Page 31 of Between Now and Always

“I’m going to take this on the balcony,” I call over my shoulder to Giselle and head outside without waiting for her to respond.

I slip my ear buds in and answer Phil’s FaceTime call.

“Hey man.”

“You look like shit,” he quips and then yawns.

“You don’t look so hot yourself,” I shoot back.

“I’ve been on my feet at the restaurant since 5 am, what’s your excuse?” he runs a hand over his face.

“Uh- record promo tour. Three months of nonstop traveling. We just got back to New York last night.”

I don’t add that a nightmare showed up on my doorstep two hours ago.

I sigh and drop into one of the lounge chairs I keep on my balcony.

It’s frigid, but after the hour I spent with Giselle, it’s a relief to have an excuse to put some space between us.

“Last night? Shit you must be tired. Saw your video today though. Amazing. World tour, huh?”

“Yup. We’re excited, but I’ve got a lot of shit to deal with between now and then.”

“Well, I’m about to add to your list, I need a favor.”

I stifle a groan and nod, “Shoot.”

“I think the only way we’re going to find out what we need to know is to go see Susan Kendicott.”

My heart stops for a second and I let out a low groan.

“No way, man. I can’t do that,” I say.

“Carter, it’s the only way,” Phil’s voice is flat but his eyes are full of conviction. He’s been working to uncover he what calls “skeletons” in Drew Wolfe’s closet. We talk once a week, and last week he found something that seemed promising.

“It can’t be the only way. What about the fraud and stuff you found?” I push back.

“It’s not enough. The shareholders will circle the wagons around him.”

“They can’t shield him if he’s been embezzling money. It’s a crime, if you have proof, they’ll have to arrest him.” I insist.

He lets out an exasperated snort.

“Carter, men like him…unless they pull a Madoff sized heist, they don’t go to jail. And if they do, it’s a Club Fed where they live like they’re on vacation, pay a fine, and then come home. In six months, he’ll be free, be pissed and out for blood. The only way to neutralize him is to take him down with something he can’t get away with. My sisters won’t be safe from him until that happens.”

My stomach knots. Phil isn’t sure where Beth is and he doesn’t seem worried. He says she knows how to reach if she needs him.

I wish I could say the same. I check all of my mailboxes these days. I know she said she wanted to be on her own for a while, but it’s been six months since she left Winsome and she hasn’t been in touch once.

What if she never gets in touch again? I shake that nightmare thought away and focus back on what Phil is saying.

“I don’t think going to see Susan will get us very far. Whose going to take the word of a convicted murderer over a man who’s running for governor?”

Phil’s eyes narrow to slits. “He’s not running anymore. He lost in the primary. For all his influence people aren’t that sold on him. They might believe her if she could get evidence that backed her up.”

“You just said she wasn’t credible.”

“Whatever made her think you were safer on a church doorstep in fucking Ithaca New York, than with him, is something only she can tell us. If we know what he did to make her feel that way, then maybe we’ll know where to look. What if she didn’t do it? But we need evidence and the only way we’ll find it is if we know where to look. And that’s the thing that will help us bring him down for good,” he says with grave certainty.

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