Page 33 of Xavier

Paramedics may need to check on her to make sure she’s not having a mental crisis.

She’s deflecting and in denial.

Both of which are understandable given the circumstances.

Footsteps approach the front door and Brianna ducks behind the bar, squatting so whoever is coming can’t see her.

She’s jumpy and on edge despite trying to act like everything is alright.

“Bri?” a man calls as he gets closer to the front door.

She stands up from behind the bar just as her uncle Zach walks through the front door.

His gaze moves from her to me to the dead guy on the floor before finally landing back on her.

She runs around the bar into his open arms. Her breath is shaky and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was crying, but she’s not the type to cry in public.

After several long moments, Zach pulls back to look her over. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

His gaze meets mine, and I shake my head.

She walks back over to the bar. “Would you like pie?”

His expression says it all.

Pie at a time like this? There’s a dead body laying on the floor fifteen feet away.

“No, thank you.”

He sits down on a stool a little away from me. “So, what happened here?”

“Uncle Zach, you know we can’t really talk about it without the police.”

I raise my eyebrow at her, which causes her to roll her eyes.

“Okay, fine. I can talk about it, but why would we? He was shot, and the killers ran away.”

Zach glances at me, and I shrug. “He was shot before I got here.”

Sure, I might know more about the three guys and their warehouse, but I’m not showing my cards until I know more.

“Why was he shot?”

“How should I know? He came in here while I was eating pie, ransacked the place, and then was confronted by his friends.”

Her gaze moves to the floor before meeting mine.

She knows more than she’s letting him know, but why wouldn’t she tell him everything?

Wasn’t she his favorite?

Did the killer say something about her uncle?

I need to get to the bottom of this before they strike again.

In between bites of her pie, Brianna says, “I haven’t looked at the destruction they caused, but it sounded like a lot. I’d be surprised if you still have an office. You might want to check to see if anything is salvageable.”

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