fingers under his chin. “Yeah.”
“Well, Elena Caine is — was — her name. How’d you find out?”
“My father has a private detective on the payroll.”
“Your father needs a private detective on his payroll?”
“Long story. We don’t have much time. I’d rather hear yours.” His voice had softened a little, which was a surprise. She’d pretty much expected him to keep playing the heartless bastard he’d become since this morning.
“Mine’s pretty long too, but I can give you the abbreviated version. I was born Amy Harris. Our cousin , Elena Caine, died shortly after my brother and I had been sent to live with her — and no, I did not kill her . And well…my best friend got rid of her body somewhere — I didn’t tell her to — and I took over Elena Caine ’s identity.”
He looked bewildered. She could understand his reaction. “Why would you do that ?”
She stared blindly at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. “Seems pretty crazy, doesn’t it? Right out of a movie script or crime television show. In fact, my friend got the idea from a TV program and convinced me it was the only way . I did it for one reason — my brother.” She glanced up, afraid of what she’d see.
He encouraged her to continue with a nod. His expression was totally blank, de void of all emotion. She had no clue what he was feeling.
“Eddy’s … sick. He has been in and out of the hospital for much of his life. The only constant in his life has been me. I was afraid that if he w ere put into foster care he’d either be abused, misunderstood, neglected or die.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s severely bipolar. But at the time of my cousin’s death, we still didn’t have a diagnosis. I was pretty much taking care of him around the clock. Later, I was given legal power of attorney, or rather Elena Caine was. I was forever trapped in my lie. There was no going back. And so I ’ ve carried around this secret for years. Until Matt found out somehow. He threatened to have me fired. Without insurance, my brother’s treatment will stop.”
“Maybe Becker stumbled upon the same photograph my father’s detective found.” Kyler’s gaze dropped to his desk. His expression turned grim. He leaned back in his chair. Finally, he lifted his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because what I did is against the law, and frankly I didn’t feel I could trust you. I don’t just go to jail if my lie is discovered. I could live with that. It’s what it would do to my brother… ”
He bit his lower lip. “Yeah.”
The most agonizing silence followed. She felt sick to her stomach, wondering, waiting. What would Kyler do with the truth?
He finally lifted his head and stood. She watched him walk across the room, stop in front of her. He s crubbed his face with his hands , then shoved his hand s into his pocket
.
“ Your car’s outside. I had it towed here. Go home, Elena. I’ll figure this out on my own.”
* * * * *
Kyler hit the button, ending the call. Sure enough, at least some of Elena’s story had been confirmed. Tom and Sue Harris had tragically died in a car accident, leaving their two children parentless . In addition, Edward — Eddy — Harris was a patient at the Longfellow Center in downtown Ann Arbor .
Elena had told him the truth , at least about those things .
Before he ended the call with the detective, he gave him one more assignment, “Check out Stacy Russell for me. Dig deep. Either she’s dirty or she’s being fed some shitty information from somewhere. I want to know which one it is. ”
* * * * *
Elena must have sat in her car for at least an hour, staring at Kyler’s house. He’d given her her walking papers, told her she could leave. H e’d take care of everything.
She should be home now, preparing. Checking in on her brother. And looking to see how much cash she had in her stash, getting ready to pack up and leave town in a hurry .
But she wasn’t. She
“Well, Elena Caine is — was — her name. How’d you find out?”
“My father has a private detective on the payroll.”
“Your father needs a private detective on his payroll?”
“Long story. We don’t have much time. I’d rather hear yours.” His voice had softened a little, which was a surprise. She’d pretty much expected him to keep playing the heartless bastard he’d become since this morning.
“Mine’s pretty long too, but I can give you the abbreviated version. I was born Amy Harris. Our cousin , Elena Caine, died shortly after my brother and I had been sent to live with her — and no, I did not kill her . And well…my best friend got rid of her body somewhere — I didn’t tell her to — and I took over Elena Caine ’s identity.”
He looked bewildered. She could understand his reaction. “Why would you do that ?”
She stared blindly at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. “Seems pretty crazy, doesn’t it? Right out of a movie script or crime television show. In fact, my friend got the idea from a TV program and convinced me it was the only way . I did it for one reason — my brother.” She glanced up, afraid of what she’d see.
He encouraged her to continue with a nod. His expression was totally blank, de void of all emotion. She had no clue what he was feeling.
“Eddy’s … sick. He has been in and out of the hospital for much of his life. The only constant in his life has been me. I was afraid that if he w ere put into foster care he’d either be abused, misunderstood, neglected or die.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s severely bipolar. But at the time of my cousin’s death, we still didn’t have a diagnosis. I was pretty much taking care of him around the clock. Later, I was given legal power of attorney, or rather Elena Caine was. I was forever trapped in my lie. There was no going back. And so I ’ ve carried around this secret for years. Until Matt found out somehow. He threatened to have me fired. Without insurance, my brother’s treatment will stop.”
“Maybe Becker stumbled upon the same photograph my father’s detective found.” Kyler’s gaze dropped to his desk. His expression turned grim. He leaned back in his chair. Finally, he lifted his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because what I did is against the law, and frankly I didn’t feel I could trust you. I don’t just go to jail if my lie is discovered. I could live with that. It’s what it would do to my brother… ”
He bit his lower lip. “Yeah.”
The most agonizing silence followed. She felt sick to her stomach, wondering, waiting. What would Kyler do with the truth?
He finally lifted his head and stood. She watched him walk across the room, stop in front of her. He s crubbed his face with his hands , then shoved his hand s into his pocket
.
“ Your car’s outside. I had it towed here. Go home, Elena. I’ll figure this out on my own.”
* * * * *
Kyler hit the button, ending the call. Sure enough, at least some of Elena’s story had been confirmed. Tom and Sue Harris had tragically died in a car accident, leaving their two children parentless . In addition, Edward — Eddy — Harris was a patient at the Longfellow Center in downtown Ann Arbor .
Elena had told him the truth , at least about those things .
Before he ended the call with the detective, he gave him one more assignment, “Check out Stacy Russell for me. Dig deep. Either she’s dirty or she’s being fed some shitty information from somewhere. I want to know which one it is. ”
* * * * *
Elena must have sat in her car for at least an hour, staring at Kyler’s house. He’d given her her walking papers, told her she could leave. H e’d take care of everything.
She should be home now, preparing. Checking in on her brother. And looking to see how much cash she had in her stash, getting ready to pack up and leave town in a hurry .
But she wasn’t. She
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