Cross My Heart

Fifteen

Twenty-four hours later, Flo was recovering from successful surgery. Lilly’s uncle was still unconscious, the bullet having punctured his lung. The doctors expected him to recover, but they wouldn’t allow visitors for a while.

Lilly, Ty, Hunter and Molly sat in the waiting area of the hospital, having moved out of the emergency room wing. The police were on their way to talk with them. They had new information and the hospital was as good a place as any to bring together all interested parties and fill them in.

Molly looked pale and she hadn’t had much to say to Lacey or Ty since they’d met up here. Hunter had his intern doing research and he’d taken the day off to be with Molly, but she wasn’t talking to him, either. Lacey didn’t know if the other woman was upset over Marc’s condition or the fact that Marc was obviously involved in something bad enough to have ended up with him being shot on Ty’s mother’s doorstep.

Lacey was grateful when Don Otter, the chief of police, walked in the door and broke the silent tension.

“I’m glad you’re all here,” the chief said.

“Hey, Don.” Ty rose to greet the man and shake his hand.

The big man nodded.

“What brings you out so early in the morning?” Ty asked.

Don settled his large body into a seat and leaned forward, stretching the buttons over his shirt. “My men have been all over the site of the shooting. The footprints outside definitely belonged to a man. Some matched Marc Dumont’s shoe we confiscated from the hospital, the other prints are unknown. No fingerprints beyond the obvious, Flo, Lilly, Ty, etc. The bullet taken out of Dumont during surgery was sent to forensics and we should have answers soon.”

Lacey gagged.

Molly grabbed her hand.

How odd that the two women who felt so drastically different about Marc Dumont had formed such an unlikely bond, Lacey thought.

“Then we started interviewing the neighbors,” the chief said.

“Did anyone give you anything more on the car or the shooter beyond what we saw?” Ty asked.

“Which amounted to nothing useful,” Lacey said in frustration.

“You were running for your life. Nobody’s holding lack of detail against you,” Hunter said. “Besides, we have a car color. I wouldn’t call that nothing.” Hunter shifted his gaze to the chief of police.

The man nodded his agreement. “And one of the neighbors reported the same car color you did, along with some new information.”

“What did they see?” everyone asked at the same time.

The chief chuckled. “Ty, your mother’s best friend and the neighbor across the street-”

“Mrs. Donelly?” Ty asked.

The other man nodded.

“Viola Donelly said she was sitting in her study that overlooks the street reading the latest John Grisham novel when a tan car pulled up in front of her house.”

“Did she see the man get out of the car? Did she see who shot Marc?” Molly asked.

“Unfortunately no,” the chief said. “But Viola managed to catch the first few numbers of the license plate,” he said, obviously pleased. “We traced it back to Anna Marie Costanza, of all people.”

Molly’s gaze jerked toward Hunter.

Lacey knew what the other woman was thinking. Hunter believed Anna Marie had told her brother about Hunter’s court case, and her brother, the trustee, had talked the judge into moving the date, keeping Hunter too busy to get involved with Lacey. Then her brother, the trustee, had paid Dumont a visit soon after he’d met with Lilly. And not long after that, Marc Dumont was shot while paying Lacey an unwelcome house call.

Lacey doubted she could explain it all to the police, but somehow, Ty summed it up for the chief in a clear, concise manner.

The big man scratched his head. “You’re saying you think Paul Dunne’s involved in the shooting?” the chief asked, surprised.

“And the attempts on Lilly’s life,” Ty said.

Molly jumped up from her seat, more animated than she’d been all morning. “Did Anna Marie ever say she lent her car to her brother, Paul?”

The chief shoved his hands into his front pants pocket. “Why?”

“Because she does that often. Anna Marie doesn’t drive the car much except to work. She says she likes to keep the engine running smoothly, so she has Paul drive it about once a week.”

Which meant Paul could have followed Uncle Marc to Lacey’s. But why would the trustee want Uncle Marc dead, Lacey wondered.

The chief shook his head. “She said her car was stolen.”

Hunter narrowed his gaze. “Had she reported it?”

“No.”

“And didn’t you find that suspicious?” Ty pushed the subject.

“We did, yes. But we don’t have the car, so we can’t dust it for prints. And even if we could, we now know finding Paul’s fingerprints wouldn’t amount to squat. There’s a good reason for them to be there.” Chief Otter shrugged. “Listen, guys, I see you have your theories and Ty, I trust your judgment, I really do. But in this case, you’re accusing an upstanding citizen of our town without a shred of proof. And that means we have to be careful.”

“Then search his house or his office. I’m sure you’ll find something.” Lacey pounded her fist against her thigh. “I don’t know what the link is between Uncle Marc and Paul Dunne but there is one. I’m sure of it.” Her voice cracked and she turned her head away in embarrassment.

Ty came up behind her chair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no probable cause for a warrant. We’ll keep looking into it and when Marc Dumont regains consciousness, the hospital knows to call me immediately. Maybe he’ll reveal something of interest.”

“I’m not holding my breath,” Lacey muttered.

Ty squeezed her tight. He must have known a search warrant was asking for the impossible.

The chief apologized and went to check on her uncle’s status, leaving the four of them alone.

Lacey rose and started to walk away, unable to speak without screaming in frustration. She just couldn’t believe they’d hit a brick wall. Again. Three incidents and they were no closer to finding out who wanted her, and now her uncle, dead.

“I have an idea,” Molly said, stopping Lacey in her tracks.

Lacey pivoted. “I’m listening.”

“Anna Marie wouldn’t talk to the police but maybe she’ll talk to us.” Molly gestured between herself and Lacey. “She’s a good woman. She might be protecting her brother but there’s no way she knows she’s hurting people in the process. I really believe if we talk to her, she might break down and give us something to go on.”

Lacey nodded, slowly warming to the idea. “I like how you think.”

“I don’t,” Ty said. “I don’t want either of you going to question Anna Marie. If her brother is involved you’re putting yourselves in the direct line of fire.”

“Then come with us if you want to. But Molly’s idea is a good one and we’re going to talk to Anna Marie,” Lacey said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

She couldn’t allow Ty’s fear, or even her own, to sway her. They had to end this thing once and for all.

BEFORE THE MEETING with Anna Marie, Ty wanted to spend some time with his mother. Since Anna Marie wouldn’t be home from work until later, he had the afternoon to spend at the hospital. Hunter had gone back to work, though he’d promised he’d meet Molly for dinner later. Molly had tried to avoid seeing Hunter again today but Hunter had insisted. Things didn’t look good for the couple if Molly’s withdrawn attitude was anything to go by. Ty felt awful for his friend. And he hoped he wouldn’t find himself in a similar situation not too far in the future.

Ty had talked the chief into posting a plainclothes person in the hospital to keep an eye on Lilly, who very well could have been the target today, too. At the very least, the shooter might think Lilly could ID him and come after her to protect himself. Ty wasn’t taking any chances with her safety. While the women went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, they had an escort.

Meanwhile, Ty waylaid the food service cart in the hallway and picked up his mother’s tray. He knocked once and let himself in.

To his relief, Flo sat up against her pillows. Although she had an IV attached to her arm, the color had returned to her cheeks and she had a smile on her lips. A quick glance at the visitor’s chair revealed the reason.

“Hello, Dr. Sanford,” Ty said, setting the tray down on the mobile cart by the bed.

“Call me Andrew, please.” The other man rose and extended his hand.

Ty shook it, pleased his mother wasn’t alone and had someone in her life that obviously made her happy. She’d lived on her own for too long, Ty thought.

“Andrew, I’d like to have a word alone with my son,” his mother said.

The doctor strode to the bed, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to visit some patients and I’ll be back soon.”

Ty waited until they were alone before pulling a chair up beside her. “You scared me,” he admitted.

“I scared myself.” She leaned back into the pillows. “The doctors say I can go about my normal routine though. There will be no repercussions.”

He nodded, then paused in thought. They had to talk about her relationship with Dr. Sanford, among other things lingering between them, Ty thought.

“I like him,” Ty said at last.

“Andrew?”

Ty nodded. “I like him because he seems to have your best interests at heart.” And he’d shown that by being respectful to the mother/son bond.

Flo smiled again, the one that left her face beaming. She deserved that kind of happiness.

“There’s something else I need to say.” Ty rose and walked to the window overlooking the parking lot. “Nice view,” he muttered.

His mother laughed. “It costs me extra.”

He grinned. Her sense of humor had returned, another good sign. “Mom…”

“The thing about loving someone is that you don’t need to rehash things,” his mother said, letting him off the hook.

He didn’t deserve it. “That might apply had we hashed things out to begin with. We didn’t. I didn’t let you. Oh, you explained taking Marc Dumont’s money and you said you’d done it for me, but my anger got in the way of hearing anything else.”

He ran a hand through his hair, the memory of the day he’d discovered his mother had taken money in exchange for giving Lilly room and board, vivid in his mind.

“All kids think their parents are saints. It hurts to find out we’re human,” Flo said.

Ty stared out the window. “The thing is, it wasn’t you I was angry at so much as myself.” The admission wasn’t an easy one for him to make.

“Why in the world would you be angry at yourself?” his mother asked.

Ty didn’t turn around. He couldn’t face his mother while confronting issues that had haunted him for years. But while she’d been in surgery, Ty had done a lot of thinking. With Lilly’s head resting on his shoulder, he’d contemplated losing the mother he loved, and he forced himself to deal with what had really bothered him about learning she’d taken the money.

In reality, Flo’s taking the cash had probably saved Lilly’s life. To be mad at his mother for giving Lilly a good home in exchange for cash was ridiculous. It had just been easier to be upset with his mother than to face his anger at himself.

“It’s complicated,” he said. “All the while I was upset with you for not telling me Lilly wasn’t really a foster kid, that I was angry at you for keeping the money a secret, I’d been keeping a huge secret of my own.” He breathed in deep. “For years, I let you grieve, knowing Lilly was really alive.” His pulse pounded in his temple as he spoke.

“We both made mistakes,” his mother said. “Or should I say we both made choices that we felt were necessary at the time. Who knows? Maybe they were necessary,” she said, once again letting him off the hook.

He wasn’t ready to do the same thing for himself, at least not yet. Hopefully he’d reach that point, but first, he needed to say all that was on his mind.

“What else is bothering you, Tyler? What are you still holding inside of you?” his mother asked.

“Besides letting you suffer for ten years?” This time he turned, determined to face his mother while he admitted his mistakes.

His flaws.

His faults.

“What did I do? I sent Lilly off to New York alone. She was all of seventeen years old and I didn’t go after her. Hell, I didn’t even check on her for five goddamn years,” Ty said in disgust.

And he’d used a ridiculous promise never to talk about that night again as an excuse for staying away. Then when he had discovered she was alive and living in Manhattan, he hadn’t gone to find her. Instead he’d blamed her for not coming back to him. Talk about the height of arrogance. But it had taken Lilly’s return, her nearly being killed and his mother’s heart attack to open his eyes.

He’d been a coward, Ty thought.

“How old were you when we concocted that scheme to stage my death?”

Ty jerked away from his mother’s bedside toward the unexpected sound of Lilly’s voice. She stood in the doorway, tapping her foot and staring at him in disbelief.

“I believe she asked you a question, son,” Flo said, a smile pulling at her mouth.

Ty cleared his throat. “I was eighteen.”

“And you think that made you so much older and wiser than me? You think that you should have known better?” Lilly asked, stepping into the room. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I’m glad I did.”

“So am I.” Flo gestured for her to come in and stay. “She’s got a point, you know.”

Ty scowled. “Don’t you two gang up on me,” he muttered.

“Well, who appointed you everyone’s guardian and savior?” Lilly asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been grateful that you looked out for me. Who knows what would have happened if I’d been forced to go back to Uncle Marc instead of staying in foster care with you? But nobody placed you in charge and certainly nobody designated you as the one who always had to get everything right. Cut yourself a break, Ty. I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you just aren’t perfect.” She threw her hands in the air in disgust.

He let out a long puff of air. She didn’t know it but she’d answered one important question. She hadn’t heard them talking about his mother taking the money from her uncle. That secret, like the others, had to come out. Something else he’d realized while his mother had been under the knife.

“What do you mean I’m not perfect?” Ty asked, focusing on the lightest part of her monologue. “How could you say such a thing in front of my mother?” he asked in a joking tone.

Lilly frowned, obviously not finding him the least bit amusing.

“Well, this has been exhausting,” Flo said. “I need to rest but Ty, you need to listen to Lilly. She’s got more knowledge in her pretty head than the two of us combined.” She leaned back against the pillows, her skin paler than when he’d entered the room.

Which meant his mother’s secret would wait for another day, Ty thought. With any luck, so would the continuation of this conversation with Lilly.

They started for the door. His mother fell asleep almost before they left the room. Ty stopped by the nurses’ station and asked them to make sure she ate when she woke up, then steered Lilly toward an empty alcove near the waiting room.

He pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips softened and she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting out a soft little moan before kissing him back.

“Mmm.” He threaded his hands through her hair and pulled her closer.

“Mmm is right,” she said as she tipped her head back, breaking the kiss. “Unfortunately, we can’t continue this now. We have to go talk to Anna Marie.”

Ty groaned. “We do?”

“We do.” Molly laughed, answering from behind them. “Besides, this isn’t the place to play around. Someone might catch you.”

“Someone did.” Ty shifted on his feet, hoping his arousal would fade quickly. “Did I mention that I think you two talking to Anna Marie is a bad idea?”

“You’re just worried about me,” Lilly said. “But if we get her to cooperate, you’ll think it’s a great idea.”

Before he could argue some more, Lilly leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Now let’s go talk to your neighbor,” she said to Molly.

Ty knew when he was outnumbered, especially by two determined women. He had no choice but to go along and keep them safe.

LACEY KNEW BETTER than to hold out hope that Anna Marie Costanza would provide the key to solving all of her problems. Still, she couldn’t stop the little voice chanting please, please talk to us, in her head.

The first fifteen minutes in the older woman’s home were torture for Lilly. The house smelled of mothballs and Anna Marie took her time steeping tea for her guests regardless of their insistence that they didn’t want or expect her to entertain them in any way.

“I sent flowers to your mother, Tyler,” Anna Marie said as she placed delicate-looking flowered teacups on the table.

“That was sweet of you and I’m sure she’ll appreciate them,” he said.

Lacey noted he was kind enough not to tell her they didn’t allow flowers in Flo’s area of the hospital. The arrangement would probably be diverted to the children’s wing, which would also be a nice gesture.

Molly took her time adding milk and sugar cubes to her tea, slowly stirring. She met Lacey’s gaze, imploring her to do the same. Obviously Molly had been this route before and if they wanted to talk to Anna Marie, they had to drink and make idle chitchat before getting to anything serious.

Lacey was just so nervous, she was surprised she hadn’t jumped up from her seat, grabbed the older woman by her frilly collar and shaken her for information.

Ty leaned back in his seat and waited. Obviously he’d decided he was exempt from tea drinking because he hadn’t touched his fragile-looking cup. Probably from fear of breaking it, she thought.

“I sent flowers to your uncle, as well, Lacey. Molly, dear, your mother must be devastated,” Anna Marie said.

Molly murmured something unintelligible.

“Biscotti?” Anna Marie asked, gesturing toward a plate of almond cookies, quickly changing the subject.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Ty plucked one from the plate, took a bite, and grinned. “Delicious.”

“I made them myself,” Anna Marie said, pleased. “My mother taught me way back when. Being the only girl, we had lots of time together while my brothers were out doing things with my father.”

“About your brothers,” Lilly said, but Ty placed a warning hand on her thigh. They’d discussed taking things slow and leading into conversation. “It must have been interesting growing up with so many boys,” Lacey said, instead of the accusations she wanted to make about Anna Marie’s brother Paul.

Anna Marie launched into childhood stories, growing up in their hometown. “And that is how my father knew your father,” the woman said to Lacey. “Like yours, my father loved antique cars. Actually he just loved cars. He taught me to take care of an automobile, which is why I am able to hang on to a car for so many years. Love it and keep it driven, my father used to say.”

“So you must have been devastated when your car was stolen,” Molly said, finally easing into the reason for their visit.

Lacey had to admit Molly had chosen the most benign way of doing it. She would have just barreled in.

“Yes, yes, I was quite upset.” Anna Marie rose and carried her cup and saucer to the sink.

An obvious escape from having to look anyone in the eye, Lilly believed, and she didn’t think she was looking for clues that didn’t exist. The woman was nervous. And when her teacup toppled from the saucer into the sink, Lilly grew even more certain the other woman was uptight about something. But she wasn’t mean or evil.

Watching her, something inside of Lilly softened. There was no way this gentle, kind woman had deliberately done anything to hurt anyone. At least, not knowingly.

Although Molly had broached the subject of the stolen car, Lacey suddenly thought of another way to reach Anna Marie and her conscience. “Your brothers must have been very protective of you. When we were younger, I know Ty and Hunter looked out for me just like I imagined real brothers would have.”

Anna Marie turned away from the sink. “Oh yes. Would you believe I’ve had to do the same for them over the years? You wouldn’t believe the things those boys got themselves into. I had to regularly come to their rescue with Mother and Dad,” she said, remembering with a laugh.

Molly rose and walked over to the older woman. “I’m sure you still find yourself in the position of having to protect them, even now that they’re grown men.”

“No, they don’t need me anymore. They humor me and listen to my stories from work, but they take good care of themselves now. And they have wives to look out for them, too.”

“But blood is thicker than water, as one of my stepfathers used to say. I’m sure if, say Paul, needed a favor, he’d come to you first.” Molly placed a comforting arm around the woman’s shoulder. “Come sit,” Molly urged, walking Anna Marie to a chair by the table. “Did the police tell you whoever was driving your car also shot Marc Dumont?” Molly asked softly.

Anna Marie twisted her gnarled hands in her lap and didn’t look up. “They came in here and asked all sorts of questions about my car. I told them it had been stolen.” Her voice shook as she spoke. “They didn’t tell me why they were asking until after I told them it had been stolen.”

Molly knelt down beside her. “Except by then, you’d already lied to them to cover for your brother, Paul, right? Because he borrowed your car like he does sometimes? To love it and keep it running like your father said?”

Ty and Lacey remained silent, letting Molly, who had the relationship with Anna Marie, talk to her and draw her out.

Anna Marie nodded. “Paul never had it easy. He was the oldest and the burden of perfection and expectation always fell on him. He needed an escape and since we live so close to Saratoga, the horses provided one for him. He’d go to the track to place bets during the season. And soon the horses weren’t enough.”

“Paul has a gambling problem?” Ty asked.

“I don’t know if it’s a problem, but sometimes on the days he drives my car for me, he’ll take it over to the track or to that offtrack betting place in the next town over.” Anna Marie sighed. “I used to have to beg him to take my car. These days, he asks to borrow it. That’s where I thought he was going. And when he asked me to say it had been stolen, I thought maybe someone had seen the car at the track. If it was stolen, nobody would link it to me or to him.”

“So you agreed to cover for him and say it was stolen,” Molly said.

Anna Marie pulled her sweater tighter around her. “Paul always has answers and takes care of things. I thought he’d handle it like he always did.”

“Except the police came by and told you about the shooting,” Molly said. “And you panicked.”

“You bet I did. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep since. I couldn’t admit I’d lied or I’d be an accessory,” she said, her history in the courthouse showing through. “And if I’d told them Paul had taken the car, they’d arrest him for shooting Marc Dumont, and I don’t really know if he did it or not!”

Molly patted the older woman’s hand in sympathy. “But you knew he asked you to lie, so he had to have been up to something that involved the shooting, right?”

The other woman bobbed her head up and down. “And he involved me. His only sister. His baby sister! But it was too late for me to tell the truth or so I thought. I wanted to talk to Paul first, then I was going to call the police myself.”

“Have you spoken to Paul since?” Ty asked.

She shook her head. “Not since he called and asked me to say the car was stolen.”

“Where is the car?” Lilly asked.

Anna Marie shrugged. “I don’t know. And I don’t know where Paul is. He left me here with all these unanswered questions and lies.” The woman broke down, her shoulders shaking as she put her head in her hands.

While Molly consoled her, Ty pulled Lacey aside and spoke quietly. “We now know Anna Marie gave her car to her brother. That means the police have probable cause to search his garage for the car.”

Lilly nodded. Her head was swimming with facts and disjointed pieces of information. She wanted to talk it through with Ty and make the connections. “What else have you put together?”

He rubbed his hand over his unshaven face. He had to be exhausted from sitting up all night with his mother at the hospital and she felt awful he had to deal with her problems, too. But she knew better than to suggest he leave and get some rest.

“I can’t say I’m one hundred percent sure of anything at this point. But gamblers have to get their money from somewhere,” Ty said.

“Maybe Paul had enough money to cover his gambling debts,” Lacey said.

“He didn’t.” Anna Marie rose from her chair. “He’s been broke for years, spending everything he has. I don’t make enough to help him and my brothers even cut him off last year. But he always said he had a safety net.”

Ty narrowed his gaze. “Do you know what that safety net was? Where he got the money to pay for his habit?”

Anna Marie shook her head.

“I bet I do,” Ty said, suddenly. “For the last ten years, the man has had access to a trust fund that nobody could check on or look into until Lilly Dumont was declared legally dead or Marc Dumont claimed the money instead.”

“But I’m alive,” Lacey said.

“And Paul Dunne wanted to make sure you didn’t stay that way long enough to claim the money and find out he’d been stealing from it,” Ty said, his eyes blazing with certainty.

“No! Paul wouldn’t kill anyone. He wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Anna Marie insisted, her voice rising.

Molly held on to the woman’s hand. “Addiction does strange things to people,” she said softly.

Lacey’s head buzzed as she tried to process this theory. “If he’d succeeded in killing me, Uncle Marc would have inherited the money and he’d be the one to find out about the embezzlement.”

Ty nodded. “Exactly.”

“So maybe it never was Uncle Marc who was behind the attempts on my life.” Lacey couldn’t believe the relief she felt on voicing the possibility aloud.

Molly stepped forward. “Maybe Paul wanted you both dead,” she suggested.

“But Derek and I showed up in time to stop him,” Ty said.

Lacey felt light-headed and dizzy. “That still doesn’t explain why Uncle Marc would come to see me that day.”

Ty shrugged. “Some things we need him to answer for us, but in the meantime…” He flipped open his cell phone and dialed. “Chief?” He spoke into his cell phone. “It’s Ty Benson.”

Ten minutes later, the chief of police showed up at Anna Marie’s house, the district attorney along with him. They listened as a crying but now calmer Anna Marie told the truth about her brother borrowing the car which they’d ID’d at the site of the shooting.

The police and the D.A. agreed they had enough proof to arrest Paul Dunne for a host of things, including the attempted murder of Marc Dumont and obstruction of justice in asking his sister to lie to the police about her car. They put out an APB on Paul Dunne.

In addition, the D.A. headed to court to obtain a search warrant for the man’s garage to search for Anna Marie’s car; and another warrant for his house and office to look at the trust fund files and documents. If Dunne had been embezzling from Lacey’s trust in order to pay off his gambling debts, his motive for the shooting and even the arson at Ty’s would be clear.

As for Anna Marie, no charges were filed against her because she’d come forward of her own free will. Knowing how much she loved her brother, turning him in was punishment enough. Like her gossip, this lie had been told with no ill intentions.

But until Paul Dunne had been arrested, and he and Uncle Marc revealed their motivations and roles in each event, Lacey remained in the dark and confused.

Much like she was about her life and her future.