For forty minutes we went backward and forward through the footage. The prick was only in the room for barely twenty minutes to emerge with an armful of stuff. Stuff I recognized as belonging to Cassidy.
“That’s our guy.”
“Our guy?”
“He knows something.”
“Come on, Hayden, you don’t know that. So he stole some shoes and went through her stuff. Doesn’t mean he knows who…”
“He knows. I don't believe in coincidences and this is too much,” Hayden declared, taking over control of the laptop and forwarding the video to himself.
“I just don’t want you to…”
“To what?”
“I don't want you to get your hopes up. This could be a dead end.”
“Or it could lead to the truth,” Hayden countered, standing up and pulling his phone out of his pocket.
I had no idea what was going to happen next, but in the pit of my gut I had a feeling that trouble was definitely headed in our direction.
17
HAYDEN
“Areyou going to do something stupid?” my sister, Hannah, asked.
She was the sensible one in the family. The one who did well at school, won scholarships and did everything she thought she was supposed to do. As a speech pathologist at Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital, she was the epitome of a good girl. So when she hooked up with Mason Flynn, the NBA’s biggest playboy, I was shocked. I always thought she’d end up married to someone more like her. A surgeon or doctor or something.
Slicing another piece of steak off, I popped it in my mouth and concentrated on chewing rather than Hannah’s questioning.
Mason chuckled and shook his head at me. “You know she’s not going to let this go, right?
Setting my cutlery down, I picked up my glass and took a drink. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to say that you’ve done all you can and you’re going to let this go.”
“Geez, Hannah. It was Cassidy. Do you get that? Cassidy was my everything and she was taken away from me. I can’t let this go!”
I was frustrated. Why couldn’t she get it through her head? Hannah was a smart girl, but she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around this one.
“Hayden,” Hannah said softly, reaching over and taking hold of my hand. “I know you loved Cass. No one’s doubting that. I didn’t know her all that well, but she was an amazing woman and I know she wouldn’t want this for you. She wouldn’t want to see you driving yourself crazy trying to avenge her. She’d want you to be happy. She’d want you to find love again.”
“You don't know that!” I boomed.
“Yeah, Hayden, I do.”
“How? How can you know that? You weren’t there.”
“Because.” Hannah looked up into Mason’s face and offered him a soft smile. “When you love someone, no matter what happens you want them to be happy. And Cassidy loved you, Hayden. She really did.”
With emotion clogging my throat, I swallowed deeply. I didn’t want to break down. Breaking down was weak. There’d be time for that later. Right now, I needed to hold on tight to anger and fight this through until the end. And there would be an end. I wouldn’t rest until there was.
“I need to know why.”
“Have you considered what happens if you don’t find out?”
I know Hannah only wanted what was best for me. The problem was, what she thought was best for me, wasn’t what I knew was. “Then I don’t stop.”
