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Pete was feeling a heck of a lot better about things, and that pit in his gut was long gone now. He wouldn’t have blamed Ryan if he’d walked away, but he was pleased with the turn things had taken. He was still riding that high with a secret smile on his face when his partner came in. “What’s got you all chipper this morning?”
Detective Sparks asked as she dropped her purse in the drawer of her desk. She was looking forward to an easy day now that they’d pretty much closed the case. She still had to visit Marissa and her parents to let them know what was going on, and there was Misty to question. Though the video evidence pretty much put the nail in that coffin, there was still the question of why.
“I’ll tell you all about it later; right now, Misty Swamp’s attorney is on his way in, so you’d better prepare. I’m not sure how or why, but Spiro and Company hired some hotshot to represent her.”
“Shoot, I’d forgotten about their involvement in this mess.”
“How so? What do they have to do with it?”
“Well, the way I see it, Misty killed Bridgette to hide the fact that she was stealing an experimental drug from the company she worked for. Spiro and Company have to do damage control for two reasons. One, they can’t let their investors know that one of their own stole and used their product in the process of a crime, and two, they can’t let the public know that they’ve been experimenting with something that has been banned in the US.”
“How do you know all this? I don’t remember questioning anyone from that company.”
“I met with their CEO yesterday, but most of it I’ve pretty much put together on my own. Whatever, I’m not interested in their drugs. I’ve passed that information on to the right people. I just want to know about the murder and the reason behind it. If Ryan wants to sue them, that’s a whole other story.”
“He can do that?”
“I don’t see why not. Their employee used their drug to drug and manipulate a man into marrying her and then went on to murder someone to keep that quiet. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want that bandied about, do you?”
“You’re right; I’ll tell him when I check in on him and Connie later.”
“Connie?” Officer Bailey went on to tell her about the night before and how Ryan had done a complete one-eighty where his stepdaughter is concerned.
Ryan sat across the breakfast table from Connie, who was still looking a bit shell-shocked. It had taken him the better part of the night into the early morning to convince the kid that he meant her no harm. She was convinced that he hated her because of what she’d done, but her show of remorse had only strengthened his resolve to take care of her from now on.
He’d stayed up most of the night after putting her to bed, thinking about his next move. His plan to annul his marriage might have to wait until after he’d taken care of custody. He was pretty sure that with an annulment, he would no longer have any say in the girl’s life since he would no longer be her mother’s husband and therefore of no relation.
As much as he wanted to divest himself of the bitch who’d drugged and used him, he couldn’t do that to Connie. His plan going forward was to keep her name out of everything. Since she’s a minor, he didn’t see any trouble there, and he already knew how he was going to deal with Marissa and the school once word of his innocence spread.
He’d been worried about the public’s opinion of him, knowing how they could condemn you even when your innocence was proven, but now he worried more about the young girl who’d already suffered enough. “Stop picking at your food, kid, and eat. We’re going to be busy the next few days; you'll need your strength.” The doorbell rang just as she smiled and picked up her fork to eat the eggs he’d made.
Ryan opened the door in surprise to see the two people standing there. He’d never had much dealing with the two of them though he’d seen them around, but he knew who the man was, at least. It was just the day before that he’d learned the man was Connie’s dad and how that came to be. Ryan looked back in the direction of the kitchen with worry before turning back to the couple. “Come in.”
CHAPTER 30
“If you’re here to say or do anything that’s going to hurt her, you can leave right now.” Ryan was already having second thoughts about letting them in without asking their reason for being here. He didn’t know all that had gone down between them and Misty years ago or what had been decided about the kid, but he knew that he’d never seen either one of them around since he came into the picture and with things being the way they were...
