Page 71 of Romeo

“Riley Hunt.”

“Nice to meet you.”He moves to Dylan and offers his hand, but Dylan keeps his arms folded.

“Dylan.And I’m not big on touching.”

“Noted.”Dodger drops his hand, seemingly not offended in the least at Dylan’s refusal.“So, what can I do for you boys?I don’t know how much I can help with Edgar’s death.Other than the fact that I’m quite saddened by it.We’re old friends.”He doesn’t sit, though he leans back against the desk and places his hands on either side of him.

“When was the last time you spoke to Mr.Landers?”Bradyn questions.

“Oh.Goodness.It’s been—I don’t even know how long.We had a few lunches at the country club over the years, but it’s been probably a year at least since the last one.”

“Do you have any reason to believe his death was more than a burglary gone wrong?”I ask as Tucker peruses the room, choosing the best spot for his next bug.

“No.I—do you think he was targeted?”To his credit, Dodger genuinely looks surprised.But a man like this who has hidden his monstrous personality for so long would be well-versed in what it takes to hide in plain sight.

“We believe it’s a possibility,” I say.“We were hired by his granddaughter, Jules.I assume you know her?If you and Mr.Landers were friends, you probably know the whole family.”There it is.The subtle shift in his expression at my mention of Jules.His brows arch just a smidge, his pupils dilating.

“I’ve seen her around a few times.Troubled girl.I know she’s had some struggles over the years.”

That you caused.I want to grab him by the throat and choke the life out of him.Even if I know that’s not the right thing to do.Men like this—they shouldn’t get to live.However, that’s not for me to decide, and I have to remind myself of that now.

“She’s doing much better these days,” I reply.“Do you know Odie Landers well?”

“More or less.We’ve had some dealings over the years.I heard what happened at the funeral.Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.But since you mentioned it, why weren’t you there?”

“I had other business to tend to,” he replies, tone getting a whole lot less friendly by the minute.“As I said, I haven’t been close to the family in years.It didn’t seem appropriate for me to go, given the circumstances.”

“What circumstances are those?”Bradyn crosses his arms, and I have to wonder if he’s barely keeping his head too.

I don’t even have to look at Dylan to know he’s about one word away from blowing a gasket.

Tucker’s phone rings, so he withdraws it.“Excuse me, I have to take this.”He excuses himself, a chance to do some snooping under the guise of a phone call.

“The circumstances?”I ask again.

“Right.Edgar and I had a bit of a falling out the last time we spoke.He got himself into some trouble with a publisher and needed to borrow money to buy himself out of the contract.I told him that all my money was wrapped up in the charities I run and my campaign.I’m running for governor.”

Not if I have a say in it.“We weren’t aware he was having money troubles.”

“He wasn’t—at least, not on the surface.But after what happened with Jules, he had to cash in on a lot of his savings to put her in the best rehab facilities he could find.She was thrown out of two of them, so it was a constant restart.”

The anger that burns through me is so rapid that I have to take a step back to put some distance between me and the man I want to tear apart.“What do you think triggered her issues?”

“Who knows.Young people have so much stress.Especially teenage girls.And with her losing not just her mom but her stepmom and dad too?That’s a lot for anyone to take.”

So is sexual assault and abuse for two years.

I open my mouth to respond—with what, I’m not entirely sure—but before I can, an older woman steps into the room.She’s wearing a white pantsuit, her gray hair loose around her shoulders.

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.“Emmaline said we had guests.I’m Helena Dodger.”

“These are the Hunt brothers,” Dodger introduces us.“They’re looking into Edgar’s death.”

Her expression saddens slightly.“So sad what happened to him.We upped our security after that just in case.”

“You know that Jules Landers was in that house too, right?”

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