“I don’t understand. Why? How?” She managed to get a few words out between sobs.
“I don’t know.” Tanner’s voice was hard.
The fact that he wouldn’t look at me hurt. I could feel he didn’t know what to think. But it was also obvious that his first thought had been that I’d done it. The very first moment he’d seen Douglas’s lifeless body, and me hovering nearby, he’d jumped to the conclusion that I’d murdered his dad.
I wasn’t prepared for how much his lack of trust hurt me. It was hard to suck in a breath as I studied his emotionless face. How could he actually think I’d do something like that?
Gordon rushed up to me, his face flushed. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, feeling numb. “Douglas is dead.”
“I heard.” His jaw clenched. “My God, what a horrible nightmare.”
Bile rose in my throat, and I slid down on the ground and rested my back against the stone wall. “I didn’t do it.” I met Gordon’s gaze. “I swear.”
He scowled. “Of course you didn’t. Why would anyone suspect you?”
I glanced at Tanner. “Because I found the body. I think Tanner thinks—”
“Then he’s a fool,” snapped Gordon. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Sirens were in the distance as more people gathered near the wall. I lost track of where Tanner was and stared into space, trying not to panic. The day had begun so promisingly, and now it had literally unraveled into hell in the space of a few hours. I was terrified of what came next. A few hours before, I’d thought Tanner finding out about my past was my biggest problem. I now knew I’d be lucky if I didn’t end up in jail for murder.
Chapter Fourteen
Tanner
My father was dead.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around that fact. The next few hours after my dad’s body was found were a depressing blur. The lead cop, Detective Pole, was an older guy with red hair from a bottle and a gaze that cut through me like a laser. He questioned the restaurant staff but quickly moved on to my family. I knew that wasn’t unusual. The cops always suspected the loved ones first. Couldn’t blame them, seeing as a large percentage of crimes were committed by people the victim knew.
When I’d first seen Seth standing over my dad’s body, I was ashamed to admit my first thought was he’d attacked my dad. While I couldn’t really imagine him brutally bludgeoning my dad’s skull in, there were things about Seth I didn’t know. He was obviously keeping secrets from me, and he’d looked murderous when he’d argued with my dad in the hallway. But something in my soul told me Seth would never harm anybody. I didn’t know a lot of things about Seth, but I knew that instinctively.
He’d stayed away from me since the cops had arrived. Gordon had hovered over him like a protective father, and the few times my gaze had locked with Seth’s, he’d looked away immediately. I wanted to go to him and explain why I’d had that moment of doubt, but my mom needed me by her side. She was understandably an emotional wreck. Maybe my dad hadn’t been the easiest man to live with, but she’d loved him.
I didn’t know how to feel about my dad’s death. Obviously it was horrible, and I’d never have wanted him to die. But I knew I wasn’t grieving in the way a normal son might. We’d always been distant. Still, I suppose even though we’d never been close, there’d always been a tiny hope that maybe one day he’d wake up and we’d bond. Now that could never happen. He was gone forever, and our cold, loveless relationship was immortalized in that disappointing form.
Detective Pole approached, smoothing his hand over his crumpled suit jacket. He had a sloppy way about him, but I suspected that was almost to throw people off so they’d underestimate him. His gaze was sharp and searching when he spoke, and I didn’t think he missed much. “Mind if I ask you a few questions?” he asked, pulling out a pen and notepad.
“Not at all. But I need to take my mom home soon.” I glanced over at her where she sat on the wall, huddled in a blanket someone had scrounged up for her.
“Oh, sure. Sure. No problem. Just a few things I want to clear up.” He smiled pleasantly.
“Shoot.”
“When was the last time you saw your dad?” His voice was amiable, nothing cop-like about it. But I knew instinctively that question was loaded as hell. Did I tell the truth and say the last time I’d seen my dad was when he was arguing with Seth? I didn’t want to do anything that pointed the cops toward Seth.
“Um… he got up and left the table about halfway through the meal.”
He smiled patiently as he scribbled in his notepad. “And you didn’t see him after that?”
Something about the way he asked the question made me realize he already knew all the answers to the questions he was asking. He was just looking to see who lied. After all, if you’re innocent, why would you ever need to lie to the cops?
“Oh, that’s right. I did see him again.”
“When?” His pencil paused.
“I got up to use the restroom, and I stumbled on him and Seth… talking.” I dropped my gaze, feeling nervous. I wasn’t going to go out of my way to volunteer they’d argued.
