She gathered herself together and crossed the room. “How did you end up babysitting?”

  “My fault,” Reed called out but didn’t look up. “He gave me a breakdown on the investigation, and I wanted to read this file.”

  “I took this little fellow because I didn’t think he should be looking at a h-o-m-i-c-i-d-e file.”

  “You don’t have to spell yet.” Malone laughed. “He doesn’t understand.”

  “I don’t know.” Ian grinned. “He seems pretty advanced to me.”

  “Do you want me to take him?”

  Ian looked down at Asher. “You’re good here, right buddy?”

  Asher babbled joyfully.

  Ian looked at her. “We’re good.”

  Surprised, she started for Reed to look at the file and talk to him about the threat, but someone knocked on the door.

  Reed and Ian both came to their feet, their hands going for their guns.

  “Relax.” Sierra came from the kitchen and started for the door. “It has to be someone we know if they’re inside the building.”

  “I’ll get it.” Reed stepped in front of her. “Security, even the best, can be compromised.”

  Ian handed Asher to Sierra. “And I’ll back him up.”

  Malone hoped they were both overreacting, but she was thankful to have them there.

  Reed reached the door and looked through the peephole. He let out a long breath. “Stand down. It’s your mom and dad, Sierra.”

  Sierra sighed. “I should’ve known someone would’ve told her what happened.”

  Ian’s shoulders relaxed, and he stepped back into the family room.

  Reed opened the door, and Peggy quickly scooped Reed into a hug. “You or Sierra should’ve called me. I came as soon as I heard.”

  She released him and strode down the hallway. She wore jeans, a green turtleneck, and a lighter green cardigan. Her hair was short and spiky, a mixture of gray and silver. She was a stunning woman.

  “Thanks for the escort, Drake,” Peggy’s handsome husband, Russ, said.

  Malone heard the door close, and Russ, who was still fit from his law enforcement days, stepped in carrying two shopping bags. He and Reed joined the others.

  Peggy swept the baby out of Sierra’s arms, put him on her shoulder, and kissed him until he giggled. She then turned her sights on Sierra and hugged her with her free arm. “I’m glad to see you’re all right and staying home where you’re safe.”

  “You didn’t have to come, Mom,” Sierra said, sounding both frustrated and grateful. “I know you had to get a babysitter for Logan and Sadie.”

  “Of course I had to come, and the kids are fine in Mrs. McWillis’s hands.” Peggy released Sierra after explaining about their younger foster children and set her sights on Malone. “How are you doing, sweetheart? You’ve had a tough time, and I didn’t even know about it.”

  Malone wondered which of her sons had told her about the murder charges and the warning. Before she could ask, Peggy enveloped Malone and gave a careful hug that didn’t smoosh the baby. She smelled like vanilla, just as Malone remembered her mother had when they’d baked cookies.

  Peggy stepped back and ran a practiced eye over Malone. “What can I do for—?” She caught sight of Ian, and her eyes widened. “Now, who do we have here?”

  Ian stepped forward. “Ian Blair. PPB homicide detective.”

  “You’re helping our Malone out?” Peggy stepped closer to him, her inquisitive gaze running his entire body.

  “I am.”

  Malone took a moment to enjoy hearing Peggy say our Malone. Peggy had basically adopted Malone, and it felt good. The woman had a bottomless heart that could encompass anyone in her circle and make the person feel special and included.

  She shifted Asher. “And I hear Londyn Steele is working with you too. We’ve known her parents for years.” Peggy transferred her intense gaze back to Ian and slipped an arm into his. “Why don’t we sit down and get to know each other before I put lunch on the table.”

  Ian looked like he didn’t know what to do, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. The steamroller of matchmaking known as Peggy tugged him to the couch and started peppering him with questions about his personal life.

  Malone cast him an apologetic look but didn’t know how she could save him.

  Russ looked at his wife and shook his head. “Come on now, Peg. The food will get cold.”

  Sierra joined them and took Asher. “It’s time for his nap, and these guys are starving.”

  Peggy held up her hands. “Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” She stood and looked at Ian. “We can sit together at lunch. I hope you like chili. I made a big pot and a batch of my famous cornbread with honey butter.”

  “Sounds great,” he said, but he looked wary.

  Peggy tucked her arm in Russ’s, and they went to the kitchen.

  Malone joined Ian on the couch. “You don’t have to stay. We can go through the files later if you want.”

  “I have to eat,” he said. “And I do like chili.”

  “But you’re worried about my mother-in-law’s eagerness.” Reed handed Ian the file he’d been reviewing at the dining table. “We can help run interference, but let me say this. If she has her sights set on matching you up with someone, there’s no point in trying to fight it. You won’t win.”

  Ian laughed, but Reed was serious, and Malone knew he spoke the truth. If Peggy set her sights on getting Malone and Ian together, they might well end up paired off for life. Something Malone didn’t hate the thought of. Didn’t hate it at all.

  13

  Ian didn’t know what he thought about the lunch. He sure saw where the Byrd brothers got their tenacity. Not just from Peggy. Russ was a sharp, intuitive guy too. One who could stop Peggy if he’d wanted to. Apparently, he hadn’t, because he settled back and simply smiled at her with a fondness Ian had never seen in a married couple. And then there were times they shared a look that held the feelings Ian was having for Malone. They’d been married for over thirty-five years and were still in love.

  Was it possible to have a successful marriage? It seemed possible to Ian right then. And it seemed like something worth striving to create.

  The baby had Ian’s heart filling with another feeling he’d never experienced before—protectiveness, but in a far more primal way than he felt toward anybody else.

  Then there was the way Peggy’s love surrounded them all. Not to mention Reed and Sierra added another point in favor of marriage. They hadn’t been married for long, but they shared the same looks as Peggy and Russ. These older folks had been good role models for Sierra, and Reed had his parents in his life for two years longer than Malone did. He would have memories of good parenting and marriage skills. Their foster parents had set a good example too.

  But what about Ian? He’d had no good role models. He not only hadn’t seen a strong marriage with his own parents, but the majority of marriages with police officers failed too. Could Ian manage the kind of a relationship he was witnessing?

  He wanted to. More than anything, right now. He felt comfortable with the Byrd family. As if he belonged. He had no desire to run, which he did with his parents, who couldn’t bother to dredge up any emotion except over money.

  Ian wanted to try. But first he had to make sure none of these people came to any harm and nab Olivo for the threat he’d sent. Ian needed to connect him to Junior’s murder too. And maybe connect Olivo or Snipes to the older shooting.

  He changed his focus to Malone, who was holding the baby and talking to Sierra in the kitchen. Asher hadn’t slept long, and she’d swooped in to care for him. He loved seeing her with the child. Could even imagine her with his child.

  Oh, man, he was smitten. More than that.

  Focus.

  He looked at the clock. He had an interview with the managing partner at Ground Floor Builders soon and needed to review a few things with Malone first. He held the folder up. “Mind if we get back to the investigation.”

  “Here, let me.” Sierra dried her hands and reached out for her son. The baby smiled at her and giggled.

  What must that feel like? Knowing you created and birthed a child, a child who adored you, who craved your attention? Magical, he suspected, but perhaps not something all parents felt. He never knew his mom and dad to be nurturing. They’d given that job to the various nannies he’d had over the years, and when he got old enough, to no one. Maybe Ian could be a good husband and father if he concentrated on doing the opposite of what his parents had done.

  Malone joined him in the dining room, Reed hot on her tail. They sat while Sierra watched from the kitchen. Malone started looking through the file.

  “If you’re hoping to find something in that old case file,” Reed said. “You’re out of luck. I think our best bet is to talk to the detective who worked it.”

  “I talked to the head of our drug squad already. Got nothing from him, but I planned to interview the guy in my department after I reviewed the folder.”

  “What about Junior’s phone list?” Reed asked.

  “Haven’t had a chance to even look at it yet.” Ian grabbed the stapled papers and glanced at the spreadsheet that Londyn had created. She’d highlighted the calls that went to untraceable prepaid phones.

  He skimmed the list. “Looks like calls to his parents’ landline—quite a few the days before and the day he died. And his mother’s cell. The parents didn’t mention that. Give me a second, and I’ll give them a call to ask about it.”

  He dialed the Flaggs’s home phone and was happy when Karen answered.

  “It’s Detective Blair,” Ian said. “Do you have time for a few more questions?”

  “Of course,” Karen said. “I meant it when I said, ‘whatever you need.’”

  “I’m going to put you on speaker so my colleagues can listen. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “On the day Junior was shot and a few days prior, he called your home and your cell quite a few times. You didn’t mention that.”

  “I didn’t, did I? Guess that’s because I didn’t think it mattered.” She paused for a long moment. “Junior went through dark periods, and he called me a lot during those times. I was on a plane on my way back from visiting my sister in New York, and couldn’t answer his calls. But I called him back the minute I landed.”

  “And what did he have to say?”

  “He told me again that he was going to have to make things right, and he was sorry if it impacted me negatively. He was a sensitive guy, and he always cared about how I felt.”

  Malone shook her head, and Ian almost snorted. The Junior he’d known had never been sensitive. More like mean and demeaning. Maybe like his dad, but he could’ve been different deep down. Could’ve been the person his mother knew him to be when he was with her.

  “But he never told you what this thing was that he had to make right?” Ian asked.

  “No. And believe me, I asked. He said, when he had everything in place, he would tell me.”

  “Did you have a guess?”

  “I thought he’d found a way to get out from under that Olivo guy’s thumb. At least that’s what I hoped. Maybe he planned to testify against Olivo. I worried he would have to go into hiding if he did, but at least he would be safe.”

  Ian knew that wasn’t the case and looked at the list again. “One of the calls to the house was answered, and Junior had a conversation with someone for ten minutes.”

  “Had to be Gilbert, but he never told me about it.” Anger rang through her tone.

  Something for Ian to ask Flagg Sr. “Have you come up with anything else you think might be helpful?”

  “No, and trust me. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop.”

  “If you do come up with something, please call me.”

  She agreed and ended the call.

  Ian set his phone on the table. “That wasn’t much help, but it seems Junior had two sides to his personality.”

  “Would be difficult to grow up with a dad like his,” Malone said. “Has to form who you are, even if you don’t want it to.”

  Ian worked hard not to let his mouth fall open. She as much as said he could be like his dad, no matter how much he tried not to be. Earlier, she’d suggested he could be a good husband. So, which did she believe?

  “What about the other calls?” Reed asked.

  “Restaurants, a drug store, and Tim Richardson, the friend Blake is interviewing.” Ian turned the page. “More texts than calls, and they’re the basic everyday things like arranging to hang out with the friend or about a woman they saw at a club. And ones to his mom that have the emotional tone she mentioned.”

  “Makes sense that, if he was conducting drug business, he would use a burner for that.” Ian looked at Malone. “Is it possible the shooter took two phones that night?”

  “If they were in the same pocket, it could be.”

  “Nothing was found in his car,” Ian said. “Junior might not have wanted to be bothered with business at the reunion, and he left it at home. If Olivo wanted the work phone, he didn’t toss Junior’s condo to find it. Or maybe they didn’t communicate by phone.”

  Reed arched his dark eyebrow. “Then how?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to mention that the neighbor across the street from Malone caught the package delivery,” Ian said. “A drone dropped it off.”

  “Seriously?” Malone asked. “A drone?”

  Ian nodded. “Olivo could’ve communicated by sending messages that way too. Might explain how he and his guys have stayed clean.”

  “Not the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” Reed said. “We need to search ViCAP for any mention of drones in this area.”

  The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program was run by the FBI. Law enforcement officers could enter data about serious crimes, creating a database that other officers could search using any unique criteria like drones in their investigations.

  “We don’t have access from here.” Ian picked up his phone. “I’ll get Londyn on it.” He texted her before Reed could offer to have one of his buddies do the search and took over an aspect of the investigation that Ian wanted to keep under his control.

  Surprisingly, the guy didn’t argue.

  Londyn replied that she would do it right away, and he glanced at his watch. “If she finds anything connected, I’ll get started on it. First, I have an interview with one of the executives at Ground Floor Builders.”

  “Good,” Reed said. “If our dad uncovered any kind of corruption, he wouldn’t have hidden it. And this sounds like a strong lead.”

  Ian stood and looked at Malone. “I know I don’t have to tell you to stay put, but please don’t leave the building. And even avoid the lobby.”

  “I’ll behave.” She cast a mischievous grin up at him.

  If Reed wasn’t sitting right there, Ian might have drawn her to her feet and kissed away that impish smile. “You can get me on my cell at any time, and I’ll let you know when I hear back from Londyn on the drone.”

  Reed shoved a hand into his hair. “I feel trapped. I can’t leave the building. At least not without Malone or Sierra trying to hold me down. What can I do from here?”

  “Londyn is working on finding a current phone number and address on Detective Wisniewski. He seems to have fallen off the radar, and she’ll have to set it aside to run the ViCAP search.”

  “The guy my parents might’ve been going to see?” Reed asked.

  Ian nodded. “You could work on that and do a phone interview if you find him.”

  “Oh, I’ll find him.” Reed’s eyes hardened. “You can bank on that.”

  Malone had been sitting at the small desk in Reed’s guest room for over an hour and was going stir crazy. She had her work to do, but she couldn’t focus. She just kept thinking about Ian and how she could help him realize what an amazing man he was. Remind him that he’d avoided becoming anything like his parents and that would give him great odds at becoming a good life partner.

  But she knew from experience that people could tell you the same thing over and over. Didn’t mean you could embrace the thing in your life and implement it. That took work to change. Hard work, and he’d believed this wrong notion about himself for years. If he continued to believe it, he could make it a reality.

  A knock sounded on the door, startling her for a moment. She didn’t even know she was this jumpy, but she still hadn’t let go of the earlier threat. “Come in.”

  Reed opened the door and stepped in to sit on the bed near the desk. “I talked to Wisniewski. He remembered Mom and Dad.”

  “Were they on their way to see him that day?” she asked eagerly.

  He gave a solemn nod.

  “What about?” She held her breath.

  “He didn’t know. Dad had called him and said he located something they thought the police needed to know about, but he didn’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

  She let out her breath. “The drywall?”

  “Most likely, but I don’t know why Mom was with him. Unless Dad wanted her to come along for moral support.”

  Malone gave that some consideration. “Doesn’t sound like Dad, though, does it?”

  “Not really. Maybe it was something in their personal life.”

  “But what? It’s not like they were criminals or interacted with criminals.”

  “At least, as far as we know.”

  “Come on, now.” She clutched his arm. “You know they were who they represented themselves to be. No deep dark secrets or past. Right?”

  “Right.” Reed’s eyes narrowed. “But then, why in the world did they need to meet with a detective?”

  “Maybe Ian will have more information after his interview at Ground Floor Builders.”

  “Maybe,” Reed said. But just like Malone didn’t believe her words when she’d said them, Reed obviously didn’t believe her either, and they were no closer to figuring out why their parents had been murdered.

  Oscar Newton was exactly like his name suggested to Ian. A starched-shirt, black-suit, pinstripe-tie kind of guy. Not a builder. Maybe he’d once been one when Ground Floor Builders first started, but now he was all executive.