Little Secrets(92)

“No.”

Marin hadn’t seen it. She’d come out onto the balcony a second too late.

But almost immediately, she’d told Sal to lie. She told him exactly what to say so he wouldn’t be arrested, so he wouldn’t go to prison. Why would she have done that, if she hadn’t on some level, deep down, believed he might have killed his father on purpose? Sal Sr. was a terrible human being, and it was her fault they’d even been at that party. She didn’t want her boyfriend to spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing the man who’d nearly killed his mother, and who might just as easily have killed him.

“And the people Sal associated with aren’t good people,” Castro continues. “Have you ever met his friend Julian Black?”

Marin freezes.

“They were cellmates briefly more than twenty years ago, during the time Sal was in lockup for dealing drugs. When I did background checks on everyone close to you and Derek, Julian’s name didn’t come up initially. I admit I didn’t look deeper into Sal’s life back then because I’d already eliminated him as a suspect. But when I discovered the connection between McKenzie and Sal, I took a hard look at Sal’s known associates. Julian Black has gone on to have quite the colorful criminal career. You don’t recall meeting him at any point? Sal never introduced you?”

Why is Castro asking this? Is it because she already knows the answer and is trying to catch Marin in a lie?

“I did meet him.” Marin swallows. A half truth is better than nothing. “Sal set it up. He said Julian was soliciting donations for a charity, a shelter for abused women. In hindsight the guy seemed a little shady, but the charity is legit, and it’s one I’ve contributed to before. It didn’t feel right to say no, so I donated.”

Castro says nothing for a moment. Her silence is deafening. She has to know there’s more to it than that. There’s no way the investigator’s Spidey senses aren’t tingling.

“Julian Black is known in certain underground circles as a fixer.” Castro eases the words out, her eyes never leaving Marin’s face. “He launders money. He bribes. He blackmails. If Sal wanted to kidnap your son, I wouldn’t put it past a guy like Julian to have been the one to plan it. Hell, he might even have been the one in the Santa suit.” She leans forward slightly. “My sources tell me that murder for hire isn’t out of the question for him, either. Though rumor has it, he’s very expensive.”

Oh god. Any second now, Castro is going to tell her that she knows Marin paid Julian to have McKenzie murdered. It won’t matter that Marin tried to call it off. Plans were made. Money changed hands. She’s no legal expert, but that’s got to be a prison sentence.

It’s all about to come out. Everything she’s done, everything Derek’s done, everything Sal has done. All the secrets. All the lies. Marin is no better than any of them.

And Vanessa Castro knows it. Judging by the look on her face, the other woman knows exactly what Marin did.

“Are you going to arrest me?” Marin blurts. She feels something itching her cheek. She swipes at it, realizes it’s a tear.

“Of course not,” Castro says. “I’m not a cop anymore, for one thing. There’s a reason I left that life behind. As far as your meeting with Julian…”

The two women lock eyes. Marin doesn’t dare look away.

“So maybe you did … donate.” Air quotes again. “I’m not judging you on whatever you thought you had to do at the time. That’s not what you hired me for. You lost your child, Marin. That would bring any mother to a dark place. Whatever McKenzie’s gotten herself involved in is because of her relationship with Sal, not you.”

Marin chokes back a sob, feeling the relief coursing through her entire body. All she sees on the other woman’s face now is compassion.

“Do you think McKenzie was involved in Sebastian’s kidnapping?” she asks.

“It’s possible,” Castro says. “But that would be some seriously psychopathic-level manipulation on her part, kidnapping a man’s child and then starting an affair with him months later. But honestly, who knows. If she’s been involved with Sal since she was a teenager, and Sal has known Julian for years, it’s possible the three of them were in this together and have been planning all of this for a long time.” She thinks for a moment. “But my gut tells me Sal is the mastermind. I think he used McKenzie to get to Derek, and I think Julian does his dirty work.”

A memory jogs loose, and Marin sits up straighter. “I was on the phone with Sal that day, remember? At the market. He called me from Prosser. I couldn’t speak to him for longer than maybe ten seconds, because Sebastian kept tugging me, asking for the lollipop … oh my god. He probably called me to confirm my exact location. He would have heard Sebastian in the background.”

“And Julian would have been somewhere at the market already, maybe already wearing the Santa suit.” Castro’s expression is grim. “That’s how they knew when it was time. Sal would have told him exactly when to do it.”

“How could I not have known it was Sal?” The anguish and guilt are so great, Marin’s chest feels constricted.

“How could you have known?” Castro shakes her head. “You’ve known Sal longer than you’ve known your husband. He would have been the furthest thing from your radar.”