Page 51 of One Last Secret

“Yes.”

“You don’t think Evelyn took her somewhere?”

“No. She wouldn’t have been able to hide her.”

“Maybe she threw her over the balcony.”

“We would have found the body then. No, listen. Lisa and Marcus are behind this. I don’t know how they got rid of Victor, but they did. Or Victor ran off on his own, and they saw the opportunity. Either way, they’re going to be free and clear soon, so let’s talk about all of this after we stop them.”

“Wait, we?”

I jump in the car and speed back toward Victor’s place. “Yes. I’m heading there now. Get to me as soon as you can.”

“What? Are you stupid? You can’t go alone!”

“That’s why I told you to meet me there.”

“How? You have the car, you bloody imbecile!”

“So get another one! Or call the police and have them meet me there. Actually yes. Do that.”

“Or,yougo somewhere safe and let the bloody police handle it!”

“I can’t. I might not have time.”

"What the hell… Mary, for the love of God, donotconfront them on your own! You’ll get yourself hurt!”

“You said you care about me, right?”

“What? You want to talk about thisnow?”

“If you care about me, then you need to understand something about me. I cannotsit back and hope that others will protect the people I care about. I’ve done that before, and I’ve suffered greatly for it. I won’t do it again. You’ve pointed out before that I repeatedly risk my life for others. Well, here I am doing it again.”

“But there’s no need, Mary! Let the police—”

“I can’t trust the damned police!” I shout. “Like you’ve said, they thinkI’mthe murderer! Instead of trying to figure out what actually happened, Reyes dug into my past and decided that because I lost Annie and spent time in a mental hospital thirty years ago that this is somehow my fault. She tried to deport you when all you did was alert them to what we both thought was the disappearance of another innocent person! They’ve had their chance to do the right thing, and they’ve failed. The only way they do their job is if the answer is shoved right under their bloody noses! Sothat’swhat we’re going to do. Call them and get to Victor’s house as soon as you can.”

Sean is silent for a while. When he speaks again, there is resignation in his tone. “All right. I’ll get them there as fast as I can. Please be safe. Record their conversations. Take pictures. Don’t try to fight them. You’re a fifty-two-year-old woman, and you’re not invincible. I’ve saved your life twice already. I don’t want to have to save your life again.”

I smile sadly. “You may have to care for another woman then.”

“Damn it, Mary.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

I hang up and take a deep breath. I will reach Victor’s house in ten minutes. Lisa and Marcus will still be there. They won’t have had enough time to load their car with Victor’s art.

I look at my phone. Five-thirty. Evelyn will arrive for work twenty minutes after I do. If I’m lucky, she’ll arrive before Lisa and Marcus are finished. If I’m very lucky, Sean and the police will arrive before then.

We can stop them. We might not find Victor or Celeste, but at the very least, we can stop these two hateful people from capitalizing off of their demise.

I feel a wave of sadness when I think of Celeste. She was right about Lisa the whole time. She might not have known what Lisa was planning, but her instincts were correct.

“I’ll stop her,” I whisper. “For your sake, Celeste, I’ll stop her.”

***

I reach the house precisely ten minutes later. There’s a van parked in the driveway with the rear panel doors open and facing the house. Apparently, Lisa and Marcus aren’t worried about being seen by the neighbors. Maybe they’re hoping no onewill question why Victor’s belongings are being removed since he’s been missing for days now.

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