“You know, Nick, for a free man, you sure don’t look happy about it.”
Nick turned to look at his oldest brother, who joined him on the bench outside the hotel. “What is there for me to be happy about, Kev?”
Kevin sighed and put his hand on his little brother’s shoulder. “You’re right. Everything about this sucks.” Nick nodded and stared blankly out at the interstate. Kevin and Brian had picked them up at the police station and dropped Annie and Josh off at the funeral home that the coroner had released the bodies to that morning. Nick bailed out of the meeting at the funeral home, while Katie rushed to be at her husband’s side. He felt bad about it, but it seemed like a family thing, and while Annie was definitely his family, the awkwardness of the situation was just too much for him. If it hadn’t been for his father, there would be no funeral to plan. Logic told him that he had nothing to do with it, but still, he could feel the guilt eating away at him piece by piece. Actually, being eaten piece by piece didn’t sound too bad right now. He’d give anything to be able to disappear for a while.
The car ride was quiet, the shock of Kendall Jones’ revelation about their fathers weighing heavily on Nick, Annie, and Josh. Brian and Kevin decided not to push the issue, knowing they would learn about the circumstances of Nick’s release in due time, but as Howie and AJ entertained Drew and Nick sat alone with his thoughts on the bench outside the hotel lobby, Kevin decided it was time to push. “There’s more, isn’t there?” He draped his arm across Nick’s shoulders and coaxed his baby brother to look at him.
Nick bit his quivering bottom lip and stared into Kevin’s concerned eyes, his own gaze clouding over with unshed tears. He could see Brian approaching over Kevin’s shoulder and sighed. Maybe it was time. “It was Frank. The reason they thought it was my DNA under Molly’s fingernails is because it was Frank’s.”
Kevin furrowed his brows in concentration and stared at Nick, pursing and unpursing his lips as he thought about that exactly he was supposed to say to that. “Frank? Really?”
“Who’s Frank?” Brian eased down into the empty spot beside Nick and leaned forward, looking to his left to join in on the conversation.
Nick glanced at Brian, then back to Kevin, back to Brian, and finally settled on looking back out at the traffic whizzing by in front of him. “He’s my father,” he croaked.
“What? No, Nick. BOB is your father. You need sleep.” Brian joked with a playful smirk.
Nick turned to look at the man he still liked to call “his Frick” and shook his head slowly. “Technically, Bob’s my uncle. His big brother, Frank-- he’s my father. He’s also now the primary suspect in the murders.”
Brian’s breath hitched in his throat, and he let out a choking noise as he gasped at Nick’s revelation. “What?! Did you just find out?”
Nick looked down and kicked at a gravel on the sidewalk with his tennis shoe. “That he killed Annie’s parents-- yes. That he’s my father-- no.”
“Oh my God… How did they know it was him?”
“Fingerprint on the murder weapon matched someone in the criminal database-- who just happens to be my bastard serial killer father. That would be why the DNA evidence matched mine.”
Kevin watched Nick as he told Brian the story, learning new bits of information himself. “Do they have him in custody?”
“No. They’re still looking.” For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Nick’s hands started to shake. “Mike and Q are on their way down here. Detective Jones doesn’t seem to think he would want to hurt me, but he might try to contact me. Of course, I can’t exactly trust much of what Kendall Jones says, considering.”
“How long have you known? About Frank, I mean?” Brian asked softly.
“A little over twelve years. He wrote me a letter while we were working on Black and Blue. At first I thought it was a joke, but …”
Brian looked at Kevin, who was protectively holding Nick against him with one arm, and gently massaging one of his shoulders . “You knew?” Kevin gave him a silent nod. “Why didn’t you tell me, Nick?” He braced himself for his little brother’s answer.
“I tried,” Nick answered softly. “Believe me, I tried.”
Brian softened his gaze and placed his hand tentatively on “his Frack’s” back. “And?”
“And you had your head stuck too far up Leighanne’s ass planning the wedding of the century to even notice.”
Brian winced, but knew that his little brother spoke the truth. “I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. “I should have been there.”
“Kevin went with me to Pennsylvania to meet him in prison. I did it alone, though. I felt like I needed to do it alone.” He looked up at Kevin, who had his eyes clenched shut tight in an attempt to stop the flow of tears that threatened to fall. “I shouldn’t have done it alone,” he whispered.
“You never told me what happened in there,” Kevin said, his voice cracking.
Nick stared back out at the interstate and breathed heavily, drawing the humid air in and out of his lungs as he thought back to the day he met his biological father face to face. In. Out. In. Out. In-- “He said he did it for me.” Out.
“Did what for you, Nick?” Brian asked quietly, his face ashen and pale as he watched his friend relive the moment.
Nick let out a sarcastic snort. “Killed all those people. Jane was pregnant, and she was trying to stay out of the bar so she wouldn’t drink. Frank was driving to Erie to work at the hospital. He wasn’t even a nurse, but an assistant- barely making minimum wage and spending a lot of that on gas. Jones said all the victims had one thing in common-- a large sum of money or valuables in their patient belongings locker-- and little to no family to claim it. He’d kill them, then steal from them and bring it home to Jane. Why he didn’t just steal from them and call it a day, I don’t know. And mom was totally clueless. I asked her later. She said she had no idea.” Brian gasped and brought his hand up to his mouth, which was hanging agape in shock as he listened to Nick’s story. This sounded more like a movie than real life, yet it was real life, and his little brother was one of many innocent victims. “You know what she said after that? That she still loved him. All these years, and she still loved Frank while she was married to Dad. I never thought my family dysfunction would somehow break Annie’s family in the process.”
Nick let out a sob as Kevin pulled him into a fierce hug, rocking back and forth as Nick grasped onto him, holding on for dear life to the only respectable father figure he’d ever had. “This isn’t your fault, Nick. You didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“That’s the thing,” Nick whimpered. “Apparently, I didn’t. Kendall says this wasn’t about me. Jack Donohue was working at St. Vincent’s at the time Frank was. He’s the guy who turned him in. How crazy is that?”
“The craziest,” Brian agreed. “Maybe fate brought the two of you together. I mean, I like to take credit for it, but Nick-- God knew she was the one for you before either of you were even born. I know it’s hard to see right now, but if you just love each other and stay strong for each other through this, you and Annie will come out even better than before.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” Brian said confidently. “You can’t go blaming yourself and feeling guilty. We all know that’s a slippery slope for you. You deserve happiness, Nick. Annie and Drew-- they’re part of that happiness. Don’t let this ruin it.”
Nick took in a deep breath and sat up, pulled himself out of Kevin’s grasp, and wiped at his wet cheeks to dry them. “I think I’ll go check in on Drew and make sure he’s keeping Howie and AJ in line.”
“Atta boy,” Kevin said proudly.
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