Page 53 of Unburied

He shook his head. “Everything was fairly amicable. From what I understand, Ellen was deeply depressed after Christine's death and the marriage began to crumble. They were separated for a good period of time before she actually filed for divorce.”

Mason chewed on that for a moment. “Was that the last time you saw Russ?”

“I believe so,” Grant said slowly. “It's been a while, but I remember he was living up around Orlando at the time, probably is still there.”

“Actually,” Mason replied, “he's not. That's why I'm here. Russ is an extended family member of my client, who has been trying to reach him. But we've been unable to find any trace—no phone number, no tax information, no DMV records.”

“Perhaps he doesn't want to be found.” Grant lifted one shoulder. “I think the divorce was hard on both of them, so it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted nothing to do with the memories here.”

“That may be,” Mason said, “but I need to explore every option for my client.”

Grant stared at him for several long seconds. “And would that be Tyler you're talking about?”

Mason was more than a little surprised he knew about Tyler, but he tried to mask it. “I'm not at liberty to discuss it. I apologize.”

He nodded slowly. “Well, hypothetically speaking, if it were Tyler looking for him, I would tell him the exact same thing I did last week.”

He'd spoken with Tyler? “And what would that be?”

Grant sighed. “If you found the divorce papers, you'll also find that I drafted the original trust fund in Christine's name as well. She wanted to be sure her son would be taken care of. None of us knew what she planned to do. I felt so guilty afterward, like I should have known. But she exhibited no signs of depression that Ellen saw.”

Mason wanted to argue that her diary was a direct contradiction, but he kept his mouth shut. “So you've known about him all along?”

“I have.”

“What about the father?”

A deep sadness filled Grant's blue eyes but was gone a second later as he lifted his hands. “Although I set up the fund for Tyler, Christine never revealed the information to me.”

Not the answer Mason wanted, but it was expected. “Well, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Harrison stood and walked with Mason toward the lobby. “Tell Vivi I said hello.”

“I will, thank you.” Mason nodded and headed toward the parking lot.

He still wasn’t sure what all this meant. They were getting close to something—to whom or what, he wasn’t precisely sure. All he knew was, Vivi and Tyler needed answers and he was going to do everything in his power to find them. Then they could put all of this behind them once and for all and move forward with a clean slate.

Now that things between Vivi and Mason were out in the open, he felt freer. Lighter. He couldn’t wait until they’d tied up all of these loose ends so she could finally be free of her demons, too. He wanted her to have closure for whatever she’d endured as a child, whether she remembered it or not.

He’d encouraged Vivi to speak with the physician she’d visited as a child, but the man had retired and moved to Phoenix. Though Mason wasn’t entirely sure the doctor would have any additional answers for her, he felt like anything could help. She’d only had the nightmare once more since the night she’d discovered Russ’s identity, but she’d woken right away as soon as he reached for her.

Mason loved being the person she depended on. He loved that she could turn to him when she needed something—anything. She was fiercely independent, but still comfortable enough with him to share her fears and worries. He wanted to be her shelter, her protector, her safe haven, just the way she was for him.

He couldn’t begin to dissect the feelings that welled up inside him at the thought of a future with her. All that mattered was they were finally moving forward—together.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

Vivi stared out the window, wondering where they could possibly be going. Knox had sounded cryptic on the phone when he called, asking only if she would come see something with him. They had left town and headed southeast, winding their way through the middle-class suburbs.

She studied the well-manicured homes on their one-acre lots before turning back to her brother. “Is this your way of telling me you bought a house?”

A smirk lifted his lips, but he didn't tear his gaze from the windshield. “Something like that.”

Vivi gave a dramatic sigh. “Just tell me already. You know I hate surprises.”

His smile slipped away, and his expression turned serious. “A piece of property came up for sale, and I want your opinion on it. I've been thinking of building a house instead of buying one.”