Page 23 of In the Dead of Night

“Look, the police did a thorough investigation. I have access to the reports. I’ve gone over them a dozen times.”

“I’m not suggesting the case was botched.”

“You’re making it sound like some sort of conspiracy.”

“Or maybe someone manipulated the scene.”

“Are you intimating that someone killed our parents and made it look like a murder-suicide?”

It sounded crazy, even to her. Like the desperate attempts to salvage the reputation of someone whose name was tainted with unforgivable sin. “I think that’s a possibility.”

Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his jaw.

Sara tried to ignore the intimate rasp of callus over whiskers, but didn’t quite manage. “What about you? Do you think your father and my mother were…involved?”

Nick looked uncomfortable, then shook his head. “From what I know about my father, it doesn’t seem likely. He was a good, honest man. A family man. But he was also human with human weaknesses. From all accounts—”

“And you’re all too willing to believe the status quo.”

He frowned. “Let’s just say I’ve never been a fan of conspiracy theories.”

“Nick, put all of this together and I think the entire case warrants another look.”

“On the word of some anonymous caller?”

“There’s something going on. I don’t know what. But someone called me. Someone left that message on my car window. And someone was definitely in the house tonight. Strange that all they took were those notes.” She met his gaze. “You’re the cop. Tell me that doesn’t warrant a little suspicion.”

“If you think of it in terms of motive, means and opportunity, the fourth-person theory doesn’t hold water. If your father wasn’t the shooter and someone orchestrated a cover-up twenty years ago, what was their motive?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve barely begun to dig.”

“Who would have a motive for wanting to expose a twenty-year-old crime now?”

“Someone with a conscience?”

“Maybe.” But he didn’t look convinced.

Restless and frustrated, Sara rose and carried her cup to the sink. “Why would someone call me? Why bring me back into this after all this time?”

“If there was a fourth person that night, maybe you saw them. Maybe they think you can identify them. Maybe you’re a loose end he can’t live with anymore.”

The words sent a chill all the way to her bones. For the first time since she’d arrived, Sara felt vulnerable. Nick must have noticed because he rose and crossed to her, setting his own cup in the sink. “Look, if you’re right and things didn’t go down the way the police said they did, maybe this is about silencing the only witness. Have you thought of that?”

She turned to him. “If someone wanted me gone, they’ve had ample opportunity to do it. That first night, for example. I was here. Alone. Why scrawl some ridiculous message on my car? For God’s sake, he was in the house tonight. He could have easily…” To her surprise, she couldn’t complete the sentence.

“Killed you?” he finished.

The words turned her blood to ice. But she didn’t let herself dwell on the rising tide of fear. She hadn’t traveled all the way from San Diego to cower at the first sign of trouble. “So you’re admitting there’s a possibility that the police were wrong?”

“I’m admitting something you should be admitting to yourself. For whatever reason, someone doesn’t want you poking around in this.”

“But someone does. The caller.” She smiled, but it felt brittle on her face. “All the more reason to poke, don’t you think?”

“Unless poking gets you into trouble.”

But Sara accepted the reality that she was going to have to start thinking about her personal safety. When she’d received the call back in San Diego, the thought that she could be placing herself in danger never crossed her mind. Even the bizarre message written on her car window hadn’t been enough to stop her. Tonight, however, being locked in the attic and having the notes stolen practically from her hands had shaken her badly. She wasn’t sure what to do about it. The only thing she knew for certain was that she wasn’t going to let it stop her from finding out what had really happened to her parents that night.

“What are you going to do to keep yourself safe?”