Page 103 of Past Due

I flinched at the ugly memory that I had long buried in the far recesses of my mind. I glowered at him. “Yes. Actually.”

“Was that a common theme in your household?” Detective Kermally asked. “Violence?”

I nodded. “My mother had quite a temper.”

“Had or has?”

“She’s been on mood stabilizers for a while now. It cut down on her outbursts.”

“And Spider? Was he violent at home?”

“He only ever defended himself,” I explained. “I never saw him act aggressive or violent toward my mother unless he was trying to fight her off.”

“That sounds like a very stressful environment to grow up in,” the detective commented.

“It was.” Grateful for Besian’s hand on my neck, I leaned into him again. “That’s why I moved out as soon as I turned eighteen.”

“Into one of the mobile homes your stepfather owns?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go back to your mother’s online habits for a bit,” Detective Kermally redirected. “You said she would meet men online and then in person? Did she tell you about these men?”

“Not after the first two,” I said, cringing at the memories of her gushing over men who were clearly catfishing her. “She and I had a big blowout after she ran off to Miami and nearly got herself trafficked. The only reason they didn’t take her is because she had been catfishing this guy right back with my photos.”

Besian went rigid next to me, and I avoided his glare. He already had a low opinion of my mother, and now it must have tanked even farther.

“Your mother used your photos to catfish men?”

“She stopped after that.”

“You know that for a fact?” the detective asked.

“No,” I admitted reluctantly. “She told me she did.”

“Well, her track record with truth telling isn’t the best.”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed.

“So, it’s possible the person she may have been meeting in Lake Charles wasn’t expecting a nearly fifty-year-old woman,” Detective Kermally suggested.

“It’s possible.” My stomach churned as I considered how badly that would have gone.

“And you weren’t concerned when you didn’t hear from your mother after her last text?”

“I was, but not enough to panic and call the police,” I said defensively. “She’s done it before, and I assumed that’s what this was. It fit her pattern of running off to meet some random man. I expected her to slink back home, embarrassed and broke after a week or so.”

“Is that an ongoing problem for your mother? Financial issues? I noticed that most of the messages she sent you while you were traveling were about borrowing money.”

My face heated with shame. “She’s struggled with managing her money.”

“Because of gambling?”

“That’s part of it.”

“You’re so cold you haven’t forgiven you mother-in-law's gambling debts?” Erin interjected, clearly trying to bait Besian.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Besian replied, not about to admit he ran underground casinos, books and private poker tournaments.

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