Blood Ties Read online

  “Am I being interrogated, Sam?” Ray replied, and I could see I’d offended him. “Just to be clear, I went out with a couple friends of mine, Louis and Sebastian, for beers. I got home at around three am. While I was getting wasted at a bar, my girlfriend was being murdered,” Ray whispered angry.

  I could tell he was upset and mad; he hadn’t killed Susie. I nodded and tried to embrace him, but he moved away. I returned to Jared’s side and he placed his arm protectively around my waist. He whispered I’d fill him in later; if anyone overheard me telling him about the questioning, our cover could be blown.

  People kept on arriving and leaving. A few more men appeared, but it was still mostly women.

  Sandy rushed to my side and hugged me as soon as she’d spotted me. Her eyes were watery and mine filled with tears. I knew she was genuinely sad.

  Jared grabbed my hand and pressed it lightly, and I did the same. Even if he was my fake boyfriend, he was certainly supportive. I introduced Sandy and Jared and we talked for a bit about the place, the decorations, the amount of people who had shown up…

  Susie’s bosses showed up and, being glamorous and overdressed, they were better suited for the cover of a magazine than for a memorial. They both appeared to be sad, but Sandy whispered Annabel was affected because of the diminished income, and Peter was dismal because Susie had many times covered his sex-escapades, being the confidential woman she had been.

  The catering service I’d hired had set up a few tables with Susie’s favorite foods: different types of cheese, finger sandwiches, pastries and candy. Sure, it wasn’t really healthy food, but Susie would surrender into temptation and she’d certainly want to enjoy this if she could. Waiters and waitresses carried trays with soft drinks and champagne for a toast.

  A video showed on a flat screen; Sandy had put together, with Ray’s and my help, a slideshow of photos and a video Susie had shot with Ray when they’d gone on a holiday to Monaco.

  After the video ended, Ray proposed a toast. We raised our glasses and, after a minute of silence, drank the champagne.

  My sister showed up at around one, when most people were leaving, dressed in tight black pants, a black transparent blouse that made her lace black bra evident, and her black high heels trying to mask her five feet four height, as usual. Her dyed blonde hair and extensions flowed as she strutted towards us, and her brown eyes were puffy and her lips were pouty, although this last bit was probably due to botox injections she’d been getting lately. Only Sandy, Ray, a couple of lawyers from James & Walker, about five of Susie’s clients, Jared and myself were still there.

  Kelly hugged me and said she was sorry. She mentioned my mom and stepdad were unable to attend, and Noel was feeling under the weather, which was code for hung-over. I thanked her and introduced her to Jared. Kelly went to talk with Sandy, whom she’d met a few times when Susie had been dealing with her divorce some months ago. My sister had been married for almost a year before her husband had started doing drugs and beating her. Luckily, she wasn’t going to become a victim if she could help it, and now Maxwell had a restraining order. He’d also managed to quit the drugs and had, apparently, controlled his anger issues and bursts of abuse, but Kelly refused to take him back; she didn’t love him anymore.

  I tried reaching out to Ray and apologizing, but he refused to listen to me. He asked me what would happen with the ashes and I suggested scattering them along Mississippi River. I remembered Susie loved gazing at its constant flow, she considered it poetic. Ray agreed and asked to be present, and I assured him I’d let him know the moment; I thought her birthday, a couple of weeks ahead, would be nice, and Ray agreed. Then he left, casting a glance at the photograph.

  Sandy talked with some lawyers, and Kelly, without any more company, returned to my side.

  “Did you read the manuscript I sent you?” Kelly asked, trying to talk about something other than Susie; she was attempting to make light-hearted conversation, and I was thankful to her for it.

  “No, I haven’t been to the office since Friday, and I’ve only seen Jared’s manuscript…again. I wasn’t up for anything new.”

  “Oh, okay. Because I spoke with Marcy, who said that if she, Tammy, Peyton or Olivia found it, they’d give it to you, because you’re the best editor, even if there is a slight conflict of interests.”

  “It’ okay, I’m only doing the corrections, I can stay neutral, Kelly.”

  “What’s it about?” Jared asked, sounding interested.

  “It’s about my divorce. Actually, it’s gleamed up, but the basics remain the same. Of course, I changed names, dates, and made some stuff up, but, the bottom line is, it’s about my divorce.”

  “And if you don’t mind my asking Kelly, why is it different than other divorcée books?” Jared asked again, smiling teasingly.

  Kelly grinned and shrugged. She took a sip of her champagne, looked at Susie’s photo, and looked back at Jared. “Maxwell, even if he used drugs and beat me for a portion of our marriage, was a very smart businessman. He had a few skeletons in his closet, like any millionaire has, and that’s the juice the public thirsts for.”

  “I see; that’s very smart of you, to use experiences and have them help you build a writing career,” the sarcasm was lost on Kelly, but not on me. I suppressed a snicker.

  “Oh, no Jared, not at all. I already have half of Maxwell’s fortune; I’m aiming for a bestseller that’ll keep me in the spotlight for a while, and that’s it.”

  “You’ve got the fortune, now you’re looking for the fame,” I said, and Kelly’s grin widened and she winked at Jared.

  Sandy came looking for us before more words could be spoken; everyone had left. Kelly left as well, and I promised I’d get back to her on the following week with comments regarding her manuscript.

  I carried Susie’s ashes as Jared drove and Sandy sat silently on the back seat. We dropped her off at her home and got to my place at around four. I ate some fried chicken, for the first time in years; I’m a healthy eater, or at least try to be, but Jared had insisted I needed to compensate my grief with junk food, and fell asleep watching a movie on my couch, using Jared as a pillow.

  The day was finally over.

  4

  I woke up on Thursday at six am. I walked silently and found Jared was still asleep. I figured going running without the man who was supposed to be my bodyguard of sorts would probably get me reprimanded and him in trouble, so after preparing a bowl of yogurt with cornflakes and a cup of steaming black coffee and placing them on a tray, I returned to my warm comfortable bed and watched the news.

  The whole situation seemed surreal to me: I’d lost my best friend five days ago, in a few hours I’d be in my office, I had a yummy detective sleeping on my couch…I wouldn’t have thought my life would be like this in a thousand years.

  “Good morning,” I said as Jared knocked on the door and entered my bedroom.

  He sat on the edge of the bed. His face was fresh and I could smell the after-shave. He smiled and his pearly white teeth glittered beneath his full lips. Before I could stop myself, a raunchy image flashed before my eyes and I blushed like an idiot. I thanked God Jared couldn’t read minds.

  “Have you been up for a long time?” Jared asked.

  I nodded and pointed at the empty bowl and mug on the tray.

  “I got up early and made myself some breakfast and I crashed back on my bed. I thought you’d get into trouble if I went running on my own.”

  “Yes, and I would have also gotten very annoyed at you as well. And Aidan would have been pretty pissed off, so it’s a good thing you didn’t.”

  I smiled and nodded.

  “Did you have breakfast?” I asked.

  “Yes, I woke up, took a shower and had some cereal and coffee.”

  “I heard the shower running, but you’re very silent in the kitchen, so I wasn’t really sure.”

  We looked at each other and Jared started bouncing on the bed playfully. I grabbed a cushion, thr
ew it at him, and managed to hit him straight in the face. He let out a gasp and I sprung forward, afraid I’d hurt him. Jared covered his face with his hands and I tried setting them apart to check for injuries, but he wouldn’t let me. I urged Jared to show me his face and, after a moment’s hesitation, his hands moved and he stuck out his tongue at me. I hit him in the ribs and he bent over, laughing.

  “Sissy!”

  “You suck!” I replied, trying to sound offended, but I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. “What will you be doing today?” I asked after I’d crawled back to my spot on the bed and had gotten under the covers.

  “I’ve spoken with Aidan and we’ve decided that I should go with you to your office. Tonight you’ll have to meet Captain William Anderson, Aidan’s boss and the man who’s overseeing the whole investigation. You’ll have to give him information regarding the people that went to Susan’s memorial. Aidan and I will be there as well, if that’ll make you feel more comfortable.”

  “Yes, I think that will help, thanks.”

  “Okay then. I’ll leave you to get ready and we’ll leave in…twenty minutes?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Jared left my bedroom, closing the door behind him. I turned off the TV, turned on my CD player and jumped around and klutzily danced as I changed out of my pajamas, put on black trousers, a dotted grey and black long-sleeved shirt, black high-heels, and combed my hair into a bun.

  Jared drove my car to the office. It was nice being able to look at the streets and shops without having to worry about crashing into another car o passing a red light for a change. Plus, I had music privileges, and Jared was forced to listen to what I liked. He didn’t complain because he knew it’d be useless. We made a pit stop at Starbucks and got to the building where Orchid Books is situated. We rode the elevator and, just as we were reaching the fourteenth floor, Jared grabbed my hand.

  The elevator doors opened and I led Jared across the hallway. I introduced him to Annie, the receptionist, and as she smiled flirting at him, she remembered to give me a sympathetic look. While we walked around the floor, heads popped up from cubicles and out of offices, partly due to the visitor, and also because I was expected to act like a drama queen. But I refused to have unwanted pity felt for me, so I put on a fake smile and went to my office.

  Maggie, my assistant, was already waiting for me there. She hugged me and handed me five sheets of paper full of messages. I placed them on my desk with Jared’s supposed manuscript, and saw Kelly’s as well. I’d check it out later or tomorrow. I had a couple of meetings during the day, and I couldn’t put them off. I introduced her to Jared and after acknowledging his presence with a somewhat playful smile, she turned back to me.

  “Mark had me move your meeting with Andrea for Monday, in case you weren’t up for it. You’re still getting together with Cameron at eleven; he’s already confirmed he couldn’t move the date. Besides, his book is finished and he already said he just wants to go over the presentation and distribution details. Mark also told me to tell you to call him once you’re done with Cameron. Will you be having lunch with Jared?”

  “Yes Maggie, thanks. I’ll check these messages and get back to you if I need anything else.”

  “Okay Sam,” Maggie said as she left my office and closed the door behind her.

  “So, what shall we do now?” Jared asked as he spun around in his chair like a kid.

  I smiled and shrugged. I had a couple of hours before my meeting with Cameron, and besides reading ‘Jared’s’ manuscript and going over my messages, I had to send emails to the marketing and designs teams.

  “Don’t you have to call Aidan?”

  “I guess I can check up on him. I’ll just let him know we’re here and that everything’s fine. Do you mind if I call him from here, or will it be a distraction?”

  “I wouldn’t mind at all, I can work with background sounds, or whatever you want to call it.”

  So Jared called Aidan as I read the manuscript yet again, this time marking doubts I had for the fact-checker to corroborate, as well as certain spelling mistakes that the proofreader had overlooked. I am very thorough with my work, and I’d hate it if any reader of Orchid Books found any sort of mistakes in texts I’ve edited.

  By the time Jared had hung up, the mood had become quite tense. I looked at him quizzically and placed the manuscript down. I was halfway through it and I still had most of the day to finish it.

  “Something’s come up Sam,” Jared said gravely.

  “What?” I asked; I didn’t know if I should freak out from his serious manners or if I should wait until he’d given me the news.

  “Do you remember Riley, the bomb expert?”

  I nodded and looked at Jared expectantly.

  “The thing is, Riley managed to get some fingerprints from different pieces of plastic and things that were used for the home-made device.”

  “Whole fingerprints survived the explosion? I mean, half my table was blown up!”

  “Fragments of fingerprints were recovered, Sam. And Riley had them checked out with the criminal database, and they found a match against a DUI case from a couple of years ago.”

  I had no idea of what Jared was talking about. I knew people who’d gotten DUI’s: friends, my brother and sister…but none would actually build a bomb and try to kill me.

  “Just get to the point Jared,” I stated, slightly pissed off.

  “The match was your sister’s DUI case, Sam. I’m sorry.”

  As the words sunk in, I became paralyzed. My own sister tried to kill me? Surely, it had to be a mistake. I stared at Jared and shook my head. Kelly would never hurt me, no matter what. She had no reason and, honestly, no knowledge of bombs.

  “Look Jared, I know fingerprints are unique, but maybe they transferred or were planted, or…I don’t know, they could have gotten there in so many ways. And you’ve met Kelly; she isn’t mad at me or anything of sorts, and she doesn’t know how to build a bomb. She can’t even use her microwave!”

  Jared sighed and gazed sadly at me.

  “Building a bomb, today, with Internet, is a piece of cake, no matter how many or few skills the maker may possess. And reasons, Sam…We don’t know how her mind works. Even you, being her sister, having known her for all her years, you don’t know absolutely everything about her. I’m sorry Sam, but Kelly is being taken in for questioning. Aidan will be the interrogator, and he said we can be there, if you want to.”

  “Of course I want to be there! But she won’t say anything if I’m sitting in front of her; not that I think she did it…”

  “We’ll be behind mirror-glass. She’ll see her reflection, and we’ll see her.”

  “Okay. When will the questioning take place?”

  “They’re tracking her down. You’ll make it in time for your eleven am meeting, in case you still want to handle it.”

  “Yes, Cameron will be here in ten minutes, he’s always early,” I said, checking the time on my computer screen. “I’ll be done at half past eleven and then we’ll be on our way, okay?”

  “Yes Sam, and bear in mind, we’ll get to the bottom of this, so try to stay calm, okay?”

  “Sure thing, Jared. I’ll be meeting Cameron here, so…” I looked at the door and Jared obligingly walked out, closing the door behind him.

  I stared at the wall as a knot formed in my throat. Had my own sister tried to kill me? She couldn’t have. We weren’t very close, but we were on good terms and we certainly didn’t hate each other. Then again, as Jared had said, I didn’t know her to the marrow.

  Cameron arrived and Maggie let him in. I noticed Jared was standing by her desk; they were probably chatting. I motioned Cameron to sit down and, after offering a cup of coffee and having Maggie bring two in, we got down to business.

  I managed to clear his doubts and to answer all his questions; his queries were nothing out of the ordinary. Cameron wondered which stores would sell his book, when the presentation would take place, in which new
spapers and magazines we would make press releases of the publication, and stuff of that sort. As I’d already gone over these decisions with the marketing and publicity departments, I didn’t hesitate at all when he asked me, and he was quite pleased with the coverage his book was going to receive.

  At half past eleven, I led Cameron towards the elevator; when I returned to my office, I found Maggie giggling at something Jared had said. He was smiling at her, and the whole scene pissed me off. I guessed I was still annoyed at my sister’s potential involvement in the attempt on my life.

  He was annoying me.

  I went back into my office, grabbed my coat and bag, and closed the door behind me. I told Maggie I’d be gone for the rest of the day, and looked exasperated at Jared. He understood my intention and followed me.

  Jared drove as I tapped my fingers, but I didn’t keep up with the beat of the music on the stereo; I tapped my fingers to the nervous tune that played in my head.

  “We’re here,” Jared stated as he pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the station.

  He led me in and avoided nodding at the various officers we passed by; even if he might have known them, he wouldn’t risk blowing our cover. I ‘introduced’ him to Aidan, although standing side by side, it was hard not to notice the resemblance between them.

  We entered a room that was dark; as Jared moved me in order to turn on the light, I couldn’t help but inhale his scent and get a slightly lusty idea in my head. I forced myself to snap out of it, and I had to remember the reason for which we were at the station. Jared closed the door and drank coffee he’d gotten from a vending machine in the room. He’d offered me one, but I’d refused it. I didn’t need any more caffeine in my body.

  Aidan entered the room we were looking at, followed by Kelly. He held a chair for her and she sat down. She looked worried and frightened; sitting there, with the lighting and compared to Aidan’s size, Kelly appeared to be a doll.

  A glass was placed in front of her by Aidan and she sipped some water. Aidan sat down across from her and got his notepad and pen. Jared sniggered and I glared at him.