Bound By Truth (The Dresden Island Book 4) (The Dresden Island Series) Read online

  Marion nodded in agreement.

  “Okay, how would you prove that?”

  “Well, the jewelry and the fact that Ruth looked exactly like Poppy. If he was involved with Poppy, it would have made sense for him to dote on Ruth. You know I don't believe that the gardener killed Ruth, so something might come out of this.”

  Marion looked at her and sighed in defeat.

  “I guess,” she said as she shrugged. “Lead the way, Ms. Hudson.”

  They walked directly through John’s building and headed straight for his office. His secretary desperately tried to get them to leave, but Olivia’s cold glare got her to quickly move out of the way.

  “We won’t take long,” Marion assured her with a warm smile.

  John was already waiting for them when they opened the door. He smiled at them as they walked in, but Olivia thought his smile reminded her more of a shark’s. It was nowhere near friendly.

  “Please, sit,” he said as he indicated to the chairs across from him.

  Olivia and Marion took their seats. Olivia didn't want to stay in this office any longer than necessary, so she decided to start the questioning without any pleasantries.

  “I’ll be recording this conversation, if that’s all right with you?”

  Olivia raised both her eyebrows in question and John nodded. He did look a bit irritated. However, it was quickly covered up by his shark smile.

  “I’m sure you remember my sister, Poppy?” Olivia said, keeping her eyes firmly on John’s.

  She didn't want to miss any reaction he may have. Every detail was important. She pressed record and placed the phone on the desk between both of them.

  “Of course. She was a brilliant girl.”

  Olivia glowered. This was not the answer she wanted.

  “What was your relationship with Poppy?”

  John lightly chuckled as he leaned forward in his chair. He placed his elbows on the desk and got as close as possible to Olivia.

  “Tell me, what did Heather tell you?”

  Olivia froze in her seat. How did he know? At this point, she decided that her best course of action was to not say a thing. She looked at him defiantly and crossed her arms.

  “I don't know what you’re talking about,” Olivia said.

  “Sure, you do, I'm positive she took you somewhere and said something about me and my brothers. Am I correct?”

  He was right but Olivia couldn't predict what his reactions would be. If she agreed with him, she could potentially be putting Heather in danger.

  “What was your relationship with Poppy?” she repeated.

  John leaned back and smiled again.

  “She was a promising employee. I saw her potential and offered her an internship.”

  Olivia didn't think that was all there was to it. John caught onto her subtle change of expression as she expressed her doubt. He laughed again.

  “Whatever you're implying, I assure you that isn't the case. Poppy was simply an intern and I was her boss. You don't have to tell me what Heather said, but my ex-wife was always the jealous type.”

  He was cool. He handled things well and smoothly, and Olivia would have been convinced if it weren't for the fact that his eyes were dead and cold. He was hiding something, and Olivia was sure of it. She wouldn't be able to get anything out of him right now. She stopped recording and prepared to leave. He stood up with her and held his hand out to shake.

  “Although I can't blame Poppy for having a simple crush.”

  Olivia would have left immediately. She didn't want to stay any longer than she already had. The words that came out of John’s mouth caused her to pause. In that moment she was so full of rage that all sense of professionalism flew out the window.

  He had no right to be talking about Poppy like that.

  Chapter 7

  Marion knew what was going to happen and turned her head. Olivia’s fist swung out and connected to John’s cheek. He stumbled back, clutching his face. He leaned back in an attempt to stop the blood from dripping onto his white shirt.

  One hit wasn't enough, and Olivia was prepared to give him more. She swung back, preparing to punch him for the second time but was stopped when Marion laid a hand on her arm.

  She looked at Marion, her eyes full of anger as she silently pleaded that Marion let her hit him some more. Marion shook her head slightly. That was enough.

  He deserved so much more, but for now, the bruise forming on his cheek would suffice.

  A few seconds later, security guards flooded the room and escorted Marion and Olivia out. As they left, Olivia saw a change in John’s eyes. His expression gave the impression of a man who was hurt. He looked like a victim, but his eyes were amused. He stood tall and proud by the doorway of his office.

  He was enjoying this.

  Looking at John from the corner of her eye, Olivia sensed something familiar about him. She quickly shook her head and focused on getting to the car. She jerked her arm away from a guard who gripped it too tightly.

  On her way to the car, Olivia felt the effects of the punch in her wrist. She let out a howl of pain as she cradled her hand in her arms.

  “I completely forgot how much that hurt,” she complained.

  Marion laughed and instructed her to put some ice on the hand when they got to the hotel. It was some time later when she realized Olivia wasn't listening nor was she is following her anymore. Marion turned back and saw Olivia standing very still, her eyes as wide as saucers.

  She followed Olivia’s gaze, and her eyes landed on Liam who was on his way into his brother’s office.

  “Oh no,” Marion whispered to herself as she quickly hurried back to stand by Olivia’s side.

  Liam gave her a nod for a greeting, but his focus was directed to Olivia's hand. She was clearly uncomfortable with being in such close proximity to him, and she tried to hide her hand. Liam gently grabbed it and brought it closer to inspect it.

  All of a sudden, Marion realized that making her way to Olivia wasn't the best course of action. She felt like the third wheel.

  “What happened to your hand?” he asked her softly.

  Olivia was still speechless, so Marion jumped in to answer for her.

  “She punched your brother.”

  Liam nodded in understanding.

  “Can I ask why?”

  Marion didn't see anything wrong with telling him what was happening.

  “John killed Poppy.”

  Liam’s eyes widened. He was rendered just as speechless as Olivia.

  “Would it be all right if you guys filled me in?”

  Olivia nodded, and Liam excused himself for a moment. After he had gone in the building, Olivia nudged Marion in the ribs.

  “Why did you tell him?” she hissed.

  Marion shrugged and told Olivia that she didn't believe he had anything to do with Poppy’s death. Olivia looked as if she wanted to believe Marion’s words.

  “If you really want to be sure, you can question him before you tell him about your theory regarding John.”

  Marion made a particularly good point. Olivia chalked up her unsureness about Liam’s involvement with the case to her fear of revisiting that moment in the parking lot. She waited in the car impatiently for Liam to come out of the building.

  He took a long time inside, and by the time he was done, Olivia had fallen asleep. Marion shook her awake and they drove off, leading the way to the hotel.

  In their hotel room, Marion explained that before they updated Liam on the details of the case, they would have to ask him a few questions first. He clearly felt bad being considered a suspect, but he agreed anyway.

  “May I record this conversation?” Olivia asked shyly.

  Liam nodded and looked at her hand. She had a packet of frozen peas resting on her knuckles.

  “How’s your hand?”

  “It’s been better,” she replied with a small smile.

  Marion cleared her throat and pointed to the tablet she held in her
hand. Olivia flushed red in embarrassment and hurried Marion to sit down.

  “Let’s get this over and done with, then,” Marion said.

  She looked over toward Liam, who looked at the floor. He eventually nodded, but it was clear he didn't want to be questioned. He still felt like they thought he was guilty.

  “What was the nature of your relationship with Poppy?”

  Marion started asking the questions seeing as how Olivia hesitated.

  Liam looked thoughtful. It was understandable. Everything had happened fourteen years ago.

  “I, uh..." Liam stammered.

  Olivia leaned forward in her chair to hear his side of the story.

  “I never really knew Poppy. We'd only ever met in the hallways of school. She was over our house a lot, that I can remember.”

  “Why?” Olivia asked.

  Her voice had come out as a squeak. Why was the story lining up with what John said?

  “I don’t know. I was quite rebellious back then, so I was never home. The days I came home, she was always there.”

  “Was it for business? John said that she was going to work for him, as an intern. Is that true?”

  Liam shook his head and paused. Olivia didn’t know if it was because he disagreed with what John said or that Poppy was there for a different reason. Liam shrugged.

  “I heard bits of conversation. I didn’t hear anything about business. John has an office, and if he really wanted to do business, he would have meetings at his office in the building.”

  Olivia sat still and processed Liam’s words. It had caused her to abruptly remember a memory from the time leading up to Poppy’s disappearance.

  Poppy had been floating on a cloud of bliss those past months. She had been extremely secretive about her mysterious new boyfriend, and by the time Olivia was done with her extra classes, Poppy was gone. She wouldn't be back until late at night.

  Once Olivia decided to wait up for her. A large, expensive car drove up their driveway. It stayed there for a while before the door on the driver’s side opened up, and a tall man walked over to where Poppy sat. He opened her door and led her out by the hand. A brief kiss was shared before Poppy walked up the porch steps and into the house.

  Olivia suddenly remembered why John’s stance was so familiar. She’d recognize it anywhere. Olivia saw him many times, looking out the window the day she decided to accuse the family of taking her sister away from her. After Poppy’s disappearance, Olivia no longer attended extra classes. Instead, she made daily trips to the Barlowe residence and yelled at them until her voice was hoarse. But it wasn’t just that, there was something else too.

  Eustace was way too absorbed in his wife, Ruth, to ever pay attention to Poppy. Liam was never at home.

  “She was only seventeen,” Olivia whispered.

  Marion placed a hand over her mouth and remained silent. Liam eventually got the gist of the situation. He joined her on the floor and held her hands.

  “I’m sorry. If only I was there—"

  Olivia put a hand up to stop him.

  “It was not your fault. It was John’s,” she said.

  Olivia looked up and met Marion’s eyes, then she turned and looked at Liam.

  “He would never admit to doing anything atrocious, not unless he thought he was going to win. I want that confession, and I have a plan to get it.”

  Liam and Marion nodded in understanding.

  “Liam, I need you to get me into the house.”

  Chapter 8

  They waited until dark. By now, John probably had a compilation of information that would get him out of this mess. Marion wanted to avoid that. She was a great lawyer, but how was she supposed to battle against an entire legal team? She was only one person.

  The only way was to get a direct confession out of John.

  Olivia was glad that Liam offered his help. During her stay at the Barlowe residence, Olivia kept her route limited to her room, the library, and the dining room. She had no clue as to where the other rooms were. She wasn’t interested in getting to know them anyway.

  Liam led them through the windows at the back of the house. They remained in the shadows and even got as far as the kitchen before the lights were turned on. Olivia squinted as the light blinded her, and she put her hand up to cover her face.

  The silhouette of a small woman filled the doorway. Alice Barlowe looked at the three of them crouched by the kitchen counters. She pulled her robe tighter around her and snickered. They must have looked ridiculous. Alice looked at the open window.

  “Liam, you have the house keys,” she said and turned away.

  Olivia and Marion laughed into their hands as Liam rolled his eyes. He stood up and brushed off his jacket.

  “I want to speak with you alone, Olivia,” Alice called out from the hallway.

  Olivia excused herself from the group and followed Alice.

  “When I said that the Barlowe men were dangerous, I didn’t mean Liam. That boy is the most kindhearted one of us.”

  “I guess it helped shipping him away from his brothers at a young age,” Olivia muttered.

  Alice heard and chuckled. Olivia turned red and looked up.

  “No offence,” she said quickly.

  Alice waved her hand.

  “None taken,” she said. “Eustace is too weak willed, but John is too much like his father.”

  Alice looked into Olivia’s eyes as she said those words. She wanted Olivia to read into her words, but Olivia didn’t know what to do with them. She didn’t know what she was looking for.

  Alice never talked in a forthright manner.

  “Their father loved to hunt. If you look around the house, you see trophies of his conquests.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Olivia asked.

  Alice shrugged.

  “Sometimes, they have to learn their lesson.”

  Alice’s eyes had a faraway look to them. However, her tone was hard. There was a mystery as to how she ever became the Barlowe matriarch. All Olivia remembered from the story was that Alice was found alone in the middle of the woods without her husband.

  According to Alice, whatever her husband did, he probably deserved it.

  Chapter 9

  “John’s office is down the hall from here. He’s probably in his room right now so we can go in and out without him noticing.”

  Olivia considered the idea and shook her head.

  “I doubt he’d have anything important in there. This isn’t information on his clients, it’s information on him. We have to get into his room.”

  “If he sees us, it's game over. He’ll never admit to anything,” Marion replied.

  Olivia shook her head.

  “No, I’ll go. He was amused at how worked up I got before that, and if he thinks I came here alone, he'll assume he has the upper hand. He could formulate a plan and kill me. He could even say I left town because I hated it so much.”

  “You realize that’s even more reason not to let you go alone?” Liam asked, visibly confused.

  “Of course, I won’t go alone. You’re both coming with me. I just need John to think I’m alone.”

  To Marion, she said, “I need you to record whatever conversation we have in there.”

  Marion nodded.

  “I’m still unsure with leaving you alone with my brother,” Liam grumbled.

  “You guys will be there with me.”

  “You know it’s not the same.”

  Olivia put a hand on his arm and assured him that she would be fine. Liam sighed and led the way.

  John was having a heated discussion with someone. Judging from what Olivia heard, he was probably talking to his wife. That was an aspect of the plan that they didn’t consider.

  “His wife is here?” Olivia mouthed to Liam.

  Liam shook his head and crouched next to her.

  “She hates it here,” he whispered. “She’s got a separate house across the lake. We can go in.”

 
The conversation went on for forever, and by the time John was finished, Olivia’s legs had started to go numb. John walked around in his room for a few more minutes until another door clicked closed.

  “He’s in the bathroom now, go in,” Liam said.

  Olivia whispered her thanks and walked into the room. John’s office had been neat, almost minimalistic in style. His room was the complete opposite of that.

  Every corner or John’s room was full of something. That certainly helped when Olivia opened the door and ushered Liam and Marion inside.

  “I’ve never been here my entire life,” Liam whispered as he looked around the room in awe.

  Olivia pointed at various hiding places and hurried them.

  “We don’t know when he’ll come out. You have to hide,” Olivia hissed.

  Sure enough, the moment Liam settled in behind a couch, with books scattered around it, the bathroom door opened. Olivia didn’t even have enough time to look around before she bumped into John’s imposing figure. The lights in the bathroom hid his face, but it accentuated his silhouette.

  Seeing him form close-up reminded her of something. For a few weeks, Olivia had almost lost her life twice. In both situations, she had seen this very silhouette. This whole time, John had taken it upon himself to get rid of Olivia. She found herself frozen with fear.

  When John stepped closer, Olivia instinctively took a step back. He smirked as Olivia realized that he was her would-be killer. She needed to change the subject. And fast.

  “I know you did it,” Olivia blurted out. “You killed my sister.”

  John burst out laughing.

  “Maybe I did.”

  “Why?” Olivia asked.

  John walked around the room as he ignored her.

  “Do you know what these are?” he asked Olivia.

  Olivia said nothing but glared at him.

  “They’re my trophies. See, I like to win, Ms. Hudson. I like to keep the things I own to myself.”

  He held up an earring, one that resembled the pair of earrings that Poppy had received as gifts. Olivia looked around and noticed a bunch of other earrings that had no pairs.