No One Knows Part 20

"Seriously, Meghan. This is important."

"Okay, okay. I will sit and sip my coffee and let you spin me a tale."

"Good. Thank you. A man approached me at the hospital last night. He implied that Josh was alive, and if I wanted answers to call him. He gave me his card, but I spilled coffee on it, so I can't see the number. He seemed really familiar, but I can't place him."

"Let me see the card."

Aubrey handed it over. Meghan glanced at it, and Aubrey could have sworn her face paled. She set it down carefully on the counter.

"Go on."

"All right. You know how when I saw Chase for the first time, I thought he was Josh? So did Daisy. She was so convinced it was him, she drove into my house. She got excited, her foot jammed on the gas. She-"

"Was drunk off her ass. Didn't you say her blood alcohol level was .23?"

"Meghan. Interruption."

"Oh, forgive me. Please, by all means, continueth." She grinned contritely, and Aubrey shook her head.

"As I was saying. She was so convinced he was Josh that she slammed into the house. When she got the tube out, the first thing she said was 'Where is Josh?' I figured she'd just forgotten he was dead, but when we talked, she just didn't believe me. She thinks I'm holding him back.

"And when Tyler showed up, he told me he spent a night in holding with a guy who claimed he was running drugs with a med student out of Vandy."

Meghan sat there for a moment, then said, "Oh, I'm allowed to speak now?"

"Yes. I need to find out if the med student he was talking about was Josh."

Meghan leaned forward. "Your Josh? Running drugs? That's ridiculous."

Aubrey swallowed. "I don't know if it is, Meghan. I'm going to ask Chase for help. He's a reporter. Maybe he can do some digging or something." She sat back and watched the emotions course over her best friend's face. At least Meghan didn't laugh.

Meghan got up and poured them fresh coffees, then turned back to Aubrey.

"This is insane, you know that."

"I do," Aubrey replied. "You didn't know him, Meghan. He was born to save people. He saved me. And all he wanted to do was help others. He wasn't a criminal, didn't have that kind of mind-set. If he got himself into something and got in over his head, and they killed him for it, and people are starting to talk about it . . . I have to know. I have to find out what really happened."

"No one's perfect, sugar. Especially saviors."

Aubrey sighed. "I know. But he was pretty damn close."

"What do you think Chase will say about all of this?"

"No idea. He's been very interested in the story, as you can imagine. He may walk, he may want to help. I won't know unless I ask."

Meghan straightened the napkins on the bar. She shook her head while she thought, the small diamond in her left ear cartilage winking, like a star moving in and out of the clouds. Aubrey sat silently, waiting. Either Meghan would believe her and want to help, or she'd laugh her out of the store, and Aubrey would be forced to try elsewhere.

"Do you honestly think Josh could have been involved in an illegal drug ring?"

"Someone killed him, Meghan. At this point, anything is possible."

"But don't you think the police would have followed that trail back then? Do you remember them saying anything about Josh being involved in something?"

"They weren't exactly talking to me, and it didn't come up in the trial. But Josh was acting strange before he disappeared. I thought it was the stress from school, and his extra job at the ME's office. He wasn't getting a lot of sleep. Burning the candle."

"The ME's office?"

"Yeah. We needed extra money. He had changed his mind about his specialty. It was going to add time to his schooling, so he took the job at the morgue to supplement our income."

Meghan looked at her strangely. "You realize no one has ever mentioned he worked at the medical examiner's office."

Aubrey stilled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean in every article I've ever read about Josh, none ever mentioned he had a second job. Did you tell the police this?"

"Of course. Why were you reading about Josh?"

Meghan laughed shortly. "Aubrey, you're my best friend. Of course I read about your husband's case. Knowing stuff about him helped me help you. When you were having bad times."

"Let's not go there."

"Agreed. Though you start digging into this, you could end up right back in the hospital. You know that, right?"

Aubrey looked into the depths of her coffee. "I am a lot stronger now than I was."

"All right. So maybe he lied to you about working at the ME's office. Let me ask you this. Did you ever find anything odd, something that you didn't know Josh had? Keys, notebooks, parking stubs? Drugs? Anything that might be suspicious?"

"Meghan, no. Not that I know of. I was grieving, though, and they put me through hell, interrogating me, harassing me. I wasn't exactly looking for lost keys or parking stubs, and the drugs I was taking were my own. Then we packed everything up and Daisy took it. I don't even have it anymore."

They both drifted into silence. Meghan pulled out her laptop from under the counter, was clicking the keys. Aubrey didn't know what she was looking up; she just kept shaking her head, muttering "This is crazy" under her breath over and over. Aubrey understood that sentiment. She felt the same way.

"Whoa. Look at this."

"What is it?"

"Derek Allen. If this is the same guy, Aubrey . . . he was held for questioning in the murder of a drug kingpin out of Mexico." She tapped away, then pulled up the Davidson County Criminal Court website. "I can plug in his name and see his arrest record."

"Are there pictures?"

"Not in this database, no. And a Google search isn't picking anything up."

"What about DC Investigations? That was on the card he gave me."

Meghan's brows furrowed. "Nothing. Aubrey, I think you need to go to the police, and tell them he came to see you."

"You're kidding, right? Me, go to the police?"

"This Derek Allen guy is trouble." She flipped the computer around. "Look at his sheet. His most previous arrest was for aggravated murder. He was sentenced, he's been in jail. He's no one to be playing with."

"No police. No way." Aubrey thought back to the conversation she had with Tyler. "This has to be the guy Tyler was talking about who was being released. But why would he come to me and say these things about Josh?"

Meghan finally closed the browser and looked at Aubrey speculatively.

"Sometimes you can be so charmingly naive."

"I am not. And Josh is dead."

Meghan sipped her coffee. "Listen. I've never told you this, but years ago, I used to be married to a private investigator. If you won't go to the cops, I could ask him to look into this for you."

Aubrey felt her pulse begin to race. "You were married to a PI?"

Meghan shrugged. "He was always off on stakeouts trying to catch men in awkward positions so their wives could divorce them and get a bundle of cash. It was unseemly, really."

"Still. I'm your best friend. I can't believe you never told me."

Meghan sighed. "It was a lifetime ago, sugar, and it didn't end well. Besides, sharing, it's not my way. Once something is done, it's over, and there's no sense looking back over your shoulder and wishing things could be different. That way lies madness."

As soon as the words were out, Meghan winced.

Aubrey looked at the floor. "Ouch."

"Sorry. My bad. Let's get back to the matter at hand. Daniel and I are friends of a sort, now that we have some distance. And I have to admit, you've got me intrigued. Though I'm shocked that none of this came up during the initial investigation."

"Why would it?" Aubrey asked. "Why would anyone tie an upstanding young doctor-to-be who went missing from his friend's bachelor party to a drug dealer?"

"If the investigators were worth their salt, they would have looked at every angle."

"But it's such an obtuse angle, Meghan. They were looking at me. Maybe they missed it."

"You don't know that."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "You don't know that they did."

"We'll have to find out. We have to go at this from two ends." Meghan stood and started straightening the counter. "It's just crazy enough to make sense, though. That Josh was involved in a drug ring, got himself hurt, but got away, and now that he's been declared dead, he's back from the grave, looking for the insurance money."

Aubrey felt the familiar sense of unease at the idea of the insurance payout. "Wow, Meghan. You should write novels. Josh is dead. We all know that. He can't come back from the grave for the money."

"When does the settlement go through?"

"Friday."

Meghan shrugged. "It's a jumping-off point. And you're still planning to tell Chase what you've found out?"

"Yes. I think he might be able to help."

Meghan fiddled with her cup. "I don't know if you should."

"Why not?"

"Isn't that obvious, Aubrey?"

"No. It isn't."

"Look at this clearly, Aubrey. You have an emotional stake in the outcome. And that's going to cloud your judgment. It looks to me like someone's messing with you. You can't be sure it's not Chase. He could be behind all of this."

"Meghan, that's ridiculous. Chase is not involved in this."

Meghan just nodded, curt, and Aubrey had to bite back a nasty retort. She didn't believe that; she couldn't. Chase was a good guy caught up in a strange situation. Instead, she said, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

Meghan smiled. "I can't promise anything. But now you have me intrigued." They heard clapping from the back of the store. "I can break this down. Go home, get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow after I've had a chance to talk to Daniel."

CHAPTER 35.

Aubrey left Frothy Joe's feeling oddly optimistic. She was on the path to finding real answers about what happened to Josh.

She couldn't believe Meghan had held out on her like this. She'd been married to a PI? Why hadn't she offered his help with Josh before?

Because Josh was dead. And her responsibility as your friend was to help keep you sane and functioning.

And Meghan had done just that. For five years she'd been by Aubrey's side, wiping away tears, fixing meals, taking away the empty bottles, reminding her to take her medicine.

Five years of friendship, of laughter, of sorrow. Aubrey hadn't ever had a friend like Meghan before. No, that wasn't true. She'd had Josh.

She was home in five minutes. The gaping hole in the brick made the already shabby house look horrible. She'd have to call the insurance company again tomorrow and see when they could get someone out to assess the damage. Shaking her head, she went inside. Winston was overjoyed to see her, licked her on the face, then went to his lead. He wanted to run. And so did she.

As she laced up her shoes, she thought of Daisy, of her blank stare, the pain crossing her eyes when Aubrey reminded her Josh was dead. Of her certainty that Chase was Josh. It was disconcerting, and made this whole situation that much weirder. She was missing something, something big.

She left the house with Winston, let him guide her. He went up the hill, toward 25th, legs stretching, and she knew he was headed toward the park. Tonight it didn't seem like such a horrible place to go. They raced up the hill, then settled in for a nice comfortable run. They circled Dragon Park, not stopping at the tree. She thought about Chase as she ran, and was back home in an hour.

Aubrey was hungry. That was something new. She wasn't used to these feelings: hunger, desire, contentment. She just knew she was about to have answers, and even if they hurt, even if they cut to the bone, there was a path to the light.

She fed Winston and was putting the finishing touches on a bowl of spaghetti when the doorbell rang. Winston scrambled to the door, nails clicking on the floor, and barked, three times, in quick succession.

She set the bowl on the counter and went to the door. Glanced out the peephole. Tyler.

Finally. She pulled the door open.

"I've been trying to reach you. Where have you been?"

When he didn't answer right away, she registered the truth. Tyler's skin had a grayish tinge to it, one Aubrey recognized. How quickly he had fallen. He'd used again and was trying to kick the heroin. He was in withdrawal.

"Hey, sis." He was shaking from head to toe.