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Silence shrouds the room in a heavy veil as we try to digest everything Lucas told us. A dizzying silence that sucks my thoughts from the room—that leaves me unable to put words to the truth. A silence that leaves my words too broken to piece back together.
“When are the emails dated?” Troy asks after a few stunned moments.
Lucas studies the screen. “Five days before Aiden died.”
“Did he send any emails from that account to anyone else?”
“As far as I can tell, no. Unless he deleted them from his send box. That’s always a possibility.”
“But why not tell anyone about it?” Emily looks to the four brothers in turn for answers. “Why end his life before he could send the evidence to someone who could open an investigation?”
Good question.
One I wish we had answers for.
“Is it possible he didn’t commit suicide?” All eyes swing to Zara. “Kya, the woman Simone and I spoke to this afternoon, was surprised when Simone told her Aiden was dead and how he died. From what she said, it sounded like the last thing on his mind was ending his life. He told her that in a few days things would be better. Justice would finally prevail. Maybe this is what he was referring to.” She points at the laptop.
I nod, the pieces of the puzzle slowly sliding into place. “It would explain why I kept finding the clues in the mythology books under the individuals who symbolized justice.”
Kellan leans forward in his armchair. “If he didn’t kill himself, how did he end up at the bottom of the cliff?” He grimaces apologetically at me. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I have the same question.
Garrett pushes himself out of his chair and begins pacing. “It could have been an accident. He misjudged the stability of the edge and it gave way. But there were no signs of that from what the police report said.”
Shock widens Lucas’s eyes, as well as my own. “How did you get the report?” he asks.
“I knew someone on the force at the time, and he might have spoken in hypotheticals. Purely for research purposes, of course.”
“And there were no signs of foul play?” Lucas strokes his thumb along the side of my hand, knowing how painful this conversation is for me. It’s painful for both of us.
But painful or not, they are questions I want answered. For Aiden. For Grams. He wanted justice served for the boy’s death. If someone was responsible for what happened to my brother, I want justice, too. I don’t want him to be remembered as the man who killed himself. He deserves so much more than that.
“If there were signs of foul play, they were missed. Aiden had a history of PTSD. It probably made more sense to the cops that it was suicide instead of an accident.”
“Or murder.” The strangled word squeezes past the pain and tears clogging my throat. An image flickers in my thoughts of someone shoving my brother off the cliff. Ending his life. I push the thought away. “If anyone on the list was aware of the evidence he’d compiled against them, it would be a motive for wanting him out of the picture. Why take the risk he might expose the individuals involved in the cover-up or threaten to blackmail them?”
Lucas shifts his arm to curve around me, and I lean into him, needing his strength to get through this conversation. Needing to share my strength with him. None of this is easy, for either of us. But this time we’ll be there for each other. We’ll be stronger. Together.
Garrett continues pacing. “It’s possible the man who tried to hurt you today was looking for the evidence. You said he kept demanding that you hand over the files, but you had no idea what he was talking about.” He points at the laptop. “This could be what he was talking about.”
“But why now?” I ask. “Aiden died three years ago. Why wait this long to get his hands on the evidence?”
“We can speculate all night, but in the end it’s the military and civilian police who will need to find the answers.” Lucas picks up his phone from the coffee table and taps on the screen. “Hey, Mathews, I need your help…”
52
Simone
Two weeks after the incident at the cabin, Grams and I walk along the trail to the half-dozen picnic tables in the meadow belonging to Tuuli and Robert. The stream where Lucas and I made love while in college is just beyond the maple trees.
Joy and nervousness have hijacked my body. Not because there are so many memories of Aiden and Lucas tied to this land. Not because Grams and I are here to celebrate Tuuli and Robert’s fortieth wedding anniversary. Their ruby anniversary.
It’s because I haven’t heard from Lucas since he left for Eugene this morning. He was meeting with Blake.
The late-afternoon sun shines on the partygoers, glinting off their sparkly red hats. John walks over, a wide grin on his weathered face. I hug Grams’s boyfriend and leave her in his capable hands while I go see if Zara needs my help. She’s catering the event.
On my way over to the table where she’s standing, I check my phone for the two hundredth time since Lucas left this morning. He still hasn’t texted or called. God, what’s taking so long?
