Page 125 of The Mercenary's Guide to Mishaps and Romance

She’s quiet for a moment, like she’s thinking about it. “I didn’t want you to look down on your father,” she says.

“Um… I think that ship has sailed. That ship’s like… not even in the fucking ocean anymore. It’s just gone. So please tell me.”

She takes a deep breath. “Your father started sneaking around… he’d tell me he’d be working late, and of course, I believed him. He constantly had so much shit going on, but one night I called the office since I couldn’t get ahold of him, and they told me he was off at his regular time. When I asked him where he’d gone, he said he went to the bar… just needed a break because work was so ‘rough.’ I wanted to ignore it. I really wanted to believe it was work driving him to this, but I snooped around enough that I found him out with Arthur’s daughter. That Jasmine. I just… I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that he was having an affair.”

“You caught him in the act?” I ask, breaking into the conversation before I can think better of it.

She seems startled by my voice. “Sorry, I didn’t know I was on speaker.”

“My apologies,” I say. “Would have been nice to meet on better terms. But the reason I’m asking is… I’m wondering if your husband wasn’t cheating.”

“You think he was just… gallivanting with some beautiful woman in her twenties for fun?” she asks. “No, I didn’t catch them in the act. But what the hell else do you think they were doing?”

“Dealing with drugs,” I say.

Ellis looks startled. “You think my dad was selling drugs?”

“No… I think your dad was stealing them. He was smuggling drugs out of the department… I bet if Cassel looks into it, at some point in the years following your father’s disappearance, it came to light that some drugs were not accounted for. Maybe it was more than just your father involved. Maybe there was a whole string of people getting a cut. Or maybe it was his own idea. But that’s what I’m thinking.”

Ellis and his mother both seem confused.

“Why would…” She hesitates. “He wouldn’t have done that.”

“Was there an increase in money before his disappearance?” I ask. “Maybe he’d splurge a bit even when he wouldn’t have before?”

“Let me think. It was so long ago… I… I told him I caught him out with that woman, and he promised me nothing was happening. Some lie about Arthur telling him she’d had a stalker or something and he was just making sure she was alright. He took me out to dinner and promised me over and over that he wasn’t cheating, but that wasn’t splurging. I… I really don’t think he did.”

“Were there any banking or financial accounts you didn’t know about before his disappearance that you learned about after?” I ask.

“I don’t know. After he disappeared… I don’t know what I thought. I mean… I guess if he’s been alive all this time, he’s had to have some money to live off. But why the fuck would he just go into hiding? If he was stealing drugs, and the woman he was selling them to died… why would he run or go into hiding?”

“Maybe he was afraid whoever killed her would kill him?” Ellis asks.

“Ellis, do you know where he is?” his mom asks.

“No. Last I saw, he was running off and leaving me… again,” Ellis says, but it was so much more than that. Zachary wasn’t just leaving him… he was literally choosing his own life over his son’s. But maybe that’s what he did the first time too.

“He’s… proven that he’s willing to pick his own life over anyone else’s… even his own son,” I say, hating how harsh it sounds and the way Ellis’s eyes drop. “But that could be why he left in the first place. He left because he wanted to protect himself. So anything you have, even if it’s just speculation, could help us protect Ellis.”

“Why did Arthur help us back then if my dad was off stealing drugs and he was paying off some woman to pretend to have killed his daughter?” Ellis asks.

“Maybe he didn’t know about Zachary’s involvement. But now that he does… maybe he wants someone to answer for it.”

“Do… do you think my dad killed her? Killed Jasmine?”

“It doesn’t make sense. Unless your dad was working for Arthur, why would Arthur then cover it up?” I ask.

“I don’t fucking know,” Ellis says before slumping his head down on the table. “Mom, can you think ofanywherehe could be? Anywhere at all?”

“You said he’s in town here?” she asks.

“Yeah. Did he know we were being transferred here and follow us?” Ellis asks.

“I really don’t know, Ellis; I just want you safe and I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just come here with me and Sienna.”

Ellis looks discouraged, but I’m not. “Don’t worry, he’s with me. I’m a private investigator. I’ll keep Ellis out of it,” I lie to her.I’m sure it isn’t the best tactic to lie to the mother of the man you’re interested in, but I need to end this to protect him.

“Ellis, you promise me you’re being safe?” his mom asks. “Please. Just let the police handle this.”

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