Vivian had. Vivian had gone out of her way to give Hanna security in the knowledge that she didn’tneedGregory, even if she wanted him, loved him. That she was strong enough to handle whatever life might throw at her.I can handle heartbreak. What I can’t handle is the knowledge I never tried.
“You have a deal,” Hanna said to Julia. “Make that call, Julia. It’s time to take control of our lives.”
“Past time, maybe,” Julia said. She looked at the darkened screen of her phone for several breaths before she swiped it awake and pushed the greenCallbutton.
The soft tone of a call ringing through played once, twice, three times. Hanna heard the man’s voice as the line connected.“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hello, Dad,” Julia said as she held the phone to her ear with both hands. “Do you have time to talk?”
* * *
Adrenaline surgedthrough Gregory as he clutched the phone. He didn’t recognize the voice, even though it plucked at dark memories long hidden from the light. But he didn’t need to identify the speaker in order to understand the man’s purpose. The mysterious payments he’d declined to honor, the ones Robert had panicked over but never elaborated on.Tonight, I get answers.
“You’re right,” Gregory said, mindful to maintain a respectful tone. “I am past due. I’d like to be honest with you, sir. These payments were set up to go through automatically, so there wouldn’t be an interruption in service, but they were never explained to me. I’ve halted them until I could get to the bottom of the debt. Maybe you could help me understand it.”
The voice on the other end of the phone paused. When it spoke again, it sounded like it wanted to be gruff, but didn’t care for the taste of intimidation.“Don’t you bullshit me. You ought to know what this is about. If you don’t? You should ask Robert Lane. Realize if that money doesn’t come through, there will be consequences.”
“Certainly, sir. I’d like to know more about those consequences I’m paying to avoid. Once I’m clear on this, I can send you the money tonight. Electronic transfer, right now.”
“I said to ask Robert Lane.”
“Robert Lane hasn’t been very forthcoming. I’ve tried.”
“I’ll bet he hasn’t.”A soft snort.“You really don’t know what this is about, Mister Pierce?”
“I really don’t. What I do know is that my grandfather was very diligent about paying you, and that Robert has done his best to ensure I paid the same diligence. I won’t pay a bill I don’t understand. Please. I just want to know what this is about.” Even though Gregory meant the words, they felt like a lie. His subconscious hissed urgent whispers that he didn’t want to know, that the information would turn his world on its axis.
Another long pause, long enough for Gregory to pull the phone away from his ear to verify the connection hadn’t dropped. When the man spoke again, it sounded tired. Battered by time and circumstance.“And if I tell you, you’ll make that payment?”
“I’ll double it for your trouble. I have the account information right here, and I’ll wire the money while you’re still on the phone.” Gregory opened the laptop on his desk to fire up his bank’s website.
“All right, then. I won’t lie, I thought for sure you’d remember. You were a kid then, but you were old enough for memories to stick.”
A chill crept over Gregory. “There’s a lot about my childhood I don’t remember.”
“Then maybe your mind is smart enough to realize it doesn’t want to know.”Gregory heard the creak of a chair in the background of the line.“I want you to know, I’m not a dishonest man by nature. I’ve hated doing this for all these years. Back then, I wasn’t making a whole lot. My wife was pregnant, my first kid had an ear infection again and the doctor was saying he needed a procedure to stop him from getting them all the time, and I just didn’t know where all that money would come. When I joined the force, I promised myself I’d never be crooked. Protect and serve.”
Gregory blinked in surprise.He’s a cop.“Everyone has hard times, sir. You survive however you have to.”
“That was what I told myself. Just like I told myself there wouldn’t be any harm in doing what I did. We had promises it would never happen again. God knows, that woman had suffered some punishment. Not enough, in my opinion. Never enough for that. But if I just went along with it, my kid could have his ear procedure. I could buy a nice crib for that baby I had on the way. Afford diapers. That baby swing my wife wanted so much.”The man’s words flowed out with the urgency of a desperate confession, one that begged for absolution.
“Babies are expensive,” Gregory said by way of encouragement.
“They are. In more than just money. You always worry. My son… He’s got a baby, now. Premature. Tiny little thing, so tiny. Their insurance deductible costs too much. They don’t know how they’re going to pay it. I told them I’d take care of it. Then your payment didn’t come. I can’t afford to help them without it.”
“Give me the name of the hospital, and the patient’s name. I’ll call up and pay for all the treatments, plus extra for your story about why my grandfather was paying you.”
“I didn’t mean to ask for your charity. I just want you to know, I’m not the kind of man to take a bribe without having no other choice.”All the bluster in the man’s voice had faded, replaced by guilt.
“I’m not going to judge you. It wasn’t my decision to make.”
“No. It was mine. Mine. My partner’s. Your grandfather’s. Also Robert Lane’s, and it would have been your mother’s, but she wasn’t in much of a state to make decisions.”
Weight pressed on Gregory’s chest and arms. In the back of his mind, he heard the cry of an infant. His mouth dried out, and he had to force his words out through the lump in his throat. “What happened?”
“We got a call to an address we recognized. We were out there all time. Hell, when we got dinner that night, we were joking about if we’d get another call because Darlene Pierce and Robert Lane had gotten high off their asses and started yelling at each other again. Happened like clockwork. Potential DV calls every week. Always wondered why those charges never went anywhere, or why CPS didn’t take their kids. We found out.”
“It wasn’t a domestic violence call this time?”