The truck was owned by a relative who was allowing him to borrow it for the summer. He hoped they weren’t too pissed. Now he had the bill from the hospital to worry about as well as the money for a new vehicle. The money he planned on saving during the summer seemed way too small now.
“Everything okay?” Ethan asked.
Mac nodded. “Yeah, I just was going on the cheap this summer. It’s disappointing I’ll have to make new arrangements.”
April hated that Mac’s plans were ruined by some idiot who had come after them. Why had the person targeted Mac in the first place? She was relieved it wasn’t about her, but worry for Mac rose. They would both have to be on guard now, looking for potential danger that would come after them. It sucked. She just wanted life to be easier, but it seemed that it never would be.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
They arrived home close to midnight and fell into bed. Exhaustion pulled them under, and they slept until the sun was way up high in the sky. She wasn’t working at Grinders today, and Mac had taken the rest of the week off. She made coffee, and they were in the kitchen as a thought she’d had the night before kept resurfacing.
“How about you move in here, then you won’t have to pay to rent the room?”
Mac’s lips thinned. “I don’t want to take advantage of you or your aunt.”
“I’ll text her and make sure it’s okay. I just feel bad that you spent the money.”
“Hey, you don’t have to worry about that. I’m okay on money. I just wanted to save up more. I don’t like not having enough money to live on, so I have a good amount in savings.”
A knock sounded on the door, and she froze. Mac narrowed his gaze before moving to look out a window. His shoulders relaxed, and he moved to the door.
“It’s the police,” Mac said before pulling open the door.
April froze as panic flashed. Then she remembered these police officers weren’t the ones who had laughed at her concern. They weren’t here to see her. Instead, they were here for Mac.
“Are you Mackenzie Dunham?” the officer asked when Mac opened the door.
“Yes, and you are?”
“I’m Ronald Knight, a detective with the Fallport Police. I was assigned your case. I just wanted to make sure you were who I was looking for. So why are you at Myrna’s place?”
April moved to stand beside Mac. “Myrna is my aunt. I used to live—”
“April, I remember you. Wow, you’ve grown up. I didn’t know you would be here this summer. And Myrna is gone. That’s a shame.”
“I’m working at Grinders. Do you ever stop in there?” April asked.
“I sure do. I’ll look for you. So Mac, I just needed to ask a few questions. It won’t take long.”
“Why don’t you come in and have some coffee?” April suggested.
Detective Knight nodded. “Thank you. That would be nice.”
Knight stepped inside, and April directed him to the kitchen, wondering what he thought about her staying at Myrna’s place. She hadn’t thought about people knowing Myrna would be gone for an extended period of time. She was lucky no one had called the police on her.
She poured a cup of coffee for the detective, and she and Mac sat on the other side of the table from him. Knight reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, pale-yellow notebook. He flipped about midway through the book, finding a blank page.
“We still have to take written notes and then transfer them to the computer. It’s a lot of busy work,” Knight said.
“How long have you been with the police force?” April asked.
“I started when I was nineteen, just out of high school. I guess that was about ten years ago. Right about when your mother came to get you the last time. Myrna showed up at the station, trying to figure out if there was a way to keep you here.”
Shock pulsed through April. “Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Detective Knight nodded. “She was angry, as you can imagine. She cried a lot. She thought your mother would put you in a dangerous situation. By the time she got a lawyer involved, you and your mother were gone, and no one knew where you were. It was harder to trace people even ten years ago.”
“Wow, that’s wild.”
Knight nodded, then turned to Mac. “Do you know anything about the woman who attacked you?”
Mac shook his head. “No, nothing.”
“So she has been in prison for the last five years on money laundering charges. She was let out a few months ago. She claims to be the sister of your biological mother.”
Mac shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I’ve never looked for my birth parents.”
Detective Knight blew out a breath and shook his head. “It’s a lot to go through. Maybe we can go over it at another time.”
Mac shook his head. “No, I want to know.”
April scooted her chair closer and took his free hand resting on the table. He glanced her way and moved his chair closer to her before he squeezed her hand.
“This may be hard to hear, and if you want to stop, we can,” the detective said.
“I want to know,” Mac said.
“The sister of the woman who claims to be your aunt was murdered shortly after giving birth to a baby boy.” Detective Knight paused and glanced up, his eyes steady on Mac, looking for something. April guessed it was permission to continue.
Mac’s eyebrows shot up, and he swallowed hard. “Go on.”
“She was killed by the man who was the baby’s father.”
“Shit,” Mac said as he wiped his hand down his face.
“He also killed another child in the home. He was sentenced to death which was carried out two years ago.”
“Damn. You found out all of this?” Mac asked.
Detective Knight nodded. “I did. Once I got the case last night, I didn’t sleep much. If you want to take a break, we can.”
“No, I need to know all of it. Who was the other child?”
“She was your older sister.”
Mac blew out a breath. “I never knew. My adoptive parents were so good I never even thought of looking.”
“The woman who tracked you down wanted to make your father pay. Of course, he’s dead, but she decided that the only way to get even was to kill you. She admitted it twice and then wrote out the statement. She will go away for a long time.”
Mac rubbed his hand over his face again, then squeezed her hand. The news from the detective had numbed her mind. How could one person hear this news and be okay? She turned to Mac, seeing the tears in his eyes.
“I would have been nice to her. Why did she want to kill me?”
Detective knight shook his head. “People willing to commit criminal acts don’t think like you do. She is a felon, so it’s more than just the attempted murder charges against her. She will go away for a long time. She’s older, too, so hopefully, she won’t ever get out. We will be running patrols in the area to ensure you’re safe.”
“Thanks,” Mac said. “I’ll be in town until the first week in August, then head back to the university.”
Detective Knight nodded. “Where are you going to school?”