Page 35

ALDEN

The next few hours are a whirlwind. The police, the coroner, and all the family who stayed the night are asking questions. Old Sheriff Donahue seems more annoyed that we dragged him out of bed so early than upset over my brother’s death. He took one look at Rob and the stairs, and ruled it an accident without checking anything else.

Idiot.

I know better. But I keep my mouth shut and don’t mention seeing a shadow running away. It’s far easier to hunt when the police aren’t sticking their nose into anything.

Rob is a New York detective, but they have zero jurisdiction here and no authority to take over. There will still be a pissing match between the small-town sheriff and the big-city police force, but on principle alone I know Donahue will never give the case to them. The sheriff hates the city and their politics. If he gets a chance to stick it to them…he will.

Mother only nods when I advise her not to get involved and to let Rob rest in peace.

She has always been sweet and far too soft. Mother was brought up to serve, to be seen and not heard in her arranged marriage. It’s the only reason she survived so long under my father’s thumb, or he probably would’ve killed her long before I got the chance to kill him.

Emily…she’s quiet. She hasn’t taken part in any of the speculation. I stood by her side, her arm brushing mine, while they loaded Rob’s body and took him away, but she hasn’t cried again. I can’t decide if she’s sad or indifferent.

I send Camille home with Malcolm since they are hitting it off and he owes me. I drive Emily home myself. She hasn’t spoken in two hours.

She sits in the passenger seat, staring out the window with her head in her hand.

“Are you warm enough,” I ask, breaking the long silence.

Emily sucks in a deep breath like she’s been holding it and looks at me.

“Yeah, I’m good, thanks.” Her soft eyes lock on my face. “Are you okay?”

I nod.

“I will be. I’m not blind to my brother’s faults, but he’s family,” I say, my hands tightening on the wheel.

“Do you really think this was an accident and he just slipped?”

I turn my head and study Emily for a moment before shaking my head.

“Honestly? No, I think he was pushed.”

Emily gasps and puts a hand over her mouth.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because the sheriff had already made up his mind. I have no proof, just a hunch. That’s not going to get me far.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “A hunch? What do you mean?”

I’m quiet for a long time, thinking, but finally decide to let her into a tiny fraction of my fucked-up family life.

“Because my father fell down those same stairs, in a rainstorm, and landed in that exact position. There is no way it happens twice. I don’t believe in coincidence. It was a message or a threat.”

She bites her lip.

“Could it be the case he was working on?”

I doubt that, but I can’t tell her my suspicions.

“Maybe. My brother made a lot of enemies, and not just because of his job. He could be a real prick when he wanted to be.”

“Scary to think that some killer was roaming the grounds like that,” she says.

If Emily only knew there were two killers out there, and now she’s trapped in a car with the second one.