“He doesn’t care about protecting himself. He cares about protecting Tina. I’ll tread lightly, but I still need to talk to him.”
I shifted my eyes to the small employee parking section. “I was talking to Barry Buttons a bit ago. I had questions about what would happen to Roy’s estate if there was a claim from a child.”
“Did you find anything interesting?”
“He would only talk in hypothetical terms. He said that if the mother — in this case Tina, but we weren’t really talking about Tina because he refused to get into specifics — signed off on child support with the father, it’s likely that Dakota would have no claim on Roy’s estate.”
“Do you think Tina signed off?”
“She didn’t say as much, but I think she just wanted to forget about what happened with Roy. He paid her a lump sum not long after Dakota was born. He told her that it would be easier to explain away than having to come up with multiple lies to placate Vera over an extended period.”
“That makes sense.” Hunter rubbed his chin. “Did she mention anything else?”
“Just that she made Roy promise to revisit the money situation when it came time for Dakota to go to college. I think she wants him to have more options than she had. She said that she wanted peace of mind when it came to raising Dakota.”
“She’s a good mother,” Hunter noted. “I’ve seen them together at the park. He’s a bright kid, easygoing. She’s doing a great job with him.”
“And he might not be the same kid if Roy had a hand in raising him,” I surmised. “I get it.”
“Did you find anything else of interest?”
“Barry also mentioned that Roy was known to park in the employee lot most mornings because he wanted to hang out with Grandpa. He was apparently there an hour early almost every day.”
“That’s true. I’ve seen him there myself a time or two.”
I focused my full attention on him. “Was his vehicle found here that morning?”
“No.”
“Where was it?”
“At the real estate office.”
“So how did his body end up here?”
“That’s one of the many questions I need answered.” He looked at the clock. “It’s later than I realized. Do you want to go downstairs and have a late lunch? I’m guessing you haven’t eaten other than a bit of nibbling during your shift.”
“How did you know that?”
“I remember what it was like when you worked here the first time. You said that grazing calories didn’t count.”
“I never was very bright.”
He laughed. “So lunch?”
I hesitated. “I’m hungry, but ... there’s something else I should tell you.” I couldn’t put it off any longer.
He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t do anything to screw up my investigation, did you?”
“No. At least I don’t think I did. This is about Monica.”
His expression was neutral. “What did she do?”
I told him about her appearance in the restaurant earlier, cringing at the way his expression darkened. “I should’ve told you then, but I was afraid of making things worse. That’s no excuse. I just ... I’m so sorry. People are gossiping about you because of me. You don’t deserve it.
“We know that nothing happened, but everyone else thinks that something did,” I continued. “I am ... forever sorry to have hurt you again.”
When I found the courage to meet his gaze, I found amusement rather than fury waiting for me. “This isn’t funny,” I said, straightening.
“It’s not funny,” he agreed. “But that prudish streak of yours always did make me laugh. You’re not to blame for this. I am. I knew after the first date that things weren’t going to work out with Monica. I kept her dangling despite everything, and that wasn’t fair to anyone concerned.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “If you didn’t like her, why did you stay with her?”
He pinned me with an incredulous look. “Seriously? I should think that would be rather obvious.”
“You did it because of me.” It was a statement, not a question. “You wanted to send a clear message so I would stay away from you.”
“No, I wanted to send a clear message that I wasn’t pining for you,” he clarified. “I knew keeping distance between us probably wasn’t going to happen. I just felt like I couldn’t breathe when I heard you were coming back.”
“You acted surprised when you first saw me.”
“I was surprised that you were barely back and had already found trouble. I wasn’t surprised to see you, but I kind of wish it were under different circumstances. As for Monica ... I feel bad because I don’t feel anything for her. I don’t even like her, but I kept her around. That doesn’t exactly make me a good person.”
“You’re the best person I know.” I meant it. “Everybody makes mistakes. You need to talk to Monica. However this goes, she deserves your honesty. She’s a terrible person as far as I can tell — and her eyebrows look absolutely hilarious — but it’s not okay to purposely hurt her.”
“I agree. Your safety took priority for the morning. Now I’m going to carb up and handle her the way I should’ve weeks ago. I won’t leave her twisting in the wind.”
I wanted to ask what would come after, if there was a chance for something to happen between us. Now was not the time. Once the dust settled and Roy’s killer was found we could think about other things ... if either of us even wanted that. My emotions were so tangled I could barely see straight.
“So ... lunch.”
“Lunch,” he agreed, getting to his feet. “By the way, I put that gross flower box on the balcony. The fact that you were letting the cat go in that is beyond disgusting. I scooped his litter, too, and made sure he had a bowls of food and water.”
“You really have been industrious.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he agreed.
He showed me the new lock on the stairway door as we headed down. He’d gone all out, spared no expense, and I was grateful. Grandpa was sitting in a booth when we entered the café. Hunter headed directly for him.
“This is a fortuitous turn of events,” he said, sliding into the seat across from Grandpa, who was buried in his newspaper.
Grandpa’s scowl was evident when he looked up from the day’s headlines. “I thought you left hours ago.”
“Just to pick up the blinds for the doors upstairs. I ordered them yesterday and they came in today. You’ll be happy to know that your granddaughter now has a state-of-the-art security system. Nobody can get to her upstairs.”
“Those doors are glass, son. If someone truly wants to go after her, they will.” Grandpa stared at him for a moment and then sighed. “Thank you for taking care of her. It never occurred to me there was something to worry about.”
“I just want her safe.” Hunter patted the booth seat next to him and I slid into the spot, holding my breath as he and Grandpa stared each other down. “Now we need to talk about serious matters.”