24. Noah
Chapter 24
Noah
A black suburban with Sonoma Police printed on the side is parked in Lilly’s driveway. Questions have been rolling around my head since she got the phone call. What could they possibly want from her now? If it was an emergency, like Nellie being hurt, Christine would’ve told us over the phone. Nothing else would make sense, though.
Lilly and I haven’t said much since we packed her bag. I’m miffed that our time alone was cut short, but I’m also excited to see Nellie. I’m going to try to convince Lilly to let me stay while she talks to the police. Even if she doesn’t want me in the room, I can at least hang with Nellie and Christine.
Once we’re out of the car, I carry Lilly’s overnight bag in one hand and grab Lilly’s hand with the other. Now that we’ve established that we’re together, I’m taking every opportunity to touch her that I can.
My uncle, Cooper Jackson, is at the dining room table, talking with Nellie and Christine when we walk inside. Nellie jumps from her chair and races over to hug her mom. I’m treated to the same welcome home, which makes me smile.
“Hey, Baby Bee. How was your night?”
“Awesome. Aunt Christine let me watch a grown-up movie while we snuggled in her bed.”
“Oh, yeah?” Lilly raises an eyebrow, humor shining in her eyes. “What did you watch?”
Nellie cringes a little when she realizes she gave away what likely was supposed to be a secret. “ Jurassic Park ,” she confesses. Well, that’s not horrible. At least, I don’t think it is. A glance at Lilly’s face confirms my thoughts.
“Did you have any bad dreams?” she asks.
Nellie shakes her head. “Nope. Actually, I dreamed that I was a scientist creating new dinosaurs, but they were cuddly ones. Not scary ones.”
Lilly finally lets out the smile she’s been holding back. “That sounds like an intriguing dream.”
Cooper stands, drawing our attention back to the reason we’re here. Lilly looks over at me, worry clear in her eyes.
“Do you want me to take Nellie to play at the park or stay?”
Christine stands. “How about you both stay, and Nellie and I will pick up some lunch?”
I look at Lilly in question. She turns to her aunt. “If you don’t mind, that would be good.”
“Come on, Curious George.” Christine smiles at Nellie. “Let’s go get some food.”
“How about cheeseburgers?” Nellie cheers, slipping her shoes on and following Christine outside.
After they’re gone, I take Lilly’s hand and walk over to the table. Cooper sits once Lilly and I find our spots. “You’ve got a great kid, Lilly. She was keeping your aunt and me entertained while we waited.”
“Thank you, Chief Jackson. I’m pretty lucky.” She glances at me. “We’re lucky.”
“Please, call me Cooper. I’m sorry for interrupting your day, but this couldn’t wait.” Cooper clears his throat. “Is there anyone you know who didn’t like your parents?”
Lilly’s eyebrows pinch. “As I’m sure you’re aware, my parents weren’t always kind, so I’d imagine plenty of people weren’t huge fans of theirs. Why do you ask?”
“Something about your parents’ car crash didn’t sit right with me. In our preliminary investigation, we assumed they swerved to avoid hitting an animal or something and flipped down the embankment. But something kept nagging me, so I went back to look at crime scene photos and realized there were no tire marks on the highway.”
“They didn’t brake before going down the embankment,” I muse.
“Exactly. Maybe they swerved instead of braking, but that doesn’t seem likely. I took the liberty of having our crime scene guys check into the car. The brake line had been tampered with. I don’t believe your parents’ car wreck was an accident, Lilly.”
Silence meets Cooper’s revelation.
Lilly opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again. She shakes her head. “I don’t know what to do with that information. What... How do I…”
“I’m sorry, kiddo. You don’t have to say anything at this point.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t an accident?” I ask.
Cooper nods. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
“Lilly, what were your parents doing the day of the accident?” I figure getting her mind off the likelihood her parents were murdered might help her think straight.
“Um…” She visibly focuses her thoughts. “I’m honestly not sure. Mom’s agenda is in the office, though. Maybe there’s something in there.”
She stands from the table and heads down the hallway.
“What are you thinking, Uncle Coop? Was someone targeting them? Is Lilly in danger?”
“I’m really not sure, Noah. If I had any ideas, I’d share them with you, you know that. All I’ve got is the evidence of their car being tampered with.”
Lilly walks back into the room, a spiral-bound planner in her hands. “Weird. It looks like Mom and Dad had an appointment in Greensboro for some reason. But they never told me they were in town.” She places the book in front of Cooper.
“Do you know who Dan is?” Cooper asks.
Lilly shakes her. “No idea. But I’m betting there’s an address listed for him in her contact book. I can grab that, too.” She dashes back down the hallway and is back within a minute.
“I’ll check it out. Do you mind if I take these with me?” Cooper holds up the planner and contact book.
“Not at all. Look…” Lilly hesitates, taking a minute to pull her thoughts together. “My parents lived very… different lives than the people in this town. It was also very private. Over the last few weeks, I’ve realized I barely knew my parents. They only ever let me see the side of them they wanted me to see. If they truly were murdered, I would be both shocked and unsurprised.”
Cooper presses his lips together in understanding. “I can’t promise I’ll find the person who did this, but I can promise to do everything in my power to try.”
“Thanks, Cooper.”
He reaches across the table and squeezes her hand before standing. “I’ll keep you updated on what I find out.” With a tap on my shoulder, Cooper leaves us sitting in silence.
Lilly drops her head in her hands. I wish I had the words to comfort her. Instead, I rub my palm across her back.
My heart cracks when she finally lifts her head to look at me. The devastation in her eyes is plain to see.
“I’m still so angry at them,” Lilly whispers. Her fists clench on the table, and she scoffs out a frustrated breath. “How shitty of a daughter am I that when I hear my parents have been murdered, all I can think about is how mad I am at them?”
“You’re not a shitty daughter at all. You’re entitled to feel whatever you’re feeling. No one has the right to tell you what’s acceptable in this situation.”
“At this particular moment, I’m pissed. I was starting to overcome my anger at what they did to us and settle into my grief. Especially the more I’ve been going through their stuff. It’s brought back several happy memories. And just when I get a handle on my feelings, they go and throw this shit in my face. Obviously, this wasn’t something they chose, but for fuck’s sake. Would it have killed them to be nice enough to people to not get murdered?”
I roll my lips to keep from laughing at her choice of words. That would be a no-win situation. “I can’t believe someone would be out for revenge because your parents weren’t the nicest people.”
Lilly shrugs. “People have killed for less.”
I nod in agreement.
Before we can say anything else, Nellie and Christine walk through the front door.
“We got milkshakes!” Nellie does a happy dance, wiggling her butt around in a circle and breaking the tension that had built.
“That sounds perfect, Baby Bee.” I grin at her. Christine raises an eyebrow at us. I shake my head while Lilly tells her we’ll talk later.
The rest of the day is spent being entertained by Nellie and doing whatever we can to ignore the weight of the investigation sitting on our shoulders. I finally got my girl back, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with my daughter, and now something could be threatening them.
If someone killed Lilly’s parents, what’s the likelihood they’ll be after Lilly and Nellie next?