Page 92 of Night Watch
She took his hand, feeling the rougher skin of a man who didn’t sit behind a desk all day. “It’s okay. Just tell me.”
“Nora was the one who erased your mother’s phone.”
Phew.Not as bad as Kennedy feared. “Why would she do that?”
He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Your mother was seeing someone. His name was Dash Gordon.”
Her mouth fell open.No. Not her mom. She said she never wanted to date. Kennedy snapped her mouth shut. “My mom. Seeing someone. That’s crazy. But who is this Dash guy?”
Erik pulled back and stood to pace. She went after him and joined him by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking rolling hills of dried grasses from a summer of little rain. Portland city lights twinkled in the distance.
She rested a hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”
He turned to look at her, the anguish doubled in his eyes. “Your mom had an overnight bag at the lab. Nora took it to her place.”
Kennedy’s stomach threatened to explode. “Ah. She was more than seeing him. They were sleeping together.”
Erik nodded. “Nora didn’t want you or Finley to know. He was much younger, and your mom thought you might judge her for having a fling with a younger man.”
Kennedy ran her hand through her hair. The thought of her mother being someone Kennedy really didn’t know was upsetting. But… “She deserved to be happy. I would’ve protested at first, but if this Dash person made her happy I would’ve come to accept it.”
“There’s more. Let’s sit down again.” He took her hand and started to lead her across the room.
She jerked him to a stop. “Just tell me.”
He closed his eyes for a moment before meeting her gaze. “Your mom had a rare form of lymphoma.”
Blood rushed to Kennedy’s head, and she wished she’d listened to Erik. She dropped onto the nearest dining chair to wait for the feeling to pass. “She never said a word.”
“She didn’t think she would have enough money to pay for her treatments, and she didn’t want to be a financial burden for you or Finley.” He pulled out a chair next to her. “Or tell you that your dad lost all of their savings in a scam.”
Kennedy’s heart ached for all her mother had endured, and Kennedy hadn’t been there for her. Not at all. She looked at her hands and worked hard not to cry. And her dad losing their savings? She had no words for that. Except he’d helped scam people out of their life savings, so it was fitting the same should happen to him. Unfortunately, her mom got stuck in the middle. Again.
“Also, you should know that the guy who broke into Nora’s place was stealing a denture plate from your mother’s bag. It was in a box labeled inDents.”
She raised her head. “The company who was paying her the twenty grand every month? Was it for this denture plate? To wear it? Test it, maybe?”
“We don’t know.” Erik frowned. “The guy’s not talking. His name is Jeremy Miller. He’s not in any of the information we’ve reviewed. Do you know him?”
“I wish I did.”
“He has a record for drug possession and distribution. Could mean he has a relationship with the counterfeit drug manufacturers. I’ll do a deep dive on him to see what we can find.”
“But why the denture? How would that be related to counterfeit drugs?”
“No clue. I’m going to ask Johnson if the Veritas team can look at it.”
“That would be good.”
Erik shifted on his chair, looking even more ill at ease, and she braced herself.
He rested an arm on the table. “You should also know that we went to Dash Gordon’s place to talk to him. He was tied to a dining room chair where he’d died of gunshot wounds to the chest.”
She gasped and blinked a few times to process the news. “And you think his death has to do with my mom?”
“It would be a huge coincidence if it’s not. Grady’s over there now recovering bullets and slugs. Maybe they’ll match bullets to the gun you brought up on your dive. The prints on both of those match the shell casings recovered at the shootout.”
“Good news.”Finally.“We’re making some progress.” She stared over his shoulder, trying to think about what was coming next, but thoughts of her mom suffering with cancer wouldn’t stop, and she couldn’t hold back her tears. She got up again, not sure of her destination, but she couldn’t sit still with all the guilt piling on her shoulders.
