Alek

"This isn't necessary," Flora said several times from the backseat while enroute to her mother's house. "I know you want to understand your mom's reasons for taking her life, Verity—that makes perfect sense! I would too. But if my mom had any answers, she would have told you a long time ago. Hasn't she always been open and honest with you?"

This was a question for Verity, not me, and so I bit my tongue. Guilty people often withheld self-incriminating truths. I understood that well enough from my own strained relationship with Norvin. Val Marquez may have no information to contribute, or she may have every reason to keep her mouth shut. For all we knew, her silence was being bought. After all, her pad in Manhattan Beach wasn't exactly what you'd expect from a single mother on a nurse's income.

"It's true. Your mom has been wonderful to me over the years," Verity said. "Which is why I'm hoping she can help now."

"Not sure how helpful she'll be on pain meds," Flora grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. Val had undergone a procedure on her kneecap, not open-heart surgery. There was no reason she'd be incapable of answering basic questions, such as the ones I had lined up:

How are you feeling?

Can we talk to you about the past?

What where the circumstances surrounding Cora Hargrove's death?

Were you involved in a secret organization that did experiments on people who may or may not be werewolves?

Were my parents the victims or the perpetrators?

"We'll go easy on her," I said, but that was to be determined. What questions we posed would be dictated by Val herself. Was she open and forthcoming, the way Flora claimed she'd always been? No problem. She'd tell us what we need to know, then we'd hug, and leave with good will.

Was she defensive and tightlipped? That would have a darker outcome. After losing our opportunity to find answers at the archives, I'd be damned if I was going to let this lead fail us.

My phone beeped from its docking station.

"Who's 'Old Man?'" Verity asked, reading the name that popped up on my screen. "Oh, wait, I think I can guess."

"Yep. He's called and texted a million times. I'm ignoring him."

"Why?" She twisted around to glance at Flora, then said in a low voice. "Won't he help us?"

"He's the last person who will." I scowled. Norvin had been the closest thing I'd had to a father since I was six. Even with our hot and cold relationship, I'd always trusted he'd been upfront with me about my parents' deaths. But now I knew too much; everything he'd ever told me had been to serve his best interest, not mine. "Even if he spouted a bunch of words that sounded helpful, we'd never be able to tell what was truth and what was lies. Besides, he's probably the one who... you know." My eyes caught Flora's in the rearview mirror. "Smoked our lead yesterday."

"Smoked your lead?" Flora leaned forward until her head popped up between the front seats. "What are you two talking about?"

"Never mind. I'm just in an argument with my old man."

"Your old man? I thought your father was dead?"

My hands gripped tightly to the wheel as I tried to remember if I'd ever mentioned that fact to Flora. Usually, I kept my parents' unalive status to myself. Amongst the spa squad, Verity was the only one I'd finally told, and that was after a considerable battle with my deep-seated trust issues. "Let's just focus on your mother. I promise we'll be nice."

"I brought her a gift," Verity said, taking a jar out of her purse. She handed it to Flora. "My neighbor, Mrs. Benson, makes these."

"Marmalade," Flora said. "My mom's favorite."

"I remember."

The jam seemed to appease Flora. "Just don't barrage her with twenty questions, okay? That time in her life wasn't exactly easy. My father had just left, and the settlement hadn't gone through. We were scrambling to get by. That's probably why she won't talk about it."

I had a feeling there was more to the story than that, but me saying so wouldn't help matters. Again, I bit my tongue.

"You're going to have to talk to him soon, Alek," Verity said to me in a low voice.

"Talk to who?" Clearly, we were not focused on the same thing.

"You know... your old man."

"I told you; he won't help us."

"It's not about helping us. I mean, I still hope he might, but the reality is, you should play it cool. Like, act normal. Otherwise, it will seem... suspicious."

"Okay, I really don't get what's going on here," Flora said. "What would seem suspicious? What the hell is going on? First, you can't even wait a day to talk to my mom about something that happened when we were in preschool, and then you're talking about people helping you or not helping you and that you have to act normal, which I'm telling you right now neither of you are capable of pulling off at the moment. What the hell?"

"Let's talk to your mom, first," Verity said, "and then we'll tell you everything."

"What?" I nearly slammed on the breaks. "We will not tell her everything. Verity!"

"So, you are keeping secrets." Flora pressed herself against the backseat. "Unbelievable."

"It's complicated," Verity said. "It's not that I want to keep anything from you."

"So then, don't." She kicked at the back of my seat. "Tell me."

Verity put a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe we should?"

I shook my head and focused on the road, afraid that my frustration would lead to me making an error in judgement. "Talk to Flora's mom first. After that, you can tell Flora your secrets, if that's what you think is best." I glanced over at her, hoping the brief look held enough gravitas for her to take these next words seriously. "But only yours. My secrets are off the table."

"Holy shit, Verity, are you some sort of government asset and Alek is your handler? Are you two working for the CIA?"

"We couldn't tell you if we were," Verity said.

"Can I be an asset too? Alek, what do you have to do to become a spy?"

"I'm not a spy, Flora."

"Of course not. Turn left at the next street. Mom's house will be the third on the right."

I followed the instructions, pulling into a driveway with a steep incline.

The two-story house stood dark against its neighbors, its shutters all drawn.

Flora led us up the path to the front door, ringing the doorbell and then turning the nob to go inside, only to find it locked.

"Strange," Flora said. "I texted her to tell her we were coming. Since her surgery, I've been here nearly every day. She usually keeps the door unlocked when she'd expecting me."

Undeterred, Flora walked over to a nearby planter, lifted it an inch, and slid out a key. "Here we are."

The house was as still inside as it had been outside. Entering through the kitchen, a cup of tea sat on the counter. I felt the mug as we walked by. Cold to the touch.

"Mom?" Flora called out.

We walked through the dining room and eventually made our way around the entire downstairs. No sign of Flora's mom.

"Maybe she's taking a nap?" Verity suggested. "The meds she's on might wipe her out."

"Stay here," Flora said as she headed up the stairs. A minute later, she appeared again, taking the stairs down two at a time. "She's not here. Let's see if the car is in the garage."

"I thought you said she wasn't able to drive." I followed Flora as she opened the door separating a utility room from the garage. A newer model dark blue BMW sat parked in it.

"She's not driving." Flora pointed to the car. "That's her only car."

"Maybe she took a walk?" Verity suggested. "Or went out with a friend."

Flora rolled her eyes. "She just had knee surgery. She's not on a walk." She started walking in circles around the kitchen island. "And if she was with a friend, she would have told me that so I didn't show up at an empty house."

Verity tried to put an arm around her, but Flora shrugged her off.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Something happened to her. And you know what?" She raised her hand, pointing a finger at her life-long friend. "It's your fault, isn't it?"

___

Author's note: Where is Flora's mom? What happened to her? Is it related to the deaths of Verity and Alek's parents?

Thanks for your continued readership! I appreciate it!