Page 20 of Deadly Forever

6

Six

“Woman, don’t make me wrestle you down and take dictation,” James warned, adopting a growly voice as he chased Mandy into the Hardy Brothers Security office shortly after lunch. For some reason, her aversion to being sexually harassed – even though it was a game they both insisted on playing – lightened the gloom in his heart. She always had that effect on him.

Mandy giggled as she evaded James’ outstretched hand, making a face when she bumped into Grady and he grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

“Oh, that’s not fair,” Mandy complained. “You can’t help him. That’s two against one and I don’t like those odds.”

Grady pressed his lips together, his expression serious. He didn’t release Mandy, which was her first clue that something was definitely off.

“What’s wrong?” James asked, instantly alert.

“James, I want you to meet Dan Graham,” Grady said, his tone even as he moved to the side and allowed James and Mandy to realize they weren’t alone in the office. “His son Nathan … er, Nate … was at the mall yesterday.”

All traces of mirth disappeared from Mandy’s face and she squared her shoulders before sliding a worried look in James’ direction. Instead of panicking, which wasn’t his style, James bobbed his head and extended his hand toward the middle-aged man sitting on the couch.

“I’m James Hardy,” he said. “I’m sorry for the … unprofessional … entry. I didn’t realize you were here.”

Graham stood, his eyes somber and sad, and took James’ hand. “I should’ve called,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “I was just explaining to your brother that I meant to call … er, that I wasn’t sure if I should even stop by … but the house was so quiet and I couldn’t think about anything else but coming here.”

Graham sucked in a shaky breath as he searched for the energy to continue. “So, here I am,” he said. “I’m here to talk to the man who killed my son.”

Even though she was sympathetic by nature, Mandy found anger replacing empathy in her heart as she regarded Graham. “James didn’t kill him. He … .”

“Baby, it’s okay,” James said, resting his hand on her shoulder. “Mr. Graham is mourning. He has a right to his feelings.”

“I didn’t mean to disrespect your husband, ma’am,” Graham said, offering her a small headshake. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just … the police said Mr. Hardy is the one who killed … er, who stopped … Nate. I have questions.”

“Of course you do,” James said, removing his hand from his wife’s body and gesturing toward his office. “Why don’t you go inside. I just need a minute to converse with my brother and then I will be happy to talk with you.”

“Thank you,” Graham said, his glassy eyes landing on Mandy as he moved to walk past her. “Are you the woman who talked to my son right before he died?”

James stilled. He considered it his responsibility to talk with Graham – mostly because he wanted to get a feeling for the boy who threatened his wife and seemed determined to die – but he wasn’t keen on anyone pressuring Mandy with hard questions regarding her ordeal. He opened his mouth to answer the question for her, but she didn’t allow him to go into protective mode.

“I am,” Mandy confirmed, bobbing her head. “We talked for a few minutes before … it happened.”

“What did he say? I mean … what happened?” Graham gripped his hands together and shuffled from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “Was he afraid?”

Mandy wasn’t sure how to answer. She glanced at James, conflicted, and then shook her head. “He seemed … resigned,” she answered after considering the question for a moment. “He seemed to know what was going to happen and, if I had to guess, he got the outcome he was looking for.”

Graham’s expression was unreadable. “You think he wanted to die?”

“I think he didn’t want to go to prison,” Mandy replied. “He told me that. He said he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory and not be someone’s … um, plaything … in prison. I think he wanted to ensure a certain outcome once he realized he wasn’t going to be able to escape, although I can’t say that with any certainty because he didn’t come right out and say it.”

Graham nodded as he rubbed his chin, rolling his neck until it cracked before speaking again. “Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you?”

“I didn’t know he was in the store at first,” Mandy supplied. “When the alert came through, the clerk at the dress shop told us we should hide in the dressing room. We were already back there … so that’s what we did.

“My husband saw the coverage on the news and called, and we talked for a few minutes,” she continued. “Then I switched off the phone because I didn’t want anyone else to call and alert the gunmen to our location. We were cut off from information after that.”

“You have to understand something,” James interjected, resting his hand on Mandy’s hip as a form of solidarity. “No one knew exactly what was going on. We had video of four masked individuals entering the mall. They had guns.

“Then we had reports of shots fired and fleeing and injured shoppers,” he continued. “We had no idea they were teenagers. We just knew people were in danger.”

“So … what happened?” Graham asked. “Did he run into the store? Was he fleeing the police? Was he sorry for what he did?” The morose man choked over the last few words, causing Mandy’s sympathy to return with a vengeance.

“I don’t know when he entered the store,” she replied. “I just know that he was there when I crawled out to the main floor. I stayed low because I was hoping to see the police. I wanted to know we were safe. He was already in the store, though.”