Page 37 of Night Hawk
She opened the visor mirror and used the tissue to remove wayward mascara. “Sadness had often made my mom frown when she didn’t think anyone was looking. Not that she was unhappy all the time. She wasn’t. But I think something bad must’ve happened before I was born. After she died, I asked my dad about it. He said she’d had a rough childhood, and they didn’t like to talk about it.”
She sighed. “I accepted that, as I accepted the way my dad always had to be doing something and keep me busy too. The way he expected perfection from me, but with them both gone, I wish I’d pushed for a better answer.”
“After your dad died, did any of your mother’s things shed light on her past?”
She shook her head and closed the mirror. “He only kept a few pieces of her jewelry. He gave it to me when I turned twenty-one.”
“Do you have any relatives you can ask about the picture? Or anyone who could give you more insight into your parents?”
“My paternal grandpa is still alive, but my dad wasn’t very close to him, so I doubt he knows anything. And my mom was an only child. Dad had a sister who never married, and she died about ten years ago. And my grandparents on my mom’s side are both gone. Lung cancer. Both of them. Died before I was born.”
“Might be worth giving your grandpa a call.”
“I can do that.”
“What about a family history? Any information on the older generations?”
“Not much.” She lifted the visor back into place and shifted to look at him.
“Where did your parents grow up?”
“Dad was born and raised in Portland and lived there until he joined the DEA. Then he and my mom moved to Virginia, where I was raised. My mom was born somewhere on this coast. Not sure where though. She always changed the subject when it came up.”
Odd that she knew so little about her family, but he didn’t have much information on the older generations in his family either. “Ever considered looking into a genealogy website?”
She twisted her hands together. “I figure there’s a good reason Mom wouldn’t talk about her past, and I want to remember her and Dad as I knew them, not learn some family secret I can’t ever unlearn. Like today. Finding out Dad might be connected to Rader and Hibbard.”
Clay was about to say she could work through whatever she learned, but she didn’t have the support of a family like he did to help her. “I once thought my family was an open book, but not too long ago, we learned that my dad isn’t Sierra’s biological father. My mom was pregnant when he met and married her. It was a big shock. To everyone. Sierra freaked out at first, but then she realized it didn’t matter in her relationship with Dad. He’d always been her father. Nothing changed that. I’ve never respected Sierra more.”
Toni looked like she might comment, but Trent stepped out of the house, taking their attention.
“It’s show time.” Clay said. “You up to talking with him?”
She firmed her shoulders. “I will be by the time I reach him.”
Clay wanted to give her hand a squeeze. He didn’t, just slid out of the car.
Toni joined him near the hood, and they waited as Trent strode toward them. He lifted his phone to his ear to answer. Clay heard him address the person on the call as Sam Griffin and he asked her to process the forensics here.
Trent paused for a moment, then nodded. “See you then.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket and headed straight for them, his expression tight. He eyed them both for a minute. “It’s Rader all right. Looks like he was strangled, but I’m sure you figured that out when you took a look through the place, and you found the money in the drawers.”
“We had to confirm he’d died before calling it in,” Clay said, but didn’t acknowledge searching the dresser.
“With that smell?” Trent rolled his eyes. “You knew the minute you opened that door that he was gone.”
“Did I hear you call Sam Griffin to do the forensics?” Clay hoped a change of subject might calm Trent down.
“Yes,” Trent said. “Before you ask, I won’t be sharing the results, and Sam’s a professional, so don’t bother asking her.”
“But—”
“But nothing.” He raised his shoulders. “This is an official investigation. I can only share what we reveal to the public.”
“You wouldn’t even know he was dead if we hadn’t come out here.”
“He would’ve been discovered eventually. And probably by someone who would’ve run from the body and not searched the place.”
