Page 31 of Our Lips Are Sealed
But she had tostay.
Another pop.
Screaming.
There was so much screaming.
Ben.
Stay.
Chapter 7
“WhowasresponsibleforOlivia’s death?” Liam asked, every muscle in his body tense.
Samuel remained quiet, lost in his thoughts. The living landscape of beachgoers continued about their day in the distance, oblivious to the two men who sat mere feet away talking of murder.
“I’m only trying to help, Samuel.”
“This has nothing to do with those women.”
If he wasn’t willing to talk, then there was no reason Liam should risk bending the rules. He went to start the recording again, but Samuel stopped him.
“Give me a minute, Cohen. I’m only trying to find a good place to begin the story.”
“The beginning works best.”
Unimpressed with his response, Samuel’s brow creased in irritation. “I guess we’ll start with my father’s older brother, Charlie. He was married to a woman named Vivian. Their marriage was part of a land deal out in Texas.”
“I’m sorry, but did you say their marriage was part of a land deal?”
“Old men, old money, old ideas. It was the way of business then,” Samuel replied. “Marriages helped solidify contracts and partnerships. A beautiful daughter could be a serious bargaining tool, and Vivian was perfect for the job. Her father was a big player in the Texas land market during the seventies and eighties, and my grandfather wanted in on the action, so he approached Randall McIntyre, offering up a partnership on a Houston venture. McIntyre took the deal for a stake in Fairweather Holdings, and Vivian’s marriage to Charlie sealed the contract.”
“Jesus.”
Samuel shrugged, seeming to be completely unbothered by the idea of a woman being used in such a way. Liam would imagine he wouldn’t feel the same indifference if it were Jamison on the auction block.
“Originally, Vivian was meant to go to my dad, but he wasn’t the Fairweather she wanted. Charlie accompanied my grandfather to one of his meetings out west, and the moment Vivian laid eyes on him, she fell head over heels in love.”
“How did Charlie feel about that?”
Samuel scrubbed a hand down his face. “I have no idea. My uncle was a good looking guy, and a playboy, using his money and his looks to fuck anything that moved. But, from what I heard, everyone thought he would settle down once he married the beautiful Vivian McIntyre.”
Resting his elbows on his knees, Samuel’s gaze dropped, finally acknowledging the Jane Doe death certificates. “But a little over a year after the wedding, Charlie got a seventeen-year-old girl pregnant and brought her to Haven House.” His finger landed on the adult death certificate. “Rebecca Miller.”
“Hold up,” Liam said, so badly wanting to take notes since he was no longer recording. “Are you saying Charlie Fairweather got a kid pregnant?”
“My uncle Trevor, the asshole that heads up the North Carolina offices for Fairweather, was a little handsy with the female student body during his college years at Alabama. Since Charlie wasn’t much help in any other department, my grandfather would send him up to handle the allegations,” Samuel said. “Charlie was a damn idiot, but he was a likable guy to the outside world, and could easily get others—especially women—to see things his way.”
“Was the girl one of your uncle’s accusers?”
“No, she was a waitress at a sports bar near the college. Rebecca had lied on her application to get a job, but honestly, I don’t think Charlie would have cared how old she was, as long as she was willing to fuck him when he needed it.”
Liam cleared his throat, trying to digest what he was hearing, and his unease amused Samuel. “Cohen, you do understand that I’m just as disgusted by their behavior as you are, right?” he asked. “I’m not one of the Fairweather monsters that believes in using women like they did with Vivian or going around hiding sexual assault accusations because it might tarnish the family name.”
“But is your father?”
“My father did what needed to be done to survive. Things changed when he came into power.”
