B00MV3HMDW_EBOK (19 page)

“I
spoke to Crest this morning while you were in the shower,” Ethan said, putting the Pathfinder into park in front of a one-story home that had seen better days. The paint was peeling, the shutters were chipped, and the grass needed cutting. It was hard to believe that Art Bowers’ housekeeper lived in such a ramshackle place. Ethan’s opinion of the man hadn’t been high before and this damn well smashed it into the dirt. “He relayed the information we discovered yesterday over to Fallon.”

It was going on six o’clock in the evening and most of the day had been spent going over Sabrina’s childhood and Yvette’s ten years of existence. Had Ryland been the one to train Yvette? If so, how did they meet? Had Sabrina left home voluntarily and their paths had crossed? Again, there were too many unanswered questions. Their goal this evening was to uncover more about Sabrina.

“And?” Taryn asked, unfastening her seatbelt. “Let me guess. Fallon thinks that Arthur Bowers is a man who lost most of his family and we ought to treat him with kid gloves.”

“You know, now that things are on a different course between us, I’m thinking this hatred toward Fallon might be jealousy.” Ethan laughed when Taryn flipped him the bird and got out of the vehicle. He joined her and then made sure the alarm beeped once to indicate he’d set the locks. The last thing they needed was for some punk to break in and collect their weapons for their gangbanger buddies back on the block. A locked vehicle technically wouldn’t keep someone from breaking in, but it would give him enough time to catch the little fuckers. “Fallon quickly drew the conclusion that Art is the center figure in all this.”

“What? In the sense that Arthur knows Ryland?” Taryn looked at Ethan skeptically. “If Sabrina and Arthur both knew Ryland, then that would mean he ran in these circles. If they knew Ryland before he went into the field, he would have been a teenager and Sabrina would have been a child. Did Fallon say anything about Sabrina and Charles Bowers?”

“Yes, that Sabrina had daddy issues.”

“We need evidence that shows Yvette killed Charles Bowers along with confirmation that Art had something to do with Madeline’s car accident.” Taryn shook her head at how confusing this was becoming. Ethan knew exactly where she was coming from. “If both are true, then it would make sense that Yvette and Arthur were working together, but I’m still not seeing why Yvette would allow Arthur to inherit that much money without wanting a piece of it.”

“You said you checked Art’s financials,” Ethan pointed out as they came to stand at Alice’s front door. “Nothing stood out.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean Arthur isn’t smart enough to keep an offshore account in another name.”

Ethan rapped on the door with his knuckles, and while they waited he took the time to look around. Alice didn’t live in a suburb, but more out into the sticks where rattlers were prone to hide. It really was odd to live in such a dilapidated residence when Alice worked for one of the wealthiest men in Houston.

“How much does Art pay this woman?” Ethan muttered, straining to hear any signs of life inside the house.

“More than enough to upgrade,” Taryn answered, taking a couple of steps to her right and peering into a window. “I pulled everyone’s financials and trust me, Alice makes a decent living.”

Finally they heard the deadbolt being switched. Taryn made her way back and was standing by his side when Alice opened the door. She looked between the two of them with an emotion that Ethan couldn’t name. It wasn’t fear, but it sure as hell seemed as if she were worried about something.

“Alice, we have a few questions for you regarding Madeline and Sabrina Bowers. Would you mind if we come in for a few moments?”

Without a word Alice opened the screen door and motioned for them to cross the threshold. The inside of her residence wasn’t as run down as the outside. As a matter of fact, the small living room had newer furniture and a large screen television. It was clean and smelled fresh, reminding Ethan of the lemon furniture polish that his mother used to use. He couldn’t help but wonder why she left the outside go to shit.

“Thank you, Alice,” Taryn said softly as she took in their surroundings as well.

“May I get either of you anything to drink?” Alice asked, using one of her hands to rub the other in apprehension. “I have freshly made sweet tea.”

“No, thank you.” Ethan waited for Taryn to take a seat on the plaid couch and for Alice to slowly sink into the matching chair before he took his place beside Taryn. He resisted the urge to reach out for her hand, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate that right at the moment. “Alice, you’ve worked for the Bowers for quite some time now. I don’t know if Mr. Bowers said anything to you after our visit the other day, but it’s come to Taryn’s attention that her father had an affair with Madeline many years ago, and what looks like the result was in fact Sabrina. I’m sure you can understand why Taryn has so many questions.”

“That family has many, many secrets,” Alice murmured, looking down at her folded hands. She shook her head slowly as if in sympathy. “It is not my place to speak out of turn.”

“Alice, Sabrina was my half sister.” Ethan saw Taryn swallow and knew that it was hard for her to say that aloud. It was the first time she’d vocally acknowledged it. “I deserve to know if she ran away or if she really was abducted. If Sabrina is still alive I’d like to try and find her.”

Ethan saw the track that Taryn was focusing this conversation on. Sabrina, Yvette, whatever anyone called her…was dead. Did Alice know that? What had the older woman seen over the years that would help them track down Ryland? Hell, maybe this woman even knew the bastard.

“I knew this day would come.” Alice sat back in her chair with a stuttered breath and covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Ethan felt his gut churn that she was about to say something that would kick this case into high gear. “From the time Charles married Madeline, it was all doomed from the beginning.”

“What was doomed, Alice?”

Taryn leaned forward on the couch, her hands clasped together in what Ethan assumed was a way to keep her from demanding answers too soon. Alice needed to be guided and wherever they were leading her wasn’t going to be good. Ethan finally understood why the woman lived the way she did.

“Alice, you’re going to leave Houston after our visit here today, aren’t you? You’re afraid of what Art will do after he finds out that you told us the truth. You’ve been planning to leave for a while and this has just expedited your plans.”

Alice didn’t reply right away, but instead she got a far away look in her eyes as if she were remembering the past. Ethan couldn’t prevent himself from reaching over and squeezing Taryn’s hands in reassurance. The first thing he would do as they drove away from here was to contact Crest and make sure that Alice was safe. This woman shouldn’t die with the rest of the Bower family for revealing the truth.

“Madeline was beautiful, reckless, and happiness escaped her. I don’t know if she even knew how to be happy. Charles was a ruthless man who liked to have a treasure on his arm for all to see.” Alice finally looked Taryn’s way. “They never should have married and probably wouldn’t have had Madeline not gotten pregnant with Travis. That didn’t stop her from having many, many affairs with younger men. Your father was helpless to resist Madeline’s sensual wiles, considering that she was a siren. I kept waiting for your aunt to say something when Sabrina was born but she never did. You two look so much alike.”

“If Charles knew that Sabrina wasn’t his, why didn’t he divorce Madeline?” Ethan asked. He personally wasn’t a man who could continue to be with a woman who obviously didn’t want to be married in the first place. His dominant nature wouldn’t allow that to happen…or his pride. “I know that we’re asking a lot, but would you please start from the beginning?”

“Having a son wasn’t in Madeline’s plans.” Alice stood and walked over to a bookshelf. As she looked through the volumes of works, she continued to speak about the past. “When Travis was born, it seemed that Madeline wanted to prove she was still desirable. She went through younger men like other women went through purses. Charles didn’t care, as long as she had her affairs in private and didn’t flaunt them. He did much the same. I, along with the staff, raised Travis from his infancy until he was killed while serving his country.”

Alice finally found what she was looking for and returned to her chair. She didn’t share with them what was obviously a photo album, but instead kept running her hand over the cover with affection. Ethan shared a look with Taryn, knowing that eventually they would leave here armed with more information than they’d ever been privy too.

“When Sabrina was born, Travis became the overprotective brother. Charles wanted nothing to do with the infant girl and worked harder at securing his empire. Madeline returned to her old ways, leaving us to raise the children. Travis and Sabrina were inseparable until he entered high school. Eventually he signed up for the Army knowing that would anger his father. They never did have the best relationship.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Ethan inquired, trying to fit the pieces together, “where did Art fit into this family tree?”

“Always on the outskirts and watching for any means of weakness.” Alice’s face contorted in disgust and she gripped the photo album tighter, even pulling it to her chest. “He sucked up to Charles, who knew that his brother was greedy and out for power, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. Charles liked it when Art would tell him how smart he was and throw compliments at his feet. It was disgusting.”

“What do you think happened to Sabrina?” Taryn asked softly.

“I honestly don’t know. The year before her disappearance she’d turned into herself and wouldn’t talk to anyone. She’d become a shell of her former self. I thought it had something to do with losing Travis, but I know in my heart it was something more.” Alice leaned forward and handed Ethan the photo album, motioning for him to give it to Taryn, which he did. Taryn sat it on her lap and patiently listened as Alice had more to say. “It pains me to say this, but I think Art had something to do with it. I think he killed them all.”

*   *   *   *

Taryn listened as Alice recalled the past of the Bowers family, knowing full well this woman was putting her life on the line. If what she said was true, Art Bowers would take drastic measures to make sure his staff didn’t say a word. Her life was now in danger and Taryn would see to it that every resource was available to keep the older woman safe.

“Alice, why are you telling us this now?”

“Because it’s time.” Alice gave a small smile, looking over at Taryn as if she were just seeing her now. “You look just like her. I miss my Travis and I miss my Sabrina. They were like my children to me.”

“Are you sure that Sabrina is dead?” Taryn was confident that Alice didn’t know Sabrina had lived and that she’d left on her own freewill. The question remained—had evidence been left behind regarding Madeline and Charles’ deaths? “Her body was never found.”

“Sabrina would never have allowed me to think she was dead if she wasn’t,” Alice answered confidently. “She knew the pain we all went through when we found out that Travis had been killed in action. She wouldn’t have done that to me all over again.”

Taryn didn’t have the heart to tell Alice that Sabrina had done exactly that. In addition, there was no need to share with her the details regarding the case. The Bowers family had hurt the older woman enough without Taryn adding on more pain. She looked down at the photo album, almost not wanting to look inside to see the woman who had been her half sister. Many emotions had come to the surface lately, but sadness most of all. Sorrow invaded her that she would never know the girl that Sabrina was and grief in realizing that the innocent child had been turned into a murderer.

“I can tell you where Mr. Bowers keeps his personal files, but I’ve never had the courage to look through them myself.” Alice became fidgety once more, as if knowing her life would never be the same after this. “The desk is located in a private alcove on the second story of the library. Only he has the key for the room as he refuses to allow the staff inside except for cleaning when he is present.”

Taryn felt her fingers itch, wanting access to those files. She just knew there was something inside those papers that would give them the information they needed. Knowing that Alice had no more to share other than her opinions, Taryn looked down at the photo album on her lap. She had kept the picture of Sabrina that Arthur had allowed them to take, but this album could give them additional insight. She slowly opened the cover.

The first few pages were of an infant boy with dark hair. Travis had been an adorable little boy and he was obviously content as a child. His smile lit up his face and the pictures that contained both he and Alice confirmed the love that the two of them shared. By the middle of the album, a precious little girl was added to the mix and the photographs went through her life. Taryn figured that Travis must have recorded most of these pictures since he wasn’t included. It wasn’t until the last page came that he appeared with Alice and Sabrina. Taryn released her hold on the album as shock traveled through her fingers. Ethan’s sentiment said it all when they both realized it was a youthful Ryland staring back at them.