Page 13 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

She shrugged. “He didn’t like me. He didn’t want Emma to have anyone she could turn to. Your brother was a violent man. He drank, flew into rages.”

“You’re lying.”

But there was a hint of confusion in his expression. She felt a flicker of hope. Reaching out, she slid the file across to him.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“I’ve got no proof of what Steven did to my sister, but I thought, if I could show you what sort of man he was, then maybe you would at least listen to me.”

He was going to refuse. A tic jumped in his cheek.

Pick it up.

At last he did. She held her breath as she waited. Nate had gotten the report while he’d still been on the force. It was a list of disciplinary actions against Steven Peterson. He’d been on report numerous times, excessive use of force, drunk on duty. At the time of his death, he’d been on his last warning. Another infringement and he would have been kicked off the force. There was also a coroner’s report stating that Steven had been three times over the alcohol limit when he’d crashed the car, killing himself and her sister. That had been kept quiet, never coming out at the inquest. The force looking after its own?

He stared at the last sheet for a long time. “I don’t believe this.”

“It’s true.”

He shook his head.

“Look,” she said, “I don’t want…” But she trailed off because he wasn’t listening. He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet, the file still clasped in his hand. Then without another word, he turned around and walked away.

Darcy stared after him. She half rose, meaning to follow, make him listen. But in the end, she sank back into her seat.

Even if she caught up with him, he wouldn’t hear her out now. For the first time, she saw it from his point of view. All she’d cared about was getting him to listen to her side of the story. But she’d just revealed to him that his own brother had been little better than a murderer.

That was bound to take some getting used to. She just had to hope that once it all sank in, he would come back and give her a chance.

…

Matt had been walking for fifteen minutes before he realized he was heading in the opposite direction of his car. He kept walking anyway. At first, his mind was blank, because he really didn’t want to think of the contents of the file in his hand.

Finally, the thoughts started creeping in and he knew he couldn’t put off thinking about it anymore. He passed a café and backtracked, went inside and found a corner booth. When the waiter came, he ordered a coffee and sat staring at the closed file until the cup was placed in front of him and he could put it off no longer.

He opened the file. There was a card stapled to the corner—Darcy’s name and a cell phone number. He went to the back page first. The report from the accident that had killed his brother and his wife outright. Steven had apparently been three times over the legal alcohol limit at the time of his death. In Matt’s mind, that was little better than murder. He’d only met Emma once, at the wedding, which had been a small affair, held in a registry office, and with no celebration afterward. Darcy hadn’t been present. Emma had been totally different from her sister. Only the blond hair was the same, though Emma’s had been long and silky straight. Her eyes were blue and her face rounded. She’d seemed sweet and very much in love with Steven. That was four years ago. Now she was dead.

He read the other reports. Most were from job disciplinary actions. Steven had been suspended twice.

Could this all be a fabrication? Surely he would have had some inkling if it were true.

He got out his phone and looked up the number of the station where Steven had worked. He’d met his brother’s partner at the funeral—he’d seemed a decent man. When he got through to the switchboard, he asked to speak to Detective Sergeant Sands, gave his name, and said it was a personal matter.

The man picked up almost immediately. “Captain Peterson. How can I help you?”

“I just wanted to ask a few questions about my brother.”

“What kind of questions?”

He thought for a moment. “What sort of man was my brother?”

“What’s this about? Steven’s dead. What difference can it make?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m Steven’s daughter’s guardian.”

“Lulu, yeah, I heard. How is she?”

“She’s good. But I’ve been approached by her maternal aunt who wants access to her. She was the one woman Steven wanted nowhere near Lulu, so I refused to see her.”

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