Chapter 2

A can of worms

"Never open a can of worms unless you are prepared to consume the contents." Alphya Cing

It was about one o'clock when a limousine dropped Jessica and Preston at the airport where a private jet flaunted the initials 'HI' on its outer casing. 'HI' stood for Harper Industries and all Jessica knew about the company was that it was a multinational concern that invested in real estate and logistics.

The Harper family belonged to the bold and the beautiful of high society - including the glamour and the intrigue their status demanded. Every now and then Jessica had read about them in the tabloids in Loretta's beauty parlor. It had never occurred to her in her wildest dreams that Preston was a close relative to one of the family members or that she was ever going to meet any of them in person.

Jessica climbed into the jet, amazed by the size and elegance of its interior. The jet was one of the most exclusive private planes she had ever entered before.

"This is certainly better than traveling by economy class," she admitted dryly when she settled into a soft leather armchair.

"I wanted you to travel in style," Preston quipped.

The story Preston had told her over a cup of coffee during the night before had awoken her natural curiosity and his plea for her help had touched her more than she had admitted to Seth when he had asked her why she wanted to leave Cabot Cove for the Hamptons.

She still wasn't certain why Preston had asked her of all people. A family like the Harpers could afford armies of lawyers and private investigators to solve their problems. She had no idea what she could do that a professional couldn't do, but she had decided to do it any way. Of course, she had to promise Seth to be on her toes. His words still rang in her ear and if she was truthful to herself, she wasn't convinced she was doing the most sensible thing. The mixture of murder and Preston Giles was dangerously tempting.

She watched Preston as he settled into the seat opposite her. He looked tired and fragile. It was obvious that he still hadn't recovered completely from the two bullets that had hit him in the chest half a year ago.

"The jet belongs to the company," Preston explained. "Kate insisted we use it."

"Kate…," Jessica mused. "You know, I'm still trying to get used to the idea that you have a daughter. You've never told me anything about her – or your ex-wife." She didn't mean to sound accusing, but she wished he had told her before. Only a few months ago he opened up to her about so many (mostly ugly) things in his life, but he had never mentioned his one and only marriage. It was a bit disappointing to realize (again) that he had kept a secret from her. Then she reminded herself that she shouldn't be so surprised about it. As always when she became involved with Preston's life, there was a can of worms involved.

He sighed, "I didn't tell you, because I didn't know what to tell you. After I went into prison," he broke off and added, "For the first time, after the collapse of the apartment building, Doreen wanted a divorce. She never told me she was pregnant and she also never told Kate about me. She raised her on her own until she remarried."

"And then after Doreen died last year, Kate found out you were her father and contacted you?" she asked.

"Yes, amazingly enough she wrote me a letter when I was still in prison. She wanted to get to know me."

"Did she visit you in jail?"

Preston shook his head, "No. She asked for a meeting, but I didn't want her to come."

Jessica watched him curiously and tried to read his face. Preston Giles was a proud man who had fallen deeply. His life was an endless roller coaster that never seemed to run out of pace. She was convinced that after the shock of having a daughter, the idea of her seeing him in an orange jumpsuit behind bars would have been deeply painful for him.

"Yet, you are living with her now," she stated, causing him to lower his gaze, as if he wanted to avoid her questioning eyes.

"After Milli Stafford shot me, she came to see me when I was still in hospital. Bound to a hospital bed I couldn't hide from her. During the following months she visited me at least once a week in rehab. I hesitated when she asked me to live with her, but she wouldn't allow me to turn her offer down. She can be very persistent as you will see."

"She doesn't seem to have any reservations about you or your past." The more she thought about it, the more interested she became in Kate Harper. The idea of inviting a father she never knew and who was a convicted double murderer to live with her sounded adventurous to say the least.

He scoffed, slightly amused by her choice of words. "Perhaps it doesn't matter much to have an ex con as father, when your husband is in jail for murder as well."

"That could be an explanation," Jessica admitted flatly. "But as I understood it, Kate thinks her husband is innocent."

"She is convinced of it." He took a quick look at his watch. "Excuse me, please. I'm going to talk to the pilot. We should take off any moment now." Before he rose he opened his briefcase and handed Jessica a big file.

"I've told you about this. It's Kate's collection of information about her husband's case."

Jessica watched him as he went to the cockpit and then she slowly opened the file. She was opening the can of worms.

Kate Harper drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. She shivered. The spring air was still a bit cold. She felt how her skin protested and formed goose bumps, but she ignored it and focused on a regular heartbeat. She needed to shut out the world. With another deep breath, she raised her arms over her head, stretched, and shifted her weight. After another deep breath she pushed her feet steadily against the diving board for three times before she jumped. Her body wanted to paralyze when she dove into the water. It was an odd sensation, painful, but reviving. The water was cold, so cold that her lungs and limbs didn't want to obey, but she forced her head up, gasping for air. She stroked her dark hair back and started swimming with strong, regular moves.

Water was her natural habitat, her place of refuge. Swimming relaxed her like nothing else and relaxation was what she needed. A few hours ago her father had called her to tell her that he would return in company of J.B. Fletcher, the famous mystery writer. The woman who had busted him for murder about seven years ago and who had exonerated him from another murder suspicion after his release from prison last year. Kate had no idea what kind of relationship linked these two, but she had been wondering about it ever since Preston had mentioned her for the first time.

He obviously believed Mrs Fletcher could exonerate her husband the way she had exonerated him. Deep down Kate had her doubts anyone could prove her husband's innocence. There had been doubts about Aaron's guilt in the first place, but it hadn't been enough to keep him out of jail. Yet her father believed Mrs Fletcher could be of help and Kate would welcome her into her house.

Aaron Harper spent his days in state prison counting. He counted everything. Bricks, uniforms, bars, other inmates, time.

It was the 274th day since Carter McIntyre had been murdered. It was also Aaron Harper's 74th day in prison for this very crime. Four days ago he had last seen his wife Kate. Her visit had been short; she had to leave after 15 minutes and 34 seconds. She had told him about her plans to get him out, about some friend of her father's who was going to have a look into his case, about a business deal with some Japanese business men… behind these bars and walls and fences all of this seemed far away. Twenty five to life was a sentence that made everything that went on outside prison unreal.

"It's all going to be all right," she had said during her last visit when their time together was running out. "It's will be all right."

"You really want to believe that, don't you?" he had asked back.

"I do believe it."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that her plan was most likely to fail. She wasn't naïve and probably knew all that herself, but sometimes it was good to hold on to a dream. It helped to fall asleep at night and it helped to get going through the days.

"Then I believe it too." He had placed his hand against the smudgy glass panel between them. Kate had raised her hand as well and for a moment there was no invisible wall that kept them separated.

"Soon," she had whispered.

"Soon."

Aaron stared at the ceiling above him and closed his eyes. He was torn between the wish to leave his place in any way possible and the wish to stay to pay his debts.

Jessica placed one photo after the other on the table between Preston and herself.

"So, these are the people who were in the house when the killing of Carter McIntyre happened?" she asked and pointed to the picture that showed a man in his late fifties.

"Yes," Preston nodded. "Carter was a lawyer and for the last decade he had worked exclusively for Harper Industries," he paused and added, "And I might as well tell you now that he was also one of the men who made sure I took the fall for the disaster with the apartment building almost 30 years ago. I went to prison, because Carter paid the right people to tell the wrong stories."

"You knew him?" Jessica asked surprised.

"I did," he fell silent, holding her gaze.

The temptation to ask if he was somehow involved in his death was there and she saw in his face that he expected her to ask the inevitable question. Preston knew she didn't trust him completely. He completely accepted it, which was all the more obscure.

"Does Kate know what he did to you?" she asked instead and noticed how the tension left his body.

"I told her, but she didn't know about any of it when he was killed."

"I see. So, who is this?" Jessica pointed at the photo of a woman her own age. "Is that your ex-wife?"

Preston confirmed her suspicion with a nod, "Yes. That was Doreen. She died two months after the murder. She was very ill. Alzheimers' decease."

Jessica observed him closely while he talked. His voice was steady, but did she see regret in his eyes? She couldn't even imagine how he must felt about Doreen. Frank's death had broken her heart, but how did it feel for him to lose someone, a former spouse who had lied and kept his daughter from him?

"Did you know she was ill?"

Preston shook his head, "No. I hadn't talked to her in thirty years when she died. From what Kate told me she was already in a bad state when the murder happened and her health went quickly downhill after Carter's death."

Jessica nodded in understanding and moved her finger over the next photo. It showed two young men. Both were dark haired, quite attractive, and similar in built and shape. "Which one of them is Kate's husband?" she asked.

"The left one. Aaron Harper, CEO of Harper Industries and now sitting in jail for murder. The man next to him is his twin brother Aidan. He's a lawyer and now filling the void Carter's death has left."

She looked at the men who stood next to each other arm in arm. "How is the relationship between Aaron and his brother?"

He shrugged, "They are twins, but their personalities couldn't be more contrary. Aaron is an alpha male, while Aidan is a thinker, an intellectual. They've had different opinions about some business issues, but in the end they're brothers. Kate says they have always been quite close."

There was another photograph that caught Jessica's interest. It showed a very young Kate and the equally young brothers Aidan and Aaron. The three of them were sitting in a tree.

"When was this taken?" she asked.

Preston took the photo and shook his head. "I have no idea. But the three of them have known each other since they were children."

Jessica put the photo aside and picked up a portrait of Kate.

"Who is head of the company now that Aaron is imprisoned?" Jessica wanted to know.

"Kate is CEO," Preston answered. "But she is not happy with her position. She's doing quite well, because she's using her common sense, but in her heart she's still an athlete. She won a silver medal in Seoul in 1988. After that she finished her career and one year later she and Aaron got married."

With a small sigh, he leaned forward and placed his index finger on another picture. The man was Preston's age. The kind of man whose attraction had grown with age, but Jessica noticed that his smile didn't reach his eyes. "Blake Napier here would only be too happy if Kate decided to give up and appointed him CEO. The position was once his, but after a financial collapse around ten years ago, he had to sell most of his shares to Aaron's father and stepped down. He's still part of the board, but these days his influence is practically non-existing. It's no secret that he thinks Kate isn't fit to lead the company."

There was something in his voice, a small trace of bitterness that alarmed Jessica. She remembered what he had told her seven years ago after she had confronted him about the death of Dexter Baxendale. "Tell me… is there a chance that Mr. Napier's financial difficulties from ten years ago can be traced back to you?"

"If you went through the trouble of looking for such a connection, perhaps," he admitted.

"In other words, Mr. Napier was one of the men who were responsible for your first conviction?"

"Yes, but I can assure you, I have closed that chapter of my life completely. I'm not out for revenge."

She deeply hoped he was telling her the truth. "But you said he thinks Kate is not doing a good job. What if he tries to force her out of the company?" She never believed Preston was the man to watch that happen. She knew his temper, his sometimes very twisted sense of justice, and his wish to protect the people he cared for. She doubted it was a very good idea for him to be around a man who was a possible threat to his daughter or himself.

He shook his head,"He would never try to do so openly. You see, Blake is Kate's stepfather. He was married to Doreen for over a decade and as much as I hate to admit it, he has always been very supportive of her until she took over the position of CEO."

Jessica leaned back, forcing her eyes away from the photos. The circumstances around his case were absurd. Indeed a can of worms, she thought bitterly. Preston Giles, a convicted double murder, had asked her to investigate a crime that involved a daughter he hardly knew and her step father who had once brought Preston into jail for a crime he didn't commit. A thought crossed her mind and before she was able to control the impulse, the question was out.

"What's your real name?"

This time she had caught him off guard.

"Why do you ask?" He was shifting in his seat.

"Because you never told me."

"There's no need for you to know. That man died in a prison break many years ago."

"Please."

Preston sighed. "Only under one condition... You'll never address me like that." He took her silence as a yes and said, "Nathan Preston."

"Thank you."

"You forgot one photo," Preston reminded her and gave her the picture of a young blonde. "Melanie Myers," he explained. "She was Aaron's secretary and now she is working for Kate. She was there the night the murder happened and she knows the family well. Too well, if you ask me."

"You don't like her?"

"I don't. There's something about her that doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but I have the feeling that she isn't as devoted to Kate and Aaron as she pretends to be."

"I see…," Jessica closed the file. "You know, I still have no idea why I agreed to this."

He gave her a smile, "Neither do I, but I'm glad you did."

"But what will happen when I can't help or even worse I come to the same conclusion as the jury? What if Aaron Harper did kill Carter McIntyre?"

"If Aaron's guilty he already is where he belongs and if he's innocent, he deserves to be free. All I ask is your honest opinion, nothing more."

"Why me?" she repeated her question from the night before, when he had sat in her kitchen, his clothes soaked with rain. He hadn't answered her question then. "Why don't you ask some private investigator with experience?"

"Because no private investigator will ever be as interested in the truth as you are. I've never met anyone as incorruptible and truthful as you."

It wasn't the answer she had expected and she still blushed when their eyes met. Something in his open gaze got under her skin and caused her pulse to pace up. She looked away and cleared her throat. "That's not true."

"Oh it is true," he said and added. "No one knows it better than myself."

That she couldn't argue with.

~tbc~