Dead For Good Book 1

by Stacy Claflin

  “Aside from the fact that I’m being framed by someone who used a BlueBlade.”

  “We don’t know someone is framing you.”

  “I’ll let the attorney decide that. So again, I need his number.”

  “To my office.” Kurt unlocked his door.

  Brad could hardly believe his luck. His boss wasn’t usually so agreeable.

  Rose gave him a thumbs-up.

  Kurt closed the door. “Have a seat. We need to talk about last Friday.”

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Not your neighbor.”

  Brad stared at him.

  “Your sloppy job.”

  Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. “I was jumped. I had to fight off attackers on top of taking out the target. If anything, I should get a medal for doing both in one night.”

  “Excuses.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “You heard fine.”

  Brad silently counted to ten. “I overcame two people trying to kill me and still managed to do my job. Nobody else could have done that, and you know it.”

  “Why did you have attackers in the first place?”

  “You’re putting this on me?”

  “It’s already on you. If this were anyone else, we’d be dealing with a write-up instead of having this discussion.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Do I look like I’m joking?” Kurt’s nostrils flared.

  Brad chose his words carefully. “I did my best, given my training. Nobody else would have managed as well as I did. And I haven’t complained.”

  “Unless multiple calls and texts count.”

  “You told me on Saturday that you’d get me out of this mess. I haven’t heard from you since then.”

  “Because you’re impatient.” Kurt dramatically sighed.

  “The police are breathing down my back, and half my neighbors are eyeing me. It won’t be long before BlueBlade is involved.”

  “And that’s my fault?”

  “I’m not placing blame, but something needs to be done.”

  “You should be skilled enough to handle it.”

  “What I need is your attorney.”

  Kurt pressed his palms on the desk. “You need to remember what’s at stake.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “Remember what happened to Felix?”

  An icy chill ran through Brad. “You’re bringing up the Felix incident?”

  “That’s what happens when our assassins go off the rails.”

  “You think I’ve gone off the rails?”

  “Don’t ever forget your predecessor.”

  Brad pulled on his hair.

  “Think of your family,” Kurt added.

  Rage ran through him. It took every ounce of his self-control not to shove everything off his boss’s desk and beat the man to a pulp.

  A slow smile spread across Kurt’s face. “Focus on your new target. Be prepared for anything. And whatever you do, make sure you don’t involve the company in your problems — meaning, get the police to stop looking at you ASAP. They start poking around here, and you’re really going to have trouble.”

  “Are you for real?”

  “I told you I’m on your side. Do you trust me?”

  Not any farther than he could throw the man. “Of course I do.”

  Kurt cocked a brow. “The Felix incident.”

  Brad clenched his fists. After a few beats of silence, he left, resisting the urge to slam the door.

  “How’d it go?” Rose smiled brightly.

  Brad cracked his knuckles, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. He’d be fired if he told anyone what he really thought of his boss. “It could’ve gone better.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “Anything I can do?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He glowered at her.

  “No need to be so grumpy. I’m just trying to help.”

  He grabbed the file for his new target. “I’m working from home for the rest of today.”

  “I can help you.”

  “Haven’t we been over this?”

  “Two minds are better than one, and you trained me. Can’t ask for better, right?”

  “Fine.” Brad was too furious to drive anyway. He sat, slamming his file down.

  Rose scooted closer. “How’s your family holding up with all the stress? Your wife seemed anxious at the party.”

  His breath hitched, being reminded of Faye. His wife had made everything worse, not only by lying to the cops but by being the last person Duke saw before his murder.

  “She isn’t upset with you, is she?” Her lips parted slightly, eyes widening with concern.

  “My whole family is upset over the death. It isn’t part of their normal lives.”

  “Understandable. How are you holding up?”

  “Fantastic. Can’t you tell?”

  “Don’t let this get to you. You’re better than this.” She stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

  “This isn’t appropriate.” He tried to squirm away.

  She tightened her grip and pushed harder. “Don’t be such a prude. I’m just trying to help you relax, and liquor isn’t allowed during business hours.”

  He pulled away and leaped to his feet. “It has nothing to do with being a prude. I’m a married man, and I don’t feel like having my shoulders massaged. I have a killer to hunt down while, at the same time, plotting to take down my next target.”

  “Let me help.” She turned and met his gaze. “I made progress with some of your neighbors. If I can get together with a few of them, they’ll spill facts. It’ll be so much easier in a quieter setting.”

  “Why are you being so helpful?”

  Rose inched closer and rubbed his sore muscles again. “You trained me. I wouldn’t be half the assassin I am today without you. It’s the least I can do.”

  Guilt stung. If he had been a better protégé, Edmund Felix would still be alive. “I appreciate that. Sorry for being so rude.”

  “You’re stressed.” Her tone dripped like syrup. “I get it.”

  He started to relax but then stepped away as soon as he realized the situation was easing back into inappropriate territory. “What do you think I should do?”

  She pursed her lips and batted her lashes. “You need to stay focused on your assignment. It’s going to be too difficult looking into the real killer because of how close you are to everything. Your neighbors like me, so let me handle them. One of them must know something. And if I can get them drinking, they’ll be more likely to spill deets.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “I definitely am. The last thing you need is extra stress. And it really does seem like he” — she nodded toward Kurt’s door — “is putting you off. You need someone on your side. Let that be me.”

  “Okay. I should get to work.” He held up the file. “Looks like this one is going to be especially tricky.”

  “Figures. I don’t know what his problem is lately. But you aren’t alone. The last thing you need is to drop the ball on this target.”

  “I was jumped!”

  “Doesn’t matter. Kurt will be watching you like a hawk.” She pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen before walking away. “Hey, Wes. Glad I caught you. Can we meet later?”

  Brad opened the file again and sighed. This hit would make or break his career.

  He’d better get it right.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Brad put the last dinner plate in the dishwasher and turned it on. “I’m going to be in my office for a few hours.”

  Faye closed her laptop. “We need to talk—”

  “Again?”

  “Let me finish. Hadley needs us.”

  “She doesn’t seem to think so. Her rudeness was off the charts at dinner.”

  Faye frowned. “You didn’t need to send her to her room like a little kid.”

  “She was acting like one.”


  “I think she’s hurting. We need to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Sounds like the time for a mother-daughter talk. Have fun.”

  “No. This involves both of us.”

  Brad’s stomach knotted. “Did you catch the part about me needing to work? With all of the distraction about Duke—”

  “Did the detective come back to your workplace today?”

  “Surprisingly not, but I still can’t get anything from Kurt. I get the feeling he doesn’t want to help me.”

  “Well, neither of us are guilty, so it shouldn’t be hard to prove.”

  He tilted his head. “We’re lying to the police, Faye. Do you remember that part?”

  She glanced around. “Not so loud!”

  “You don’t want the kids hearing?”

  “No.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have lied.”

  “I was scared!”

  He sucked in a deep breath. “I understand. But I need to focus on work for a little while. Give me an hour, then we can talk to Hadley. You can even warm her up before I join you.”

  “You’d like that.” She frowned. “No. I’m really worried about her — and you should be, too. The more I think about the sweatshirt, the more I think she could be involved.”

  “Not our girl.”

  “She’s practically a woman. Almost eighteen.”

  “Hadley wasn’t involved.”

  Faye tilted her head. “With what? Duke or the murder?”

  It was like a punch to the stomach. “Either. How could you think such a thing?”

  “I don’t want to, but look at the clues. She’s depressed or anxious … and that sweatshirt.”

  “The one belonging to Maverick?”

  “So she says.”

  “There’s no way she’s a killer!” He bit back the urge to say he would know if she were. “Or dating a grown man.”

  “She’s pretty enough.”

  “Hadley’s also so busy she doesn’t have time. Plays, academic awards, sports — she barely has time to sleep.”

  Faye put her hand on her hips. “We’re talking to her together. You need to man up.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  Brad slammed his hand on the table. “Let’s do this, then. Prove to you that I’m right. She’s just being a moody teenage girl who’s rattled by a murder taking place next door. She’s acting perfectly normal for the circumstances.”

  Faye’s expression tightened. Without a word, she marched from the table, then up the stairs.

  Brad followed her, eager to get this off his plate. There was still so much he needed to do to prepare for his next target. But every time he dug into it, his mind wandered back to Duke’s murder.

  If only Duke had been killed when we’d all been home. Or somewhere with a lot of witnesses.

  “Or if he had never been murdered in the first place,” Faye said.

  “What?” Brad stared at her. Realization flooded him.

  He’d said that last thought out loud.

  Crap.

  “Don’t you agree?” Faye asked.

  “Of course, it would’ve been better if he hadn’t been killed. But it’s made so much worse by the fact that I wasn’t here, and we had to cover for you cutting his hair right before his death.”

  Her eyes softened. “You have a point. But there’s no sense in wishing things were different. We can only deal with the hand we’re holding now.”

  “A hand that sucks.”

  “But once the killer has been found, everything will go back to normal. The cops will stop looking at us, and this will all be a distant memory.”

  Hadley exited her room, eyes widening as she hurried toward the bathroom.

  “Wait!” Faye raced toward her. “Your dad and I want to ask you something.”

  “Right now?” Hadley frowned. “I’m kind of busy. I have a lot of homework, and I need to practice for my next tryout.”

  “This will only take a minute, sweetheart.”

  “Can’t it wait?”

  Brad stood next to Faye. “It really can’t, but we’ll be quick. I have homework of my own I have to do.”

  “For what?”

  “Work.”

  “The knife shop gives you homework?” Hadley looked at him in disbelief.

  “I have to stay on top of everything for my presentations at conventions and trainings.”

  “Boring.” She opened her bedroom door. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Yes, let’s.”

  Hadley plopped on her bed. “This isn’t about the sweatshirt, is it? I can show you pictures of Maverick if that’ll make you feel better.”

  “That isn’t what this is about.” Faye sat and put her arm around Hadley. “Although, it’s part of it.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “No. We just have some questions. We’re worried about you.”

  Hadley threw her father a pleading look.

  “Give us reason not to worry,” Mom said.

  “I’m fine. Just busy.”

  Faye leaned closer and took Hadley’s hand. “Are kids bugging you at school about the investigation?”

  Hadley shook her head. “Nobody’s saying anything to me.”

  “Nobody?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. “Well, that detective asked me some questions at school today.”

  Brad could hardly believe his ears. “She what?”

  “I was called into the office, and they asked me some questions.”

  “What did she say?” Brad chewed on his bottom lip. “And why weren’t we informed?”

  “She said the school could allow it in your place.”

  “That can’t be right.” He shook his head.

  Hadley shrugged. “That’s what she said.”

  “What did she ask you?”

  “Not much. I told her I had a lawyer’s number, and that was the end of that.”

  “She backed off once you said that?”

  “Basically. Can I finish my homework now?”

  “She didn’t ask anything that made you uncomfortable?” Brad asked. “Any accusations?”

  “Nope. Just curious, I guess. Can I go?”

  “We still need to know about Duke. How well did you know him?”

  “How well does anyone know another person?”

  “Hadley,” Faye warned.

  She sighed dramatically. “We talked sometimes. He gave me tips on my singing.”

  “He what?” Brad exclaimed.

  Faye narrowed her eyes at him.

  Hadley played with her hair. “Duke had helped his sister with voice lessons or something. When he heard me practicing in the backyard, he offered some tips.”

  “And you never told us?” Brad asked.

  “It wasn’t a big deal, but I knew you’d make it one. Like you are now.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” Faye said quickly.

  Brad glared at her, not that she was looking his way. She’d dragged him into this conversation, and now she was making him out to be the bad guy for asking questions. He shoved his fists into his pockets. “Looks like we’re done here.”

  Faye’s eyes widened.

  “Unless you have anything else you want to ask.”

  She shifted her weight on the bed before turning to their daughter. “Do you mind if we have a look at the sweatshirt?”

  “What sweatshirt?” Hadley looked around.

  Brad held back an eye roll. For a top performer at her school, she was a terrible actress right now. “The one we were talking about this morning.”

  “Oh. You mean Maverick’s.”

  “Right.”

  “Haven’t you guys already seen it? I mean, you snooped in here and gave me the third degree this morning.”

  Faye’s mouth dropped open. “I was not snooping. It was out in the open. I came in here to find you, and it was on your chair. Snooping would be if you’d hidden it and I found it.”

  Ha
dley frowned.

  “Where did you meet Maverick?”

  “I told you. School. Want to see a picture of us together?”

  Brad shook his head. “Your mother asked to see the sweatshirt.”

  “Fine.” She scrambled over to her closet and dug through it.

  Faye leaned forward, practically on the verge of falling off the bed.

  Brad just waited. It wasn’t like they were going to learn anything from the shirt. Hadley had probably already washed off the cologne before he or Faye got home. Teenagers never discussed their love lives with their parents. It was just one of those things. He’d never mentioned Faye to his mom and stepdad until things got serious until she’d wanted to meet his family.

  Hadley pulled out the sweatshirt. “See? Same as this morning. No big deal.”

  A folded piece of paper fell from the pocket.

  Faye scrambled to her feet. “What’s that?”

  “Nothing.” Hadley’s face paled.

  Brad inched closer. “Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

  She snatched it from the floor and put it behind her back. “Well, it is.”

  “Let us see that.”

  “No.”

  “Hadley, we’re all in this together. We have to prove our innocence as a family.”

  “It’s nothing.” She backed up so that she was inside the closet.

  “If it’s no big deal, hand it over.”

  “Leave me alone!”

  Brad reached for her. “Hand it over. We aren’t going to ground you if that’s what you’re worried about. The only thing we’re concerned about is the truth — especially with the cops snooping around, asking us all questions.”

  Hadley shook her head.

  Faye reached for her. “We aren’t going anywhere, honey. Let us see the paper, so we can figure this out together.”

  Tears shone in Hadley’s eyes. “Duke and I were in love! Are you happy now?”

  The room simultaneously spun and shrunk around him.

  Faye had been right.

  Their baby girl had been dating that predator. “What did he do to you?”

  “Nothing! He never hurt me. Not once.”

  “Hurt you?” Brad clenched his fists, struggled to breathe. “He hurt you?”

  “I just said he didn’t.” The tears were coming fast now.

  His anger melted, and his heart broke for his daughter. What had that monster put her through? He pulled Hadley to his chest and clung to her. “What made you jump to him hurting you?”