Тесс Герритсен - I Know a Secret

“I went out searching for Joe and I ran into these ladies at the old daycare,” said Holly. “I guess Joe decided to come back on his own.”

“Yeah, he came back,” Earl said, but his attention remained on Jane and Maura. “Who are you?”

“I spoke to you on the phone, Mr. Devine,” said Jane. “I’m Detective Jane Rizzoli, Boston PD.”

Earl looked at her outstretched hand and finally decided to shake it. “So you found my girl anyway.”

“You could have saved me a lot of trouble by just telling me where she was.”

Holly said, “I told them you don’t trust people, Daddy.”

“Not even the police?” said Jane.

“The police?” Earl Devine snorted. “Why should I? All I gotta do is watch the news. These days, we’re as likely to be shot by a cop as helped by one.”

“We’re only trying to keep your daughter safe.”

“Yeah, that’s what you said on the phone, but how would I know if you were telling the truth? How would I know you’re really a cop?”

“My dad’s got a reason to be cautious,” said Holly. “There’s a guy who’s been stalking me for a while. I had to change my last name from Devine to Donovan so he couldn’t find me.”

“He kept calling here, asking for her,” said Earl. “He even got some woman to call, said she was a journalist who wanted to talk to Holly. I wasn’t gonna trust you just because you claimed you were a cop.”

“Who was this stalker?” asked Jane.

“Some young man Holly used to know. I never did like the looks of him. He kept coming by here asking about her, but I think I finally scared him off. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away from my girl.”

“They’re not here about my stalker, Daddy,” said Holly.

“It’s about the Apple Tree Daycare, sir,” said Jane.

Earl frowned at her. “Why? That happened a long time ago. It’s over and done with, and they sent those people to jail.”

“Martin Stanek has been released. We think he wants revenge against everyone who sent him to prison, and we’re afraid he might come after Holly.”

“Has the man threatened her?”

“No, but three of the children who gave statements against Stanek have recently been murdered. A fourth has gone missing. You can understand why we’re concerned about your daughter’s safety.”

He stared at Jane for a moment, then gave a grim nod. “Let’s hear what you plan to do about him.”

They sat in Earl Devine’s cramped living room, where the frayed sofa and Naugahyde armchairs seemed as if they’d been part of the house for so long they were now melded to the floor. One of the chairs bore the permanent imprint of Earl’s backside, which he now planted onto the cushion. Holly brought out mugs of coffee for the two visitors, but Maura took one look at the stained rim and discreetly set down her cup. She saw stains everywhere — rings on the area carpet from past doggie accidents, cigarette burns on the sofa armrest, a faint veil of mold on the ceiling where rain had once leaked in. There were no books or magazines in sight, only a stack of Pennysavers and newspaper coupons. Throughout the conversation, the television stayed on, an eternally glowing presence in the room.

“Those kids’ names were sealed by the court. That’s what the prosecutor promised us,” said Earl Devine, his gaze hard on Jane’s face. “How did you even know to come looking for Holly?”

“Actually, Mr. Devine, your daughter put herself into the picture.” Jane turned to Holly. “You went to both Cassandra’s and Tim’s funerals. So you must have known they were both murdered.”

Earl frowned at his daughter. “You didn’t tell me you went to their funerals.”

“I needed to find out if their murders were connected,” said Holly. “No one was saying anything.”

“Because at the time no one realized there was a connection between them,” said Jane. “But you knew, Holly. You could have made my job a lot easier by just picking up the phone and calling the police. Why didn’t you call?”

“I hoped it was a coincidence. I wasn’t sure.”

“Why didn’t you call, Holly?” Jane repeated.

Holly stared back at her, momentarily silenced by the sharp tone of the question. Meekly, she dropped her gaze. “I should have. I’m sorry.”

“If you had, Bill Sullivan might still be alive.”

“What happened to Billy?” said Earl.

“He disappeared,” said Jane. “Based on the circumstances of his disappearance and the blood in his car, we believe he’s dead.”

Maura stayed focused on Holly, and she saw the young woman’s head snap up at this latest revelation. Saw genuine shock in her eyes.

“ Billy’s dead?”

“You didn’t know about that?” said Jane.

“No. No, I never thought he would be...”

“You said four children were dead,” said Earl. “You’ve only told us about three.”

“Sarah Byrne died in a fire in November. It was classified an accidental death, but it’s now back under investigation. So you can see why we’ve been trying to contact your daughter.” Jane looked at Holly. “Is there some reason you’ve been avoiding the police—”

“Now, wait a minute,” Earl cut in.

Jane lifted a hand to silence him. “I want to hear from your daughter.”

With everyone watching her, Holly seemed to reach deep inside herself for the courage to answer. She straightened and met Jane’s gaze. “It was dead and buried and I wanted it to stay that way. I didn’t want everyone to know.”

“Know what?”

“About the Apple Tree. About what those people did to me. You don’t seem to understand how something like that changes you. Or what it’s like when everyone knows you were molested. When they look at you, the whole time they’re imagining...” She hugged herself and stared down at the stained carpet. “To think it was my mom who made me go to that place. She said it wasn’t safe for me to be home alone after school. She thought there were men lurking behind every bush, waiting to rape me.”

“Holly,” said Earl.

“It’s true, Daddy. That’s the way Mom was, imagining rapists everywhere. So every day I had to climb into his bus, and he drove us there. We were like lambs going to the slaughter.” She raised her eyes to Jane. “You’ve read the files, Detective. You know what happened to us.”

“Yes, I know,” said Jane.

“All because my mother wanted me to be safe.”

“Let go of the bitterness, Holly. Doesn’t do you any good now.” Earl looked at Jane. “My wife had a difficult childhood. Things happened to her when she was a little girl, things she was ashamed of. She had this uncle who...” He paused. “Anyway, it made her terrified that something like that could happen to Holly. She died a few months after the trial ended, probably from all the stress. Holly and I had to fend for ourselves, just the two of us, but I think we’ve managed okay. Look at my girl now! She went to college, got herself a good job. The last thing she needs is for people to dredge up that Apple Tree business again.”

“This is for Holly’s sake, Mr. Devine. We want her to be safe.”

“So arrest the bastard.”

“We can’t, not yet. We need more evidence.” To Holly, Jane said, “I know this is difficult for you. I know these are bad memories. But you can help us send Martin Stanek back to prison for good.”

Holly turned to her father, as if for reassurance. These two seemed uncommonly close, a father — daughter bond forged by years of being alone together, the widower and his only child.

“Go ahead, sweetheart,” said Earl. “Give them what they need. Let’s put that son of a bitch away for good.”