Page 64 of Release You

“You said he came to her a month ago, in June?” He checked his rearview mirror before switching lanes.

“Yeah, that’s when I got her letter asking me to bring the money and take ownership of the hotel.” I tucked my leg under my knee and shifted under my seat belt, so my body faced him.

“Son of a bitch.” Henry slammed his palms on the steering wheel. “Jonathan knows who you are. He didn’t want money. He wanted you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Best case scenario, to distract me. I got here at the beginning of the summer. He must’ve known I wasn’t here just for the downtown reno. He knew I had come for him. He brought you in to confuse me, to keep me out of the way. I don’t know. But it’s too much of a coincidence that shortly after he lost the hotel to me, he went to see Lisa.” He rubbed the stubble on his jaw. A deep furrow appeared across his forehead as he gripped the steering wheel.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. All this time Jonathan had known who I was, and I hadn’t picked up on it. How had I missed that?

“What’s the worst-case scenario?” I asked.

Henry checked his mirrors again and took the ramp onto I-10.He let the silence linger for so long I thought he hadn’t heard me.

He slanted a glance at me with worry written all over his face. “He brought you back to tie up all loose ends. You and I are the only two people who knew he was in the tunnels that day. Maybe he was afraid we’d remember something. Our broken memories may not be enough to put him in jail, but it’ll be enough to turn the town against him. We’re a threat to him and everything he’s worked so hard for in the past fifteen years.”

Everything Jonathan did, even when James was alive, was to earn the town’s respect. I’d bet he almost had a heart attack when Henry returned to Paradise Creek or when we showed up at his house for the Founders’ Gala. But he had to play along since his wife had already invited us. She’d done it in a very public way too, as if she’d wanted to show the town she was very close to Henry. More lies. More pretenses.

“And we both know that would be like death to him. He cares so much about keeping up appearances. Why is that?” I asked.

“He always wanted to be like Dad. To be loved like he was.” Henry gripped the steering wheel.

“Same way the town loves you. It must really get his panties in a bunch to see how quickly the townspeople welcomed you back. It must make him nervous too, to think that you might tell someone about what he did to you. What would Mrs. Blaine think if she found out Jonathan and Francesca Cavalier are common thieves and murderers?”

“I think you’re right.”

I pressed my palm on my chest. “There’s one more thing. Jonathan asked Lisa about Tessa’s jewelry.”

“What did he want?” His gaze dropped to the pendant on my chest.

“He wanted to know if Lisa knew where Tessa kept them. What does he want with that? If he doesn’t need money, what is he after?”

“Only one way to find out.” He reached for my hand over the car console as he got onto the 101. “Your plan is the only way to flush him out, to force him to make a move.”

“How are we going to do that?” I wrapped my cold fingers around his warm hand.

“Lisa went pale when she first saw you. She recognized the necklace, didn’t she? Just like you did.” He raised an eyebrow.

“You’re right.” I nodded. “All we need to do is let him see me with it.”

He dug in his back pocket and pulled out his phone. “I hope your poker game has improved since that last time we played.”

“Who are you calling?”

“Russ. You remember him?” A smirk pulled at his lips.

“Sure. Nice guy. Very accommodating.” I gave him a one-shoulder shrug.

He shook his head, smiling. “Hey, Russ. It’s Henry. Call me when you get this message. Just wondering if you have room at your poker table tonight. Let me know.” He ended the call.

“And now we wait,” I said.

James Cavalier had been a regular at the Speakeasy Bar, where everyone went to try their luck. Everyone in town knew that. Just like Henry, he’d had a real knack for cards. Yet another thing James had that Jonathan didn’t. More memories came rushing back—Tessa and James laughing in the hallway because Jonathan had gambled and lost again…and once again, he had acted like a sore loser.

“Poor guy,” Tessa had said. “He can never catch a break.”

Had Jonathan been so jealous of his brother he ended up killing him? How much anger and hate did someone need tokeep hitting his brother with a bronze statue after the first blow, after he was clearly dead? According to Lisa’s files, James had received six blows, one to the head and five to the chest.

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