Page 39 of Night Watch
“I don’t think your dad would’ve done that either, but if I learned anything in my years on the police force, it’s that people often do unpredictable things.”
“Yeah, but not my dad. He was solid. Loved his job. Loved my mom and their life. Why go back to the old life?”
“That will be up to us to find out.”
She sighed. “It seems like I knew very little about my mom’s everyday existence.”
“You really can’t know anyone,” Erik said. “You think you do and then wham. They can pull the rug right out from under you.”
Kennedy gasped. She’d gotten his underlying message. He shouldn’t have said it. Hated himself for needing to say it. Clearly, he wasn’t over the pain she’d caused. Another good reason to keep things professional with her.
“I’m sorry.” Erik wished he could take his words back. “I know that hurt. I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Feel free to say whatever you think. You always did, and I loved that about you.”
“I thought you were the same way until that last day.” He swallowed away his pain. “I get that you had to do what you had to do. There’s nothing you could’ve done differently. But as I told you before. It still stings. Maybe by the time we wrap up this investigation, things will have changed.”
“I hope so. I’d like us to be friends.”
Friends. Not likely.He didn’t say that though. No point in hurting her more. He swiped to the next photo on his phone. “I took pictures of your parents’ wills. When your dad died, your mother inherited everything, and her will divided everything she had between you and your sister. And as I mentioned she named you executer. I don’t see anything odd in that, do you?”
Kennedy shook her head. “She told us she was going to do that.”
“I hate to ask, but does Finley have money issues?”
She cocked her head and studied him. “Not that I know of. She has a great job. She’s a graphic designer and well paid. She lives in a modest one-bedroom apartment, so it seems unlikely. Why do you ask?”
“I found this letter from your mother to you. It wasn’t sealed so I looked at it.” He handed Kennedy the phone and watched her expression as she read the letter he’d photographed. In it, her mother asked her to watch out for Finley so she wouldn’t blow her entire inheritance on frivolous items but instead put it to good use. Maybe buy a home or invest it.
Forehead furrowed, Kennedy looked up. “Finley takes after my dad. She’s more of a daydreamer, more erratic than me and our mom. But still. I doubt she has money issues. It’s just my mom wanting to be sure she’s okay. Finley’s the baby of the family, and my mom worried about her. You get that, right?”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately, I do.”
“Please don’t ask me to question my sister about this. We’re walking a fine line right now, and I don’t want to make things worse.”
“We need to know.” He watched her until she nodded her agreement. “And I’d like to do a deep dive on her background. Just to be sure.”
“I don’t like that.” Kennedy chewed on her lip.
“I’ll be doing one on you too. No stones unturned and all of that.”
“But I…” She let out a noisy breath, and then a look of resolve passed over her face. “Go ahead. I’ve worked enough investigations to know it’s important to be thorough. It’s often things you don’t expect that provide a lead in an investigation.”
She was right, but he prayed that his deep dive on Finley wouldn’t implicate her in anything wrong. He doubted Kennedy could handle her last remaining family member having been involved in either parent’s death.
10
Kennedy’s stomach threatened to expel the pizza she’d eaten for dinner with Finley, and the tangy spices lingering in the air didn’t help. Kennedy hadn’t a clue why her gut was tied in knots. Was it because Erik kissed her or because she needed to ask her sister uncomfortable questions?
She touched her lips, the kiss still a vivid memory. Kissing him had been great. Awesome even. She’d liked the softness of his lips on hers. The passion behind his touch. The hope for reconciliation she wished the kiss included. She honestly liked all of it. Way too much for her own good.
Thankfully, Erik had broken it off, and after escorting Finley to his place, he’d taken Pong to Drake’s condo.
Except she wasn’t really thankful. She’d wanted the kiss to go on and on. To feel like she had in the old days when love for a man was part of her everyday life.
She’d dated in the last six years but had never foundthe one. It was starting to seem like Erik might be that guy. If so, she was destined for a lifetime of loneliness because he wanted nothing to do with her, and she wasn’t going to settle. Not when it came to a partner for life.
She glanced at Finley sitting next to her on the couch and scarfing down her pizza as if she hadn’t eaten in a week.
