Page 92 of Day Break

I ran my gaze over every one of my family members, assessing. Questioning.

Looking for any clue that one of them had betrayed the family.

One by one, the detective met with each of them in my grandfather’s study. He started with my parents, who apparently had been home alone for the entire evening.

While the others waited their turn, the house remained silent.

Chloe busied herself by cleaning up after lunch and refilling drinks or setting out snacks.

Finally, after almost two hours, I pulled her into a chair and poured a glass of wine for her. Byron jumped up next to her and laid his head on her lap. The pair looked comfortable with one another. The dog would have never done that to anyone else. Especially not anyone in my family.

My uncle was playing that damned video game on the television, with the sound off, thankfully. The rest of my family members were on their phones or other devices.

So far, the detective had interviewed both of my parents and my aunt Kate and her husband Donnie. Currently in the room with him were Robert and Reba.

It was slow going since each interview took roughly an hour. I made a mental note of how each of my family members looked going into the room with the detective and how they looked coming out.

Chloe made sandwiches for lunch, which everyone ate without even thanking her. I’d never realized how privileged my family was before.

“We’ve made the news,” my cousin Derrick said suddenly after they had all returned to the living room.

I was helping Chloe clean up after lunch and still snacking on some crackers and cheese, since my stomach had yet to settle down.

“What do you mean?” my mother asked him.

“Here,” Derrick said, getting up and changing the television from the video game to the news.

He flipped the channel between several stations until a picture of my grandfather filled the screen.

“Ex-senator George Robinson was murdered in his home late last night. He was found by his grandson Lane Robinson. George Robinson was an acting senator for the state of Washington for more than three decades until he retired last year after suffering a minor stroke. The police are describing his death as a home invasion gone wrong. At this time, they are interviewing suspects.”

From there, the report continued to highlight several of my grandfather’s career moves.

“Does that mean we’re suspects?” Tiffany asked.

“Yes,” I said easily when everyone turned to me. “Until each of us are ruled out.”

From that moment on, the mood in the house changed. The television remained on mute on the news channels. Each time a report came on, everyone listened intently.

I watched as worry washed over each of them.

Chloe and I sat at the table while everyone crowded around the television as if it held all the answers.

Chloe had a notepad, but I hadn’t been paying attention to what she was doing at first. I’d been too preoccupied with watching my family.

When my cousin Derrick was in being interviewed, she finally nudged me and motioned to the tablet.

On it was each of my family members’ names. Beside each one a question mark with the word motive at the top.

Without a word to me, she handed me the pencil and motioned to the notepad.

Clearly she was thinking the same thing I was. I took the pad and thought about each one.

Moments later, I wrote the word money across all of it.

Chloe sighed and nodded before shutting the tablet.

“I’m going to take a walk,” she said. “Byron? Walk?” The dog jumped up from his spot in the sunlight and rushed to the back door. “Do you want to come?” she asked me.