Read Online In the Dead of Night by Castillo Linda - Free Book Online Page B

Mom never talked about him after that night.”

    “Maybe we could talk to her.”

    “I think you should stay away from Laurel,” he cut in.

    Remembering her confrontation with his mother, Sara touched the sore spot on her cheek. “She might be able to shed some light on this.”

    “Being able and being willing are two different things.”

    “Maybe if you talked to her.”

    He grimaced, as if the idea left a sour taste in his mouth. “She was never the same after Dad died. She’s never talked about it, even when I asked. But I’ll give it a shot.”

    “Thank you. I know that won’t be easy for you.”

    “Or her.”

    Sara picked up her cup to sip, but the coffee had gone bitter on her tongue. “I went to the library when I was in town earlier.”

    He shot her a dark look as if knowing she was about to tell him something he didn’t want to hear.

    Sara didn’t care. “The Cape Darkwood Press ran a lot of stories on…the crime after it happened.”

    “Sensational stories sell newspapers.”

    “There was a photo in one of the stories of my mother and your father sitting at an outdoor café. To the biased eye, it might have looked like an intimate moment between lovers.” She took a deep breath. “The reporter played up that angle. On the table between them, there was a manuscript.”

    His gaze sharpened on hers. “Based on that photo, you’re telling me you think there is, indeed, a missing manuscript?”

    “I think it’s a possibility we should look into.” Realizing what she’d said, Sara amended her statement. “ I should look into.”

    “Even if you find the manuscript, what do you expect to accomplish?”

    “The caller mentioned a manuscript. Maybe it’s tied to the killings.” But she knew that wasn’t the whole truth. More than anything, Sara wanted to vindicate her father of murder and suicide, her mother of infidelity. “I just want to know what happened that night. I want to know why it happened.”

    “Look, the police did a thorough investigation. I have access to the reports. I’ve gone over them a dozen times.”

    “I’m not suggesting the case was botched.”

    “You’re making it sound like some sort of conspiracy.”

    “Or maybe someone manipulated the scene.”

    “Are you intimating that someone killed our parents and made it look like a murder-suicide?”

    It sounded crazy, even to her. Like the desperate attempts to salvage the reputation of someone whose name was tainted with unforgivable sin. “I think that’s a possibility.”

    Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his jaw.

    Sara tried to ignore the intimate rasp of callus over whiskers, but didn’t quite manage. “What about you? Do you think your father and my mother were…involved?”

    Nick looked uncomfortable, then shook his head. “From what I know about my father, it doesn’t seem likely. He was a good, honest man. A family man. But he was also human with human weaknesses. From all accounts—”

    “And you’re all too willing to believe the status quo.”

    He frowned. “Let’s just say I’ve never been a fan of conspiracy theories.”

    “Nick, put all of this together and I think the entire case warrants another look.”

    “On the word of some anonymous caller?”

    “There’s something going on. I don’t know what. But someone called me. Someone left that message on my car window. And someone was definitely in the house tonight. Strange that all they took were those notes.” She met his gaze. “You’re the cop. Tell me that doesn’t warrant a little suspicion.”

    “If you think of it in terms of motive, means and opportunity, the fourth-person theory doesn’t hold water. If your father wasn’t the shooter and someone orchestrated a cover-up twenty years ago, what was their motive?”

    “I don’t know, but I’ve barely begun to dig.”

    “Who would have a motive for wanting to expose a twenty-year-old crime now?”

    “Someone with a