“My bad,” he said. “But it’s one thing that has changed. It’s not about that as much as I’d like to get your take on what happened back then. What you heard and felt, after it happened. For my book.”
Daniel frowned. “You’re writing a book about your sister’s death?”
“I’m gathering as much information as I can,” he said.
After thinking this through, he decided the lie was good enough. It’d give him a reason to be so nosy and get all the records. Why else would he want court records? Most wouldn’t think that would help him look for the killer.
“I was under the impression you were trying to find the killer,” Kane said.
“It’d be nice, but that’s the police’s job. They seem to have a handle on it. Or they did. For me, I’m trying to keep my sister’s memory alive. I know what I remember that day, or most of it, but it’d be good to hear from those that were around and still are. How it affected this small town. I’ve spoken to several locals already.”
Daniel shot a frustrated glance at his son. He must be selling this well.
“And you wanted to talk to us because we own businesses in the area?” Daniel asked.
“One of the biggest. For research purposes, it’d make sense to have this conversation. But if you’d rather not be mentioned in the book as an interview, that’s fine. My agent will pitch this for a documentary to be filmed at a later date and I can keep you out of it.”
And that was where he hit their egos. Right in their wallets.
“That’s wonderful,” Kane said. “It’d be great for our community.”
“Not necessarily,” Daniel said. “We don’t need to be reminded of a crime that was unsolved. What if people don’t feel safe here?”
“Really, Dad. Fifteen years ago and nothing has happened since. I’m positive it was some outsider that left the area after. You know that was the most common theory.”
“I’m aware,” Rory said. “There are lots of theories and no evidence.” He lowered his voice and looked around as if he were afraid of being overheard. “Between us, I think the local law enforcement at the time was in over their head. Looks as if they bungled a lot.”
“I always said that,” Daniel said. “But they tried their best.”
“I’m sure they did.” He pulled his phone out and put it down. “Do you mind if I record this?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Daniel said. “We’ve got nothing to hide. Right, Kane?”
Kane wasn’t looking so sure of things now. “I’d rather not have it on record.”
“That’s fine,” he said, putting his phone away. “I can take notes just as easily. As I said, just gathering information for my book, then putting it together for my agent. I’m with Kane. Publicity is good one way or another. You could get a lot of people that want to come around trying to see if they can solve it too. Brings tourism here one way or another. Doesn’t seem as if it’s affected your growth any. You’re not afraid of that, are you?”
“No,” Kane said, shaking his head. This guy wouldn’t admit he was fearful of anything. “My father is a little old school. He has to come around to the times.”
“I taught you everything you know,” Daniel said, his voice firmer than it’d been. “Just remember that.”
Some underlying tension here with father and son. He’d make sure to remember that.
“Cooper Stevens. Tell me what you knew of him. He worked for you years prior to Rene’s death, correct?”
“He did,” Daniel said. “He was a laborer. Good worker, but had some family issues at that time going on. With all the work we had, there was overtime to be done and he couldn’t handle it.”
“I hadn’t heard that part,” he said. Fact or fiction, he wasn’t sure, but since Cooper was found not guilty, it didn’t matter much.
“I don’t remember what was going on,” Daniel said. “But when he was arrested, I was just as stunned as some others.”
“Really?” he asked, sitting back. “From my conversations with some locals, there seems to be mixed reviews on that.”
“So you’ve talked to more than the Ridgeways?” Kane asked.
“Of course. I want all sides. I’m not someone to be biased or stretch the narrative the way I want it.” And he noticed it wasn’t just Gale they were questioning, but the Ridgeways in general. They knew he’d talked to more than one.
“That’s a good trait to have,” Daniel said. “Some people should remember that.”
