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“He’s diving right into the cold case. I scanned the police report and emailed it to him for a second pair of eyes.”
Brogan glared at him. “You mean a third set of eyes. Or do mine not matter?”
“Of course, they matter. What’s up with you today? Why so prickly? Have I done something I didn’t know about? Why are you upset with me?”
“Don’t play that innocent card with me. First, I get up to find that you’re already on the phone with Jack. Some days I feel like I’m getting nudged out of the investigative picture. It’s not my fault that your mother dropped this in our lap.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it seems to me that you’re dragging your feet, not exactly jumping in like usual.”
“We just got the case last night. We went over it together before going to bed. What else do you want me to do?”
“I’d like to be part of any calls you make about the Dolworth case. Is that too much to ask?”
“Jack called early, before seven. I took the call so that you could sleep. I wasn’t trying to cut you out of anything.”
She blew out a breath. “I guess I’m letting my own nervous tension about the paperboy run wild. I hope we discover that he had nothing to do with the murders or the abduction of the little boy.”
“Why? Why does that part of it mean so much to you?”
“I don’t like the idea of a child that age committing murder. That’s the bias I’m bringing into this case.”
“Nobody wants to think a kid could do that. But the cops must’ve had a reason.”
“Other than the petty stuff the detective mentioned in the police report? You’ll need more than Trey breaking into a vending machine to convince me.”
“They saw it as a pattern emerging a couple of months before the homicides.”
“Give me a break. You did plenty of stupid things in school. So did I. But because Trey seemed like the most convenient person to pin the crime on—and a juvenile to boot—they somehow managed to pass the blame onto him. I don’t buy it. I believe stealing candy bars is too great a leap to committing a double murder. Do we even know that he was the one who broke into the candy machine? Trey isn’t around to defend himself.”
“That’s why we start with his parents.” Lucien put down his coffee, crossed to where Brogan sat, and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Do you seriously think I’d cut you out of the conversation or not get your opinion on this case? That actually hurts.”
She patted his hand. “I’m sorry. Maybe I overreacted.”
“Maybe?” Lucien teased, bending down to kiss the top of her hair. “You’re forgiven. Besides, let’s hold off diving into Daniel’s case until tonight. Instead, we should go back to the morning of June 7th, 2001, and start there. Let’s grab the dogs, drive by the crime scene before meeting the Reschers, and get the lay of the land, so to speak.”
“I’m all for that. But I’m not sure Poppy and Stella will be too happy getting left in the car.”
“We’ll leave the windows down and bring water with us.”
“Then we should leave now so we can take our time perusing the neighborhood. Seeing the place in person, up close and personal in real-time, makes a difference.”
The house wasn’twhat either one of them expected. Now owned by a Denmark corporation called Vollaway Holdings, the Dolworth’s summer house sat in the middle of a cul-de-sac called Lynley Circle, not to be confused with another street in the area called Lyman Lane a block closer to the beach.
Today the three-bedroom house had been turned into a deluxe Airbnb, renting for six thousand dollars a week. The property ad online listed a host of trendy and luxurious features you’d expect to get for that price. The privacy fence with a remote-controlled security gate was just the beginning. The Internet listing mentioned a large heated rectangular pool and a cabana that took up most of the backyard, leaving the three-bedroom main house to its defining U-shaped architecture.
Remodeled in 2015 after undergoing an extensive interior renovation to give it a cleaner, modern, Scandinavian feel, it wasn’t the same house the Dolworths had rented back in June of 2001.
Back then, Riley Cutler owned the rental she’d inherited from her free-spirited mother, Melodie. Instead of spending money on redoing the place, Riley had kept her mom’s eclectic mix of beachy and boho and decided it would make a great summer rental. She could make extra money from the tourists pushing it as a summer beach house.
Enter Anna Dolworth.
While perusing online listings, Anna fell in love with the house and its charming beachy vibe. This was where she wanted to spend her summer vacation away from the heat in the Valley, where her family could experience a laidback month along the coast without actually having to rent an RV and camp out with a toddler. There was no pool then, no gazebo, no fancy gate, just the U-shaped ranch design with a long driveway that led to a swing-in garage entrance.
Anna decided it was a perfect getaway.
Located two hundred yards from the ocean and its sandy shoreline, she made plans to take her son on long walks to collect seashells while Mack got in some surfing. The couple could enjoy the soft June breezes, take advantage of much-needed downtime away from their stressful jobs, and maybe even work on the cracks in their relationship. The woods behind the house would make an excellent place for the three to explore, gather firewood for the fireplace, and introduce little Elliott to something other than a sterile suburban park.
