“How did you get to be so smart?” Ronan asked.
Everly giggled and pointed to Tennyson.
“Oh, really, Miss I-want-to-go-to-Disney-World-this-summer.” Ronan deadpanned.
“Disney can wait, Daddy.” Everly wore a serious look. “Henri needs to rest in peace. I’m ready to see your pictures.”
Nodding, Ronan grabbed his phone and turned it around to face Everly. Tennyson could see it was a picture of a much younger Maria.
Not missing a beat, Everly smiled. “No, Daddy, it’s not Maria. She didn’t hurt Henri. She loved him.”
“Okay, how about this guy?” Ronan flipped the photo.
“Why do they call him Fat Sal?” Everly asked. “He’s so skinny.”
“That’s why,” Ronan said, “because the opposite is true.”
“That’s weird, but okay.” Everly shook her head. “Fat Sal didn’t hurt Henri with his hands. He hurt him with his thoughts.”
Ten gasped, wondering if Sal had telekinetic powers. “Do you mean Sal wanted Henri dead and then he was? Did he tell someone to do it for him?”
“Yeah, I don’t understand. Why would one man tell another to kill someone and the second man says yes.”
Ronan sighed. “These are the things your Dad and I don’t want you to know about. Fat Sal was part of a crime family. He told us he didn’t know who the head belonged to.”
“He’s lying Daddy.” Everly’s eyes slid shut. “I can see the man who hurt Henri. He’s got red hair and green eyes.”
“Is this him?” Ronan asked. He flipped his phone around to show Everly.
“Yup! That’s him. I can’t see his name though.”
“Good job, honey.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Everly’s temple. “Go wash your hands and we’ll have dinner.”
Everly didn’t need to know the name of the man who killed Henri Pascal, because Ten and Ronan knew exactly who he was:Brian Cullen, Maria’s ex-husband. Ten wondered if the poor woman knew Brian killed the love of her life.
Ten wasn’t looking forward to finding out.
13
Ronan
Ronan was exhausted. He and Ten had spent most of the night tossing and turning, but not in the fun way. Neither man was happy that they’d asked their seven-year-old daughter if she knew anything about a frozen head found in a freezer. Not only had they asked, but Everly had come up with information no one else had. Did the ends justify the means? Yes, probably, but that didn’t make explaining to Everly how organized crime worked any easier.
“Is Fitz gonna be mad that we knew about Brian Cullen last night and didn’t tell him?” Ten asked.
“No,” Ronan said, feeling reasonably sure of his answer. “We still have to do our research on Cullen and speak with Maria. Right now she’s the key to this whole thing. The head was in her freezer. It belonged to a possible boyfriend named Henri Pascal. Her future husband is the alleged hit man. All of these awful things revolve around Maria and we need to find a way to get her to open up to us.
“You think I’m the best person for the job?” Ten asked, seeming to read Ronan’s mind.
“Actually, I think you’re half of the equation. Jude established a good rapport with Maria. His charm and your gift might be the winning combination we need to get to the bottom of this case.” As much as Ronan wanted to run the show and get Maria to confess, he knew Jude and Ten were the best suited. He parked the Mustang in front of West Side Magick and hustled Tennyson inside and out of the cold rain.
“Good morning,” Fitz said, when they walked into the office. “I’m glad you’re both here. We need to make a plan of attack for the day.”
Ronan shrugged out of his wet coat. “We’ve got some news that might alter the plan.” He hung his and Ten’s coats and took a seat beside his husband.
“Last night before dinner I was talking with Everly,” Ten began. “This case came up. Apparently, the kids at school have been talking about it.”
“Wolf mentioned it last night. It’s all over the news and kids are coming to him because they think he has inside information.” Jude shook his head.
