Tell Me True (Call Me Cat Trilogy #3)(4)

She sat there, stunned. "Wow. That is so not what I expected."

My ability to hide behind snark and steely resolve crumbled as I looked into the concerned eyes of my best friend. I took in a fragmented breath. "I've had her on a pedestal my whole life, and now I find this out. I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. Anger. Betrayal. More anger. Sadness. I feel like I've lost her all over again, only this time it's her fault. And she got my dad killed. She was directly responsible for what happened to them, and he was innocent." Thinking of them that night, of the look in my dad's eyes and how he willed me to walk away, to hide. He'd watched the Midnight Murderer rape and kill my mother before they murdered him. He'd suffered so much. Did he ever know why? Did she ever tell him the truth before that night?

Bridgette put a hand on mine, her brow furrowed in lines of worry. "I can't even imagine," she said. "It's probably going to take time to sort through all the emotions, but I know she loved you and Ben. She was willing to give up all the power and risk her life to walk away, right? That has to count for something in the end, even if it doesn't negate the bad she did."

"Maybe. I just don't know anymore. What makes a person bad or good? What defines them at the end of their life?"

"I remember a story from church," she said. "I know you're not religious, but we attend on holidays, and I remember hearing about Jesus hanging on the cross between two criminals. They'd done bad their whole lives, but in the end they repented and he forgave them. Even at the last moment, when you can't do anything to redeem yourself with deeds, there is still grace. I believe that. Maybe it's not through a God in the sky, but there can still be forgiveness. You have memories of your mother that aren't all bad, that are good and loving and kind and funny. That was her, too, not just the things you're reading in her research. Don't forget that part of her. It's real and shouldn't be lost in all this blood."

I wiped a tear from my eye and smiled. "Thank you. That does help, I think."

Bridgette smiled back—a soft, bittersweet smile. "At least it's over, right? The Midnight Murderer is dead, the person responsible is dead. At least you can live the life you want now. Get your happily ever after."

I frowned and took out the one page I'd brought with me, the first page. "I'm not so sure it's over." I slid the page over to her.

Bridge read it and her eyes widened in shock. "Jon's dad was up to some creepy shit," she said. "He probably went to Harvard with your mother. I bet he was in that creepy club of theirs."

"Probably, but there were others. I have to know who was involved. Maybe I can get Ash's private investigator to look into it."

"Sure. Sure." She looked down at her nails.

"You don't agree, I take it?"

She looked up sheepishly. "No, I do agree. After learning about this, I know you have to avenge your mother and find out the truth. I would expect nothing less from you. I'm just worried about you. This is a dangerous game you're playing and someone could get hurt."

I clenched my fists. "This isn't a game. Even if Lucky and Lauren were part of the Midnight Murderer plot, there were others and they need to pay."

Bridgette reached her hand over the table and grabbed mine. "I may not have lost my parents, but I did almost lose my life. I'm with you, Catelyn. I've got your back whatever you decide."

Our food arrived but I'd lost my appetite. Bridgette ate with more gusto than normal but I sipped at my coffee and thought about what I would do next. I wanted Bridgette's support, and wished I could bring her into my plan, but I realized how dangerous it would be for anyone involved and knew I couldn't share any more with her and shouldn't have told her what I did. I couldn’t put her life at risk again. I loved her too much for that.

Shortly after we were done, Jon arrived to pick up Bridgette.

"Hi, Cat."

I smiled at him as we paid our check. "Hi, Jon, how are you?"

He kissed Bridgette, who smiled like a schoolgirl and giggled. They looked so happy together that I worried maybe I shouldn't have told her about my mother's notes. Bridgette was getting closer to Jon now and Jon was close to his father, closer than Ash was.

"You'll tell me if you find anything else, right?" Bridgette asked as they left.

"Right," I said, lying to the second important person in my life in as many days.

***

That night, while Ash slept and the clock read three in the morning, I finished reading all the research. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my neck as I thought about what I'd just learned.

I'd finally found one name I knew. One name not destroyed in weather damage. One name not hidden by a mask.

And so I began to plot my revenge.





Chapter Three


A Killer Wedding


PRESENT DAY


THE FIRE BURNED so hot my cheeks felt feverish. I blinked away tears and reached for Ash, but he was gone. Everything sounded heavy and muffled, like I was underwater. Another tear leaked out the corner of my eye and then the screams started, cutting through the fog in my mind, pushing me into action. I ran toward Jon's car, kicking off my designer shoes, tripping over the train on my designer dress, all of this frill and fluff a cruel mockery of the carnage before me.