Beau settled back in his chair. Cassidy read the relief in his face, though he was still the main suspect in the death of his father.
“Is there anything you can think of, Beau, that could give us a clue as to why your dad and Milford were murdered?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, believe me. Cassidy’s an investigator. She’s been helping me try to find out. So far, the only connection we’ve come up with is Alamo. My dad owned it and Milford was a former employee.”
“We’ve been working that angle. You know about the fire that destroyed the apartments Alamo was building?”
Cassidy caught Beau’s glance. He didn’t want his father’s reputation ruined. He was worried about Missy and the baby. He was afraid it would affect little Evie as she was growing up in Pleasant Hill.
But two men were dead. He needed to give the police something they could use.
“The fire was arson,” Beau said. “No secret about that. The investigation concluded it was vandalism. We think Milford might have stumbled onto something, somehow found out who was responsible. Maybe my father did, too, and that’s why they were killed.”
“You think they were killed to keep them from talking?”
Beau shrugged. “At this point, it’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
He wasn’t mentioning the money the senator owed, or his belief that Malcolm Vaughn might have murdered his father for not repaying the loan.
Chief Warren rose in dismissal. “I wish I could tell you this is over, Beau. There’s not enough to hold you for Milford’s death, but you’re still the primary suspect in the senator’s murder. At this point, there’s no way to know if the two are even connected. Maybe someone tried to pin Milford’s death on you because you were already a suspect in the first murder. Until the senator’s killer has been found, we’re still looking hard at you.”
Beau’s features darkened. He nodded.
“Stay close,” Chief Warren said as Beau held the door and Cassidy preceded him out of the office.
“Well, that was good news and bad,” he said glumly as they crossed the lot toward the Lamborghini, which had drawn a small group of teenage admirers.
“Good news is they don’t think you killed Milford. Bad news is they still think you might have killed your dad.”
His face looked grim. As they reached the car, a teenage boy with shoulder-length black hair wearing baggy jeans and a striped T-shirt stepped up to Beau. “Dude, your car is totally awesome.”
Beau relaxed for the first time that day. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, it is.” He clicked the remote and the doors slid up. “Have a look inside.”
“Wow, cool!” a gangly blond boy said as the whole gang rushed forward, all of them clustering around the car. Peering inside, they checked out the futuristic wheel, control panel, and industrial steel floors.
The black-haired teen looked at Beau. “You’re Beau Reese, right? My dad and me used to watch you drive when I was a kid.”
Cassidy smiled and so did Beau because the teen was still very much a kid. “I’m him.”
“How fast does one of these babies go?” the blond boy asked.
“This one tops out at about two twenty.”
His pale eyebrows shot up. “Two hundred twenty miles an hour?”
“That’s right.”
“You ever drive it that fast?” the black-haired kid asked.
“Just on the track. That’s the only place it’s safe to drive a car at those speeds.”
They were looking at Beau like he was a race-car god. Cassidy supposed to a racing fan he was.
“We gotta go, guys.” Beau slid in behind the wheel. Cassidy climbed in and Beau closed the doors. He waved to the boys as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“You’re good with kids,” Cassidy said.
“I like kids. I was an only child. I always wanted a brother or sister. I used to want a big family of my own.”
