was redesigning the s.p.a.ce.

Could the cast-iron claw-foot tub be restored? The answer depended on how deep the rust had eroded into the finish, but it was a lovely, elegant fixture. The clunky vanity had to go. A pair of pedestal sinks would fit the house far better.

Julia sat in front of her in a desk chair they'd dragged in from the guest room. On an iPad propped on the vanity, a girl demonstrated the hairstyle Julia wanted for her skating routine at the winter carnival.

"If I don't make practice tonight, I can't perform in the show. Coach Victor said so."

"I know." Ellie folded one piece of hair over another and pulled the strands tight. "I'll do my best to get you there. Major Barrett said he'd take us later as long as he gets home in time."

"I like him, even if he did get me and Taylor in trouble."

"Major Barrett did not get you in trouble. You got you in trouble." Ellie missed a step with her hairdo and had to backtrack. She unwound two sections, rewound the video, and did it again. Better. Disheveled hair was a no-no on the ice. "What you did was dangerous. What did you expect him to do?"

"I don't know." Julia lifted her shoulders.

"Hold still." Ellie wove and tucked hair, but panic was inching up her esophagus as she thought of Julia sneaking out of the house while Donnie Ehrlich was after her.

"You're mad."

"I'm not mad." Ellie fastened the end of the braid with an elastic band and bobby pinned it into place. "I'm scared. It's my job to protect you. I can't do that if you sneak out in the middle of the night. What if that man was watching and waiting for you?"

"I didn't know about him," Julia protested.

"No. You had no idea who was out there, but now you do. Close your eyes." Ellie gave Julia's hair a good blast of hair spray. She picked up a hand mirror and showed Julia the back of her head. The braid was twisted around and woven into a bun. "What do you think?"

Julia smiled. "It's pretty. I hope it holds up during practice."

"That's why we're giving it a dry run." Ellie set the mirror down and stopped the video. "Look, I know I've been strict with you. When this is all over, I'll take the time to get to know Taylor."

"You'll let me go out with him?"

"I'm not making any promises. Maybe we'll start with him coming to our house. He will need to be driving a safe vehicle. I'm sure I'll have other conditions when I have a chance to really think things through, but yes. Your sixteenth birthday is coming up. I think it's time."

"How many conditions?"

"I'll try to be reasonable and balance my sanity with your safety. But you have to promise you'll never try to sneak out again."

"Deal." Julia stood up and hugged her. Ellie closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace. With every year that pa.s.sed in her daughter's life, hugs became scarcer.

"Now go run around and see how that braid holds up."

"I promised Carson a game of Candy Land."

"Thank you for helping out with the kids," Ellie said. "I know Major Barrett appreciates you pitching in."

"I like Carson."

"He likes you, too."

Julia bounced out into the hallway. How she could be that happy when the man who'd chased her was still on the loose, Ellie had no idea. She tidied up the bathroom, then went to the room she and Julia were sharing. Carson's and Julia's voices floated down the hall, childish, innocent, sweet. Who could want to hurt either one of them? A text came in on her phone. Grant was on his way. She ignored the pleasure that knowledge gave her. This was not his home or hers. He would be leaving again in a few weeks, and he didn't know when he could come back.

Images of their brief and intense lovemaking seared her mind. She'd been near desperate to have him, to connect with him as a physical expression of the feelings she wasn't ready to acknowledge. But whether she was ready to admit it or not, the possibility of love hovered around her heart.

Her phone vibrated in her hand. A call, not a text. The number on the screen belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton. She closed the bedroom door for privacy and stabbed the green Answer b.u.t.ton. "h.e.l.lo."

"Is this Ellie Ross?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes."

"This is Aubrey Hamilton."

"Mrs. Hamilton. Thank you for returning my call."

"Frankly, I'm disappointed it took your firm this long to contact us." Mrs. Hamilton's tone carried her annoyance.

"About that." Guilt nagged Ellie. Hoping the woman wouldn't hang up, she said, "this call isn't exactly about firm business."

"Excuse me? I don't understand. We've been waiting for a call back from Mr. Peyton. That's not what you're calling about?"

"No. I'm sorry. But I need to speak with you. Can we meet? I'd rather explain in person."

"All right," Mrs. Hamilton said. "I think it would be better to do this in private. Do you want to come to me or shall I come to you?"

Ellie did not want anyone to come to the house. "Are the media still outside your house?"

"No. Our daughter's case is no longer exciting news. The press gave up their vigilance when the police declared there wasn't enough evidence to file charges." Mrs. Hamilton sounded bitter. "They jumped on that interview, but only because bullying is such a hot-b.u.t.ton topic."

Ellie checked the clock. "There'll be a tall man with me. Say in about an hour?"

"All right." Mrs. Hamilton provided her address. "My husband and I will be here."

"See you then." Ellie sent Grant a text, letting him know about the meeting. Distracted, she paced the foyer until the dog ran to the front door. Not wanting barking to wake the baby, Ellie led the dog back to Hannah. The baby was sleeping in her seat in the corner.

"Thanks," mouthed Hannah.

Ellie ran out to the car as Mac went into the house. One look at Grant's face told her something was wrong. She closed the car door. "What happened?"

"Mac and I found where Donnie's been staying." His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

"How did you find him when the police don't know where he is?"

Grant's answer was too slow, as if he were carefully choosing his words. "Mac knows people on the other side of the law."

"Really?" She wouldn't have guessed the s.h.a.ggy biologist had a dark past.

"Unfortunately, he went through a rebellious stage in his youth."

"We all have some bad decisions behind us. What's important is that he came through it." As she spoke the words, Ellie realized how much they applied to her as well as Mac. Nan was right. It was time she forgave herself for one stupid mistake in high school.

"I know, but it wasn't easy to see the evidence of how far Mac really fell. I was away. I had no idea." He frowned. "I think that bothers me more than what actually happened. I left Lee to handle everything back home. I never considered the amount of responsibility he shouldered."

"Did he ever say anything to you?"

"No."

"You were at war, Grant. He probably thought you had enough on your plate."

"Did you know they were having financial difficulties?" he asked.

"Neither of them said anything outright, but I knew Kate was sweating the mortgage and the BMW lease payments. They couldn't afford to fix the house up the way I was working on mine. But then, my house is smaller, the price was lower, and I had a substantial down payment from the last house I flipped."

"I don't understand why they bought a house they couldn't afford. Sure, their previous place was small. Two kids would have been a tight fit, but wouldn't that be better than being in debt?"

Ellie squeezed his hand. "Lee wanted that partnership. He'd put seven years into that firm, and the senior Mr. Peyton, Roger's father, told Lee if he wanted to be a partner, he'd better look the part."

"That makes no sense."

"Old Mr. Peyton is superficial. He wouldn't give the partnership to anyone who didn't look successful," Ellie said. "But I'm not sure why Lee took the case, considering the partnership was so pivotal for his career. Before Peyton hired Frank, Lee didn't really have any compet.i.tion. He thought the partnership was a sure thing. But with Frank vying for the same position, taking the Hamilton case was a risky decision."

"So Lee worked his a.s.s off, and Peyton screwed him by hiring a compet.i.tor."

"Unfortunately, that sums it up. He probably thought he'd get more out of Lee if he kept him on edge."

"Maybe Lee thought taking the case was the right thing to do. He had this optimistic streak. He always thought things would work out. Usually, he was right, but this time I guess he wasn't." Grant was quiet for the next few minutes.

"There's something you're not telling me," she said.

He nodded. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes." Apprehension bubbled into her chest, but she didn't want to be sheltered from any truth that could affect her family's safety.

"Looks like Donnie killed his girlfriend. He put her on ice in her trailer bathtub."

She recoiled. "I don't know why I'm shocked. He already killed Lee and Kate." But another murder drove home the danger to her family. "Did you call the police?"

"I did. Don't worry. I used a pay phone and didn't leave my name." Grant's posture was stiff. He steered the car with one hand. The other rested on his thigh, clenching and loosening repeatedly. He was acting stoic, but finding that woman's body had disturbed him.

"I wasn't worried." She reached over and grabbed his hand. He curled his fingers tightly around hers, and a small amount of tension eased from his muscles.

Ellie directed him through a few turns. The Hamiltons lived in a development of big houses on large lots. A meadow and forest edged the rear of the property.

"Lindsay hanged herself in those woods behind the house, right?" Grant steered the car up a long driveway.

"Yes." Ellie placed a hand on the tension building in her stomach. The thought of living so close to the place where a child took her own life sent a wave of nausea into her throat. "How can they live here?"

He parked in front of the porch steps. "Maybe they don't want to let go."

Mrs. Hamilton let them in. Thin to the point of gaunt, she wore wrinkled silk slacks and a light sweater that bagged on her frame as if she'd lost the weight recently and hadn't bothered to buy new clothes. Her face and lips were colorless. A half inch from her part, a stark line of gray bisected her bobbed hair. The house was as elegant and unkempt as its mistress. Dust coated the expensive furniture, and dirt marred the red oak floors.

Ellie introduced Grant.

Mrs. Hamilton showed them into a study at the rear of the house.

A man sat on the sofa, his gaze fixed vaguely on the view of the woods through a set of French doors. He didn't wait for an introduction. "I go out there every day and sit under that tree. You probably think that's sick."

"No, sir. Everything about this situation is wrong. I imagine you can't take it in." Grant took the wing chair diagonal to Mr. Hamilton. "I'm Lee's brother, Major Grant Barrett."

"Your brother was a good man." Mr. Hamilton returned his gaze to the gla.s.s. "He wanted to help us."

Ellie sensed a connection of grief between the two men and let Grant take the lead. She settled in a chair across from Grant. Mrs. Hamilton sat on the sofa but not immediately next to her husband. She left the middle section empty. The distance between them seemed larger than a couch cushion.

Grant leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. His jacket stretched until Ellie could see the weapon at his hip. He carried it so naturally, she'd nearly forgotten about it. "Did he give any indication of how he was going to do that?"

"No. We were so pleased he'd agreed to take our case. No one else seemed to care, but he did. I'm sorry he died." Mr. Hamilton turned back to the woods, his gaze clouded with pain. "Do you really think his murder could be related to my daughter's case?"

"We're not sure," Grant said in a raw voice. "But I'm sure you understand why I have to find out."

"I do." Mr. Hamilton shuddered. He took off his gla.s.ses and cleaned them with the hem of his sweater. "The first time she asked to quit the skating team, we should have known. She loved skating. That would have been the last thing she willingly gave up. We should have pulled her out of that school. We should have taken her back to San Francisco. She was so unhappy here. It broke my heart." His voice cracked.