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“Maybe.”
He chuckled slightly. “That means yes.”
“He deserved it,” I answered evenly.
“Why? And I’m not asking as a cop,” he quickly clarified. “But as a friend.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “As ohana.”
I briefly squeezed my eyes shut. We may not have been related by blood, but Nikko was ohana, was family. Our mothers had been friends since they were in diapers, their fathers partners in the police department. That in and of itself created an impenetrable bond between our two families. One that still continued, which was why I always referred to him and his siblings as my cousins. In reality, he was more like a wise, older brother. Always the voice of reason in my chaotic life.
“He brought up what happened to Claire the night Piper…” I trailed off, not needing to finish my sentence.
After all, he was there all those years ago, helping me put the pieces together, albeit in a limited capacity since he hadn’t made detective yet. That didn’t matter. Not when Piper was his sister. The baby of the family. He wanted justice as much as I did.
“Why?”
“Because she died five years to the day of that night, he figured she killed herself. They all did. Couple that with her being diagnosed with depression, and she obviously must have committed suicide,” I mocked. “What other explanation could there be?” The more I spoke, the more frustrated I became.
“But you don’t think she did,” Nikko stated after a beat.
I lifted my gaze to his, shaking my head. “The last time I saw Claire was two months ago. We got into an argument.”
“About?”
“That night, actually.”
“Really?” His brows creased in concern. “What about it?”
I exhaled a sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face.
Ever since I’d received that phone call, I’d replayed my last conversation with Claire over and over in my head. Recalled her agitated demeanor. Her desperation. Her grief.
“Everything. She wanted to go over it all again. Every single detail.”
“Why? They arrested the guy responsible. Sure, he was killed in a prison altercation before his trial, but if you ask me, he got what he deserved. The evidence was conclusive. No way he would have been able to deny it during trial. They found his DNA under Piper’s fingernails. And his semen was also found on her body. It was pretty open and shut.”
I ran my hands over my thighs. “Unless there was another reason for it. That was what Claire was trying to tell me. What our argument was about. She was pretty adamant Caleb was telling the truth when he insisted he’d been sleeping with Piper behind my back.”
“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard the same from men accused of rape? Men whose semen was also found? If I had a buck for every time they either claimed it was consensual or they’d been having an affair, I could retire from the department a very wealthy man.” He paused. “But I wasn’t living with Piper.”
Remorse flickered in his expression. We all went through it after Piper’s death, questioning if we could have done something to prevent it.
It was one of the reasons Nikko pushed to become detective. To prevent anyone else from suffering like we had.
“Neither was I, really. From February through October, I spent most of my time on the mainland. I tried to get back as often as I could. Flew her out when it fit her schedule, but our seasons overlapped. She seemed to have a surfing competition every weekend during the summer.” I shrugged, sighing. “I suppose anything’s possible.”
“I don’t know, bruh.” Nikko shook his head. “The lead detectives did their due diligence on that investigation. It was like one of their own was killed that night. We tried to corroborate Caleb’s statement, but no one could. Your neighbors did see his truck in the vicinity of your house around the time it happened. He ran a red light, too, and a camera less than a mile from your house caught him. Not to mention Piper’s hair and a few droplets of her blood were found on the clothes he was wearing when he was arrested.”
“I know.” I pushed out a breath. “I told Claire as much. She tried to press the issue, wanted me to come back here with her, walk through the house, see if I remembered anything.”
“And how did you respond?”
I swallowed through the thickness in my throat, guilt festering deep within. Would things have ended differently if I hadn’t taken out my frustration on her? If I’d offered to help?
I’d never know.
“How do you think?”
“I think you’re a stubborn ass who probably didn’t want to listen to what she had to say.”
