Lucas pulled up to the standard colonial in a Long Island suburb he’d bought his parents after Blink took off. They’d been hesitant about moving, but their old house was in need of serious repair, and Lucas had talked them into moving. He’d called ahead to make sure they’d both be home, and as he pulled into the driveway, he caught sight of the car idling a few feet away, a man keeping an eye on the house. It wasn’t much, but he had Bernardi’s description. Hopefully he wouldn’t get by the detail.
He rang the doorbell, but when he turned the knob, it opened easily. Something that would change once his parents became aware of the threat.
“Mom? Dad?” Lucas called out as he stepped inside, shut the door, and turned the lock.
“In the kitchen,” his mother replied.
Lucas walked down a short hall and turned into the room. His father sat at the table drinking his coffee. His mother, it seemed, had just poured herself a cup.
“Lucas, can I get you something?”
He shook his head. “I came to talk.”
“Son, I’m not sure this is the right time,” his father said. Obviously he knew the direction of the conversation Lucas wanted to have.
“There’s never going to be a right time, and now it can’t wait.”
“Why?” his mother asked. “Why can’t we leave your brother’s indiscretions in the past?”
His frustration with his parents’ denial grew. “Because they were more than indiscretions,” Lucas said through clenched teeth. “Let me put it to you this way. A guy threatened Maxie if she doesn’t turn over something that Keith had of his. And she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He already broke into her storage unit and old apartment. And I can’t guarantee he won’t come after you two or break in here looking for it, so I hired protection.”
His mother gasped and his father blanched. He walked over and put an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Lucas—”
“No joke, Dad. There’s a security guard sitting outside. So if you two don’t want to hear about your angel son, fine. Just make sure you lock the doors and set the alarm.” Lucas dug into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “And if you have a problem, call this number. The guy outside will be here in seconds.” He slapped the card on the table.
He’d done what he could, protected his family despite their stubborn refusal to see the truth.
“Did Keith give you anything for safekeeping?” Lucas asked.
“No,” his father said.
He glanced at his mother, who shook her head, obviously too upset to speak.
“Is there any place Keith could have hidden it here?” he asked.
“Your brother didn’t come out to visit,” his father admitted. “We had to go to the city if we wanted to see him.”
Lucas blew out a frustrated breath. “What about anything odd? Did anyone approach you? A big man who liked to talk a lot?” He described Bernardi in further detail.
“That sounds like the new exterminator,” his mother said. “He showed up one morning and said Ralph, our regular man, was out sick. He talked a lot about his son and how hard it was when a kid was a disappointment.”
Which was how he’d tried to play Lucas, discussing brothers, hoping he’d open up. With his parents, he’d discussed a son. “Did you engage with him?” Lucas asked.
She frowned and shook her head. “He annoyed me, and I cut him off to make a phone call.”
Lucas leaned against the counter. “Did he have free reign of the house after that?”
She nodded. “Exterminators always do.”
“And did you notice anything out of place after he left?”
She pursed her lips and grew quiet, thinking. “Now that you mention it, I had to go into all the rooms he’d been in to shut the lights. Ralph always remembers to do that himself. And there were some open drawers, but I assumed the cleaning lady had been dusting and left them ajar.”
Lucas groaned. So Bernardi had been here and found nothing. Chances were he wouldn’t be back, but security would make sure of it.
“From now on, set the alarm and call me or the security company if something seems out of the ordinary.”
“I will,” his mother said, sounding grateful.