Homewrecker

45 - 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓭

She looked older than I thought she would be, her deep-toned skin etched with crinkles around her eyes and lips, silver hairs glinting in the setting sunlight around her scalp. She had Ethan's longer nose, fuller lips, and earthy green eyes that looked back at me with a glint I didn't completely understand. She looked gentle but knowing.

"It's nice to meet you too, Bronwyn," she said, somewhat drily. "I know you must be frustrated right now. But I'd like to help you understand by explaining what didn't make sense to me."

Behind me, there was a muffled groan. "Come on—not . . . that."

His mother didn't turn to look over at him but gave a slight roll of her eyes. "Ethan and Taylor-Elise are familiar with this tactic of mine. I want to help them understand why certain things aren't acceptable, instead of just punishing them."

I frowned. "Wait, so you're punishing me? That's why you leaked the investigation?"

She shook her head. "No. Not at all, Bronwyn. But when Ethan asked me to look into the investigation on your behalf, I couldn't help but notice the police were keeping it from the public. Doesn't that sound odd to you?"

"No, because they said it was let the killer think he got away with it, slip up or something. Then use it as an interrogation tactic when they had a suspect."

"Yes, it's common interrogation technique but it's used on a smaller scale. Like if a victim was shot or stabbed, raped or not, missing jewelry or other personal belongings. Not the actual crime itself. That deprives the investigation of so many things—including witnesses, tips from the public, the list goes on."

"Detective Marsh said—"

"Bronwyn, did you know that your father is currently running for Senate?"

I hesitated, staring at the familiar eyes that had never looked at me like that before from him, and then looked over my shoulder at the muted television as if one of the headlines streaming across the lower half of the screen would collaborate what she told me.

Instead, it was a commercial for a gleaming red Prius with tires tumbling over mountain terrain. It wasn't as if I was unaware that, as a senator, David had to be involved in politics, but I hadn't heard anyone talk about an election before. Truthfully, it occurred to me as I stood there and Mrs. Denvers tilted her head questioningly, that I really didn't know just what David did.

"You think that David paid to keep the investigation quiet because of the election?" I asked, turning to glance at Andi behind the island in the kitchen to see that she had stepped closer, her brow furrowed.

"Probably not your father himself, but I'm sure he was aware of it going on. I imagine it was a decision his campaign manager made."

"My dad didn't pay them to keep the investigation quiet. That's not even legal," Andi told her.

"And cops never do anything that isn't legal," Mrs. Denvers countered. "Especially not when funding's low and a prominent senator with a problem on his hands offers a generous donation to keep things quiet. Not close the case, but quiet. Crime's climbing in Shiloh, his team could've justified it as work a little less hard on this case, solve the others in half the time."

I thought back to the phone calls I had with Detective Marsh, then with Officer Porterfield earlier that afternoon. "Is that why they never told me anything? Why they only interviewed me once?"

She nodded. "Never underestimate the strength of a good connection."

I sat down on the couch, not caring that I had been in the garden a few minutes earlier and the material underneath was blindingly white. "So, they weren't really going to solve it?"