11
Ronan
Tennyson hadn’t mentioned there were nine loads of laundry waiting for him. Between the clothes, towels, and sheets, Ronan was going to be at this all night. No wonder Ten always complained about how much he hated doing laundry.
Ronan didn’t mind so much, but for the fact that Everly was in bed and Tennyson was upstairs reading the diary. In a way, he was good with having this free time because it gave him an uninterrupted minute to think about the Skye Washington case.
He was halfway to the kitchen to make a cup of tea when the doorbell rang. They weren’t expecting anyone, but Ronan supposed he should have been. It wasn’t a surprise when he opened the front door to find Jude. “Come in.” He held the door open to his friend. “I was just about to make some tea. You want some?”
Jude shrugged out of his winter coat and toed out of his boots. “How about a cup of dark roast?”
“Can do,” Ronan agreed. He heard Jude’s soft footsteps behind him as he walked into the kitchen.
“Where’s Ten?” Jude asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
“He put Everly to bed and he’s upstairs reading Skye’s diary.” Ronan popped a coffee pod into the Keurig and turned the electric kettle on before grabbing two mugs from the cabinet. On the way back to the table, he grabbed a covered plate of brownies Kaye had made today when the kids were down for their naps.
“Thanks.” Jude grabbed a brownie and took a bite, his face turning thoughtful. “Do you think this investigation was badly bungled?”
“Yes and no.” Ronan grabbed Jude’s coffee and set the mug on the table before returning and pouring hot water for his tea.
“What do you mean?”
“The 1980s were the age of stranger danger. I’m guessing the Salem PD thought this murder was random. A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“You know, I’d go along with that if Skye hadn’t already come home for the night. Both of us know nothing good happens after midnight, but so far as the evidence states, Skye was home long before then.” Jude blew on his coffee before taking a sip. He sighed, sounding content.
“Ten pointed out that no one questioned the boys at the school. All those young men with rampant hormones. What better reason to sneak out of the house than to meet a clandestine lover?”
Jude nodded. “That sure as hell would have gotten me out of the house in the middle of the night, but I’m an admitted man-whore.”
Ronan laughed. He wasn’t going near that comment with a ten-foot pole. No pun intended.
“I’ve slept with so many clowns that when I open my legs, balloons and cotton candy pop out.” Jude burst out laughing.
“You’re ridiculous.” Ronan had to admit he needed the release laughter brought. He was never a fan of speaking to the parents of dead children. There was nothing he could say that would bring them any measure of solace or their lost child back to them.
“That I am,” Jude agreed. He sat up straighter in his chair and focused on Ronan. “But seriously, the only reason to sneak out in the night is to meet someone, either for sex, to settle an argument, or…” Jude trailed off, obviously unable to name a third thing.
“Drugs, money, prostitution, to commit a crime.” Ronan took a sip of his tea. It did not bring him any sense of calm. “The possibilities are endless, and since the cops at the time didn’t ask the right questions of the right people, we’re sitting at square one.”
“Not necessarily.” Jude grinned over the top of his mug. “We’ve got Tennyson on our side.”
Ronan loved how much faith people had in Tennyson, but he could only do so much. “Skye didn’t make contact with him this afternoon.”
“Shit, I wondered about that. He didn’t say anything, and I didn’t want to pry.”
“Ten brought up a good point when we talked about it. He said maybe Skye wasn’t there because someone in the house killed her.” After all the pain this family had been through, Ronan knew it could be the end of them if one of the siblings killed Skye.
Jude was silent for a few seconds. “It’s possible. Both parents and the older siblings all had cars. Skye was a little thing. Either of them could have taken her in a fight.”
Ronan hated the thought, but Jude was right. “Everyone’s a suspect. That’s how we have to treat this case, only with a softer touch.”
“Agreed. Where the hell do we go now that we’ve spoken to the parents?”
“I’m hoping Ten will have a new direction or two to take this investigation once he’s finished reading the diary and going through the pictures.” It was all they had at the moment. The three friends would be the best people to interview, but might not remember as much with the crime happening so long ago.
“I got a look at them in the car. Same three girls with Skye in all of them. Kind of like Wolf with Aurora and Everly.” Jude’s lips quirked into a quick smile.
“Muriel told Ten that those four girls had been the best of friends since kindergarten.” Ronan wasn’t friendly with anyone he knew from his twelve years in school but knew that wasn’t always the case, especially with women.
“I want to speak with them, no matter what Ten reads in the diary.” Jude took a sip from his mug, only to discover it was empty.
“I agree completely.” Ronan drained his cup. “Want another? I know there’s something on your mind.”
Jude nodded and held his cup out to Ronan.
Ronan took his time making the next cup, so Jude would have a minute to get his thoughts together. He even walked back to the table more slowly. “So, what’s up?”
“Cope has the same worries Ten does about me going into business with you and Fitz.” Jude wrapped his hands around the hot mug and breathed deeply.
“We all have small kids at home, but there are also going to be nights when we need to be out on stakeouts or we’re simply following the evidence.” Ronan had a feeling this might be an issue for the new father.
“If I had a nickel for every late-night stakeout I’ve worked, I’d be a millionaire.” Jude shrugged. “There’s no way around those circumstances, but how do we do this in a way that won’t land us all in divorce court?”
Ronan chuckled. He’d been trying to figure out the same thing. “Right now, we don’t even know if we have a viable business.”
“Yeah, but after your interview today, people know our unnamed agency is going to be open for business. If we solve the Washington case, then we’re going to have more cases than we can count.”
Jude wasn’t wrong. “We’re going to have to pick and choose cases the same way you and Cope have done with your haunting investigations.”
Running a hand through his hair, Jude sighed, again. “We’re still going to be working those cases, so whatever I do with the two of you will be in addition to what I’m doing with Cope.”
Ronan knew what was bothering Jude. “There’s going to be plenty of time to spend with our families. It helps that we’re all so close and in the same boat with being newly married and new parents.”
“I want to do this work, Ronan. I want to solve Skye’s murder. I want her parents to sleep again.” Jude shook his head. “It’s been three and a half decades, and her parents look like they haven’t had a good night’s sleep since 1985.”