Chapter 124

Chapter 124
Chapter Title: It Was Divine

Reynolds

It was a black-and-white event.

Lights streamed across the night sky. The stage was a kaleidoscope of colors, and a massive projector screen stood beside it, displaying the words:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HENRY!

Men in tuxedos fluttered from one elegantly dressed woman to the next like butterflies in a field.

After greeting my grandparents, Tate and I found a spot beside Ace that gave us the best vantage point of the party.

We could see everyone.

Howard came by and handed us earpieces.

“If you see someone suspicious, give us a description and a location,” he said.

“We’re looking for one man right now,” I said, not caring if I offended Ace. “Our person of interest is Archer Ryder.”

Howard inclined his head before heading back toward his team.

“You just had to rain on my parade, huh, Reynolds?” Ace said.

“The name R. Ryder keeps coming up in our investigation,” I pointed out. “Besides, if Archer were innocent, he'd probably be here. But he’s still off the grid. That makes him look guilty.”

“Whatever, Reynolds.” Ace folded his arms. “You’ll still have to prove it in court. You’ll need fingerprints, DNA, or an eyewitness.”

He paused and looked at me.

“So tell me. What do you have besides initials shared by my dead father and my older brother?”

“Motive,” Tate said.

Ace looked at her.

“Divine took all your father’s properties. If she hadn’t, you and Archer would probably belong in this elite circle instead of working as her head of security.” She scoffed. “Why are you even working for Divine, Ace? To get close to her? Gain her trust? And why would Divine hire you knowing you’re Rocky Ryder’s son? Someone whose family has every reason to hold a grudge against her?”

Ace snorted. “I don’t harbor a grudge against Divine, Detective. She knows that. I knew my father had plenty of enemies, especially Benny Reed. Besides, my dad died of an apparent overdose. If you must know, I knew he was doing drugs in his spare time.”

“But then, after his death, you and your brother found out all his properties had gone to Divine,” I said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out your dad might not have died by accident.”

Ace opened his mouth to respond.

Before he could, the emcee walked onto the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. We’ll be starting the program shortly.”

Ace gave me one last look before turning toward the stage.

I watched him walk away.

We'd just told him his brother was our prime suspect.

And somehow, I still wasn't sure which bothered him more—the accusation or the possibility that we might be right.

The guests began heading toward the gazebos sheltering their tables.

Divine, Hank, and the Senator sat at a table in the center of it all.

Divine was wearing a short-sleeved red satin gown tonight, a departure from her usual green, blue, and beige. I'd seen her often enough to know the colors she favored.

As the guests settled in, servers began delivering appetizers and refilling champagne glasses.

Once everyone was seated, the lights dimmed, plunging the entire backyard into darkness. The only illumination came from the stage.

Pictures of the Senator filled the massive projection screen.

Him with children at the cancer ward.

Him working on legislation.

Him giving speeches.

Him serving food at a soup kitchen during Christmas.

His charity work played across the screen like the story of a man who had spent his entire life serving others.

The background music was melodic and uplifting. Almost reverent.

For nearly twenty minutes, we watched the Senator's life presented as something larger than life itself.

Finally, children from the cancer ward appeared on the screen and wished him a happy birthday.

Then came his staff.

Then the residents of the nursing home.

There was even a short message from Hank.

Finally, it was the Senator’s turn.

“All of this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for my wife, the love of my life, Divine.”

A photo of Divine, dressed in Chanel and pearls, appeared on the screen.

Then her name began echoing through the speakers.

“Divine… Divine… Di…vine…”

Each repetition grew more distorted.

The final utterance was so low and slow, it sounded as though a monster had whispered it.

Then a familiar voice echoed through the speakers.

“You don’t understand. It wasn’t—it wasn’t our fault.”

Everyone went silent.

"It would've ruined everything if the truth got out. Couldn't have his golden boy become a statistic."

Cole Jones.

More of Cole's words bled through the speakers.

"I'm telling you the truth. Divine didn't want his campaign ruined. So she made it dissappear. She made her disappear. We didn't have a choice. None of us did."

A murmur swept through the crowd.

"It was... Divine."

The word echoed again.

"Divine... Divine... Di...vine."

Another voice replaced Cole's.

"We transferred because a girl at NYU went missing. She was close to Hank. She went out with us when she wasn't in rehearsals."

Emma Morgan.

"Hank's mother, Divine, didn't want any bad publicity. Her husband was campaigning, and she was worried his opponents would use the girl's disappearance against him. Even though Hank had nothing to do with it, people would've made the connection. So Divine decided he needed to transfer. And because we were his best friends, we transferred too."

"You killed her, didn't you?"

An unfamiliar voice.

"Cole and I... we didn't have anything to do with it. We just drove her to Crisfield. We told her Hank wanted to introduce her to his parents. We told her they wouldn't have to keep hiding their relationship anymore. That once everything was out in the open, they could finally be together."

Emma's voice cracked.

"Allison did the rest."

A gasp came from somewhere in the crowd.

"Do you want to know where Allison buried her? Because we don't know. I swear."

"Who made you do this?" the unfamiliar voice asked.

"It was Divine."

Cole again.

"She knew Allison was in love with Hank. She knew Allison would do anything to get into her good graces."

"It was... Divine."

Cole's voice was replaced by Benny's.

"She gave me a photo of this college girl from NYU eight years ago," he said. "She wanted me to go to New York and pluck her right off the street. I told her she'd have to figure out how to get the girl here in Crisfield because I didn't want to cause a problem on someone else's turf."

The crowd had gone completely still.

"Once the girl arrived in Crisfield, we hid her in a warehouse. Then we transferred her corpse onto a boat. I gave instructions to Al to dump her into the ocean. Then I called Divine and told her it was done."

"Divine, did you do this?"

That voice... it was Hastings.

"Just let the others go and we'll talk about this," she said.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Hank's voice followed. "Stop this, please."

"Keep the gun aimed at me, Divine," Hastings said. "Let Kimberly, Emma, and Cole leave. No one needs to get hurt."

"Where is my son?" Calvin Jones bellowed from somewhere among the guests. "Give me back my boy!"

Suddenly, the lights came on.

The Williamson table was empty except for the Senator.

Hank and Divine were gone.

Ace sprinted toward the table.

"Anyone have eyes on Divine and Hank?" I asked into my earpiece.

"No," someone answered. "But we're missing two golf carts."

"Tate, let's go."

I sprinted toward the golf carts parked beneath a huge tent.

“Archer,” Hastings’s voice came through the speakers again. “Put the gun down.”

“Divine has to pay,” Archer growled. “She ordered Morgan to kill my father. Then she had Wilcox transfer all of my father’s assets to her."

A pause.

“Kathy, you of all people should understand. She killed your pregnant sister. Remember what I told you about the chessboard. Everyone’s a piece, and nobody moves unless Divine Williamson says so.”

“Don’t you dare pull that trigger, Archer,” Hastings said calmly. “You do, and you can say goodbye to whatever leverage you have.”

Divine had a gun.

Archer had a gun.

This wasn't what I'd been expecting.

I jumped onto a golf cart and hit the accelerator. Tate climbed in beside me.

We tore across the Williamson grounds.

We approached the cabin, but it was dark. Nobody was there.

"The stables," I yelled to Tate. "They must be at the stables."

Unfortunately, I had to slow down. There was a pond somewhere ahead, and I had no intention of driving us straight into it.

Suddenly, another golf cart shot past us.

"Follow me!" Ace yelled.

I slammed the accelerator down.

We tore through the trees and bushes, gunshots and screams echoing around us.

What the fuck was going on?