Page 89 of Forgotten Deeds

“Thanks,” I say cooly, taking the coffee and lunchbox. He beats me to the garage door, helping Iris into her car seat. He looks like he wants to say more, but I close my door and hit the garage opener, backing out of the driveway.

“Mama, why are you mad at Darius?”

“I’m not mad at Darius, sweetie.” Honestly, I’m more mad at myself for letting my guard down. I did, and look what happened? I fell in love with the mob hitman who whacked my daughter’s father. Is whacked even what they call it? I’m sure Darius knows the proper terminology, but I’ll be damned if I ask him.

We pull into Miss Mary’s parking lot with about two minutes to spare. I hurry Iris out of the car and to the front door. The mom clique is hanging out, but I don’t have time for their bullshit as I race Iris inside. Hugging my daughter bye, I walk back outside and give a wave to the moms.

“Lily, wait up,” Becca calls, chasing after me.

“Hey, Becca. I’m in a bit of a hurry trying to get to class,” I tell her as I keep walking.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get the hint. “I’ll be brief. This is about that rabid dog of a husband of yours.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sure this will come as a shock to you, but the man threatened me,” she whispers the last part.

“What do you mean?” I say, stopping in my tracks.

“When he dropped Iris off the other morning. It was all out of the blue, quite unprovoked,” she says dramatically.

“What did he say?”

“I’m not sure how much you’re ready to hear,” she says, giving me a patronizing smile. “But your husband hit on me.” Even though things between me and Darius have gone to shit, I don’t believe a word out of Becca’s mouth. “I turned him down, of course,” she continues, “as you know how I adore my husband.” Sure, the husband she cheats on with the pool boy, the tennis instructor, and the yoga instructor. “Well, that set him off. He threatened my family. My husband, specifically. Physical violence.”

I try not to laugh. “Becca, I have a final exam; I really have to go.”

“Of course, and like I said, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.”

“I know you do. Thanks for letting me know.” Somehow I managed to say that with a straight face as I hurry to my car.

Driving to campus, I replay my encounter with Becca. I take it back—I do believe a few words out of her mouth. There’s no doubt Darius threatened her husband; his attempt to help Iris with the bullying problem. Christ, how many bodies does my husband leave in his wake? The bigger question is why it felt so damn good when she told me about the threat.

Maybe my wings aren’t as nice and clean as I’d like to believe.

* * *

Answering the last essay question, I give my exam a once-over before walking to the front and turning it in. My interim professor smiles at me, and I smile back at her before exiting the classroom.

Driving to Harrison’s house, I park and walk up the steps. Using the key, I let myself in—marching straight to the guest room closet. Removing the tile carpeting, I eye the safe. Having researched this particular model, I know it requires a four-digit code. Grabbing my notebook, I turn to the page with potential number combinations I’ve come up with. I go through each and every combo without luck.

The last on my list: Iris, but her name as a number cipher based on the alphabet. Punching in 9-18-9-19, the safe beeps green. My eyes wide with shock, I mutter, “Holy shit, it worked.” I open the safe to find stack after stack of wrapped hundreds. This only confirms what Darius told me—Harrison was on the take.

Grabbing the cash, I count a stack; one thousand dollars. I mentally tally the number of stacks as I fill up my backpack. My hand shaking, I close the safe and move the carpet back into place. Locking up behind me, I turn around and nearly have a heart attack when I spot Ethan at the bottom of the steps.

“Hey, Lily. I was driving by on my patrol and saw your car,” he tells me.

“Ethan, hey. I just finished class.” I shift my backpack as I walk toward him. A backpack filled with three hundred grand in cash, if not more. “I wanted to give the house one more sweep for Iris’ rainbow charm.”

“Any luck?”

“No.” I shake my head, trying to play it cool.

“Have you thought any more about what we talked about?” he asks. “About your husband?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to get into it now; I’ve got to get back to class,” I lie. I’m finished for the day, but he doesn’t know that. “Finals.”

“Okay, but I’m serious, Lily. If you need help, I’m here for you,” he tells me.

---