“I am an invited guest with a right to basic conversation,” Matthew said casually. “Your cousins and I go back a bit, if you recall. I was invited for the weekend. I apologize, Mr. Gardner. I’ll just get my things and be on my way.”
He nodded briefly at me, then at Calvin.
“That fucking wop rat,” he seethed as he watched him disappear into the house.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to hear the answer.
Calvin was still watching the now-closed doors. “He’s been asking around about—you know what, don’t worry about it. He’s just a cockroach, nothing more.”
“Was it—” I caught myself before I mentioned the strange woman Matthew had named earlier. “Did he find anything?”
Calvin just shook his head. “Don’t bother, princess. I know you don’t care about me, just your own precious neck. No one has connected anything back to you, so far as I can tell.”
The tension around my chest lightened. Some. Something else told me it was only a matter of time.
“Maybe…” I started, but then, another possibility occurred to me. “Maybe I should go north, then. Tie things up. They’ll be watching you, but not me, I think. I could take Olivia to school. Maybe get away for a bit myself. Actually, I was considering taking a class. Maybe even work on finishing my degree, you know—”
“Nina, will you just stop babbling?” Calvin snapped. “Honestly, I don’t have time for this. I’m under investigation.”
I stared at the ground, waiting for the anger in my face to fall away again. “I only meant I could check on the other houses. Facilitate their sale, if that’s what you need.”
“I—all right, fine. Sure, yes, I’ll give you a list. No sales though. Just contingency plans.” He was obviously happy to have me out from underfoot for some reason. Perhaps Matthew’s attempt to bug the house was a good one after all.
“You said the…papers…were done a long time ago, right?” I asked. “You said you weren’t involved anymore. Is that—is it true?”
Calvin’s eye gleamed. “Yes. Yes, that’s right.”
Then why don’t I believe you? I wanted to say.
Before I could say anything else, Matthew, followed by Jane, emerged from the house. He was carrying his overnight bag and had replaced his swim shorts and open shirt with a smarter outfit of light gray pants and a white Oxford shirt, rolled up at the cuffs. His straw fedora was still in place, but he had on his sunglasses again, likely to mask his eyes better than I was able to manage.
“Do whatever you want,” Calvin was saying. “As long as it takes heat off me, I’m all for it. It’s about time you started contributing to this goddamn mess anyway instead of being so fucking useless.”
I trained my stare carefully on the ground, but the sudden fire on Matthew’s face was evident even in my peripheral vision as he and Jane approached.
“Nina?” Jane called. “Zola just said he’s leaving, do you know why—oh!” She caught sight of Calvin and stopped short. “What are you doing here?”
Calvin turned, his face flushed. “This is my family’s house. Which you maneuvered your way into less than a year ago, thanks.”
Jane’s bright red mouth dropped. “Excuse me?”
“Calvin!” I cut in. “Really, that’s inappro—”
“Zola is a dear friend of mine and Eric’s,” Jane cut right back. “Who, if you don’t remember, has been a part of this family his entire life, without selling anyone out, by the way!”
“Jane.” Matthew rubbed his face. He obviously didn’t want her saying anything to Calvin right now.
“For the last damn time!” Calvin blustered. “I did not sell Eric out to the SEC!”
“Sure, sure,” Jane retorted. “You just keep saying that, and I’ll keep forgetting it.” She turned to me. “And you? Are you all right? I’m almost afraid to leave you alone with this one.” She jerked her head at Calvin.
I stiffened. Could she know? No, no one knew. But Matthew stiffened too. I avoided his gaze, penetrating once again through his sunglasses.
“Jane, honestly,” I scoffed as disdainfully as I could manage. “What are you thinking? This is my husband, not a common thief.”
Calvin’s smirk was wide enough that it made his chin wobble. Jane peered between us, and Matthew’s mouth was suddenly pressed into a tight line.
“I was just talking about our change of plans as well,” I said. “Calvin clearly came to make peace with Eric, and so perhaps it would be better if Olivia and I offered them some privacy, so to speak—”