“Hey, Peggy,” I say and push the empty glass from me. I’m suddenly embarrassed that I’m a little buzzed and ashamed about the birth certificate she knows nothing about.
“Is everything okay?” she asks hesitantly, and she moves to the end of the island, transferring her gaze between Heath and me.
“I should go—somewhere,” Heath says and backs away.
“No!” I say, startling all of us. His eyes widen and he shakes his head slowly. “You don’t know your way around the house.” He looks confused at my feeble attempt to keep him in the room with me and Peggy.
She tenses and reaches for my arm. Her cool hand grabs my wrist and I stiffen. “Garrett, what’s going on?” Her tone feels accusatory, and I pull my wrist from her grip.
“Nothing,” I snap. “We had some free time today, and Heath wanted to see my place.” I glare at Heath and expect him to corroborate my lies.
He turns to look out the window. “Hey, is that a pool house?” He quickly makes his way to the back door that leads to the backyard and the indoor pool at the back of my property. The door closes before I can stop him.
Peggy moves to fill the space where Heath was before. Her worried eyes find mine. “Garrett, I’ll ask you again, is everything okay?” she asks and reaches across the granite to cover my hand with hers.
“Not exactly.”
She raises her brow and squeezes my hand tightly as the front door chimes.
“I’ll get the door.” She walks toward the front of the house and turns to address me. “Are you here?” she asks, knowing that I frequently tell her to send people away.
“Yes,” I answer reluctantly. I know who’s outside my door.
I hear the door open and several voices outside. “We’re here to see Garrett Armstrong.”
Peggy gets flustered and escorts them toward the kitchen. Her eyes are now wide with worry. “Um, Garrett, the police are here to see you.”
Two uniformed police officers enter, followed by a woman dressed in plain clothes. Is she a detective? My heart jumps in my chest as the situation begins to feel more suspicious.
“Mr. Armstrong?” One of the police officers walks toward me, and I instinctively back up, defensive.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“We were told that your friend, Heath Strickland, is also here. We’d like to question both of you regarding the death of Sadie Moore.”
Peggy quickly walks to the back door. “He’s out back. I’ll get him.” The look on her face indicates alarm and fear.
“I’m Officer Andrews and this is Officer Newman.” I nod toward the police officers and look at the woman behind them. “This is Nicole Thomas. She’s the social worker assigned to the case.”
Social worker?
Peggy and Heath return and introductions commence again.
“How did you gentlemen know Ms. Moore?” Andrews addresses both of us.
“Heath didn’t know her. I mean, he just met her today when she came to see me on our tour bus.”
“Okay, so how did you know her, Mr. Armstrong?” I don’t like his tone.
“She was a groupie. We met last year, and I hadn’t seen her since then until today.” I snap back at him.
“How did she know where to find you?” he asks.
“We’re on tour. It’s not hard to know where we are.” This guy is pissing me off. Peggy moves through the kitchen and gets my attention. Her eyes tell me all I need to see. She wants me to hold it together.
“Did you have a relationship with her?”
“No. Like I said, we met once last year. I never heard from her again until today.”
Newman steps forward. “We’re trying to understand what happened today. Ms. Moore entered your bus and then died of a drug overdose within minutes. We’d like to know how this happened and where she got her drugs from.”
“How can I possibly know that?” I practically shout. “I haven’t seen her since last year. We didn’t even know each other. It was a one-time hook-up.” I run my hand through my hair and try to regulate my breathing.
“So you never saw the drugs that she took? You didn’t share any with her? Are you willing to submit a urine and saliva sample for drug testing?”
What the fuck?
Suddenly Heath speaks up. “I don’t see the need for Garrett to submit any samples to you for drug testing. He wasn’t hanging out with her. When she barged onto our bus, she was already wasted.” He pauses. “Do we need to get a lawyer here? My father is the District Attorney, and I’m sure he’ll have some recommendations.”
What?
Andrews and Newman back down for the first time and relief floods my chest. “No. No need to call the D.A., I mean, your father,” Newman says. “I think we have what we need regarding Ms. Moore.”
“Can I speak to Mr. Armstrong now?”
I turn toward the voice behind me and the social worker, Nicole Thomas, walks past us into the kitchen.
“We’ll be outside,” Andrews huffs, and the officers leave through the front door.
“Is there someplace more comfortable we can go?” Her tone is much softer than the two police officers, but somehow more serious.
“The den is in here.” I lead her through the kitchen into an open space toward the back of the house. She sits in one of the oversized chairs and I sit on the large sectional couch.
“Are you aware that Sadie gave birth to a baby boy about two weeks ago?” she asks.
I want to lie to her. Tell her that I have no idea what she’s talking about. Tell her to leave my house immediately and never come back. But I see Peggy standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest. She can hear everything we’re saying, and I don’t want to lie in front of her. I can’t.
“Yes,” I say reluctantly and pull the crumpled birth certificate from my pocket.
“Sadie showed me this right before she…”
Nicole reaches out and looks at the birth certificate and nods. Her expression changes and she looks upset. Her eyes glisten, and she places the paper on the table in front of her. “I’ve been working with Sadie for a long time. She was a drug addict. As soon as she tested positive for drug use after she gave birth to Kai, I was called to intervene. She refused care and left the hospital shortly after he was born. He was very sick as you can imagine. He also tested positive for drugs and has been in the neonatal intensive care unit for the past two weeks.” She pauses and wrings her hands together.
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I stand up and begin pacing back and forth. I feel every fiber from the rich rug beneath my still-bare feet. I imagine the carpet pulling me in, hiding me away. I need to escape.
“Kai has no one. He’s alone now.”
“What the hell do you want me to do about it?” I spit back at her. She can’t be thinking what I think she is.
“Please sit down. You’re making me nervous.”
I stop pacing and see that Peggy and Heath are huddled in the kitchen. I sink back onto the couch and throw my head back, exhaling deeply. I don’t want to hear what she has to say. I don’t want to know anything more about Sadie or Kai.
“Mr. Armstrong?” Nicole implores. “You need to hear me out.”
I lean forward, placing my elbows on my knees so my hands can support my head. “Fine.”
“Sadie Moore is a product of the foster system. I’ve been her social worker since she was nine years old. Her biological mother was a drug addict and was incarcerated for possession with the intent to distribute. While she served a five-year sentence in prison, Sadie was placed in foster care. Her mother was released when Sadie was fourteen and wanted nothing to do with her. Her mom disappeared shortly after her prison stay, and we never heard from her again. Sadie remained in the foster system until she was eighteen and then was placed in a group home.” Nicole pauses and tears fill her eyes.