Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Oh, Colt, I’m so sorry. Amelia was always so nice to me that day she dropped you off at the academy. I remember she stayed behind to help me unpack all my shit, even though your side of the room was all set up already.”
His eyes flicked out to the street, a muscle in his jaw twitching as the stress climbed through his body like a physical force. Colton was always a feeler. His emotions were as big as the rings that circled Saturn and just as complex. He was never very scared to show them, either. It was something I admired about him.
There was a lot I used to admire about Colton, actually, and all of it was flooding back to me as I stood a couple of feet away from him, being reminded of what a great guy he’d been and what a huge idiot I’d been, possibly making one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I hated to live with regrets and tried to keep as little of them as possible, but I’d be a bold-faced liar if I said I’d never thought about Colton, wondered where he was and how he was doing.
Guess I just had to wait to find out.
“She was super mom, alright. Always wanted to treat everyone else like they were her own kids.”
“What happened?” I asked, moving to the side so a group of students could pick up their coffee orders. The buzz of the blender filled the air, mixing with the relaxing soundtrack filtering out through invisible speakers.
“A botched robbery. Killed in her own house.”
My eyebrows jerked halfway up my face. “Oh no, fuck. Did they catch the killer?”
Colton shook his head. He crossed his arms, the twitch in his jaw getting more apparent, like he was grinding down on the inside of his cheek. This time, it wasn’t from sadness, though. Anger sparked in those ocean-blue eyes, turning the waters into a reflection of a darkening storm.
“It doesn’t even add up, Eric. She had cameras all around her house that conveniently go down for fifteen minutes, the same fifteen minutes someone entered her home, where they took about a half-million worth of jewelry before strangling my mother.”
“Strangling?”
“She was found with strangulation wounds all across her neck. It wasn’t like the burglar saw her, panicked, and grabbed a vase or a knife. My mom may not have even seen the person. They hunted her, strangled her from behind, and left her there so that my brother could find her an hour later.”
That didn’t sound like a regular break-in, if there ever was such a thing. Someone robbing a home usually did their homework. They studied the occupants, knowing which home likely had the most valuable things to grab and when it would be empty. Colton’s mom had more than a million in jewelry on just her person alone, so to grab only half that amount during a time when the robber could run away with the entire bank… it didn’t make much sense.
Unless there was a bigger prize.
“Was there a will?” I asked, following the thread.
“Of course there was. None of us have read it yet or even know what’s on it. A lawyer’s been going through it with my father. It’ll be read at our family retreat in a few weeks, which will definitely be interesting.” Colton cocked his head. “Why do you ask?”
“Because your mother was worth an astronomical fortune, and sometimes that amount of money can attract some bloodthirsty souls.”
“So you’re still just as sharp as you were in the academy, huh?” The way Colton spoke made me think he had the same feelings I did. “It’s hard to consider the idea that someone in our own family could have done this, but it’s not exactly like we’re all saints, either. And now we’re set to be under the same roof for two weeks, with the shadow of our mom’s death following us around. Which makes it a perfect opportunity to figure out what really happened to her.”
I arched a brow and examined the hard-set lines of Colton’s expression. It was a mixture of determination and hope.
“Are you still a cop?” Colton asked, the shift in conversation surprising me.
“No, I left the force a few years ago. I’ve got my own PI business now. It’s small, but I’ve got pretty consistent work.”
“A private detective, huh?” Colton’s smile grew, his eyes lighting up an entire shade brighter. “That makes my next question even more relevant.”
“And what’s that?”
Colton’s next question came completely out of the blue. “Would you be down to come and help me figure out who killed my mom?”
4
COLTON COOPER
I could tell my question knocked Eric off his orbit. He wasn’t expecting that, but then again, I wasn’t expecting a random meeting with one of the only people I felt was capable of helping. Eric had a bloodhound’s snout for clues and cases, cracking situations that seemed destined to go cold, and he’d do it effortlessly.