“A couple of things,” I said. “First, how are you, and how’s your little girl?”
“It’ll take some time, but I’ll be okay. The bullet didn’t hit anything major, but I’ve got some malnutrition issues to address. Talulah’s having a tough time. She hasn’t seen me or my mother in months, so we’re like strangers to her. Since she spent most of her time with a nanny, we’re going to keep her around while she gets adjusted. How about you? Are you okay?”
“Me?” I asked in surprise. “Oh, I’m fine. I mean, I’m obviously shaken up by the whole thing, but I’m also relieved that it’s over. She was terrorizing me for months.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sean said. “She enjoyed telling me about her plans, and she enjoyed starving me for days when they didn’t work. It was a special kind of hell.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I said.
“No,” he said vehemently. “Don’t apologize to me. I’m sorry for everything that happened to you. I know things didn’t end well with us, but I never wanted any harm to come to you.”
“Well,” I said slowly. “I may have wished for some bad things to happen to you, but nothing like this.”
He laughed lightly. “That’s understandable.”
“Can I ask you a few questions about her and what she was doing? I understand if you don’t want to talk about it or aren’t feeling up to it?—”
“Daphne,” he interrupted. “It’s fine. Ask whatever you want to know.”
“Flint said you told him Tori didn’t know you were married, and you hadn’t planned on telling her. How did she find out?”
“After Talulah was born, I was basically living at her house. She went by my place once or twice a week to get the mail. When she saw the letter from your attorney, she opened it. If you don’t already know, she paid your lawyer to cancel the divorce and give you the runaround.”
I gasped. “I recently found out what he did, but I didn’t know she paid him.”
“She also paid a man to kill you. When she found out you kicked his ass, she hired two people to kidnap you and bring you to her so she could do it herself.”
“Lewis and Leah,” I said.
“Yes,” he confirmed and stifled a laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny, but she was so mad when she had to go get them. By that point, I was somewhat used to not eating very often, so I was able to secretly enjoy it when you thwarted her plans.”
The sound of Dice furiously tapping at the screen of his phone caught my attention.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“If you’re texting your people about Lewis and Leah, I can save you some time and trouble,” Sean said.
“How so?” Dice asked.
“They’re gone. Tori paid them to leave town and never come back after they came up with a story to explain their actions.”
“I knew they were lying,” Dice said.
“Yeah, it took them a while to come up with a story they thought you would believe but couldn’t prove to be true or false. It was Lewis’s idea, so there might have been some truth to it.”
“How was she finding these people? Are there really that many people who will commit crimes for money?” I asked.
“She knew Leah, and Leah knew Lewis,” Sean explained. “I don’t know how she found the guy that attacked you.”
“Have you told the police everything you’re telling us?” Dice asked.
“Yes,” Sean said slowly. “Was I not supposed to?”
“It’s fine,” Dice said with a hint of frustration, or maybe disappointment. “The police should be able to track them down even if they did leave town.”
“I have to admit, I was really worried about the mushrooms,” Sean continued. “She was convinced that would work.”