Page 33 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
No answer.
Okay, so I was thinking. Maybe we can decorate the tree sometime after lunch. Make an afternoon of it if you feel up to it. Just text me in the morning and let me know what you think.
He set the phone back on his end table and shut his eyes, praying he wouldn’t dream, but knowing Sasha would wake him if he did.
SEVEN
The next morning, Jade rolled out of bed with a groan. She’d slept late, but that wasn’t the main reason for her audible protest at moving. Her throat ached, her head pounded, and she had sore muscles in places she didn’t realize had muscles.
Popping more medicine for her aches and pains, she checked in with Captain Colson, but he told her nothing new had been learned last night about Frank. A call to the hospital informed her that Tony Swift had taken a turn for the worse and was in a medically induced coma.
For now, there was nothing to be done until he woke up—and she prayed he would—or one of the other detectives came up with a lead. “Take some time, Jade,” her captain said. “Heal. You won’t be any good to anyone if you’re not a hundred percent. And that’s not a suggestion. It’s an order. I don’t want to see you anywhere near the office today.”
She grimaced, loath to admit he was right, but…he was. Fine. She’d take today and rest. Heal. Be with her family. She’d let the other detectives work the case and trust they’d keep her in the loop. And she’d check on Heather.
She read the text from Bryce once more and it made her stomach hurt, but she couldn’t put this off forever. He had to know about Mia. After an answering text to Bryce saying,After lunch sounds good, she walked into her kitchen to find a note on the counter from her father.
Sleep as late as you can. Mia is with us at the main house. Your watchdogs are being very vigilant so I’m comfortable that you’re safe sleeping here.
God bless her parents. She honestly didn’t know what she’d do without them. A glance out the window confirmed she still had her security on the house. It made her feel slightly better, but she was terribly confused as to why someone would attack her. Had it been just some random thing? Someone who’d been looking for an easy victim to rob? Or was the attack more deliberate?
Did they think because she was Frank’s friend and a cop that he’d confided in her about whatever he was working on? That she knew something about dirty cops protecting that drug ring? She wished she knew something. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a clue.
But if the attack was aimed at her, that meant the person had been following her and simply waiting for a chance to strike. She shivered at the idea and went to the den window to look out. Her small apartment overlooked the back of the property, with her parents’ home to the left. She looked out in the distance to the sloping hill overlooking the large pond between her parents’ home and the pasture beyond it. She’d always thought it would be a perfect spot to build a house. “Maybe one day,” she whispered to herself.
Her phone chimed, bringing her back from her dreams of a life that didn’t include someone trying to kill her. A text from Bryce.Tell me what time to be there.
A little after one.That would give her time to make herself presentable and make sure the medication had kicked in, have a chat with Jessica—and try to come up with a way to tell Bryce that Mia was his child.
See you then.
Jade dialed Heather’s number, and her friend picked up on the first ring. “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“Yeah, I kind of recognized the number.”
A tiny smile curved Jade’s lips, then fell away. “How are you this morning?”
“Awful. But my mom is here. So maybe slightly better than awful.”
“Of course.” Jade refused to be hurt that Heather hadn’t wanted her to stay with her, but she could certainly understand the woman preferring her mother.
“Did you see the news this morning?” Heather asked.
“No. I just woke up about ten minutes ago. Why?”
“Another overdose. A teenager this time. She was found in the alley behind O’Sullivan’s bar. Peter and Sarah snagged the case shortly after Frank was found.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she cleared her throat. “He was investigating the drug ring,” she said. “They must have found out and killed him.”
“Possibly,” Jade said, “but what did he know? How did he even know who to look into? He had to have an inside source to even begin investigating, but who? And I know it wasn’t you or me.”
“Of course it wasn’t. There’s no telling,” Heather said. “He had his secrets. But the police are releasing the house this afternoon and, as much as it’ll kill me to be in there, I’m going to search it from top to bottom and see if I can find anything that will help us figure it out.”
“You think there’s something the crime scene unit will miss?”
“I won’t know until I get in there and look.”
“Of course. Do you want some company?”
