Little Secrets(91)

“I agree there might have been a time when he didn’t care about money.” There’s a careful note in Castro’s voice. “But that’s probably when he had actually had money. He doesn’t now. I took a closer look at his finances. On the surface the bar is profitable. But the winery was deeply in debt when they sold it ten years ago. Sal’s father ran it well when he was alive, but after he died, Sal’s mother took over. She didn’t manage it well. By the time they sold it, it owed more than it was worth. She was lucky to get the farmhouse out of the deal. Sal supports both of them. That kind of financial strain can cause a person to do crazy things.”

And here they are. It’s coming, Marin can feel it. It’s the way Castro’s voice sounds, getting softer by the word. The answers Marin’s been searching for are about to be revealed.

“Vanessa, tell me. Whatever it is you’ve been trying to say since you got here, just say it.”

“You already know.” Castro’s tone is gentle. “I can hear it in your voice.”

“You think Sal took Sebastian. For ransom.”

“I believe so, yes.”

Marin closes her eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. The pain will come later. Right now, she needs to stay focused. Present. “And then did what with him?”

“That, I don’t know,” Castro says. “But it’s been almost a year and a half.”

“He could still be alive.”

“Maybe.” The PI’s voice is neutral. In her business, neutral means no. “We’d have to talk to Sal.”

“And McKenzie is part of this? Sebastian’s kidnapping? Her own? She staged her own ransom demand?”

“What ransom demand?” Castro puts her coffee mug down. “Marin, if you know something, now’s the time.”

With shaking hands, Marin reaches for her phone, which was sitting facedown on the table between them. She taps on the Shadow app, then taps on the photo of McKenzie, beaten, tied up on a bed. She passes it to the other woman.

“I thought you deleted the app.”

“I un-deleted it earlier today.” Marin nods at the phone. “Look closely. Read it. I thought it looked real.”

Castro zooms in and frowns. “It might well be. Who knows at this point. Derek got this today?”

“Yes.”

“You should have sent this to me the minute you saw it.” Castro looks at Marin. She seems flabbergasted. “Why didn’t you?”

“I wanted to ask Derek about it first.” Marin’s eyes are hot with tears. “Because that text could mean he’s had a ransom demand before. I wanted to know what Derek knew.” She swallows. “He’ll be home any minute.”

“And what about what you know?” Gone is the gentle tone. Castro’s voice is hard, and Marin can picture her back in her cop days, grilling suspects relentlessly until she got to the truth. “What else do you know, Marin?”

Tell her. Tell her what you did. Tell her about Julian.

But she can’t bring herself to say a word. It’s conspiracy to commit murder. She’ll go to prison.

“That’s everything, that’s all I know,” Marin says. “Are you going to call the police? Have Sal arrested?”

“I already did.” Castro’s voice returns to normal again. “I’m waiting for word from the Prosser police department that he’s in custody. There’s nothing to do right now except wait and see what they find.”

“Find?” Marin blinks, not quite understanding what the other woman means. “Are you talking about Sebastian?”

“Marin, it’s been sixteen months now since your son was taken,” Castro says. “That’s a long time to hold someone captive. I’m not saying I have answers. We have to wait and see what Sal says. But I want you to be prepared, okay? This is me talking to you, woman to woman, mother to mother. I don’t want you to get your hopes up. You need to brace yourself. That’s why I came. I thought I could be here for you—”

Marin shakes her head rapidly. “No. Sal wouldn’t have hurt him.”

“Maybe not on purpose. Not intentionally. But Sal did grow up in a very abusive household.”

“Which is exactly why he wouldn’t hurt a child.” She’s being stubborn, because she wants it to be true. She needs it to be true. “He wouldn’t have hurt my child.”

“What kind of relationship did he have with your son?”

“He…” Marin stops, thinks. Sal didn’t have a relationship with Sebastian, not really. He didn’t dislike the kid, he just … wasn’t very interested. “They didn’t really bond. But whatever sick games he’s been playing, Sal isn’t capable of killing someone.”

“He isn’t?” Castro says. “Are you sure he didn’t kill his father?”

Marin opens her mouth to respond, then shuts it again. She shouldn’t be surprised that Castro knows about Sal’s father’s untimely death, but she has to be very careful about how she answers. “That was a long time ago.”

Castro raises an eyebrow.

“It was an accident,” Marin adds quickly. “Sal’s dad was a drunk. He—”

“According to the police report, you were there that night. Did you actually see what happened?”