“Oh? You’re already here? Why didn’t you let us know you were coming?”
“I couldn’t risk you telling us not to come.”
“Does Lucy know why you’re here?”
“No. She thinks we’re here on a visit.”
“And she didn’t think it was odd that you’re not staying here at the house?”
“I told her I had a gift certificate to the Carlton.”
“I see.” I cleared my throat once more. “Come to the house, then.”
“I’d rather you come here, if possible. I don’t want Lucy involved. I’ll send her out shopping or something.”
“No. Come to the house. You and I can meet in my office building.”
“All right. That will work. We’ll come first thing in the morning.”
“Good. See you then.” I hung up.
“What did my father want?” Daphne asked.
“He and your mother are in the city, staying at the Carlton. He had a gift certificate.”
“Oh, how lovely. Mom will love that. But what’s up with Larry?”
“He didn’t elaborate. Just wants my help, I guess. They’re coming to visit in the morning.” I sat back down next to Daphne and took her hand in mine. “Daphne, you and I need to talk.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Daphne
Brad’s tone of voice made me shiver.
Something was coming.
Something I wouldn’t like.
“My first duty is to our family, Daphne.”
“I know that. Mine is too.”
“Then I hope you’ll understand why I need to do what—”
The phone rang again.
“Damn it!” Brad’s fist went down on his desk.
“Ignore it.”
“I can’t. I fucking can’t.”
“But you just said yourself that your first duty is to our family.”
“Believe me, I never forget that.” He picked up the phone. “Steel!”
Pause.
“Fine. We’ll see you in an hour.” Brad hung up the phone and turned back to me. “That was your father again. He and your mother are coming tonight.”
Elation filled me. “Will they be here for dinner?”
“I suppose so.”
I stood. “I’ll go tell Belinda. The boys will be thrilled!”
“Daphne,” he said, “we still need to talk.”
“Of course. And we will. But right now I need to let Belinda know we’ll have two more for dinner.” I scurried out of the office.
The deli owner’s daughter walked, her pace measured, to the kitchen. The housekeeper stood at the sink, peeling potatoes.
“Belinda.”
The housekeeper turned. “Yes, Miss Daphne?”
The housekeeper always called the deli owner’s daughter Miss Daphne. It made a certain sense, and the deli owner’s daughter never questioned it. She never questioned a lot of things. Instead, she remembered her mantra.
Pull. Slice. Wrap. Hand to customer and smile. “What else can I get for you today?”
“We’re going to have guests for dinner. My parents.”
Whose parents? Didn’t matter. The deli owner’s daughter had a job to do.
“How nice. Thank you for letting me know.”
The deli owner’s daughter nodded and left the kitchen.
She knew Daphne’s parents. She came out a lot when they were around, and something about this impromptu visit raised her hackles.
She’d be here for Daphne. To protect her. That was her job. She’d come out during the time three men raped Daphne. She’d taken the violence and dealt with it logically.
She’d taken over during the nine months that the other woman carried Brad’s child.
She gladly protected Daphne.
Someone had to.
Chapter Forty-Five
Brad
I sat at the desk in my business office, Jonathan Wade facing me.
“Who paid for Daphne’s treatment, Jonathan?”
“That’s not what I came here to discuss.”
“I realize that, but if you want my help, you’re going to have to explain to me where that money came from.”
“What does it matter, as long as she got the treatment?”
“What matters is you’ve hidden this from me for over a decade now. You’ve hidden it from your wife. You’ve hidden it from Daphne. There’s absolutely no trail as to where the money came from, which means you paid cash. Over a hundred thousand dollars in cash that appears to have no source.”
His facial muscles tensed.
“Now, Jonathan. It’s time to pay the piper. If you want any help from me regarding Larry, you need to spill your guts about this.”
“You won’t believe me if I tell you.”
I heaved a sigh. “Jonathan, you have no idea the things I’ve seen in my short life. The things I’ve had to deal with. At this point, I’ll believe just about anything.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, and you will, if you want my help with Larry or anything else.”
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his brown hair. “All right. It came in cash. To my office.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. A hundred grand in cash was delivered to my office. Via the US Postal Service. In a plain brown box. No return address.”
I nodded. Then, “You’re right. I don’t believe it.”
“I told you so.”
“Uh-huh. How about the truth now, Jonathan?”
“That is the truth! Why do you think I’ve kept it from you? I knew you wouldn’t believe it. You’d think I was hiding something or protecting someone, but the truth is, I’m not.”