Page 79 of Little Secrets
“Prosser.” Marin’s mind is whirling.
“Right. Prosser. I made a call to a former neighbor of hers, a woman named—”
“Pearl Watts?” Marin says. “I read the same Facebook comments you did.”
She had meant to message the woman, but the Shadow app had pinged with the ransom demand for McKenzie, and she’d forgotten all about it. Did the PI know about the ransom demand? Was that why she was here?
“Good detecting.” The private investigator gives her a small smile. “Yes, Pearl Watts. She confirmed that she lived next door to the Li family when McKenzie was growing up. McKenzie’s mother worked as a cleaner for several of the local businesses, and she often worked after hours, so McKenzie was looked after by her grandmother. One of the businesses she cleaned was the Palermo Wine Shoppe.”
“The storefront and tasting room for the Palermo Wine Estates.” Marin lets out a breath. “Sal’s family business.”
“Pearl was very helpful in giving me the inside scoop on McKenzie. Apparently, she was always a nice girl, but a bit of a wild child. Eager to get out of Prosser and become an artist. When she started seeing Sal, she didn’t care that he was more than twice her age, didn’t care who knew. It was quite the town spectacle. And then Pearl told me about rumors, things she’d heard from people who knew McKenzie in college, that she’d developed a taste for older men in general. Particularly older rich men.”
“No surprise there.”
“So I kept digging, and ended up getting in touch with an old roommate of hers from Idaho. The roommate, Isabel, said thatMcKenzie was dating a married man their senior year, whose wife came to their apartment, drunk and hysterical, because she’d learned about their affair. It was a mess, the superintendent was called, the wife had to be escorted out, and the whole thing freaked Isabel out. But she said McKenzie wasn’t bothered by it at all. She didn’t care that the wife was upset. According to Isabel, McKenzie cared more about the fact that her relationship with Paul, the married man, might end before she got her big payout.”
“What payout?”
“Evidently, that was their thing. The roommate even had a term for it.Professional girlfriend. They dated rich men, and when the relationships ended, they asked for ‘severance pay.’” Castro’s fingers crooked into air quotes.
“The roommate told you all this?” Marin’s mouth drops open.
“Isabel has turned over a new leaf, from what I can tell. Married now, to a middle-class guy her own age, and they have a kid.” Castro pauses again. “McKenzie shook Paul down for fifty thousand dollars. I know, because I tracked him down, and that’s what he told me.”
Marin puts her head in her hands. It’s too much.
“Marin…” Castro touches her arm, and she looks up again. The tone in the other woman’s voice is making her uneasy. “How much do you know about Sal’s past?”
The question catches Marin off guard, and her heart starts palpitating.Julian. She’s going to ask about Julian.Her palms feel sweaty, and she puts her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking.
“I mean, I’ve known Sal since college,” she says. “We dated for a year. We’re best friends. I’d like to think he’s been open with me about most things.”
Except McKenzie, her brain whispers, which is a pretty big thing not to tell her.
When Castro doesn’t respond to this right away, Marin adds,“Whatever you’re thinking about Sal, he didn’t have anything to do with Sebastian. I know for a fact he was in Prosser taking care of his mom when it happened.” She holds her breath.
“Yes, the original police investigation verified that Sal was absolutely in eastern Washington when it happened, and I confirmed it myself,” Castro says, and Marin exhales. “According to Pearl Watts, Sal’s in Prosser quite often, helping out his mother. But so is McKenzie. Her mother is in a care facility in Yakima, and whenever she’s in the area, she and Sal spend time together. Nobody really cares about it anymore, because McKenzie’s an adult now, but apparently Sal’s father was a womanizer, too. The talk in town is that—”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Marin finishes the sentence for her, then closes her eyes.
That motherfucking liar. So not onlydidSal have a relationship with McKenzie, hestillhas a relationship with McKenzie. What kind of sick game is this? Did Sal tell her to go after Derek?Did Sal set Marin’s husband up to cheat on her?
“You think Sal helps plan McKenzie’s shakedowns?” Marin asks, when she can speak again. “Of her rich boyfriends? And Derek, too?”
“Possibly.”
“Butwhy?” It comes out a wail, because she doesn’t understand. Everything Castro is telling her about McKenzie seems plausible, but Sal? SheknowsSal, really knows him, and none of what the PI is saying makes any sense. Sal is her best friend. He loves her. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, at least not on purpose. “I know Sal’s a bit shady, but he’s never cared about money. He walked away from the family business and bought a bar, for Christ’s sake. This makes no sense.”
“I agree there might have been a time when he didn’t care about money.” There’s a careful note in Castro’s voice. “But that’s probably when he had actuallyhadmoney. He doesn’t now. I took a closerlook at his finances. On the surface the bar is profitable. But the winery was deeply in debt when they sold it ten years ago. Sal’s father ran it well when he was alive, but after he died, Sal’s mother took over. She didn’t manage it well. By the time they sold it, it owed more than it was worth. She was lucky to get the farmhouse out of the deal. Sal supports both of them. That kind of financial strain can cause a person to do crazy things.”
And here they are. It’s coming, Marin can feel it. It’s the way Castro’s voice sounds, getting softer by the word. The answers Marin’s been searching for are about to be revealed.
“Vanessa, tell me. Whatever it is you’ve been trying to say since you got here, just say it.”
“You already know.” Castro’s tone is gentle. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“You think Sal took Sebastian. For ransom.”
