CHAPTER 57
OLIVIA PINE
BEFORE
They spent another full day at the beach. Liv liked the beach as much as the next person, but it was hard going with a six-year-old. There was no relaxing. It was either worrying about drowning, incessant trips to the bathroom, or being forced into sandcastle-making hell. She shouldn’t complain; they were only little once. But Liv was glad they were back at the rental.
She also had her eye on Holmes and Watson. Evan and Maggie were doing their best to pretend they weren’t working on the case, but Liv knew better. You’d think she’d be annoyed, but it brought Maggie and her father together. Liv couldn’t think of any father-daughters as close as Evan and Mags. The entire trip was somehow related to Danny’s case, she knew. But right now she just didn’t care.
Liv studied her husband. He was sitting at the kitchen counter tapping something on his laptop, Maggie looking over his shoulder. Her daughter seemed more melancholy than usual. For the entire trip, Liv had sensed that something was bothering Maggie, that she was always on the verge of telling Liv something, but stopped short. It was probably to confess they were working leads in Danny’s case, but Liv decided they needed some mother-daughter time. After they all showered, she asked Maggie to go for a walk. “Dad got his dinner with you, so it’s my turn.”
A path to the woods lay just outside the property. Evan told them not to go too far. To bring their phones. Who knew what was in that jungle? He was nothing if not a worrier.
“Do I want to know what you and Dad have been up to?” Liv asked, walking along the footpath, surrounded on both sides by dense trees.
Maggie looked at her. She gave the blushing smile she displayed whenever she was caught in a fib. “I’ll let him tell you. He said he was going to tonight.”
Liv nodded. “I can’t wait.…”
“He doesn’t mean to let it consume him,” Maggie said. “It’s just that he can’t accept what happened to Danny, and feels like if he gives up, everyone else will too, and—”
“You don’t have to defend your father to me. It may not seem like it sometimes, but I love him for it. I’ve been too hard on him, worried about the rest of you—Matt—but I know Dad is just doing what he thinks is right. He’d do the same for any of you.” Liv thought of the line, the one from the book Evan loved. You have my whole heart. You always did.
They walked for a long while, the sun lowering in the sky, partially hidden by the canopy of trees.
“Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”
Maggie stopped on the trail. Her eyes filled with tears, and then she threw her arms around her mother and started to cry.
“It’s okay, my girl,” Liv said, rubbing Maggie’s back as her daughter’s body shuddered. “You can tell me anything. I’m here. Tell me.”
And she did.
CHAPTER 58
MATT PINE
Upstairs at Pipe Layers, Matt sat on the foot of the bed, his shirt open, the phone pressed to his ear.
“Do they think he’s going to make it?” he asked Keller.
Jessica in all her naked glory had retreated to the bathroom, realizing the call was important, the mood killed.
“I don’t know,” Keller said. “I found out just before the funeral and haven’t gotten to speak to the doctor.”
Matt wasn’t sure what he was feeling. The only sensation that came to mind was numb.
“Do you think it’s related to what happened to my family?” he asked. “Or was it just prison violence?”
“I don’t know. We can talk about this later. I just arrived at the US Attorney’s Office in Lincoln. I’m about to have a meeting with someone who may have some answers.”
“Who?”
“I’ll fill you in afterward. I really need to go.”
Matt didn’t have the energy to push it.
“Are you okay?” Keller said. “When you left the church, everyone was worried.”
“I’m fine, just spending some time with an old friend.”
Jessica reappeared from the bathroom, dressed, a look of concern on her face.
“All right. I’ll call you. Last thing,” Keller said. Her voice was breathy, as if she were walking now. “We know who sent the video tip of the party to your sister.”
Matt gave no reply.
“We tracked the IP address to a computer located at 15 Stone Creek Road. The Wheeler family. Your aunt said you know them.”
Matt looked at Jessica, who was pulling her hair up, staring at him with those large eyes.