“No, you should go. You should tell him your theory and then you should watch his face as you do. You’ll know the truth. Hell, take Jackson with you.”
“I mean I don’t need to go. He’s here right now.”
I feel my eyes widen. “Excuse me?”
Damien scowls. “The text is from Charlie. Jeremiah’s at the gate.”
“Are you going to let him in?”
“No. But I am going to go see him.” He looks at me, his head tilted slightly. “Care to change your mind and join me?”
“A walk to the gate, on our own turf? Yeah. I think I can handle that.”
Damien texts Charlie back, telling him to have Jeremiah wait in the parking area that’s outside the property and that we’ll be out shortly. Although I rush to get dressed, Damien takes his time. Soon enough, though, we’ve walked back to the house and then across the circular driveway and down the short road that leads to the gatehouse. All in all, it’s probably been half an hour since Jeremiah texted by the time we finally reach the gate.
We step through the pedestrian gate, closing it behind us, and wave to Charlie. As we do, Jeremiah steps out of his car, a brand new Lexus that I’m certain he can’t afford. Unless he’s been selling the Richter tapes.
The thought disgusts me, and I cross my arms as if to ward off this man.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Damien asks, without giving Jeremiah a chance to speak first.
“I want to see those kids,” he says. “I want to be part of this family.”
Damien scoffs. “You gave that up a long time ago.”
Jeremiah shrugs. “A man’s entitled to change his mind.”
“Maybe. But what prompted the change?”
Jeremiah looks between Damien and me, his eyes finally going to the ground. “More people watching me these days. More people asking questions.”
“What people? Who’s watching you?”
Jeremiah’s shoulders rise and fall. “How the hell do I know? I keep them at bay. I told you. I know that we’re never going to be close, but I’m not trying to hurt you. I don’t know why you won’t believe that.”
“Primarily because of all the evidence that’s stacked up over the years. Again, I ask, what is it that you want?”
“I want those little girls to know me. To call me Grandpa.”
Damien shakes his head. “That’s never going to happen.”
“Damn it, son.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Jeremiah looks to me, but I just stare back at him. This is not a conversation I intend to get involved in, but if it comes down to it, I am one hundred percent on Damien’s side.
Damien takes a step closer to his father. “The Richter tapes. When did you get them?”
Jeremiah’s eyes go completely wide, and I can’t tell if it’s in surprise at the subject or at the shock of being discovered. “I don’t have the tapes. You asked me that before, and I told you. I didn’t submit them to the court. You know damn well that was Sofia.”
“That’s what you said, but how do I know you didn’t have a copy?”
Jeremiah shakes his head. “No. Absolutely not. I never saw those images before Sofia revealed them to the court. I’ve told you that I knew what was going on. I’m ashamed of that. But I never knew that he was keeping some sort of photographic record, the sick fuck.”
Damien’s hands ball into a fist, and he takes a step forward. I grab him by the arm, truly afraid that he’s going to punch his father. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, except that Charlie’s sitting right there at the guardhouse, and while I trust the man, I really don’t think he needs to see that.
“Damien,” I say. It’s enough to calm him down, and I feel the tension ease a bit.
“Right before Sofia died, you told me that she owed you money. That she’d scammed you and you were determined to get it back.”
“That’s more or less what I said,” Jeremiah agrees.
“You told me what you did to get compensation for what she owed you. And I swear to God, I’ll never forgive you for that, either.” He takes another step toward Jeremiah, getting right in the man’s face. “But what I don’t know is if that was the only compensation. Or maybe Sofia gave you the rest of the Richter tapes in payment of the debt.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widen almost to the point of being comical, and he shakes his head slowly as he takes a step back. Or tries to. He’s blocked by the side of his car.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he says lifting his hands. He looks between the two of us. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What new tapes? The only ones I know of are the ones that you released. You can’t be upset with me about something that’s already been released.”
“You haven’t answered my question. Do you have those tapes?”
“Hell, no. Of course, I don’t. I told you. I’ve never laid hands on them.”
Damien finally takes a step back, then another. My hand is in his, and I move backwards with him. Slowly he looks his father up and down. “I wish I could believe you, old man. But I don’t.”
And then, without waiting for Jeremiah to say a thing, Damien turns and leads me back to the house.
13
“I am so sorry you’re going through all of that,” Jane says, looking at both me and Damien. It’s Thursday night, and Damien and I are joined by Dallas and Jane at Cut 360, one of our favorite downtown restaurants. We’re tucked away in a dark corner, but I’ve noticed several of the other customers sending glances our way. I’m used to it by now, but with both Damien and Dallas together, the attention has ratcheted up. Considering both of their reputations, I shouldn’t be surprised.
“I think the hardest part is that I don’t want the girls to ever see those tapes or photos,” Damien says. “But I know they will eventually.”
“I get that,” Dallas says. “There’s a lot about my past I don’t want our daughter to know.”
The statement is simple, but I understand the complexity behind it. Throughout his life, Dallas had worked hard to build up the reputation of a playboy, a man who pretty much slept with anything that moved. It was all part of a cover, I learned, but the articles and commentary about him during those years will last forever.
Now, of course, he’s married to Jane, and they make a gorgeous couple, her with brown hair and wide brown eyes, and Dallas with his hair the color of caramelized sugar, the face of a cover model, and vivid green eyes.
But even their marriage was a scandal, because they were raised as brother and sister, and their tumultuous, epic love story — filled with kidnapping and deceit and drama — ultimately ended up in the headlines.
That’s all in the past now, and they have a darling little girl named Mystery. But like Damien, Dallas worries about what she’ll think of her parents when she learns the truth about their past.
In other words, Dallas and Jane completely understand the pressure Damien and I have been under. Which, of course, is why Damien is comfortable sharing the whole story with them. The whole story, I reiterate to myself as Dallas asks, “Have you heard back from Holt about how the tape got out there?”