When Casey was little, his mom used to tell him the snowflakes were full of people's secrets. Each silent crystal harbored something no one wanted anyone else to know. As the flakes pivoted all around him, he wondered how many his parents hid from him.
Casey, Lani, and Wyatt ate their supper in silence. Casey nibbled on his chicken fried steak, too lost in thought. After everything that happened, Casey found it concerning how their father disappeared without a word. It was almost exactly like with their mom and so far; the police had yet to hear from him either.
That made Casey wonder if he ever went to file an official report or try to figure out what happened. Doubting his dad felt wrong, but something in his heart insisted something was wrong with everything. But that left so many unanswered questions about where he'd gone and why he wasn't answering them. Every time he checked his phone, Casey hoped to find a message or voicemail from their father. His worries only mounted as the time passed by without a word from him. Had gang members taken both his parents?
Such a horrific thought made Casey ill. August wouldn't have orchestrated a hit on his family, would he? Not after he helped bandage him up, right? He'd wanted no cops involved, and Casey tried his best to not reveal too much about his identity, but it wasn't like he could keep it a secret from his folks.
"Where's papa?" Wyatt asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"He's busy helping the police find the person who hurt Nana," Casey replied.
That wasn't entirely a lie, but Casey knew he wasn't being completely honest with his son either. He'd already learned someone killed his Nana, and he didn't want to worry him more by mentioning his papa missing too.
"Let's watch a movie later," Lani suggested. "It can be anything you want, Wyatt."
Trying to make everything seem normal didn't qualm the anxiety churning in Casey's stomach, but he appreciated his sister for the distraction. He checked his phone repeatedly throughout the day, hoping to find a response or explanation from his father. He even kept a close eye out on their landline, jumping up at every ring from telemarketers, thinking it might be their father calling.
"Yeah, I think a movie sounds like a great idea," Casey said.
After they finished supper, Casey, and Lani set a movie up in the living room for Wyatt. Casey found it difficult to concentrate and kept checking his phone, anticipating answers from his father. Casey worried that he met a similar fate as his dear mother.
Her sullen complexion and frightened eyes haunted his memories, and he wished he could erase that gruesome image of her. He wanted to remember the fun times they spent together as a family, and how she comforted him when he needed her the most. When he learned he'd be a father, he told his mom first, needing advice on what to do and how to go about it. She'd sat him down, let him cry and vent and worry about what awaited him in the future. She never judged or got upset with him.
It wasn't until the movie was almost over when someone came pounding their fist on the door. Casey froze, eyes glued to the locked front door. Lani pulled Wyatt close, giving Casey a side glance.
"Who is it?" Casey called out, taking tenacious steps toward the door.
"It's just me, Casey. I forgot to bring my house key," Mr. Lockhart replied. "Hurry and let me in. I'm freezing out here."
Casey wasted no time with the locks, letting in a blast of chilling air along with his father. He kicked his boots off on the mat, tracking in bits of snow.
"Where the hell have you been?" Casey asked him. "You haven't answered our texts and calls. What happened?"
"It's a long story," Mr. Lockhart sighed, removing his coat and wool scarf. "Have the police already stopped by?"
"Yeah, Dad. Detective Bailey dropped me off. After I found Mom-"
"What? Where is she? Is she home already?" Dad asked, gazing around. "I-I've been everywhere... I thought I knew where she might've gone."
Casey froze, his jaw tightening. "Have the police not told you then?"
Mr. Lockhart frowned. "Told me what?"
Casey inhaled a sharp breath, sparing a glance at Lani and his son curled up on the couch. "Mom's dead. I found her in Mad Batter's dumpster earlier. I thought you knew... I thought you'd been with the police all this time. Why haven't you answered us? We've been worried to death, thinking someone might have killed you too."
Mr. Lockhart reeled back, shock registering on his face as he stared at him. "No... She can't be. I did everything they asked me!"
"What are you saying?" Casey shook his head in disbelief. "I told the detectives that you dropped by the station to figure out what happened and they looked at me like I was crazy. You need to tell us what's going on."
"I did what those bastards wanted!" Tears streamed down his father's face. "They promised they'd let her go."
"It was a ransom demand then, right?" Lani asked.
Casey couldn't believe it. "Dad, why didn't you say anything?"
"They told me they'd kill you all if I snitched or went to the cops," Mr. Lockhart explained. "I couldn't risk putting you all in danger. I thought I could do this on my own and get her back. They promised she wouldn't be hurt as long as I gave them the money and did all their weird tasks."
"What kind of tasks?" Lani asked.
"Illegal stuff, probably. I had no choice. They had me get rid of a gun and hide five thousand dollars out in the forest," Mr. Lockhart replied.
Casey swallowed painfully. "Dad, has the gun been used recently? Do you remember what kind it was?"
"I'm not like your mom, I don't know types of guns. It looked like the one she uses though."
"There's something else you should know. Mom was shot."
"No... You think... You think I hid the gun they used to kill her?"
"I mean, I don't know. Maybe it was a different gun?" Casey shrugged. "But why would you not go to the police with this? They could've helped you. Doing this puts yourself and all of us in danger. Hell, we don't know what these people could do to us."
"I-I panicked. They sent me photos of all of you. Taken in random locations when you weren't paying attention," Mr. Lockhart said, fumbling for his phone in his pocket. "See? They said it would be easy to kill any of you within seconds. I should have gone to the police, but I worried that they'd mess things up or alert them of what I'd done."
"But you could have gotten yourself killed!" Casey exclaimed.
"Better me than any of you."
"Don't say crap like that," Casey snapped. "I thought I'd lost you too."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you all."
"Don't ever scare us like that again."
Casey threw his arms around his father, sinking into his comforting embrace. His father held him close, neither saying a word for just a moment before parting. Casey had never been so frustrated and relieved. While it irked him how his dad went off on a manhunt all by himself, he understood why he wanted to protect their family. Casey just wished he would've let him in on everything. Maybe he could've helped somehow.
Someone threatened them all and took his mother away from him. Casey wanted the bastard to pay, no matter the cost. Visions of vengeance played in his mind as he considered the endless ways to murder the piece of shit and never have anyone find his corpse.
"We need to go to the police with this," Casey said. "They've already been looking for you and now you can explain what happened. You tried saving Mom on your own and stayed quiet to protect us."
Mr. Lockhart nodded. "Yeah, I need to do that. Could you come down there with me?"
"Of course, Dad. We just got Wyatt down not too long ago, and I'm sure Lani doesn't mind staying here, do you?" Casey asked her.
"No, go ahead. We'll be fine," Lani assured them.
"Okay, honey, just be sure to keep all the doors locked. Don't open it for anyone. We'll be sure to bring the house key with us."
"Don't worry, I won't. While you're there, you should ask the detectives if Mom had her house key on her," Lani said. "If not, her killer might. And that means he can come and go here anytime he wants."
Casey shivered at the thought. "We'll be sure to ask them."
"Tomorrow I'll get the locks changed," Mr. Lockhart replied. "We don't want to take any chances, not with this lunatic still out there. I don't want any of you put in harm's way."
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Casey donned his coat and boots, lacing them up.
The neighborhood resembled a snow-globe. Casey's breath remained visible in the air as he trudged through their snowy lawn. Nippy wind crept under his warm layers and snowflakes alighted on the sides of his face, stinging with the chill. His rose reddened like Rudolf's by the time he climbed into his father's truck, allowing the heater to bring a smidgen of heat back to his shivering body.
On their way into town, they rode in silence. Casey didn't know what to say because he couldn't fault his dad for trying to keep them all safe, yet he wished he hadn't acted alone. Perhaps their mom would still be alive. There was no way of knowing that and Casey would never blame his father for the tragedy, but that possibility still lingered in the back of his mind.
Dread sunk in the pit of Casey's chest as they entered the police station building. The receptionist was on the phone, not even bothering to spare them a glance. Casey stepped onto the New Syracuse PD emblem on the floor, bits of melted snow dripping on it.
The receptionist hung her phone up, frustration mounting in her face as she scowled. "Yes? How can I help you?"
"We need to speak with Detective Bailey," Casey told her. "I was here earlier. It's about my mom, Detective Lockhart."
Her expression softened. "I'll get him right away. Please, just have a seat and he'll be with you as soon as he can."
"Alright, thank you," Casey replied.
Seconds passed like hours as Casey paced around the corridor. Mr. Lockhart rested a hand on his son's shoulder, stopping him in place.
"I know you're worried, but everything is gonna be okay. No matter what happens, I won't let your mom's killer get away with this. We can go to the press with it if we must or we'll hire a PI. Anything that'll keep you kids safe from this sick psychopath."
"Yeah, I know. It's just hard, realizing she's gone." Casey shook his head. "Finding her like that, in the dumpster... I just can't understand why someone would do that to her. Who hated her enough to be so cruel? Maybe the police can trace the calls on your phone?"
Mr. Lockhart nodded. "I was thinking that."
Soon enough, Detective Bailey rounded the corner with a perplexed expression as he approached the two of them. "You must be Mr. Lockhart. I must admit, you're a difficult man to find."
"I'm sorry. Is there a place where we can talk more privately?" Mr. Lockhart asked. "There's something I need to show you. About my wife. Before she was... killed, I received threats from some unknown number who wanted to hurt my family. I only waited so long because I feared for their lives. It was idiotic of me, I know."
Detective Bailey nodded. "Right this way. I'd like to interview you alone, if that's okay."
Casey froze.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Mr. Lockhart assured him. "We'll be back in no time."
Casey didn't argue and watched his father walk off with the detective. An inkling in the pit of his stomach told him things weren't going to end well, but he tried to have faith in his dad. Surely they'd believe him and understand why he didn't turn everything over to the police when he first received the threats. His father had just wanted to protect them in the best way that he could.
"Casey?" Detective Hallie Lansing came over and sat beside him. "How are you doing? I've been meaning to reach out. Things have just been hectic."
"Yeah, um, it's been hard. I wasn't expecting to find Mom..."
Detective Lansing rested a consoling hand on his shoulder. "If you and your family need anything, please reach out. I'll do whatever you need."
"Can you keep me updated on her case?" Casey asked, hope glistening in his brown eyes. "Nobody has given me clear answers about what's going on and what leads you might have."
"You know I can't tell you everything about an ongoing investigation, especially with it hitting so close to home. But I'll do what I can," she replied.
"Thank you. Here, give me your number and I can send a text to you so you'll have mine," Casey said.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask," Detective Lansing said. "Did you know if your mom was working on something off the books? Like, maybe she let slip of one of her odd cases?"
Casey frowned. "No, nothing like that. She mentioned having to testify in court for some murder case on Thursday morning, but that's it."
Detective Lansing rubbed her chin. "Did she give you any more details about it?"
"No, Mom rarely talked about her cases with us. She didn't like bringing her work home with her," Casey replied.
"I see. That's understandable. I try not to either," Detective Lansing replied. "But I'll be sure to look into that case of hers, see if maybe anyone wanted to get back at her for incarcerating the guy. Again, you have my sympathies, Casey. Your mom was an amazing woman and a great partner to work alongside. We're gonna pull out all the stops in this case. She'll get the justice she deserves."
Casey nodded. "Thank you."
When Detective Lansing went back to her duties, Casey tried to wrap his head around everything. Why hadn't Detective Lansing been with his mom? Partners usually shared most cases together, yet she seemed confused when he brought up the murder case she'd be testifying in. Suspicions got the best of him and he couldn't help but wonder if she knew more than she let on about his mom's murder.
Soon enough, his dad emerged from the interview room with Detective Bailey. Casey couldn't tell what happened, but by the way his father's stern glower stayed glued ahead of him, he sensed it wasn't anything good.
Casey waited for his father to tell him something as they made their way out to the truck. Even while crossing through the snow-covered parking lot, he remained tight-lipped.
"What happened?" Casey asked.
Mr. Lockhart gripped the steering wheel, sighing. "They don't think I'm being honest about everything, even after I showed them all the threatening texts on my phone and the calls. I told them to try tracing back the number, but they didn't seem too concerned about doing that."
"What the hell? Why wouldn't they believe you?" Casey asked. "Don't they want to find Mom's killer?"
"I would hope so, but Casey, I'm worried. Not just about their investigation, but our family. I did everything they asked me to do and they still killed her. They might come for us next." Mr. Lockhart shook his head. "I was such a fool to believe they'd let her go. I gave them money, for fuck's sake.
"It's not your fault, Dad. You did what you thought was best to protect us. If you'd gone to the police in the beginning, they probably would've killed her regardless. You can't blame yourself for what happened, okay? The only one to blame is the bastard who shot her."
"I know," Mr. Lockhart said. "But it still feels like it's my fault she's dead."