Antony takes a moment to look it up and then confirms that Accident, Maryland, does indeed have a South Street.
“What is at 72 South Street?” I ask.
“Invalid address,” Antony replies. “There’s a post office in that block though.”
“So, maybe a PO Box?” Threes suggests.
“Maybe.” I hate making guesses like this. Anything and everything is possible, and there isn’t enough information to make a decision based on it.
“But no key,” Antony says, “not that we’ve found anyway.”
Threes sits back, looks over the information for a minute, and looks back at me. His eyes narrow.
“Is your shirt buttoned wrong?” he asks.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I grab at the buttons, release them, and start buttoning my shirt correctly. “Will you stay on target, please?”
Threes snickers, then lets out a long sigh.
“I could put all this together better if I’d had some coffee,” he says, “but this is what I gather so far. For whatever reason, Micha was looking into Cherry right before he was killed. Cherry has a poorly doctored birth certificate that didn’t come from us, and the Ramsays are the only people who might have a reason to alter her information. Do you know who the woman in the photograph is?”
“Not sure,” Antony says, “but the guy with her is definitely Roland Ramsay, so she might be Leanne. That was his wife’s name, right?”
“Yeah, that could be her,” Three says with a nod. “They’ve both been dead a while, so we won’t get any info from them.”
“We also don’t know which baby of hers she’s carrying there,” I say. “There’s no date on the photo. It could be Janna or Jay.”
“It’s black and white because it’s been scanned,” Antony says, “not because it’s that old. Janna and Jay are only two years apart. They were both born around that time.”
“She’s a year older than me,” I say, “and Jay is a year younger, if I remember right.”
“And Cherry is your age,” Antony reminds me. “You were born just a few days apart, according to the forged birth certificate, anyway.”
“I’m gonna say it,” Threes says slowly, “because no one else seems to want to. It could be Cherry. That’s what we’re all thinking here, and someone has to come out and say it.”
He looks straight into my eyes like he’s waiting for me to take a swing at him, and I have to admit that I’m tempted. I preferred it when we were all dancing around what was in front of us, but now I can’t deny that it’s possible.
“The timing is right,” Threes says as he keeps his gaze on me. “Leanne could have had another child between Janna and Jay. You have to admit that it could be Cherry.”
“She did come here looking to find her birth parents,” Antony says quietly.
“They see it,” Pops whispers in my ear, “so why can’t you?”
I swallow hard, trying to rid myself of the burning taste in the back of my throat. This can’t be happening, not after everything has been going so smoothly, so perfectly. Cherry can’t possibly be involved with the Ramsays. I know she can’t.
I think.
I’m not going to get anywhere without more information, so I turn my gaze to Antony.
“Go pick up that guy tailing her—Aaron. Take whoever you need with you. Just make sure none of them have met Cherry.” I turn to Threes. “You get the barn set up. We’ll all meet there. I want to know everything that guy knows.”
“You got it, boss.”
*****
I drop my ass on a bench in the barn, trying to tune out Aaron’s final, gasping breaths. My head is pounding from the stress and lack of sleep, and my hands are starting to shake a little. I should probably lay off the caffeine for a while.
We’d been here all day, doing everything Threes could think of to get information out of Cherry’s internet date, and I’m beyond exhausted. Aaron admitted to working with the Ramsays but not until after he was thrown out of the Big O. Apparently, that pissed him off enough to switch sides. He claims he has no idea why the Ramsays wanted him to tail Cherry, and he was only supposed to report her comings and goings, not protect her from anything. He said he knew nothing about Micha or why my brother could have been looking into Cherry’s past right before he was killed.
In my heart, I want to believe Aaron’s words. I want to think that Cherry knows nothing of her past, just as she’s told me. I don’t want to even consider that she might know more about her heritage than she’s let on.
Then again, I don’t know if I can believe anything Aaron says. I can’t make sense of what’s going on here at all. For the first time in months, I have what might be a lead on my brother’s death, and it looks like it might involve my girlfriend.
I can’t deal with this.
I suddenly realize I haven’t called Cherry today, and it’s starting to get late. I’m pretty sure I can’t keep my voice steady on the phone, so I type out a quick excuse.
Nate O: Sorry I haven’t managed to call today. Working late tonight. I’ll have to get back to you after work tomorrow. Hope you’ve had a wonderful day, my Cherice!
She replies quickly and with far more typos that she usually sends.
I’ve hand an intersting day. I’ll tak to you tomorrow. Gnight Nate.
I narrow my eyes at the screen, trying to read between the lines that may or may not be there. Why was her day interesting? What had she been doing? Had she, as Antony and Pops suspect, been meeting with the Ramsays? Had she seen Aaron’s abduction, and
