No Fault of Mine

Chapter Five

 I awoke early the following day to find Brant next to me. He had crawled into bed at some point during the night, a practice that started after he lost his dad. He was a stomach sleeper like his dad but had the unique habit of sleeping at the edge of the bed with an arm and leg drooping over the side.

I dressed and found coffee pods next to the coffee maker, and a few minutes later, I was on the deck watching the first rays of the sun crest the hills to the east. With a sigh, I dialed my brother's number.

The sound of his voice pricked my heart, and a rush of emotion spread through my chest. Sometimes, he was unaccountably grumpy; one never knew which version of my brother would answer the phone. This time, his voice sounded tired and distant.

"Hi, brother," I said.

"Where in the heck are you?" He asked, his voice rising. "Why haven't you answered your phone?"

"I'm at Pia's. I'm fine." As I was saying it, I realized I didn't need to tell him the state of my health and safety, but it made sense in light of what I was going to say next. "I got a message the day before yesterday telling me to get away because someone was coming. I took it seriously and left town. I hadn't gone far when someone hit me from behind. And he shot at me, Thad. There's a hole in my back window."

"What the fudge?"

"Fortunately, he lost control and rolled off the road," I added.

"So, there's something behind all those calls you've gotten," he said.

"Did you doubt it after Martin was killed," I said dryly.

"I just thought that one of his enemies caught up to him...finally."

I fumed but thought it best not to respond. I have played this game many times in the past. The men in my life were often at each other's throats, and my role was to be neutral and play go-between.

"What do you have they want?" He asked.

"Damn it, Thad. This isn't the time to play the blame game. I have nothing anyone wants."

"They wanted something bad enough to kill for it."

"I'm going to hang up if you keep saying the obvious, okay?"

The line was silent for nearly a minute before my brother said, "You're right. What do you want me to do?"

"See if you can find out about the accident and if there was a body. Also, check with Lacey about my house. Someone may have broken in. Then, you might want to have our accountant check business expenditures in the months before Martin's death. I have the feeling that Martin screwed us over for more than we currently know."

"Well, he emptied your accounts," Thad said.

"Actually, they are our accounts. We were married, you know."

"Yeah, I get that. I'm just saying that he was money-hungry for some reason. Maybe he had another business plan."

"If he did, he didn't share it with me," I said.

"Maybe it was an escape plan," Thad said.

I wasn't about to say anything. Thad had plenty of ammo against my husband. But I also wasn't without suspicions. I'd noticed Martin's Internet searches seemed odd. At least, they seemed strange to me at the time and included countries in the southern hemisphere, modes of transportation, and currency exchanges. At the time, I thought he was considering a vacation...a vacation he never mentioned.

How quickly our perspective can change. The murder of my husband did that. All that I believed about him and our marriage disintegrated when his body was found. Even during the weeks he was still missing, I hung on to what I thought was true about us. But his death—his murder—raised questions, and once the questions began, they seeped into every detail of our lives together. I'm left with ten years of memories with a man I may truly never have known.

"I see you found the coffee," Pia said as she pushed the slider closed behind her. She sat on the chair next to me.

"My cup is about empty," I said.

It was mid-morning when I gave my son a kiss and headed up the freeway to Riverview. Luke was off for the day and offered to take Brant to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. "An excursion day," Luke called it, and the destination was always Brant's choice as long as he chose from a list of three his uncle gave him. I gave Brant some cash and suggested he take his uncle to lunch.

In the meantime, I was on my way to see an old friend. Terri and I have known each other since grade school. She was about the most perfect friend one could have. She knew more about me than anyone else in my life, and she knew the strengths and weaknesses of my marriage. I depended on her to call me out when I was wrong and give good advice when I needed it. And I sure needed good advice now.

My burner phone came to life. Its odd ringtone startled me, and at first, I couldn't imagine who would have my number...except my brother. I pulled off the freeway at the next exit and pulled to a stop. I missed the convenience of Bluetooth. I had forgotten to ask Stan if this little marvel had that convenience.

"Hey," Thad said when he answered.

"What's up?" I responded.

"Your house has been ransacked. It wasn't deliberately defaced, so whoever broke in was looking for something."

"Well, that answers that question," I said. "What about the accident?"

"The police said a car was found off the road near the state line, but no one was around. There had been no emergency calls to that area."

"Well, that's two out of three," I said with dismay.

"You won't like the third, then," Thad said. "I got a call back from our accountant just before I called you. She said she found larger-than-expected dispersals to both suppliers and sub-contractors. She expects to have a full accounting tomorrow."

"That's really bad news," I said. "Why hadn't she caught it?"

"Apparently, the billing sheets looked authentic, and Martin's initials were on many, indicating they could be paid."

"I see where this is going," I said, feeling very tired. "Who's initials were on the others?"

"Yours."