“She’s okay. Tired.” Titus sounds a little tired himself. “Everything went fast but well. She’s resting now, so I thought I’d call everyone and let them know.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I go to the coffee maker since there’s no way I’m going to be able to go back to sleep.
“If you could take care of Betty that would be great. You’ll have to get her food and crate. I thought I had a little more time, so I don’t have anything ready.”
“You got it.” It can’t be that hard to juggle an extra dog. “Let me know when Mariah’s ready for visitors.”
“Will do.”
Hanging up, I set my phone on the counter and work on starting a pot of coffee to get me through the day. Titus wasn’t the only one who thought he had more time, so I’ve got some work to do.
When the coffee’s finished, I pour my favorite travel mug as full as I can get it then creep upstairs, getting ready as silently as I can while Brooke snores. I successfully pull on jeans and a shirt without waking her, giving her sleeping form a final look before going down to put on my boots so I can go collect Betty.
It turns out Betty has just as much shit as Bruno and Copper, so I do my best to pick the toys she seems to like the most, adding them to her crate along with a gallon baggie of her food, before scooping the miniature poodle up and piling everything into my side-by-side.
Brooke’s awake when I get home, yawning widely as she pours herself a cup of coffee. Her eyes follow me as I carry the crate over to line it next to Bruno’s. “Uhh…”
“Mariah had the babies.” I set Betty down, watching as she bounces around, sniffing for crumbs. “We’re dog-sitting whileshe and Titus are at the hospital.” And maybe a while after so my brother and sister-in-law can get settled.
“She had the babies already?” Brooke abandons her coffee. “We haven’t even put her gift basket together.” Leaving her beverage behind, she hustles to the breakfast room where the items we picked out are lined down the table. “I need to wash the pajamas and robe in case she wants to wear them while she’s in the hospital.” Brooke grabs the bundle, carrying them straight upstairs, leaving me with three dogs looking at me expectantly.
Probably because they know I’m a sucker.
I dole out treats, passing off Bruno’s just as my doorbell rings.
I find Walker on my doorstep, looking just as tired as I feel. He comes in, eyes going to where Betty is tormenting Bruno. “Seems like you heard.”
“I did.” Leading my cousin into the kitchen, I grab a mug and pour him a cup of coffee. “I’m glad things went well.”
“Me too.” Walker sits at the island, taking a long sip of his drink before setting it on the counter in front of him. “But at the risk of sounding a little like an asshole, I wish she’d held off just a few more days.”
“You better not be trying to build something cooler than a pool.” I twist the lid off my empty travel mug and pour in another dose of caffeine. “Because, for the record, nothing’s cooler than a pool.”
At least as far as Brooke is concerned. It’s what made her admit she loves me, so that thing’s already worth every penny I spent putting it in.
“I said I was going to sound like an asshole.” Walker’s tone is dry. “Not that I was trying to steal your crown, princess.” He sighs, leaning back in his seat. “Titus and I had an appointmentto go to the police station this coming week to look through their records from the year my mother was killed.”
“You can’t go without him?” I’m sure Pierce is the one who pulled the strings to make this happen, and I don’t imagine he would allow Titus’s presence to be a requirement.
“I can, but the amount of time I get is limited. And I don’t have any idea how much there is to go through. I was hoping that between the two of us, we’d have a shot at finding something before they kick us out.” Walker stares down into his coffee cup. “I guess I could try to postpone, but it wasn’t easy getting permission the first time.”
“Is the case still technically considered open?” I know not everything is public record, but we're talking about something that happened over two decades ago. Why would they be so resistant to letting Walker look through their reports?
He snorts. “No one has touched this case in years. They don’t even know exactly where the files are.” He takes a sip of coffee, jaw flexing as he sets the cup back down. “No one gives a shit or wants to waste their time babysitting me while I dig through cold case files.”
I can’t imagine what it must feel like for him to not know what happened the night his mother was killed. To not have a place to lay responsibility and blame.
“I can go with you.” I don’t know how good I’ll be at helping him find what he’s looking for, but it doesn’t sound like he thinks the files are going to be digital, so I’ll likely be as useful as Titus was going to be. “Just tell me where and when.”
Walker’s expression softens into what some people might consider a hint of a smile. “I was hoping you would say that.”
“What? You didn’t want Trevor getting frustrated and slamming shit around, or Tucker getting distracted by anything shiny that walked by?” Both my brothers are veryuseful in certain situations, but carefully digging through boring piles of paper isn’t a task I would want either of them attempting.
Walker points at me. “Bingo.”
I take a drink of my coffee, studying my cousin. “What happens if we don’t find anything?”
I feel bad bringing it up, but it’s been a long time. Memories have faded. Hell, some of the people involved have probably died. If we can’t find reports, there might be no way to ever figure out the truth.
