Page 64 of Tangled
And maybe, just maybe, they’d be one step closer to finding Gracie’s killer.
***
“I don’t want our daughters hearing all this,” Brad heard Cody say as he walked back into the apartment several hours later.
“Our daughters are a week old. I don’t think it will scar them,” Tia shot back. “But if you’re that concerned, you can take them to the front room and hang out there because there is no wayI’mmissing this.”
“I don’t want to miss it either,” Cody shot back.
Tia chuckled. “You’ve found yourself in a dilemma of your own making. You’re pretty, but you’re smart, too. You can figure this one out on your own, big guy.”
Brad entered the family room to find Tia sitting in a chair and Cody hovering over her. His parents were comfortablyensconced on the couch, his dad holding one of the twins, although which one, Brad didn’t know since she was wrapped up like a burrito. Scarlett sat in the other chair, holding the second twin cradled in the nook of her arm. A whiteboard Sabina must have borrowed from the office was set up by the sliding doors. Two pairs of women’s legs were visible beneath the lower edge—presumably Sabina and Jessica stood behind it. Chad perched on the arm of the couch opposite Brad’s parents. Both his mom and Chad had a glass of wine in hand.
“Welcome home, honey,” Scarlett teased with a grin, knowing full well he hadn’t anticipated everyone still being there.
He made a humming noise and muttered, “Welcome home, indeed,” before stalking across the room to her side. Picking her up, baby and all, he sat down, then settled her and, judging by the wisp of red hair peeking out from under a cap, Ruby, on his lap.
“What’s this all about?” he asked, staring down at his tiny niece. It was still hard to tell what color her eyes would be, but she had a tuft of dark red hair curled like a Kewpie doll’s over her forehead.
“We sort of lost track of time—your parents, Cody, Tia, and I—and then when Jessica, Sabina, and Chad showed up, Tia decided she wanted to stay. Your parents, too. Despite his protests, Cody doesn’t want to leave either—”
“Only because he’s a gossip,” Sabina said from the back side of the whiteboard.
“I care,” Cody interjected. Then, with a loud grumble, he mirrored Brad’s earlier move and picked Tia up before settling her on his lap.
“Of course you do, son,” their mom said. “But admit it, you mostly care about knowing before Mitch and Ava do.”
“Mitch has an ace in the hole with Ava,” Cody complained. “Healwaysknows things first. It’s annoying,” he added, sounding every bit the youngest brother.
“You poor, suffering man,” Tia replied, wrapping her arms around him. He lowered his head to her shoulder, and she patted his hair as she would an injured six-year-old.
“At least my woman understands,” Cody muttered. Tia rolled her eyes, drawing a soft laugh from Scarlett.
“I hate to burst your bubble, Cody, but Mitch and Ava are on their way over, too,” his dad said. “She texted me about picking up dinner on the way.”
Cody harumphed. “You always did like him better, Dad.” Although his voice sounded dreamier now that Tia was running her fingers through his hair.
“Sometimes,” his dad agreed, making Brad laugh.
“Don’t egg him on, love,” his mother said, elbowing her husband.
His dad reached for his mom’s glass of wine and took a sip. He opened his mouth to say something, but his mom sent him a quelling look. Instead, he took another sip of her wine.
“Are we waiting for Ava and Mitch to start this, then?” Brad asked, waving at the whiteboard.
“They should be here—” Sabina’s response was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. Chad rose and let the couple in.
“We brought a bunch of stuff from the Perch,” Ava said, holding up two bags. Mitch followed her in carrying another three. “We’ll put them in the warming oven.”
Chad and the couple disappeared into the kitchen, then emerged again a few minutes later, Mitch with a beer in hand and Ava, a glass of wine. Glancing around the room, Mitch pulled up an extra seat as Ava took the one empty spot beside his dad on the couch, then leaned over to coo at Maya.
“Good timing, Ava,” Jessica said.
“Well, it’s good timing if you want to hear about murder, corruption, assault, and all sorts of other criminal behavior,” Sabina said as she and Jessica started to turn the board around.
When it fully faced them, Brad’s mind went blank at all the information it contained. Several pictures, tacked in place, littered the space, along with the names of several people, key events, and a timeline. They’d linked everything together with strings.
“I didn’t think people really did that,” he said.
