Page 7 of Lost Truth
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Hayden would like to believe Cady was at home in his group. Not just his group, but his family—the people who meant the most to him in the world. Not so. The moment Nolan plopped the nondisclosure agreement in front of her, an unease took over, and her wary expression as she finished her sandwich left his stomach in a knot.
Standing at the end of the table, Nolan cleared his throat. “Go ahead, Cady. Tell us what brought you to Kai’s house.”
She pushed away her plate, holding a partial sandwich, and sat up straighter. “First, let me say thank you to Reece again for the sandwich. It was very tasty and much appreciated. I’ll be adding pickles to my sandwiches in the future.”
Reece gave a camera-worthy smile perfected in her college modeling days. “I’m always glad to keep the group fed so they can work at peak performance.”
“More like so we’re not grumpy.” Gabe chuckled.
Cady waited for the laughter to die down, then started her story. “So, I was at Kai Nakoa’s house because I was following up on… Well, I… My father was murdered and I…”
Her voice broke, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Sorry. I don’t mean to be so emotional. I-I’m just getting used to the fact that he’s gone.”
Abby got up from the other end of the table and came to sit next to Cady. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry about your father. I wish I’d known him better, but from everything I’ve heard, he was a wonderful man. And don’t you worry about being emotional. If you need to cry, we want you to cry. Let it all out. This is a safe space.”
Hayden couldn’t agree more, but he wished he could be the one comforting her. She was clearly in the beginning stages of grieving her father’s loss, and he was thankful Abby stepped in. If he couldn’t provide the needed comfort, Abby would be his second choice.
On the outside, she was all tough law enforcement officer, but she’d suffered hardship and loss herself and knew how to empathize. She was gutsy and true, loyal to the end, and if she came alongside someone, that person’s life was enriched in a special way. Maybe she and Cady could form a real bond.
Tears flowed from Cady’s eyes. “Th-thank you. I’m…” She shrugged. “Just thank you.”
Abby slipped an arm around Cady’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “We’ll sit here until you’re ready to talk. No pressure. Take your time.”
Cady’s lips parted in a wobbly smile, and she took a few measured breaths. “It was just such a shock. Not only to lose him so suddenly, but having someone take his life. The medical examiner says someone administered a lethal dose of fentanyl. We don’t know how or who gave him the injection or why. This happened a few weeks ago. The police have investigated, but they don’t have any leads and have basically given up.”
“I’ll ask Mina if she can get us a copy of the police investigation files for your father’s death,” Nolan said.
“Thank you,” Cady said.
Hayden didn’t want to say anything, but she probably shouldn’t be thanking Nolan when he was likely wanting the files to confirm her story. “Once in law enforcement always in law enforcement” meant a healthy measure of distrust without proof. Or maybe unhealthy for some people.
“So you’re investigating,” Nolan clarified.
“I had to.” Cady’s forceful tone confirmed her dedication to this task. “Figured I’d start with Dad’s journals. He wrote in one every day when he still had clarity of mind. I’ve been reading through the books to see if he noted anything to help me find his killer.”
“What about the secret he said Mayor Sutton was keeping?” Reece cupped a coffee mug in delicate hands. “We never did find out what that was.”
Hayden, like the rest of the team and Mina, wanted details of that secret. They thought it was related to the mayor’s murder a few months ago. The team helped to find his killer, and there was absolutely no question they’d found the guilty party. But the killer didn’t seem to have anything to do with this secret Percy said the mayor had been keeping.
Cady frowned. “I haven’t found out what it is either. I asked Dad several times, but he couldn’t recall anything other than it had to do with people. His journals didn’t reference the secret either.”
Reece leaned forward. A strand of hair fell over her forehead, and she swatted it away. “But there was something in the journal about Kai?”
Cady nodded. “You may not believe this based on the man you met, but until the dementia set in, my dad was very active. When he moved here, he hired Kai to teach him how to surf. Dad noted in his journal that he stopped by Kai’s surf shop to talk to him every day. I hoped Kai might have information that could help.”
“But you didn’t see him?” Hayden asked.
“No. I went to his shop, but the employee working said he was taking time off. So I asked people in the area if they knew where he was, and no one did. Theydidsay it was unlike him to take more than a day off.” She exhaled. “I was disappointed, but I couldn’t just turn around and go back home. I had to do something, so I kept talking to people until finally someone gave me his home address.”
“And you went to his house where I found you.” Where he thought she was an intruder who might turn on him with a gun, and he could’ve fired on her in the dark.
“I didn’t intend to go inside without permission.” She bit her lower lip. “I only wanted to talk to him, but he didn’t answer. So I sat outside for the rest of the day to wait for him. When it got late and he didn’t show, I decided to take a look around. I found a window open and?—”
“You went inside,” Hayden finished for her.
“I know I shouldn’t have been digging around in his house, but I didn’t mean any harm. I’m just so desperate to figure out who killed my father.” Her voice collapsed again, and her shoulders curled in. “Losing Dad. Not knowing who killed him. This is so much harder than I thought it would be.”
