I scraped my palms along the rough asphalt to steady myself before pushing up to my feet as if I hadn’t just been devastated bythenews.
“What happened?”I ground out the words from between clenchedteeth.
“So sorry.”Someone else said the words and gripped my shoulder before releasing andmovingon.
I didn’t bother to turn to see who it was.I didn’t care.This wasn’t about me.It was about the case.A year of focusing on denial in my little cottage in Gulf Shores came in handyforonce.
“We don’t know with one hundred percentcertaintyyet—”
I glared at Rix.“Spare me the bullshit.Tell me what yourgutsays.”
Rix nodded and his expression tensed.“Warrant was finally issued for your dad’s arrest.Two officers were on the way here to pick him up.Gave him a courtesy call out of respect to let him know they were coming.They might’ve exaggerated about how far away they were.His car was parked in the alley behind the house, and it looks like he was jamming it with important stuff.Family pictures, the cat, shit like that.They pulled up and before they could get out of the car, the ground shook and the houseimploded.”
Implosion?That took a whole separate set of physics than an explosion.Which meant there was no way in hell it was anaccident.
My mind flipped to all the things I’d learned over the years about ordnance.“Was the housewired?”
“That’s what it looks like.This was noaccident.”
His words echoed my thoughts.This definitely wasn’t an accident.And it was no secret my dad was an explosives, demolitions, and incendiaries expert from hisarmydays.
He wouldn’t do this.Wouldhe?
He wasn’t cold-blooded enough to wire up his own house and take a chance that something could happen to Mom.Washe?
You also didn’t think your dad would turn out to be adirtycop.
The pain from earlier snaked out, a new variation this time, and I crammed itbackdown.
It’s a case.Onlyacase.
“When will they know for sure?”It was a stupid question because I already knew theanswer.
“This investigation won’t be ashortone.”
“I need to see my mom.Need to knowshe’sokay.”
“I swear, she’s okay.She was out for dinner withyouraunt.”
“Did sheseethis?”
Rix shook his head.“No, they didn’t let her come back here.The officers told her they’d bring her when itwassafe.”
“Mybrothers?”
“I think your mom called them.I figured you still weren’t answering the damned phone, so I decided to get your ass back here the only way Iknewhow.”
No one ever knew where Rome was, somewhere down in Central or South America, but Rock was only a few hours away by plane in Vail.He’d get herequickly.
I scanned the chaos for the coroner’s van, but it was nowhere in sight.“They already take ...the body?”I forced out the words as bile rose in mythroat.
The body.My father.The dirty cop who had been under investigation for the last year, and the reason I’d turned my back on my career, my family, and the only city I’d evercalledhome.
“Yeah.They’ll be doing anautopsy.”
I nodded, forcing myself to be clinical.“What’s thetheory?”
Another voice broke into ourconversation.