CHAPTER 30-SECRETS ARE SAFE
Smurf had reached out to Baz in for him to bring Lena more clothes. Even though she had been spending time with him and Pope, she still spent a majority of her time sleeping at Smurf's. In the beginning, Smurf didn't mind taking care of her that much as she was her youngest grandchild but now it was starting to get to her. Baz would constantly leave Lena at her house when she had other things to do. If she wasn't there, she was with Pope but most of the time she was dropped off at her house at night.
Baz would have rather dropped the things off when she wasn't home, but Smurf insisted that he stop by when she was present. She had a few things on her mind that she wanted to talk about, but he wasn't in the mood to hear any of them. He had assumed that she was going to call him out for his parenting once more but if he was going to take parenting advice from anyone, it wouldn't be Smurf.
When he showed up after taking Lena to school, the house was eerily quiet considering J was at school as well and Smurf was the only one in the house. Baz entered through the backyard and took a glance around. His mind told him to drop off the clothes and get out as quick as he could, but she'd kill him for doing so. Not knowing where she was, Baz scanned the house and his last spot to look was in Lena's room.
She had been folding a couple things of clothes when she noticed him. "I thought you weren't going to show. How thoughtful to bring your daughter some clothes"
"Hey, you called and asked me to so I'm here" He moved into the room and set a bookbag on the dresser. Smurf moved away from the bed and over to him in order to check the contents. While digging, she found a little picture book.
"Lena wanted to keep it over here. She told me it helps her to not have nightmares" Flipping through a few pages, she recognized some of them that were taken at her house. They were mostly of Lena and her Uncles, but a few pictures popped up with everyone else as well.
"When was this?" She asked when she stopped on a picture that she had never seen before. Lena was in a sparkly purple dress and Jessica was holding her in a flowy orange beach gown. It was taken at Baz's house and it was recent from what she could tell.
Baz peered over to see it and instantly regretted putting that in her bag. He had taken it the night of the dance at her school because Jessica insisted that he take some of Lena. She was doing everything in her power to give her a sense of normal with Catherine being gone.
"There was a dance at Lena's school about a month ago. She asked if Jess could go with her"
"Hm…" Baz could tell that it bothered her even though she wasn't going to flat out say it. "I'm surprised she didn't ask me"
There wasn't anything else he wanted to say on the matter because he wasn't going to get into with Smurf. The problem this time was with Jessica, so he wanted to stay out of it. She threw the book onto the dresser before pulling out some of the clothes in order to put them in the closet. The silence between them spoke volumes because Baz didn't have much to say to her nor did he want to talk. He had a few things he had to work out, so he was more than eager to leave. Baz waited for a minute or two before going to walk back out the door.
"Baz…I know Lena is my Grandchild and as much as I love having her over here, I'm not her parent. You need to start stepping up to the plate" Shoving a hanger into the closet, she glanced over her shoulder.
He sighed before rubbing the back of his head. "I know, I'm working on it. Jessica's getting on me for it so if I'd rather not hear it from someone else"
"Like she knows anything about parenting" She said simply then turned back around. "Cath's disappearance is really starting to get to Lena, it's been gone for a couple months now. Isn't it a little suspicious that you haven't heard anything from her?"
"If you're trying to imply that Cath ran off without Lena, you're wrong. We both know she wouldn't have left her here. I've been doing everything I can to get her back"
"Oh, I'm sure you have" Smurf told him with a faint sarcastic tone in the message. "It seems like you're doing everything but that. You don't come around for days on end leaving Lean here with me, Pope picks her up and now Jessica is playing house"
"What is your problem today?" Baz asked her not understanding where all the hostility was coming from. The second he stepped into the home, he felt like he was being attacked at every angle. Everything she said had an angry tone to it. "I come in here and all of a sudden you want to start something"
As Smurf was bending down for a couple more clothes to place on hangers, she paused at his remark. That angered her because she wasn't starting something, she was simply telling the truth. Lena was her grandchild, not one of her own. Pope was the uncle and Jessica sure wasn't a mother. Things needed to change whether anyone liked it or not.
"You really think this is about me when I'm trying to tell you that your daughter would rather her own father take care of her than everyone else? I see Pope more than I see you and you know who I blame for that?" She said putting her full attention on him now.
"Oh my God, we're not doing this again" He said with his own irritation radiating in his voice.
"Yes, we are because you still don't get it. I took you in, I made you part of this family and yet you still find ways to get around the rules I have in place. Julia and Jessica are two things that I told you to stay away from and you did everything you could to get to them. You really think that she isn't the problem?"
"I came over here because you asked me to bring Lena some clothes, not to talk about Jessica or anything else. I get that you and I are not on the same page right now but I'm not going to keep doing this with you because it's getting ridiculous"
"You don't think it's ridiculous that you are sleeping with someone who I tried making your sister?"
Ever since Jessica came back into the picture, it seemed like every time Baz talked to Smurf she got brought up. It wasn't much of a surprise considering their history together but for him it was getting tiresome. Everyone knew that Smurf had issues with her daughters, but he couldn't figure out why she always blamed Jessica for everything that went wrong. Baz stared hard at her, trying to form another thing to say. Their plan clearly failed as they kept their relationship on the low for the month Jessica disappeared. Smurf always figured out a way to get into everyone's business.
"Look, Jessica has never been my sister and you know that. Whatever I have to say never matters so I'm not going to stand here and argue over something that I've gone through a hundred times. I've got things to do involving Cath so I'm not going to stand here and fight" Baz turned away from her hoping that she wasn't going to continue on. "By the way, Pope is taking Lena to church tonight, so you don't have to worry about it"
Backing out of the room, Baz quickly made his way down the hall without anything else to say. Smurf wasn't done talking so she moved away from the closet and stepped out of the room as well except she lingered in the doorway.
"You know, Catherine suddenly disappears, and you move on the second Jessica shows up. You don't think anyone is going to find that troubling? Especially your child?" She knew Baz heard her and she also knew that he paused in place wherever he was. Smurf pushed off the doorframe and started for the hallways towards the kitchen. Baz had been hanging by the patio door, staring straight ahead. "I mean, a detective even questioned her and yet you've been walking away perfectly fine"
"What are you trying to imply? That I did something to Catherine?" He asked not wanting to turn around to see her. He also didn't know how she found out about Jessica talking to detectives.
"I'm not implying anything, but it does make for an interesting story" Smurf told him knowing that she was getting her point across. "Cath was talking to police; you know how much she hated this family and she stole money from me"
"No one knows if she was talking to the cops, Lena doesn't even know what we do for a living" Baz couldn't argue with anything else in that sentence because it was true. Smurf did have missing money and Catherine never got along with Smurf. It also clicked that the detective who talked to Jessica must be the one that Cath knew. "I didn't do anything to her, I don't know where she is and no one else does"
Smurf nodded her head to what he said but she knew the truth. She wasn't going to throw Pope under the bus unless she had to in order to save herself. Baz ripped the door open and stormed out without saying a word to her. She knew that it irked him about Catherine's disappearance, but she did what she thought was best for the family. Even though she didn't know the whole truth either.
It had been a month since Deran, or Craig brought up the yacht job. It had been on a back burner as they did a few jobs here and there for money until it was time. The wedding date changed so they decided to wait as well considering it was going to be a lot of money. Deran had done enough research on the whole event, including the family and possibly how much money would be brought in. Craig suggested that he act as a waiter during the event as the two brothers were teaming up together for a job.
They held a meeting at his bar and waited for the arrival for everyone else. It was going to happen in a couple of days, and they wanted to go over a few things before the big day. J had skipped school in order to make the meeting and Pope showed up shortly after. When they did, Deran made sure to lock the front door just in case anyone decided to walk in despite the bar being closed.
"Where are the other two?" Pope asked noticing that he had missing family members. They all tucked away in a back corner booth.
"I'm pretty sure they aren't coming. Last time I brought up the idea, Baz didn't agree with anything I said, and Jessica said she wasn't going to risk it" Deran told before rubbing his forehead at the thought.
"Wait, you haven't talked to them about since that?" J now asked wondering how they were going to pull it off. It would have been three of them robbing the ship as Craig had to play as a decoy.
Craig looked towards his younger brother knowing that the answer was no. They both agreed that they weren't going to waste their time because neither of them would join in. Jessica never did jobs so and even though she knew how planning went, there was not anything for her to do. Deran wasn't going to give his sister a gun and expect her to take money. Baz on the other hand wouldn't do it because he hadn't planned it. He already expressed how risky it was, how stupid it was and that he didn't want to do it.
"We all know that Baz isn't going to do this job. You think he's going to let Craig and I lead a job that he didn't have any planning in? Jessica already said no" Deran told them.
"She's not going to do it because Baz isn't. We know that's her main reason" Craig chimed in feeling like that was the main reason she wasn't doing it.
Pope had sighed heavily as he leaned on the table to see the map that Deran had of the yacht. "So if Baz is out, who are we going to have speak Spanish? You said all of the guests are Hispanic and none of us speak it"
"Nicky told me that you guys took Spanish before" The middle Cody said turning his attention to J.
All of their eyes landed on J who glanced between everyone before speaking. "I took Spanish one Freshman year of high school. I'm not going to be able to translate anything they say. I know some basics but there's no way I can speak to any of them"
That response made Deran snap his head towards Craig because he thought it was figured out. Baz had been the only one in the family to speak Spanish and since he wasn't doing the job, they had no translator. He didn't know why he trusted Craig with Nicky's word but now it landed them in a new predicament.
"I'll find someone. There's a couple people I can trust with this and I'm sure they'd like the money"
"That's a great idea Deran, let's bring in someone we don't even know to pull a job with us" Pope said, staring intently at him.
The two of them started arguing with J and Craig sitting back without a word. Pope should have been arguing with Craig considering he had been the one holding the mistake but Deran was doing most of the work.
J decided to interject before things got too crazy. "Are you guys done yet?" He said loudly in order of them to hear him. They went back and forth for a couple of minutes until they stopped. "The money, that's another thing we have to figure out"
"What do you mean?' Craig asked him as they all turned to the kid. "We split it like usual and the guy that joins gets the same amount"
"You guys always give Jessica part of the job, right? And the money that whoever is getting was supposed to be Baz's cut. Are you guys giving them any of it even though they didn't do it?"
This was another piece of the puzzle that no one figured out. There had been a couple of instances where someone didn't do a job, yet they received money. Craig broke his arm and couldn't do the heavy lifting, Pope still got cuts despite him being in prison. Jessica only received money because they argued with Smurf that she and Julia should get it before they cut Julia off. The younger sister still got cuts, even though she had a drug addiction as well. All the Cody boys stayed quiet planning it out in their heads. Both Baz and Jessica would be furious even they didn't give them a cut but that's how things worked.
"No" Deran said simply thinking things over still. "Whoever I bring in gets Baz's cut, Smurf gets Jessica's"
"Wait, we're give Smurf?" Craig asked knowing that she was going to get one anyway, but Smurf had nothing to do with the job. Deran nodded towards him then looked to everyone if they agreed.
Deran wanted to get back to all of the planning of who was going to be where, how Craig was going to act and how they would distract the coastguard. Craig offered to throw Nicky into the mix, a part that Jessica could have played. Even though Pope and Deran didn't want to bring her in, they had no other choice but to do so. They wrapped up things in under a half hour with Pope being the first one gone as always.
J stepped out of The Drop and as he walked towards his truck, a car slowed down next to him. He didn't know who it was until he heard the voice.
"Pope told me you were here, I got a little job to do if you want to help" Baz asked him, appearing in a dark blue, old car that he stole specially for it.
"A job?' J questioned wondering what he was even talking about. "I was going to head back to Smurf's to go collect rent money"
"A little side job, you know some extra cash. I get if you don't want to do it, but I need some help. There's a storage unit full of money and a lot of it. I'm not bringing any of the guys in on it so if you want to do it, that's fine. Drop your car off at Smurf's, she left an hour ago"
Out of all of them, J and Baz never had any moments where they were truly by themselves, J didn't even think he liked him. He still had questions about his relationship with Julia that he never got answers to. A lot of times, J felt that he annoyed Baz and that was a reason he stayed away from him.
He shielded his eyes from the sun before looking at Baz. "What kind of job is this?"
"I already told you. Something small, it will probably only take a couple of hours. I just want to take all the money out of that unit and move it to another one. The safes are heavy and will take longer if I do it myself. I'll give you a huge amount, trust me when I say there is a lot in there"
In all honesty, J didn't want to do it because it sounded sketchy. It was completely out of the blue, mostly because it was coming from Baz on top of it. Debating on what to do, J finally agreed.
"I'll follow you to Smurf then that way we can go together. Lucy's already there with the tools we need so we'll be done soon. You and I are the only ones who know about this, got it?"
"Yeah…I won't tell the others"
Jessica hadn't seen her brothers in a while, so she thought she'd make a trip to see them. Deran's bar had been moderately slow during the days and picked up with customers at night. Most of the time, when everyone was done surfing or hanging out at the beach, so they decided to step into the picture. Craig was always found there as he crashed with him since he didn't want to stay at Smurf's anymore. The others popped up occasionally but not as often as his older brother.
"You want to hit the Beach later? We could go night surfing, see if Adrian wants to come or something" Craig told his younger brother while stepping out from the kitchen. He helped himself to a sandwich and a beer.
"Can you not do that? I don't need an inspector coming in here and seeing you walk around like you own the place" Deran told him while digging through a few papers.
"You're kidding right? There's like four people here"
"God, that's not the point Craig" The irritation was clearwing his voice. Despite the two of them being close, they bickered like nobody's business. They after all were sibling and very close. "I have a bar to run, I can't just ditch it to go surfing. Besides, sharks come out at night and I'm not about to risk my life for some waves"
As Craig opened his mouth, the door opened up with Jessica stepping inside. He grabbed one of the bar stools and eat down, stuffing his face with food. Jessica pulled her sunglasses off and looked around to see how dead it was.
"Tough crowd...Wasn't sure if you guys were here or not" She spoke while walking over to them. Jessica spotted a dark green plaid shirt, a white tank top underneath with matching green shorts. Her bracelets clicked together, her wavy hair bounced around and she looked between them. "What's with you two? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" They exchanged glances due to their conversation earlier in the day.
"I'm just stressed, and Craig isn't helping matters" Deran informed her that he wasn't sure he was doing things correctly. He had never had a real job before, and it was really starting to take its toll. Papers still needed signed, he didn't have anyone doing the books and pay. "What are doing around here? I haven't seen you in weeks"
"Two weeks to be exact" She replied hitting Craig in the arm sharply which made him nearly spit his beer out in reaction. He looked over with a dirty look, but Jessica was not amused. "You both threw me into the pool, and you think I'm going to forget that?"
"Hey, it was Baz's idea, Deran and I were just trying to have fun. You love the water, so you don't have to be so dramatic over it"
Since Craig though that she was pissed over it, Jessica's mouth grew into a smile which meant she was joking. She had a hard time keeping a serious face over something trivial and this was one of those cases. Jessica could hold a grudge if she wanted to, but she wasn't the type. Besides that, it was two weeks later so she had time to cool down since then. Hopping onto a stool next to him, they started to make uninteresting conversations with Deran speaking up a couple of times.
"Did you know our sister just got her first criminal record the other day?" Craig said aloud to Dern whose interest sparked immediately. Jessica hardly got into trouble, so it was rare if she did. "Some detective down at the station arrested her"
Jessica had slumped her shoulder forward, propped her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in her hand. "I was not arrested so I still have the best record in the family next to J. I was brought into questioning because the detective is looking into Catherine's disappearance…Do you guys know anything about what happened?"
Both boys exchanged glances but shook their heads. It seemed that Baz hadn't talked to anyone about what happened with her and they only knew what they heard. "He talks to Pope about it, I don't think I've really heard anything from him" Deran told her before digging for a new piece of paper"
"You don't think he had anything to do with it, right?" Craig questioned before taking another bite into his sandwich. Jessica watched him before looking away, feeling a little uneasy.
"Pope or Baz?" Deran asked back in which Craig responded that he meant both of them. "You really think Baz would kill his own girlfriend? But Pope…"
Deran's voice trailed off but both of them knew what he was going to say. Out of everyone in the family, they would point the finger at Pope if anyone ended up killed. He had always been unstable and looked dangerous. Even though they were close as well, he still stuck to himself and kept whatever secrets he could in his head.
"Oh, come on, he's out brother for God's sake. Pope may be a little out there, but you guys really think he would have murdered someone? He loves Lena, he wouldn't rip her away from her mother" Jessica chimed in taking another look between them. "Speaking of, I gave us all an alibi on the night she went missing. We all hung out here so if this guy comes around asking questions"
"Well what do you think happened to her?" The oldest Cody asked his sister. After her meeting at the police station, Jessica really started to wonder exactly what had happened to her. Baz hardly spoke to her about it, she was gone when it happened and no one else said a word about it.
"I think she's dead" Jessica told him before glancing at his food then over at Deran. It wasn't because of Baz's words, it made perfect sense. She knew how protective she was with Lena and there was no way that Catherine would leave her behind. "Maybe it was our Mother"
"You think Smurf did something to her?" Deran asked, surprised that she even said it. Craig also shifted uncomfortable in his seat and took another drink.
"She never wanted her to be in the family. Think about it, we all know Baz would never hurt her and Pope was in love with her, he wouldn't do anything either. I know it wasn't you two, it wasn't me so guess who that leaves. Smurf hated Cath"
"Smurf doesn't like you; you better watch your back if that's the case"
The comment made both blonde Cody's put all their attention on their older brother. Deran couldn't believe that Craig said something as such as no one had ever announced it before. Jessica knew the truth and didn't need anyone to tell her. The place had gone quiet as she kept her eyes on Craig who avoided her gaze.
"I'm going to the bathroom; I'm not feeling to well today" She said before removing herself from the stool.
She didn't acknowledge what Craig said and darted straight for the back. It was the truth; she hadn't felt that good all day and she didn't know why. Jessica's stomach felt uneasy and she assumed it was due to everything that was going on. When she stepped into the bathroom, Deran quickly shifted his focus on his older brother.
"Really? You had to tell her that?"
"What? I was only kidding around; Jessica can never take a joke"
"That's not the point dumbass" Deran told with the shake of his head, his blonde hair nearly falling out of the bun he had it tied in. "I'm going to work on some stuff in the office"
Gathering all his papers and folders, Deran didn't have another word with Craig who sat at the bar by himself. Jessica hadn't returned and he doubted she would even want to talk to him. It had been a joke, but she wasn't going to take it as one. He scarfed down the rest of his sandwich before heading out himself.