Page 73 of Kept in the Dark

Trey prompted him. “What about the girls? They didn't even know.”

“Oh, spare me the victim card. Hailey and Sara sat up in their mansion, looking down their nose at the rest of us, even you. We struggled to eat while Sara and Hailey didn’t have to want for anything. It’s disgusting.”

Trey had a lot of questions but held his tongue. Ryan was finally talking, and Trey didn’t want him to stop. He hadn’t understood the degree in which Ryan’s disdain stemmed. Even in the way he said their names permeated hatred and resentment.

“Shortly before I turned eighteen, I started blackmailing them. I told David and Morgan I’d go public with a paternity test if they didn’t give me money whenever I needed it and get me out of trouble whenever I called. At the time, it seemed like the best way to get what I wanted.”

“Can’t imagine that went over well with David.”

“Such great detective skills,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “He threatened me, but he didn’t realize I had proof he’d been seeing my mother again, so he shut his mouth pretty quick and did what I said.”

Trey wasn’t shocked to hear that David had been seeing Nicole again. He’d assumed as much.

“Did he stop seeing Nicole after that?”

Ryan shrugged. Trey wanted to keep him talking. “Are you still blackmailing him?”

“You tell me. I’m not in jail right now for assault and battery against a cop.” He smiled as he recalled their tussle.

Trey ignored the comment. “What else do you know about David?”

“Not much else. Morgan hated me and my mother, and she made it obvious. But my mother hated her just as much, if not more, so it was always a pissing match if we ran into each other.”

Trey nodded. Could Nicole have killed Morgan? It didn’t explain why she was missing now, but it was plausible, though he had no evidence to support that theory. And as much as he didn’t like coincidences, they still existed.

“Aside from Morgan, did your mother have any enemies? Had she gotten into trouble recently?”

Ryan didn’t answer at first as he considered Trey’s question. “Not really. Everyone liked her. I heard a rumor that she got into it with some lady at work in the parking lot, but I didn’t care enough to get details.”

Could be something. Could be nothing.

It wasn’t much to go on, but Trey wanted to run down the lead with other employees and see if the restaurant had cameras to help identify the lady.

“And what about you? Did you hate her enough to hurt her?”

Ryan laughed. “She was a mediocre mother at best. I think she secretly hated me. If I hadn't come along, she probably could have kept seeing David. But I ruined that for her.”

If Ryan wasn’t so deplorable, Trey might actually feel sorry for him.

Ryan threw down some cash on the counter and whistled at the bartender. “One of these days, Rita.” He winked at her and she visibly tensed. Trey made a mental note to speak to the owner about getting a bouncer to keep the bartenders safe.

Trey laid down his cash as well and followed Ryan out the back door. Trey welcomed the fresh air. The stench of cigarettes and alcohol was bringing on a headache.

Before Ryan walked away, Trey asked, “Did you have anything to do with your mother's disappearance?”

Ryan turned around. “No. But I wish I would have.”

The hair on Trey’s nape stood upright. Ryan was a creep.

Trey had one last question, “Where were you the night Morgan Gallagher was killed?”

Ryan grinned ear to ear. “I was with our little Princess.”

Flashes of Ryan hurting Hailey raced through Trey’s mind. Rage filled him as he envisioned her screams, body bleeding at the hands of the man who stood in front of him. He could have lost Trinity.

He looked around and saw they were alone. He pulled his fist back and connected with Ryan’s jaw. Blood spattered all over Trey but he didn't care. Ryan was startled, but then quickly threw a punch at Trey. This time, Trey was ready, and he ducked. He knocked Ryan in the stomach and brought him to his knees. He smacked Ryan, Ryan’s head lopping to the side as blood dripped from his lip.

“That was for Hailey,” Trey hissed as he wiped Ryan’s blood from his hands.

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