Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) (4 page)

Morgan blew out a frustrated sigh, resigned. He scanned the park and the assembled crime watchers as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess you’ve got this all figured out, huh? I don’t really have a choice.”

“You have a choice,” Sophie countered. “You just have to decide what outcome is the best for everyone involved and go from there. I will follow up my own way if it becomes necessary, though. You can count on that.”

“Fine,” Morgan muttered. “What do you want to know?”

S
ophie was exhausted
by the time she got home and she was almost relieved to find Grady sitting on the couch with a pizza box in front of him. It was closed, paper plates stacked on top, and he flipped through a magazine as he waited.

“Hey,” Sophie said, sinking down on the couch and leaning to the side so she could hug him. “I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my entire life.”

Grady gave her a sweet kiss before pulling back, brushing her hair out of her face as he studied her weary features. “You look exhausted, sugar.”

“I had one heck of a day.”

Grady rubbed his thumb over Sophie’s cheek. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Yes,” Sophie said. “I’m starving, though. How long has the pizza been here?”

“Only twenty minutes. It should still be warm. We can heat it up if you want, though.”

“I can deal with lukewarm pizza as long as I have you heating up my life,” Sophie teased, pushing herself to a standing position so she could shrug out of her coat and shoes. She moved to sit again and then changed her mind, unsnapping her pants and letting them pool around her ankles before settling next to Grady. “Why are you smirking like that?”

“Because that was pretty much the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Grady replied, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and resting it on Sophie’s lap. He was sad to cover her, but he worried he wouldn’t get through dinner if he didn’t and she seemed to need talk before romance this evening. “You’re the only woman I know who would strip half naked for pizza.”

“I wanted to be comfortable,” Sophie protested.

“Oh, I’m going to make you comfortable once your belly is full,” Grady said, reaching for the pizza box. “Eat up, sugar. I’m going to rub your back until all the kinks are out after dinner … and then I’m going to rub something else.”

Sophie made a face as she reached for a slice of pizza. “You’re a smooth talker.”

“Just wait until I start whispering in your ear in the bedroom,” Grady said, grabbing his own slice. “Tell me about your day. I have some things to tell you about my day, too, but I have a feeling your day is more important.”

“I don’t suppose you caught any news reports today, did you?”

Grady shook his head. “I was in Dearborn for most of the morning and then James made me do inventory all afternoon because he’s a slave driver. Did something big happen?”

“Something huge happened,” Sophie answered. “There was an accident out at Stony Creek last night.”

Grady knit his eyebrows together. “The park?”

“Yeah. Someone decided to drive a car down that narrow bridge and ran it through a guardrail. It plunged over the side and landed in the water, killing three of the occupants.”

“That’s awful,” Grady said, idly rubbing his thumb over the back of Sophie’s neck. “I don’t understand why someone would drive on that bridge, though. It’s clearly meant for aesthetic value … and feeding ducks. It’s too rickety to drive over.”

“Well, I think it’s harder to gauge those things when you’re hammered,” Sophie said.

“Oh, man. The driver was drunk?”

“The driver was definitely drunk,” Sophie confirmed. “He had a blood alcohol content level of .19.”

“That’s obscenely drunk,” Grady said. “Who was killed?”

“Three teenagers from one of the local high schools. Every single one of them was drunk. Only the driver wore a seatbelt. Two of the kids were launched out of the car through the front window on impact.”

Grady inadvertently cringed at the picture Sophie painted. “Did they at least die on impact? They didn’t suffer, right?”

“It looks that way,” Sophie answered. “The coroner is still doing autopsies, but all three kids were declared dead at the scene. Their parents are already screaming about a lawsuit apparently – and not against the driver’s family but against the county because the bridge wasn’t safe to drive on.”

“There are signs warning people not to drive on that bridge,” Grady said. “That lawsuit will never see the light of day.”

“No, it won’t,” Sophie agreed. “That doesn’t mean the parents won’t do a lot of damage before it’s all said and done. They want to blame someone. I get that. They’re going about it the wrong way, though.”

“What about the driver?” Grady asked, grabbing another slice of pizza. “How is he?”

“He has a head injury and is in the hospital,” Sophie replied. “My understanding is that he hasn’t woken up yet, so he doesn’t know his friends are dead or that he’s responsible.”

“Well, it sounds as if you had a horrible day,” Grady said. “Now you’re definitely getting a massage. I was only halfway convinced when I saw you walk through the front door. Now I’m totally convinced.”

Sophie smiled. She couldn’t help herself. Grady was considerate on a good day. On a bad day, he adored doting on her. “There’s more.”

Grady’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “How can there possibly be more? That’s one of the worst stories I’ve heard in … well … a really long time.”

“The driver of the car was Nate Foley,” Sophie said. “He was eighteen, meaning he was technically an adult.”

“Which means he’ll be charged as an adult,” Grady surmised. “I know it’s rough because he’s young, but three people are dead because of the decision he made. It’s a terrible situation, but he’s got to face his punishment.”

“That’s not the big problem,” Sophie said. “There’s … something else.”

“This story can’t possibly get any worse.”

“Just wait for it,” Sophie said. “Nate Foley is the son of Chuck Foley.”

Grady wrinkled his forehead as he searched his memory. “I recognize that name, but I can’t remember how. Remind me.”

“Chuck Foley is a county commissioner,” Sophie supplied. “He sits on the county board.”

“Holy crap,” Grady intoned. “Now I remember. That guy ran on a platform of clean living and family values.”

“Exactly,” Sophie said, bobbing her head. “Now his son got drunk and killed three friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if drugs were involved, too, but the toxicology report is going to take weeks to come in.

“Morgan didn’t want to tell me any of this, but I kind of bullied him into coming clean by saying I was going to write something regardless,” she continued. “He said that Chuck Foley is pitching an absolute fit and wants Morgan to promise he won’t press charges against his son.”

“Foley has to know that’s a losing proposition,” Grady said. “Morgan can’t afford another scandal. He’s going to have to do everything aboveboard on this one, which means the younger Foley is going to do major time.”

“I know,” Sophie said. “My story is due to hit the website in two hours. It will also be splashed across the front page of the Daily Tribune tomorrow. I’m the only one who has it. It’s going to be a big deal.”

“My little Lois Lane strikes again,” Grady said, kissing the tip of Sophie’s nose. “Good job terrorizing Morgan into giving you what you want. I know you feel for the dead kids, but this is going to be a huge story and it’s going to hang around for a long time. This could be really big – I mean national attention – before it’s all said and done.”

“Yeah, I’m ready for that if it comes to it,” Sophie said. “I’m not looking forward to Foley’s wrath when he sees the story. I fully expect him to show up at the newspaper screaming for my head before it’s all said and done.”

“He’s not dangerous, is he?”

“He’s a county commissioner,” Sophie said. “He kind of reminds me of a panda bear. He’s really big around the middle and has short arms and legs. I’m not worried about him like that. I just think he’s going to make a lot of noise.”

“Well, if he becomes a problem, I’ll talk to him,” Grady said. “You have a job to do. He has to understand that. If he doesn’t, well, I’ll make him understand.”

“You’re so macho,” Sophie teased, poking Grady’s side.

“I’ll show you macho once you’re done eating.”

The couple shared a soft kiss before Sophie turned her attention back to the pizza box and grabbed another slice. Only two pieces remained and they both knew they would finish it off rather than saving anything for the next day.

“So, I’ve regaled you with stories of my odd day,” Sophie said. “Tell me about yours.”

“Um … .” Grady licked his lips. He was excited to tell Sophie about his find before he knew how rough her day was. Now he felt trapped. “You know what? We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Sophie narrowed her coffee-colored eyes. “What’s going on? You said you had something to tell me and now you’re backing off. Should I be worried?”

“No,” Grady said, shaking his head. “I kind of have a surprise for you, but I’m a little nervous because you’re exhausted and this might be kind of emotional. I think you’re probably better off dealing with it tomorrow.”

“Emotional? Now you’re beginning to worry me. Spill.”

Grady blew out a frustrated sigh as he tucked a strand of Sophie’s hair behind her ear. “It’s not a bad thing, sugar. I think it’s going to be a good thing. It’s just … a big thing. Well, not really a big thing. It’s a different thing. It’s something you probably never expected.”

“Grady, you’re begging for me to start yelling.”

“Stay here,” Grady said, pushing himself up from the couch and walking into the bedroom. When he returned to the living room, he had a cardboard box in his hands. “This is kind of hard to explain, so bear with me.”

Sophie wordlessly nodded, her eyes trained on the box.

“Several months ago Mandy got it into her head that you should have stuff from your biological parents,” Grady explained. “She was adamant because she couldn’t believe no one let you keep photographs or anything.”

“I remember the conversation we had,” Sophie said. “She was kind of … manic. She always gets that way, though. I wish I had a photograph of them, but I can’t go back in time and get that stuff back. There’s nothing I can do, so there’s no reason to get worked up about it.”

“Well, Mandy did get worked up about it and she asked James to track down some memorabilia for you,” Grady said. “James hired a guy who is known for tracking stuff like that down. James kind of forgot about him because he didn’t contact James with any leads in the weeks following the request.

“Yesterday, though, the guy called James,” he continued. “He found a storage locker full of your stuff.”

“My stuff?” Sophie was dumbfounded. “My stuff from my parents? How is that even possible?”

“It’s your stuff from your entire childhood,” Grady clarified. “Your social worker packed up quite a few items and used money from your parents’ estate to get a lifelong lease on a storage unit in Dearborn. Through the years, whenever you moved to a new home, she added stuff to the collection.”

“But … are you talking about Lucy Barnes?” Sophie was confused. “I remember her. She was very sweet. Why wouldn’t Lucy tell me?”

“Lucy died before you turned eighteen,” Grady replied. “We did some research after we found the storage unit. She never got a chance to tell you.”

Sophie eyed the box. “And that’s from the storage locker?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before you went out there? I don’t want to turn this into a fight, but that’s my stuff. I should’ve been able to retrieve it myself.”

“I wanted to see what it was and surprise you with it first,” Grady said. “That was probably the wrong decision, but I wanted to do something nice for you. I took James with me and we picked the lock.

“We put a new lock on the storage unit before we left and the key is on the counter,” he continued. “There was a lot inside. I mean … a lot. We’re going to need a truck to get it all back here. I think you’re probably going to want to go through it yourself – and I understand you might be angry I looked at it before you got a chance – but I was honestly trying to do a good thing.”

“I’m not angry, Grady,” Sophie said, her voice small. “I’m just … I never thought I would see any of this stuff again. I don’t know what to … feel.”

“You don’t have to feel anything you don’t want to feel,” Grady said, moving to the couch. “We brought two boxes back. The one in the bedroom is mostly photo albums. I didn’t look inside of them. I figured you would show me yourself when you’re ready.

“I did kind of glance at this stuff,” Grady admitted sheepishly. “There’s a stuffed animal … and a framed photograph of a little girl who looks a lot like you wearing a tiara … and there’s a jewelry box.”

Sophie raised her eyebrows. “A jewelry box?”

“I don’t know what’s inside of it, sugar,” Grady said. “James told me I was invading your privacy as he picked the lock on the unit, and I kind of dismissed him. When I saw all of the things inside, though, I knew he was right. I’m truly sorry I did this. It wasn’t my place.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Grady,” Sophie said, reaching for the box. Grady didn’t miss the way her hands shook. “Your place is at my side … and in my heart. These are just things.”

“They’re more than just things, Sophie,” Grady challenged. “If you don’t want to look at them right away, you don’t have to. We have all the time in the world. The unit is locked up and I can put these boxes in a closet until you’re ready.”

Sophie bit the inside of her cheek, her heart racing as she considered her options. “I want to see.”

“Okay,” Grady said, flipping the box open. He rummaged inside until he found the framed photograph, smiling at the beautiful girl in the tiara before handing it to Sophie. He didn’t miss the tears in her eyes as she looked over her two-dimensional image. “How old were you there?”

“I think I was about five,” Sophie said. “I didn’t have any photos of myself at that age either. I think I kind of forgot what I looked like.”

“Well, that won’t happen again,” Grady said. “I love that photo. You’re … adorable.”

“I think you’re just saying that because you love me and you have to pretend I was a cute kid,” Sophie argued. “Isn’t that one of those relationship rules we’re not supposed to break?”

“Sophie, you’re beautiful now and you were beautiful then,” Grady said. “Don’t be hard on yourself as a defense mechanism. I know this isn’t easy.”

Sophie sighed. “It’s just … surreal.”

“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Grady said, reaching into the box again. “This is the jewelry box.”