Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “But I trust Nick. He’s going to marry my sister, for goodness’ sake.”
Traffic sounded in the distance, and I heard a door open over the line. “Maybe. He hasn’t proposed yet, has he?” Aiden asked.
“No, and I hope he gets on it soon.” It was surprising Aiden wasn’t more on Nick’s side. I thought they were at least friendly.
“Anyway, what’s going on besides that?” he asked.
Alrighty. No more talking about murder. “Not much. That pretty much sums it up. I think we need to get some furniture for the living room sometime soon, don’t you?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, we should probably get on that. I thought I’d redo those two bedrooms first, but that seems to be taking a while.”
“And a garage would be nice.” I chuckled. “Especially in northern Idaho.”
“You make a very good point. I should be home shortly.”
Surprise caught me. “For real?” Another door shut, and I heard other sounds as he moved through what I assumed was his hotel room. I cleared my throat, picturing him stripping off his jogging gear. I had to bring myself back to the moment. “Do you remember Nick from high school? He and his brothers?”
“I do,” Aiden said. “I didn’t know any of them real well. I lived kind of on the other side of the tracks, if you know what I mean. But yeah, I knew of them. They were nice enough.”
“Did you have any hint that something was wrong at home?”
The sound of a fridge opening, and ice cubes clinking slid across the line. “No,” Aiden said. “I didn’t know them very well, but if I remember right, when Richard Basanelli disappeared, there were rumors around town that he was guilty of domestic abuse. Nobody had known anything about it until then, though. I was surprised.”
“You were?” I asked. “Why?”
“I don’t know. They seemed like they had the perfect life. You know, three brothers, mom and dad. They were all into sports and good at it. I guess you just never know what’s happening behind closed doors.”
I swallowed. That was the damn truth.
“I always wanted a sibling,” Aiden said, his tone thoughtful.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I like it a lot.” I didn’t know what I would do without my sisters. I wanted to remind him that if he ever joined my family, he’d have tons of relatives, but I wasn’t ready to go there. At least, not right now.
“I have to go, Angel. Work calls.”
I pushed the covers off, and the instant chill almost had me cuddling back in. But I had plenty to do, as well. “Me, too. Maybe I’ll go to the office early.”
“That’s fine, but just stay out of danger. If Basanelli didn’t kill his dad, somebody did, and that person won’t be happy those bodies were found.”
Good point. Very good point.
Chapter 12
I bribed my way up to Detective Pierce’s floor with homemade huckleberry muffins, making sure to keep a couple for him. A quick glance inside his office confirmed that he’d probably already moved down to the interrogation room.
Excellent.
I walked down the long hallway as quietly as possible in my snow boots and turned left, going into the silent observation room where I gingerly closed the door. The space went dark. Holding my breath, I flicked on a light. Camera equipment and a computer sat on a table against the side wall, and I moved forward to see Detective Pierce with his back to me, facing two men across a scarred wooden table.
I’d been inside the actual interrogation room before, and the place always kind of creeped me out. I much preferred being in this room and watching through the one-way mirror.
If Pierce heard me pop inside, he gave no indication. I had been fairly quiet. The room was stuffy and warm, so I shed my wool coat and dropped it over the lone chair by the computer. Then I moved closer to the window and flicked the button on the speaker so I could listen.
“Thank you for coming in today,” Pierce said to the two men.
I studied them, not having seen either of them before. The guy directly across from Pierce had to be in his mid to late fifties with unnaturally black hair and light blue eyes. Like many men I’d seen, he was fighting going gray.
He was built kind of like a lumberjack with thick arms and a pretty big belly. I couldn’t really tell from my position, but he looked to be around five foot nine or so, which was about average.
“Please state your name for the record, Wayne,” Pierce said.
Wayne blinked. “For the record? For what record? You told me you were reopening the investigation into my wife’s disappearance. Why are we on the record?”
The other man, who had darker blue eyes, straightened in his seat. Unlike Wayne, he wore a three-piece suit with a muted red tie that almost matched the red in his gray hair. He wasn’t fighting the gray, and the red looked interesting, brushed back from his face. He cleared his throat. “My brother—I mean, my client—doesn’t have to talk to you. What is going on, Detective Pierce?”