“Not necessarily. She also had videos of your father. I doubt he knew she was following him either.”
“Why?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand why any of this was happening.”
“You and your family were a target.” Winn gave me a sad smile. “I’m guessing that Averie was offered money from Oliver to stay quiet about their relationship.”
I huffed. “He probably paid her the fifty grand I didn’t take.”
“Afterward, she must have learned about you and your family. Thought that if Oliver would pay her, you would too. And it would be an easy way to make money.”
“You think she knows how much Memphis is worth?” Knox asked.
Winn nodded. “I do.”
“I’m worth nothing,” I said. “Not anymore.”
Knox put his hand on my knee. “I doubt she saw it that way.”
“She could have gone to his wife,” I said.
“Nah.” Knox sighed. “Too dangerous.”
I was the easy route to millions. Except I didn’t have millions. Not anymore. “Why would she want Drake?”
“This is where Jill comes into play,” Winn said. “Again, without a confession, I can’t be sure, but I suspect that after your father denied her money, she decided she needed more ammunition. Specifically, a paternity test. Something to hold over his head, maybe Oliver’s too.”
“Enter Jill,” Knox mumbled.
“She’s a piece of work.” Winn rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t think she did anything wrong. Averie reached out to her weeks ago. Fostered some sort of relationship. Told her that she was Drake’s aunt. That her brother was his father. Averie’s story was that you refused to admit Drake was her brother’s son. And before they could get answers, you fled New York.”
My jaw dropped. “What? And Jill believed her?”
“Apparently. They’d become friends. Jill thought she was helping Drake get reunited with his family.”
“Oh, I hate her.” My teeth ground together.
Knox seethed at my side. “That fucking bitch.”
“Averie convinced Jill that she needed her help but they couldn’t meet in Quincy. That you might recognize her. It was too much of a risk that you’d take Drake and disappear like you had in New York. So Jill agreed to take Drake and meet her at that motel. It turns out, we weren’t all that far behind her. Thirty minutes, maybe. She thought she’d be back in town by five and you’d never be the wiser. Except it took longer at the motel because the money Averie promised Jill wasn’t there.”
“Wait.” Knox held up a finger. “Money?”
“One hundred thousand dollars. Averie said it was a reward her ‘brother’ was paying to anyone who helped reunite him with his son.”
“But Averie didn’t have the money,” I said.
Winn shook her head. “No and Jill refused to leave without it.”
“And Jill believed all of this?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Winn shrugged. “It’s what she’s claiming.”
“Do you think it’s the truth?” Knox asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. Jill’s panicked. I don’t think she’s got the guts to lie when she’s staring at a kidnapping charge.”
“Of course it’s true. She thinks I’m a horrible mother,” I said. “She was probably enamored with Averie and thinking Drake would be better off without me.”
Knox put his arm around my shoulders. “You’re not a horrible mother. She’s fucking crazy, honey.”
“Then what am I for leaving Drake with her?”
His eyes softened. “I left him there too. So did other parents. Don’t put this on your shoulders. It’s on hers. Hers alone.”
“I should have trusted my instincts.” And the guilt for ignoring them would plague me for years to come.
“Knox is right, Memphis,” Winn said. “This is not your fault.”
“Do you think Averie was really after his DNA? Or was she going to take Drake?”
“My hunch is DNA,” Winn said. “I asked Jill if she was under the impression that Averie intended to take Drake away. She said all she wanted was his saliva and a hair sample. That she hardly spared him a glance.”
“Because he wasn’t the endgame.” Knox huffed. “She was after the money.”
Winn nodded. “It’s a lot of speculation at this point, but most of the time, our speculation turns out to be close to the truth.”
My mind was spinning again. Though it hadn’t really stopped since Friday.
“What’s next?” Knox asked.
“Because this is a case of child abduction, I’ve reached out to the FBI. They’ve got the resources we don’t to examine Averie’s life in New York. I want the investigation to be as thorough as possible in the hopes that she spends a long while in prison.”
“Good.” The air rushed from my lungs. “What about Oliver? Will they speak to him?”
“I expect they will. And, I expect, after everything you’ve told me, he will deny knowing you.”
“Fine by me.”
I had no intention of mentioning his name again, even if the FBI came knocking on my door. If Oliver’s wife found out that he was an unfaithful bastard, that was his problem. It wasn’t coming from my lips.
“They will take over and bring in federal prosecutors,” Winn said. “I’ll keep in touch with the lead agent on the case. Hopefully they’ll keep us apprised as to what’s going on. But mostly, we wait. You do your best to get on with your lives.”
It didn’t feel like enough. There wasn’t enough closure.
But I suspected it would be all the closure we’d get.
“Thank you for coming out here today,” I told Winn.
“I’m sorry I don’t have more for you.” She stood and we followed, walking her to the door. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yep.” Knox nodded. “Merry Christmas Eve.”
“Merry Christmas Eve.” She pulled me into a hug. “You’re a good mother, Memphis. Never doubt that.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her tighter, hoping that one day I’d believe those words. Maybe in time, when Jill and Averie Flannagan were just a dim nightmare from the past.
Winn waved and slipped outside. It had been snowing all day in fluffy, white flakes that dusted her dark hair. When her taillights were a blur down the lane, Knox closed the door.
“This feels . . .”
“Unfinished.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I doubt she’ll confess, tell us everything, but damn it, I want answers.”
That was exactly how I felt too. “How do we get past this? How do we get past the worst days?”
“By making more of the best.” He kissed the top of my hair and let me go, shifting to dig something from his pocket. “I was going to wait until tomorrow. Give it to you when we opened gifts. But after everything that’s happened, waiting feels like wasting time.”
I shifted, trying to spy what he had in his fist. But he’d closed it in his palm.
It was only after he dropped to a knee that he loosened his hand, revealing a perfect diamond ring.