Page 26 of When 're Silent

"It might as well havebeen," Mr Hanover replied. "The boy persuaded her that she had togive up her birthright. That she needed to fight against the 'elites' ofEnglish society."

“Birth right?” Finn asked. “Wait.Your second name is Hanover. I take it that’s not a coincidence?”

“No,” Mrs Hanover replied. “We’retechnically royalty. Charles here is 23rd in line.”

“Oh,” Finn nodded. “That’samazing.”

Amelia gave Finn a look that heknew well—it was a silent sign that they were on the right track. Anotherdeath, another distant royal wiped out.

Amelia leaned forward, her eyesfixed on the grieving parents. “Can you tell us when exactly Rebecca and JamesBlackwood split up? How long before her death?”

Mr. Hanover sighed heavily, hisvoice tinged with sorrow. “It was only a few weeks prior,” he replied, his gazedistant as he recalled the painful memory. “Rebecca came back to the estate oneevening, visibly upset. She told us that she had ended things with Jamesbecause he had become too radical for her tastes.” Mrs. Hanover nodded inagreement, tears welling in her eyes. “She said that James was consumed by hisbeliefs and wanted to fight against what he called the scum of English society.It frightened her, and she didn’t want any part of it.”

Finn’s mind raced as he processedthis new piece of information. James Blackwood’s radical views certainly couldhave been motivation enough to kill off a couple of high society flyers. Couldthere be a connection between James and the murders? He made a mental note todig deeper into James Blackwood’s background.

“Did Rebecca mention anythingspecific about why she broke up with him?” Amelia asked gently, her pen poisedabove her notebook.

Mr. Hanover shook his head sadly.“She didn’t go into much detail, but she did say that James became increasinglyobsessed with his cause and started talking about taking drastic actions toachieve it.”

Amelia scribbled down notes whileFinn remained in his thoughts.

Finn couldn’t shake the royalfamily hypothesis. He was more certain than ever that this was what wasmotivating the killer, but was there something else behind the murders, too?Something deeper?

“Did Rebecca ever express any fearsor concerns about James?” Finn asked cautiously.

Mrs. Hanover hesitated for a momentbefore answering, her voice trembling slightly. “She never explicitly mentionedbeing afraid of him, but there were times when she seemed... unsettled. Likesomething was bothering her.”

Finn’s intuition prickled at themention of Rebecca’s unease. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had caught aglimpse of James’ darker side, the side that could potentially lead him down apath of violence.

“Do you happen to have hisaddress?” Finn asked.

“Of course,” Mr Hanover said,taking out a small notebook from his inside pocket, jotting down a few words,and then handing the paper to Finn.

“Thank you for sharing thisinformation with us,” Amelia said, her voice filled with empathy. “We will lookinto James Blackwood and his possible connection to Rebecca’s murder.”

Mr. Hanover nodded, his eyes filledwith a mix of gratitude and desperation. “Please find whoever did this to ourdaughter. We need justice for Rebecca.”

Finn felt the weight of theirexpectations resting heavily upon him as he met Mr. Hanover’s gaze. “We will doeverything in our power to bring the killer to justice,” he promised, his voicesteady.

The Hanovers showed Finn and Ameliato the door, and then Finn stood next to the unmarked police car, in thought.

“Pound for your thoughts?” Ameliaasked.

“Isn’t it a penny?” Finn asked,bemused.

“Not these days with the exchangerate,” Amelia laughed.

“We need to question this JamesBlackwood person,” Finn suggested.

“Yeah,” Amelia answered. “But youseem a little more perturbed than just that?”

"I was just thinking back toour previous case and the activists surrounding Richmond Castle," he said."We know firsthand how dangerous someone with the wrong cause canbe."

“Agreed,” Amelia replied, openingthe door to her car. “We’ll keep our eyes out for trouble. I just hope thistime we don’t end up in a watery ditch.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The gravel crunched under the tiresof their unmarked car, a soundtrack to the unease churning in Finn’s gut asthey approached Blackwood’s home. The evening was drawing in, and soon it wouldbe dark. The building loomed ahead, its weathered facade and overgrown gardenmirroring the decay that seemed to cling to James Blackwood’s reputation.Finn’s hand rested on the door handle, feeling the cold metal against hispalm—a grounding sensation against the buzz of his instincts.

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