Page 61 of Death in the Family
I’d been a fascinating hobby for him at first. He quickly recognized that damaged, docile Shana would make an obedient wife. He’d doled out his diagnosis then, used my condition to keep me right where he wanted me. I felt like an idiot for not spotting Carson’s trickery sooner. Caught up in my own thoughts and actions, I didn’t think to monitor his.
What really got me, though, was how Carson looked straight at my face and lied. Dozens of times I’d heard him say it’s a bad idea for people who have suffered psychological trauma to put themselves in high-stress situations. He made his professional feelings about that known whenever he read about a cop who’d done something insane, like gun down a kid in the street or sexually assault a witness. Carson always chalked it up to the officer’s mental state. In the same breath, he’d tell me I was different. The second he saw how determined I was to go back to my job despitethe horrors of a homicide detective’s daily life, he swore to me I could, and would, prevail. He’d figured out what I needed to hear and was clever enough to oblige. I clung to his insistence that one day I’d be a good detective again. Banked on his pledge to help. But from denigrating my condition to proposing Thai food for dinner, it was all just a strategy designed to strip down my self-reliance and make me question whether I’d survive.
When I thought back to Tim’s account of his childhood with Carson, I felt an overwhelming urge to toss my engagement ring in the river and bring up my lunch on the shore. Carson’s behavior as a kid proved McIntyre’s point. Power was my fiancé’s favorite high. My dynamic with him wasn’t so different from Tim’s: doctor and patient, enabler and pawn. And that filled me with a boiling, bottomless rage.
Down the hall I heard the others talking, and through the kitchen door I spied Tim pacing nervously just outside the parlor. Time was running out, and we both knew it. Without the boats, the perp was trapped, and when people feel trapped, they panic. Fear had already killed Abella. I worried it was about to strike again.
An empty wine bottle in hand, Norton stepped up to Tim and pointed in my direction. A few seconds later he was walking toward me under Tim’s watchful gaze.
“Jade’s hungry,” Norton said. “I thought I’d put out some appetizers. Detective Wellington said I could make a plate if you stay with me.”
My watch read half past six. Tim and I had been on the island for almost nine hours. Maybe what my brain needed was a hard reset. A quick, invigorating swim in the frigid river should do it. It’d be worth the risk to my life if it helped me see things clearly.
I blinked my dry, bloodshot eyes and told Norton to be my guest.
He crisscrossed the kitchen, opening cupboard doors and pulling ingredients from the fridge. Despite his prep work earlier, the counters were spotless. The few dishes he’d used were already washed and left to dry by the sink. I leaned back against the counter and revisited everything I knew about “Moonshine Phil.” He’d been short on money twenty years ago, fired from his dead-end job at the liquor store. Then Camilla brought him to Tern Island and his life changed for the better. He’d put his previous boss at risk of being charged with selling alcohol to minors, but to Camilla he was a loyal employee, a compassionate caregiver, a friend.
Camilla wasn’t the only person in the house Norton seemed to like more than the others. I’d noticed it throughout the day, and it nettled me even now.
“Spend much time with kids?” I asked.
He was arranging cold roasted vegetables on a platter at the kitchen island and folding slices of cured meat and cheese. My question made him fumble a sliver of salami. “Sorry?”
“I was just thinking about Jade. You’re very attentive to her needs. You made her favorite soup today.”
“Everyone enjoys that soup. I make it because it’s not hard on Mrs. Sinclair’s stomach. But I am fond of that girl. She hasn’t had it easy. Until Bebe, Jade didn’t have a mother around—and between you and me, Bebe isn’t exactly the mothering type.”
“At least Jade’s got Miles.”
Norton smiled. “That she does.”
“There are going to be a lot of changes around here now. After Miles leaves Bebe, he and Jade won’t be visiting anymore. I wonder if anyone will. With Abella’s death and Jasper disappearing theway he did, how can the Sinclairs keep the property? Some horrible things have happened here.”
Norton opened a drawer and took out a paring knife. It glinted under the bright pendant lights above him. “Maybe they won’t,” he said. “But to be honest, that’s no concern of mine. It’s almost time for me to move on. When Camilla leaves this place, so do I.” He shook his head sadly. “I hate to say it, but sometimes I think this family is cursed. Baldwin’s and Rachel’s deaths, their business troubles, Camilla’s illness, Jasper...”
“That’s quite a string of bad luck.”
Norton opened a bag of radishes and started carving them into elaborate edible flowers. My eyes followed the blade’s every movement. His knife skills were precise and lightning quick. “Flynn and Bebe... they’re very negative people, and negative people attract negative energy. Trust me, I know. I made my share of mistakes as a younger man, some I’ll regret for the rest of my life. But I turned things around. Coming here changed everything. We’ve all got to make our own destiny.”
His speech reminded me of what Camilla said upstairs, about the importance of forging your own path. “I’d love to know how to do that,” I said, and meant it.
He looked up from his knife. “What I do, see, is I picture myself where I want to be. In the future I want to have. That’s what helps me get there.”
I felt my cell phone buzz twice in quick succession, two messages coming in at once. Excusing myself, I glanced at the display. McIntyre had made an interesting discovery related to my request. I filed it away in the back of my mind. The next message was from Tim.Miles and Jade want to talk to you.
I raised an eyebrow. TypedSend them in.
“Ah,” Norton said when he saw them coming down the hall. “I’ll leave you all alone.”
“No need,” I said quickly. “Please. Stay and finish up.”
Norton gave a reluctant nod and went back to work.
“Not the happy hour you’re used to, I guess,” I said when Miles and Jade stepped into the room.
“Please don’t,” said Miles.
“Don’t what?”
