Page 90 of To Have and to Hold

Knox said beside me as we walked through the simplistic opulence, “She would’ve had to know Jack couldn’t mentally handle the secret and would leave his career behind.”

“Jack’s a nice guy. He’d do anything for a friend, but at the same time, he has morals. He doesn’t have the evil required to keep living the gifted life while knowing a girl died and her family will never have the true answer.”

“He wasn’t moral enough to go to the police with it.”

“Because he had a pregnant wife. A daughter on the way. The one thing that can get in the way of morals and doing right, no matter who you are, is love.”

“When did you start subscribing to storybook happiness?” Knox mused.

I frowned. “Not for a second,” I said, and pushed through the revolving door.

Knox got a call the instant we hit the sidewalk.

“Levi,” he answered. “What’s up? Yeah?” Pause. “Huh. Yeah, I’ll tell him. We’re heading to you now. See you soon.” He clicked off.

“Anything?” I asked.

“Kind of. Hail a cab for us, will you? I gotta text this into my notes.”

“Sure.” I stepped off the curb with Knox trailing behind and raised my arm.

“Levi’s been talking to Jack, as you know, but hasn’t gotten much. Or anything to add to what you got out of him. Becca’s there, too, giving the parents some comfort.”

“Huh. Haven’t seen her in a while.”

Knox kept staring at me.

My lungs deflated. “She can’t go much longer, Knox.”

Knox said, “It’s not over, yet.”

What Knox meant was, we didn’t have a body and there was still a chance. I faced the road so he wouldn’t catch on to the stress.

“Levi mentioned a bit more about Jack and DA Abrams’s relationship, and sure as shit, Jack was better than Abrams in all respects. Jack was top dog, like you said. And good-looking, wanted by all the pretty girls. And Abrams was…well, you know what he looks like.”

“Abrams must’ve hated that,” I said.

“It’s shocking Abrams was able to act so friendly with the guy. The Snow Queen of Narnia up there had it right: Jack stayed with them often and even moved in for a few months in the summer because he couldn’t afford to rent his own place.”

“Mm,” I said, and continued searching for a cab. The millions of yellow cars that passed were all occupied. My feet had pins and needles in them. I needed to move, to be charging toward Emme, but the stagnant weight of a dead-end kept me anchored to the tarmac. I debated calling an Uber—a technological leap my flip phone would probably blow up over. We could discuss Jack and Abrams’s relationship all night, but where did that leave Emme? Where did we go from here?

“And predictably, because Jack’s the good guy, he helped Abrams out once, too,” Knox continued.

“How so? Where the fuck are the cabs?”

“Ubers are about ten minutes away, too,” Knox said, briefly glancing up from his cell. “Eugenie’s trust fund didn’t kick in until she was thirty. So weird.” Knox feigned his flummox. “She forgot to mention that.”

“Jack loaned them money?”

“Better. When he left the city, he owned a place in Brooklyn. Our Jackie-boy was doing quite well in his first years as an associate and Brooklyn wasn’t back then what it is now. In other words, it was affordable twenty years ago.”

“So, Jack sold it and gave Abrams and Eugenie the money?”

“Nope. Gave them the house.”

I lowered my arm, but Knox didn’t see the shift. He was busy typing the facts into his phone.

“They lived in Jack’s old place. For how long?” I asked.

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