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Dom looked confused. “Did he believe she was still alive?”
“Not after the first few years.” The stacks and stacks of paperwork Kaden had found in Darren’s study had concentrated on searching for a body, not a living person. “When there was no sign of her, I think he accepted she was dead.”
“Then why hire private detectives to search for her?”
“Because he had to know what happened.” Kaden’s voice was harsh. “Not only for his own sanity but to silence the whispers behind his back.”
“Whispers?”
Kaden leaned down, slamming the suitcase shut with a loud bang. “Most people—including the cops—assumed Darren killed her and dumped the body.”
“Oh . . .” Dom’s mouth opened and closed, as if he was considering the impact of spending ten years being the prime suspect of killing the woman he loved. “Hell.”
“Exactly.” The air felt heavy with the weight of Kaden’s regret. He could tell himself it was his dislike for Vanna that had made him oblivious to the torment her absence was causing his brother, but deep inside he’d known he’d been a selfish SOB, so caught up in building his career he’d ignored the tragedy swirling around Darren. “My brother drank himself into an early grave, driven there by the cloud of suspicion that haunted him.”
“Okay.” Dom cleared his throat. “Let’s say the skeleton was your brother’s fiancée. What do you intend to do?”
Kaden reached into the closet to grab his heavy leather jacket. “First, I’m headed to Pike.”
“Why?”
Kaden turned away, as if ensuring he hadn’t forgotten anything. He didn’t want Dom to see his troubled expression. His friend knew him all too well.
“I want to be there when the body’s identified,” he said. “And then?”
“Then I’m going to find out what the hell happened to her.”
Dom stepped toward him, as if considering whether or not Kaden needed a good shake to clear his brain.
“You can do all of that from here,” he finally pointed out. “It’s not like you can perform the autopsy, or whatever it is you do to ID a skeleton. And you’re certainly not qualified to investigate a suspicious death.”
Kaden turned back to meet his friend’s worried gaze. He didn’t have a good answer, so he offered the truth.
“I ignored my brother’s cries for help when he was alive. I’m not going to fail him again.”
Dom flinched at the bleak words, his hands clenching at his side. “You still haven’t told me what you intend to do.”
“Get answers. One way or another.”
Kaden grabbed his suitcase and coat before heading toward the staircase. He’d worry about getting a ticket once he got to the airport.
For now, it was enough to feel as if he was one step closer to giving his brother the peace in death he’d never had in life.
* * *
Kaden hadn’t spent much time in small towns. Madison might not be a bustling metropolis, but it was a city with all the usual amenities and a large university. Driving down Main Street in the center of Pike, Kaden frowned at the empty streets and businesses that were locked tight despite the fact it was after ten in the morning. It wasn’t until he pulled into the parking lot next to the courthouse that he realized it was Sunday.
Damn.
He studied the building, which looked like a solid, square box with large windows. It’d been late when he arrived in Madison last night, and for the first time in five years he was relieved he’d continued to pay rent on Darren’s fancy condo. It didn’t matter that the place was a tangible reminder that he still hadn’t accepted his brother’s death. All he wanted was a bed to tumble into so he could fall into an exhausted sleep.
He was still in a tired stupor when he’d roused himself this morning and dragged himself to the shower. Less than half an hour later he was dressed and plugging the directions for Pike into his phone as he climbed into the Jeep he’d rented at the airport the night before. Now the caffeine from the coffee he bought at a gas station during his two-hour drive north was finally kicking in and, squaring his shoulders, Kaden climbed out of the Jeep and headed up the shallow steps to tug on the front door.
Locked. Kaden frowned. The government offices were obviously closed on the weekend, but when he googled the address of the sheriff ’s office, it showed it was located in the courthouse. That surely had to be open, right?
No matter how sleepy the town might appear, there had to be a law official on duty.
“The place is closed until Monday,” a voice called out from behind him.
