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Detective Powell’s expression confirmed the gravity of Justin’s charges. “I’m going to need you to come down to the station for a formal statement, Miss Wade. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter 23
The detective hadn’t exaggerated. By Marley’s third cup of coffee, second donut, and fourth interview, it was half past three a.m. She would’ve been exhausted if she hadn’t been so wired from everything that’d happened.
She’d learned who’d murdered her mother twenty-five years ago, seen a dead body, stared down the barrels of two guns, and had her heart broken. Her mind revved in overdrive.
She hadn’t gotten so much as a glimpse of Justin since arriving, but seeing him would only scrape the raw wound bleeding inside her chest.
He’d let them go. That fact was the one thing she understood clearly. He’d seen the dead man, heard from his mother’s own mouth what she’d done to Marley’s mother, and he’d still let them walk out the door.
What she didn’t understand, was the way he’d pushed her against the wall and ordered her to give him the gun before wrestling it away. His behavior should’ve scared her. He’d overpowered her and taken away her only defense, but she hadn’t been afraid. Not of him.
Subconsciously, she realized he wouldn’t hurt her. This was the man who’d let guilt eat him up inside over the tragic, accidental death of a co-worker. The man who’d apologized after he realized it’d been her first time making love and worried he’d been too passionate. He wouldn’t suddenly turn on her with her own gun. He didn’t have it in him.
She sat up straight and replayed the events. Seeing his shadowed face in her mind’s eye, she wondered all of a sudden…had he been protecting her?
Like an eager puppy, hope leapt in her chest. After a few deep breaths, she forced herself to think through the evening’s events rationally and felt her optimism fade. Even if he had been protecting her, the fact remained that he’d tried to help his murdering parents escape. Essentially, he’d chosen them over her.
****
Justin looked up as the door opened, expecting to see the lawyer he’d called over an hour ago. Instead, his brother entered. Justin didn’t get up and when Jordan demanded to know what happened, he just shook his head.
Jordan leaned across the metal table. “No one’s telling me anything. If, as this Berndt guy says, Granddad killed someone, then why have three living members of my family been arrested for murder?”
“Because Berndt’s dead.”
Jordan’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Justin sat back in his chair, frowning at the scent of alcohol on his brother’s breath. “I’ve called a lawyer. But until—”
“Why do you need a lawyer? You were with the damn cops. What the hell did you do?”
Justin held onto his frayed patience by taking a deep breath. “I didn’t do anything, but after what I heard tonight, you bet your ass I’m waiting for the lawyer.”
Jordan sat down, his expression grave. “What did you hear?”
Justin rolled his eyes. With a sigh, he leaned forward and lowered his own voice. “Why do you think they let you in here? They want me to say something so they can twist it around to incriminate me.”
“What about Mom and Dad? What the hell were they doing there, anyway?”
The unreality of the entire night washed over Justin again. Their parents were murderers. This happened in movies, or a book, not his life.
Unfortunately, just like in the movies, and thanks to the Blake family rule that appearances were everything, the media was going to be all over this. Their grandfather had been an active member of the community; an upstanding, respected, generous man—anything to get him, his daughter Diana, and the Hunter name into the public eye in a positive light and promote the company.
Once the media got wind of the charges filed against Diana and Dale Blake, of the fact that the Great Karl Hunter had known about it and paid blackmail for years, more people would know their names in a day than in all the years of Granddad’s charity work. His and Jordan’s reputations would be ruined by association. Add the fact that another murder had occurred on a Hunter Construction job site, and their business would be gone, too.
Justin hoped Jordan would be able to handle it; and he wished, at that moment, that he could be anywhere but here, having to explain to his brother why their parents had been arrested.
He forced himself to meet Jordan’s gaze. “Mom and Dad will be charged with not only Tommy Berndt’s murder, but probably Annette Wade’s as well.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Confusion and disbelief played across Jordan’s expression before he asked, “Who the hell is Annette Wade?”
“Marley’s mother.”
“What the—I thought she died years ago?”
“She did. It was thought to be a robbery back then, but they’ve got mom on tape with some pretty damning testimony,” Justin said. “Remember that document on Granddad’s computer? He knew, and that’s why he paid Dad to stay married to her all these years. Protect the family name at all costs.”
