“I’m Detective Sinclair.”
Her mouth drops open. “Oh . . . ” She looks behind her into the house and sighs. “What has he done now?”
“Shoplifting. I will talk to them to see if they can drop the charges.”
The woman throws me a grateful look. “Thank you. Ever since Charlie died, he’s been closed off. He won’t talk to me. I can’t seem to break through to him. He does this stuff, and I don’t know what to do.” Tears fill her eyes, and my heart throbs in response to her pain.
At least Ro has a mother who cares.
I reach up and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing softly. “You're doing a good job. All you can do is be there for him. He’ll come around. The pain won’t go away, but he’ll learn to live with it.”
Her eyes drop, and she nods slowly. “Thank you.”
“He’s a good kid. He just needs more time. Right now, he’s angry at the world for taking his dad away.”
Green tear-filled eyes blink up at me and she offers me a wobbly smile, “I’m Hayley, by the way,” she says, wrapping her arms around her middle.
“Logan. Now get inside where it’s warm. If you need anything, here’s my number.” I hand her my card.
She looks down at the card, turning it over in her hands. “Thanks,” she whispers, stepping backward into the house, and closes the door with a soft click.
The ground crunches under my shoes as I make my way back to my car. Thoughts of Ro’s dad, Charlie, circle my head. What happened at Kai’s house to warrant the police being called? Something is telling me to look closer. Maybe I need to ask Salena about it. I get in my car, letting my head fall back against the headrest. I look at the time and decide to head home. I’m done for the day.
I only live a couple of streets over, so I reach home in under five minutes. I notice a truck parked in my driveway, and curse under my breath. Who the fuck is at my house? My gaze moves over my yard and I see Sander seated on my front step. The tension drains out of my shoulders, and I’m filled with relief that he’s here. I step out of my car, and he stands, making his way over. We grip each other’s hands, pulling each other into a hug, our hands clasped between us.
“Good to see you, brother,” Sander says lightly.
“You, too. Thanks for coming,” I reply, leading the way into the house.
Sander chuckles. “Anytime.”
“Want to order pizza?”
“Hell yes. I’m starved.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “You're constantly hungry.”
I call up, ordering us a pizza each, then we grab some beers and head for the deck out the back.
“So, what’s bothering you about this case? It seems personal,” Sander says, kicking back in the deck chair.
He has always been way too perceptive. “It’s not personal,” I lie.
Sander raises his eyebrow. “Really? Because I happened to run into a striking silver haired woman on my way here today. She says you're dating.”
My breath stalls, and I squirm under his stare. “Yeah, I’m dating Salena.”
“That’s awesome. It’s about time you got a girlfriend.” When I don’t return his smile, he pins me with a bizarre look. “What’s the problem, exactly?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Not wanting to get into it right now.
Sander reaches over to grab another slice of pizza and leans back in his chair. “Well, try. I’m here to help.”
“A cop was mauled by a wolf on her brother's property two years ago, after being called out to a domestic situation. It is the only fatal animal attack here, and then the two girls. I feel they are somehow connected. Someone has something against Salena. They want to scare her off, or worse.”
“Maybe you need to talk to Salena about it. Find out what happened out there two years ago,” Sander suggests before tipping the last of his beer back.
“Yeah . . . ” I pause, struggling to collect my thoughts. Sander knows me well and doesn’t rush me.
