Page 54 of Beautiful Exile

Trace laughed, and it was damn good to hear the sound comingfrom my eldest brother. He didn’t do it much anymore. I wasn’t sure if it was the weight of his divorce, managing Keely on his own when he had her, or maybe simply the heaviness that came with his career path. He’d always been more serious than the rest of us, a rule follower. But this was more.

“If you were Keely, I’d have you doing extra chores for that sass,” Trace said, humor lacing his words.

I guided my truck down the main road through town, taking in the flower beds at each corner with their brightly colored blooms, and the tourists already moseying down the streets to peek in shops. “I already mucked out stalls this morning. Can we call it good?”

“I guess.” Trace paused for a moment, and I braced. “Got a call late last night. Mrs. Henderson said some kids were playing ding-dong ditch in those creepyScreammasks. Checked this morning, and we had a few other reports of the same.”

I pumped a fist in the air. “Told you. Stupid kids playing pranks.”

“There were no other reports of notes.”

“Trace,” I said, gentling my tone. “If I hadn’t been through what I have, I wouldn’t have reported the note either.”

He sighed. “I guess you have a point there. Still, I talked to the agent at the FBI who has your case.” I sucked in a breath, holding on and not letting go. “She said there has been no movement as far as she can tell. Grady Ellison gets exactly one visitor in prison. His mother. She comes once a month. He doesn’t use the phone or email. There’s no way he was behind this.”

Just hearing the name Grady Ellison sent a shiver down my spine. The man who had so carelessly killed my mother, father, and countless others. All for a little extra cash.

“That just fits with the prank line of thinking,” I said, flipping on my blinker to make the turn toward the gallery. I swallowed hard, steeling myself. “They say anything else?”

“They still have no idea who paid him and why. No idea exactly what cases your father threw beyond the few they were able to pin down early on. If they had a wider picture, they might be able to track it back to whoever was behind the hits.”

I gnashed my back teeth together. “If they haven’t found out any new information, it doesn’t make any sense that whoever was pulling the strings would suddenly come after me all these years later. It’s not like I remember anything beyond what I already told them.”

And that ground at me. I’d played the voice over and over in my head, trying to place it. But nothing ever fit. If I had heard it before, it hadn’t stuck. The police had found the shoes, a high-priced loafer with waiting lists and thousand-dollar price tags, but they’d never been able to match the recipients of the shoes in the Boston area with any persons of interest.

Trace sighed across the line. “Okay, okay. I’ll let up.”

“Thank you.”

“I still want you being cautious in case we have this wrong. I’ve got Cope’s place on the deputies’ drive-by route, and I want you to keep that location app and ringeron.”

I made a grumbling noise in response.

“Arden,” Trace warned. “Do not make me get Nora and Lolli involved.”

“Cruel and unusual punishment,” I shot back.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

“Thank you. Where are you now? I hear your truck.”

“Detective on the case,” I muttered. “I’m dropping off a painting at The Collective, then heading back home. Think I’m feeling a sculpture calling my name today.”

“All right. Just don’t forget about dinner tonight. And I invited Linc.”

I cursed. I’d forgotten all about Lolli’s request for a command performance. Her visit felt like it’d happened a lifetime ago. And having Linc there would make it that much harder. He saw too much. “I’ll be there.”

“Good,” Trace said, then paused. “We just care about you. You know that, right?”

My throat constricted, a burning sensation igniting there. “I know. Sorry I don’t always make it easy.”

“Screw that noise,” Trace clipped. “You make caring about you as easy as breathing. Even when you’re being prickly.”

My mouth curved the barest amount as I turned into the alley behind The Collective. Trace was being too easy on me, too kind. Which meant I hated myself more for not being able to give any of them the words and tell them I loved them. It was like if I did, I would know just how much pain I’d be in if I lost any of them.

“You’re the best brother,” I whispered. It wasn’t enough, but it was all I could give him for now.

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