Lost Souls by J. Bishop (the giving tree read aloud txt) 📗

seeing Rem’s number, she chuckled and answered. “Hey. What’s up?”

“You want to tell me why you’re pretending to be Detective Winkler?”

Mikey froze and thought of Carla. “Uhm, well…I uhm…” She tried to think.

“Please tell me you aren’t going to respond to Winkler like that.”

“I can explain.”

“What the hell were you thinking? Did you agree to take care of a parking ticket?”

Mikey closed her eyes. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Carla assumed I was Detective Winkler─”

“Did you clarify that you weren’t? You realize impersonating a police officer could land you in jail for a year, plus a generous fine to go with it. Winkler asked us about it.”

“She did? Winkler talked to Carla? Did Carla tell her about Cissy and Trick?”

“She did. They’re looking for Mason and Trick as we speak. It’s not good. And if they see you, they’re going to know you’re the one who pretended to be Winkler. The piercing and pink highlights are hard to miss.”

Mikey groaned. “Hell.”

“Hell is right. Do you know where Mason and Trick are, because Trick’s about to face his demons, and if he’s not careful, he could take Mason down with him, and you’ll be right behind them.”

“They’re both busy, but I can contact them.”

“Good. They need to be prepared.”

Mikey’s cell rang again, and she checked her phone. Recognizing the number, her heart raced. It was Shay. She spoke to Rem. “I’ll tell them. Listen I have to go. I’ve got a call I have to take.”

“Mikey, we need to talk about Winkler─”

“We will. Soon. I’ll call you back later.” She hung up on him, quickly pulled out her notebook and pencil, and with a shaky finger, answered Shay’s call. “Hello?”

“What did you say to Bradley?” Shay’s snuffy voice crackled over the line. “He is upset. Said you came to his place and accused him of killing Lydia? Is that true?”

Trying to shift from Rem’s call, Mikey nibbled her lip, and wondered what Mason would say in this situation. “We just asked him a few questions.”

“Questions? You did a lot more than that. He’s trying to get his shit together, and the last thing he needs is for you two assholes making him think he’s going to prison. He’s had enough jail time as it is.”

Mikey didn’t think for a second that Bradley was trying to get his shit together, but was rather trying to keep his shit secret. “Shay, listen. There is more to this story about Lydia and her death. I think you know that, and I think you know Bradley has some culpability. It’s not adding up.”

Shay sneezed loudly into the phone, and Mikey held the phone out. “Sorry.” Shay sniffed. “I think you guys are grasping at straws. Bradley has his moments, but he’s a good guy at heart.”

“Did you know you’re his alibi for the time of Lydia’s death? He said you stopped by his place the night of her death.” Mikey hoped she wasn’t revealing too much, but she wanted to note Shay’s reaction. There was a brief silence. “Is that true?”

Shay sniffed again. “I think this whole damn thing is a mess. Lydia was an accident. Why can’t you people leave it alone?”

Mikey leaned over the table, trying to think. “But what if it wasn’t, Shay? What if it comes out that Lydia didn’t accidentally fall into the pool? If you don’t come clean, then someone will take the fall, and we want to be sure it’s the right person.”

“Nobody’s taking any falls. If anyone killed Lydia, it would be Chad’s wife. She’s the most likely suspect. Stop trying to make our family look guilty. We didn’t do anything. If you keep harassing us, we’ll be forced to call the police.”

Mikey squeezed her temples. Shay was right. No matter what they did, they still didn’t have anything directly tying the family to Lydia’s death, and Cissy would remain the main suspect. She took a breath, deciding to take the risk, and pushed a little harder. “Cissy might be the main suspect, but the cops will do some digging. They’ll have to. Any good defense attorney is going to look for other possible suspects. Your family has issues, and I suspect Lydia may have done a few things to make you all angry. We talked to Kyle. According to him, Lydia went off the deep end, and accused him of crazy things he never did. Did she ever do the same to you, or Bradley? Could she have done anything that might give you or Bradley a motive? Because if she did, it could put you both in a difficult position, and with Bradley using you as an alibi, it makes it look like you’re both working together.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Shay said, but without the fervor she had at the beginning of the call. “This whole thing is stupid.” She sighed deeply, and blew her nose. “Bradley and I…I mean…we just…”

Mikey held her breath. “Just what?”

“I…I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do.”

“Shay, is there something you’re worried about?”

Shay hesitated. “There was this one thing, but it was so long ago…”

Mikey swallowed. “What was it?”

There was a pause. “Nothing. It was nothing.” Shay almost whispered.

“Obviously it was something.” Mikey tapped her pencil on her paper, and prayed Shay would answer.

“It’s very personal.” Shay groaned softly. “I’m not comfortable talking about it over the phone.”

Mikey straightened. “It’s okay. I can meet you.”

“No. Never mind. It’s not important. Forget I said anything. I should go.”

Mikey scrambled not to lose her. “Tell me where you’d feel comfortable. I can come now. I promise if you want to get something off your chest, now’s the time to do it. Carrying something like this around takes its toll. Believe me, I know.” Mikey waited for what seemed like hours for Shay to answer.

“Okay,” said Shay, sighing softly. “Let me give you an address.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Trick knocked again.

“What if she doesn’t answer?” asked Valerie.

“She’ll answer.”

Valerie smirked. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because right now, she’s looking through the peephole,