“What?” Cade hadn’t meant to shout. His eyes jerked up to the top of the stairs where Raven was standing in a pair of his sweat shorts and a T-shirt, a hand on the railing.
He rushed to the base of the stairs. “You could have stayed in bed,” he said, rushing up to her.
“I…” She shook her head. “Kim is dead?”
“Tell me the two of you were here, doing what I think you were doing, from the moment you left the event tonight,” Sean said, sounding a little weary.
“We were,” Cade responded as Raven sat down on the sofa.
“Good.” Sean started to leave.
“How?” Raven asked. “Where?”
His uncle stopped and sighed. “How, I’m going to find out. Where… the gazebo.” He shook his head.
“What? In the middle of town?” Cade asked.
“Yup, right under all those sparkly pretty lights.” Sean shook his head. “I had hoped…” He stopped suddenly. “Never mind.”
“You don’t know how she died?” Raven asked as she wrapped the throw blanket over her body.
“She was tied up, strung up. Like an animal. We’re not sure if she really died from suffocation or something else at this point.”
“How horrible.” Raven shook her head. Then she gasped. “You think… Because of what… Oh my god.” It hit her at the same time it hit him. “You think I had something to do with it?”
His uncle was there, checking to see if Raven had an alibi. Because everyone in town had witnessed the fight between the two women, he knew that most people in town would assume the same thing his uncle had. That Raven had killed Kim.
“No.” Sean held up his hands. “I never thought it. I’m only here to assure you have a tight alibi. That’s all.” Sean moved over and sat across from Raven. “I never believed you could hurt Kim, or Rachelle and Joseph. Never,” he clarified.
Raven nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
“Now, I have to head back out. But I need your promise that the two of you will stay put.” He glanced over at Cade.
“We have the day off tomorrow,” he assured his uncle. “We were going to take a hike.”
“For now, I think it’s best if you stick somewhere I can keep an eye on you.” Sean turned to Raven. “I don’t really think someone is out for you, but it appears that they really want to make this all about you.”
“You think someone is setting her up for the murders?” Cade asked, moving to sit beside Raven.
His uncle shrugged. “It’s a working theory.”
“We’ll stick around here tomorrow then,” Cade responded.
“Thanks.” Sean stood up. “Sorry to wake the both of you.”
“Who found Kim?” Raven asked as his uncle started to leave.
Sean stopped, glanced back, and sighed as his eyes locked with Cade’s. “Your mother did.”
The moment his front door shut, Cade fumbled his cell phone out of his sweat pockets and dialed his mother’s number.
“Mom?” he said when she answered quickly. “Are you okay?”
“I am,” his mother reassured him. She sounded tired and weary.
“Want to come over? I think we’re up.” He glanced over at Raven, who nodded.
“I’m fine, I’m just…” He heard her sigh. “I’ll bring something to eat.”
“I’ll make coffee,” he added before hanging up.
“How does she sound?” Raven asked.
“Shaken,” he admitted. “For as long as it took me to get past Reggie’s death, it took her twice as long.” He leaned in and hugged her, then kissed her on the top of the head before getting up to start a pot of coffee.
By the time his mother arrived, Raven had changed into a pair of her yoga pants and an oversized sweater. She’d braided her hair and had helped him pick up their discarded clothing.
His mother had stopped off at the town’s bakery and had a large box of freshly baked donuts, scones, and muffins.
His grandmother showed up just after sunrise with some fresh fruit and homemade biscuits and gravy. Sean came back just before noon with takeout Chinese food for everyone.
The day was filled with food, his family, and more questions than answers.
“The coroner has confirmed Kim’s cause of death was asphyxiation. He has the death down at around ten.”
“Less than an hour after everyone left last night,” Raven said.
“What were you doing there so late?” Cade asked his mother. He’d assumed that she’d found Kim shortly after everyone had left.
“I was…” Her eyes moved to Sean.
“She was leaving my place,” Sean said with a sigh.
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t let her walk home alone.” It was a statement.
“No,” Sean said clearly.
“So the two of you found Kim?” Raven asked.
“Yes,” Sean said, looking at Cade.
“Why hide…” Raven started, then she chuckled. “I think Cade knows by now that you two—”
“It’s fine,” Cade broke in. “You don’t have to hide things like this from me.”
“It’s just…” Sean looked a little uncomfortable.
“Son, our love life is none of your business,” Fiona broke in. “If Sean wants to keep certain details from you, he can.” She stood up to clear the dishes.
A look passed between Cade and his uncle, then Cade held out his hand. “If you promise to keep some details to yourself, I’ll promise not to hit you.”
Sean laughed and shook Cade’s hand. “If you think you can hit me, by all means, try.”
Cade smiled. “You’re just an old man. Slow.” He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his uncle’s hand. It was an old game between them.
The truth was, Cade was happy for them. It was obvious there was something between the two of them. He’d often wondered why his mother had started being happier in the past few years. He assumed it was thanks to his uncle.
“Old?” Sean laughed and tightened his grip, and Cade had to hold back a wince as pain shot up his arm. “I can still take you down.”
“Is that a challenge?” Cade asked playfully.
“Boys.” His mother stepped back into the room. “As entertaining as it is to see the two of you argue, I’m just not in the mood today,” she said dryly.
When she sat back down, he realized just how tired she looked. He dropped his uncle’s hand and reached over and took his mother’s hand.
“Why don’t you head upstairs and lie down in the guest room?” he suggested.
She smiled at him. “I think I’ll head home.”
Sean stood up. “I’ll take you.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “I can drive myself.”
Sean glanced over to him for help. He knew that his uncle was thinking the same thing he was. Neither of them wanted her to be alone at the moment.
“I’ll be fine.” His mother laid a hand on both of their shoulders.
“Of course you will. I raised a strong independent woman.” His grandmother stood up suddenly. “As you head that way, you can drop me off at home.” She winked at Cade.