She picked up a book from Dad’s shelf and threw it across the room. That felt better. Not that it could change anything. Definitely not her ruined childhood. Years she would never get back. All she could hope for was to make a life for herself. A life so wonderful she could forget her formative years.
So far, she was doing well. Starring in school plays, debate team, singing, and on the varsity team for every sport she played. Hadley accomplished whatever she put her mind to—
Stop!
She didn’t want to think about any of this. The past was done. The only thing she wanted to think about was figuring out what really happened with Duke. Not that looking through her parents’ things was likely to give her answers to who killed him. They’d been clueless about her relationship. Neither of them would’ve been behind the murder.
But now that they knew, they’d be watching her like a hawk.
Except they’d left the house with her in charge.
Even knowing she was capable of going behind their backs, they still trusted her.
They made no sense whatsoever.
Hadley wasn’t about to complain. But she did need to get out of her own head and see what she could find, even if this room was a bust.
She pulled open the bottom chest of drawers. Mom’s pants. Nothing. Not even in the pockets. Next one over was Dad’s pants. Again, nothing. The entire drawer was perfectly useless.
Same for their nightstands.
The closet.
Under the bed.
Her parents were seriously the most boring people for at least three counties.
Dad’s office. He not only kept that locked but with a code.
She’d seen him punch the numbers a few days ago.
Probably couldn’t replicate it. But there was only one way to find out.
Her mouth dried as she crept down the hall. She could get caught. If Dad was hiding something in there, he probably had a camera and might get alerted the moment she tried to get in.
Good.
He shouldn’t hide things. He’d been the one to teach them all about the value of honesty.
She glanced into Zeke’s room as she passed by. Still on his computer. Luna’s room. Her sister was sleeping, finally. And their parents’ cars were still gone.
This was her chance. If Dad was hiding anything, it would be behind this door.
Her hand shook as she reached for the little code box. The buttons were so small. She thought back to Dad pressing them. Four, six, zero, eight.
Or had it been five?
There was only one option. Try it.
She steadied her hand, listened.
All was quiet.
Her heart was a jackhammer. She took quick breaths. Focused.
If anyone could do this, it was her.
She pressed the five.
Nothing happened.
Was that good? She couldn’t remember what the buttons did when Dad set the lock the other morning.
She pressed the six.
The Enter button.
Again, nothing.
Zero. Eight.
The buttons all lit up. Buzzed harshly for a moment.
Nothing else. No clicking of a lock releasing.
Maybe she’d done something wrong. The first number probably was a four.
And Dad might’ve been alerted already.
She needed to hurry.
Four. Six. Zero. Eight.
Enter.
The buttons all flashed. No harsh buzzing.
Click.
Her heart leaped into her throat.
Had it worked?
She turned the knob.
The door opened.
She was in Dad’s office.
He had to know now.
But she was here. He wasn’t.
Hadley slipped inside, leaving the door cracked. Nearly turned on the light before she caught herself. Didn’t want to deal with him finding out from Luna or a neighbor that the light had been on if he didn’t have alerts set up on his phone.
Maybe he didn’t. It was possible.
Not likely, but possible.
She whipped out her phone. No messages or calls from Dad.
Maybe he didn’t know.
Or he was furiously driving home, ready to rip her a new one.
Hadley had the advantage of time. She shone her light all around. A desk, paintings, and knives displayed on the wall, a shelf displaying some of those stupid blue knives he loved so much. A few bags on the floor.
It all looked innocent enough.
Looks could be deceiving.
And so could he.
She hurried over to the desk. Pulled on a drawer.
Locked.
They all were.
Dad was definitely hiding something. Locks behind a locked door.
She tried them all again. Glanced outside. Couldn’t really see the driveway from this window. Cracked open the door and listened.
Just her brother hollering at another gamer geek.
Hadley went to the closet. He’d probably rigged the doors to lock.
The door slid open. She directed light into the closet.
Stumbled back. Covered her mouth.
There was a collection of swords and other weapons she couldn’t name. Some of them looked medieval. They all looked deadly. Some were rusted.
Like they’d been used a lot.
Why did her dad have all of these? Locked away, no less?
Those weren’t hunting knives. They also weren’t the knives he showed for work. None of them had that cobalt blue he always bragged about other companies trying to copy but never being able to match.
What the hell was he hiding?
Hadley snapped a few pictures for proof. She might doubt herself the next day. Or she might need to confront Dad.
She glanced back out the window, still not seeing her parents’ cars. Not that she’d know if they had pulled into the driveway.
Shaking, she studied the weapons up close. All shiny aside from the rare rust spots.
Slam!
She straightened her back.
Front door?
Stumbled back.
A strap wrapped around her ankle.
Tripped over a bag. It rattled like it was full of swords.
Thud!
Pain shot through her tailbone. She cried out.
Covered her mouth.
Scrambled to her feet. Hurried out of the room.
Barely remembered to punch in the code.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Put your phone away!”
Hadley shoved the device into her pocket, put her hand back on her stomach, and watched her teammates running back and forth for practice. She wasn’t pretending to be sick, but that wasn’t the story she’d given the coach. He squirmed whenever one of the girls mentioned it being that time of the month. That was all she’d needed to say for him to let her sit the afternoon’s practice out.
The more she thought about her father’s office, the worse she felt. Her stomach was churning so much acid she was sure it would burn a hole through her flesh.
Not only did she have to deal with her boyfriend’s murder, it now looked like her dad might be involved. What if he’d found out about her relationship with him? Seen her sneak out one night? Broke into her phone and read the texts? Looked at their pictures?
Bile rose in her mouth at that thought.
If he’d seen some of those, he’d have definitely had reason to kill Duke. Especially given how freaked out he was about their age difference.
Duke hadn’t been a predator. He’d been the one who tried to stop them from having a relationship. It had taken Hadley forever to convince him that everything would be fine.
But what if she’d been wrong? What if that was what got him killed?
Tears stung her eyes. She tried blinking them away, but it didn’t do any good. They fell uncontrollably. She held her hand over her cheeks so nobody would see.
Was her dad capa
ble of murder? He did have a temper. Or at least, he used to. He hadn’t truly freaked out in years. Luna had probably never even seen their father lose all sense of control.
Hadley flashed back every time his brows began to furrow. She’d told the shrink that didn’t happen anymore to get out of the stupid appointments. They had helped a little for a while. But they were mostly a waste. Focusing on her achievements was a much better use of time.
Usually.
It wasn’t doing her any good today. She couldn’t even practice.
She needed to talk to the detective.
If Dad did kill Duke, he needed to answer for it. Sure, he was her father. And she didn’t want to see him go to jail.
But if he killed her boyfriend?
All bets were off. That was the ultimate betrayal. He could have talked with her. Gotten her side instead of flying off the handle and killing him with one of those overrated blue knives.
Then there was the question of if he’d done it. Neither of the people in Duke’s house on Sunday night had been Dad. But they did mention him.
And they had walked to their house afterward.
Maybe Dad had paid someone to do it. That had to cost a ton, and they weren’t exactly rolling in cash. They lived in a nice neighborhood, but they were far from rich.
Anything was possible. And who was there to defend Duke? Just the cops. Not his family, none of the people he worked with. She hadn’t seen anyone step up. Nobody had come to his house.
Yeah, there’d been buzz online. Someone had set up a fundraiser. But that was it.
She needed to do something. At least tell the detective what she thought. Then the cops could look into it. If she was wrong, then Dad wouldn’t be arrested. They’d just question him some more. He would be pissed for sure, but at least then the cops would have a starting point. Right now, it seemed like they had nothing.
And after her parents found out about those detectives questioning her at school, they weren’t likely to approach her again.
This was all on her.
Her stomach threatened to spew her lunch all over the bleachers.
Even though part of her hated Dad for his temper, for ruining her childhood, another part of her wanted to protect him. He wasn’t evil. He’d changed his ways, been a great dad lately. Mostly.
Unless he’d committed murder and covered it up.
If he’d killed Duke, he needed to pay. There was no getting around that.
Hadley got up and took shaky steps down the bleachers.
“Where you going, Morris?” bellowed the coach.
She put her hands on her stomach.
“That doesn’t answer my question!”
Hadley glared at him. “I’m leaking!”
He waved her toward the locker room, his face turning green.
Why were men so squeamish about something so normal? She barely managed not to roll her eyes.
Some of the other girls giggled.
Hadley hurried back to her locker and stared at the detective’s card. Her pulse drummed in her ears. Could she really do this? Turn her father in? Her own flesh and blood?
Duke’s face flashed in her mind.
She had to do it. For him.
If Dad had done wrong, that was on him. He would have to face the consequences of his actions.
Besides, for all she knew, they were still looking at her since she’d made out with him in his car right before his murder. She could get falsely accused.
But what if her telling the police about Dad’s weapons put him in the same position? Especially when he was probably innocent.
They both looked guilty.
There was only one way to get to the bottom of it all.
Hadley nearly dropped the card as it shook in her hand.
She pulled out her phone.
Instead of tapping in the number, she scrolled through the pictures she’d taken the night before. So many weapons. Including one of those curved knives on the wall — the kind that had supposedly killed Duke.
She dropped her phone in the locker and puked in a toilet.
After rinsing her mouth, she stared at her reflection. She was strong enough to do this. To tell the police everything she knew.
It was the only way to get justice for Duke.
Hadley glanced around to make sure she was alone. Then she called the detective.
Who said she’d be there in twenty minutes.
Exactly the time Hadley would be leaving practice.
After throwing up again, she changed into her regular clothes and watched the rest of practice.
Coach said nothing about her outfit.
As soon as he released them, Hadley fled to her locker and grabbed her things. Nearly crashed into the detective just outside the main doors.
“Miss Morris.”
Hadley cleared her throat. “Detective.”
“You have urgent information for me?”
She nodded and played with her ponytail, sure the woman could hear her thundering heart.
“Let’s talk in the office again.”
Hadley shook her head. “I don’t want anyone overhearing.”
The detective lifted a brow. “You don’t?”
“Can we talk over there?” She pointed to a bench under a tree with nobody near it.
“Or my car.”
“No.” The last thing Hadley needed was for kids to talk about her getting into a cop car. The rumors would leave out the part about her sitting in the front seat. “It’s there, or I’m not telling you anything.”
Annoyance flashed across the detective’s face, but she quickly covered it with a forced smile. “Sure. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
Nothing about this made her comfortable.
They made their way over, Hadley trudging behind. Second thoughts screamed at her. She ignored them. She was doing the right thing.
The detective sat at the middle of the bench, and Hadley sat as close to the edge as possible. She stuck her hands in her pockets to hide their shaking.
“You found something?” Stewart took out her tablet.
Hadley drew in a deep breath. “Did you find anything on those people I told you about last time?”
“I can’t discuss an ongoing investigation.”
“But I can?”
“If you want to help us solve this case. Did you figure out where you were before he died?”
“It’s like I told you — I was at my play! That’s not why I’m here.” She hesitated, seeing a group of cheerleaders heading their way.
“Continue.” The detective’s voice was like sandpaper.
“I … I don’t know if this has anything to do with the murder.”
“If you think you have something, give me the information, and my team will figure that out. That’s our job.”
Hadley twisted a strand of hair around her finger and sucked in a wavering breath. “Well, I found a bunch of swords and stuff in my dad’s things.”
Stewart’s eyes widened, and her expression froze momentarily. “Swords?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know he had those.”
“Do you know what kind they are?”
“I don’t know anything about swords. Just that I saw some with all of his stuff.”
“When did you find them?” She made furious notes on her tablet.
Guilt stung. Maybe she was being a terrible daughter. But she was definitely being the girlfriend Duke needed when nobody else was on his side. “Last night.”
“When your dad was out?”
Hadley jolted. “You know about that?”
“I spoke with him briefly.”
“Last night?”
The woman nodded. “Can you explain to me what they look like?”
“The swords? I got a couple of pictures.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
Hadley dug for her phone. “I wasn’t thinking about it. You make me nervous.”
Detective Stewart smiled. “Honey, if you haven�
��t done anything, you have no reason to be nervous. I’m just trying to solve a murder.”
And that could land her dad in jail. Her stomach lurched, but she managed to control her nerves this time. Once she felt in control of herself, she found the pictures. They were blurrier than they seemed last night when she’d been studying them in her room.
“Those are great,” the detective reassured her. “Now, I need you to text them to me.”
“Same number I called you on?”
“Yes.” The detective made more notes, her cheeks flushing.
“Sent them.” Hadley felt sick again. What kind of a daughter was she? Dad wasn’t a bad guy. And if he went to jail, Luna would grow up without him.
Was she destroying her family?
“Got them. This is really going to help.” The detective flipped through the pictures. “Where did you find these? Specifically.”
“In his office at home.”
“Were there any other weapons?”
“He has some in bags I didn’t get to look at, and others displayed on the wall, but those are just for decoration.”
The detective tilted her head. “Just used for decoration? Are they actual weapons?”
Hadley sighed. “They’re real.”
More notes.
“But that doesn’t mean he killed Duke.”
“No.” Stewart shook her head emphatically. “You could actually be helping to eliminate your father as a suspect. What weapons did he have displayed?”
Knives. One the same kind the police were interested in.
Hadley swallowed. “Um, it’s hard to remember.”
“No pictures?”
“It was too dark.”
The detective leaned closer. “Do you think you can get me any more photos?”
Hadley’s heart leaped into her throat. “His office is locked. I don’t know.”
“You got in last night.”
“Yeah.”
“I need those pictures. Think you can do it again?”
Hadley played with a fingernail.
“Or are you afraid of what he’ll do?”
She shook her head, her mouth going dry again.
“Do you feel safe at home?”
“Yes! And I need to get going.” She rose. “Homework, you know.”
“You’ll send me those pictures.”
“I’ll try.”
“One more question.”
Dead For Good Book 1 Page 14
