Page 37 of Critical Doubt

"Cancer. It was fast. She was only sick for about six months. I was devastated. She was my primary parent. My dad was gone all the time. It was her and me. We were the home team. At least Tyler still has his primary parent with him."

"That's something," he muttered.

"So, why did you want to leave so quickly?" she asked as they got into the car. "Did Tanner say something to you?"

"He did." His mouth drew into a tight line. "He told me that he was glad to have a minute with me alone, because he wanted to say something to me man-to-man, soldier-to-soldier."

"Which was what?"

"The reason he doesn't want you involved in the investigation is because he wants to protect Abby. He believes that Paul's death was suicide, and if the life insurance company finds out, they won't pay her the benefits she'll need to survive. He's afraid that if you dig into Todd's disappearance, that will also put a spotlight on Paul's death. And that could be disastrous."

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to say that," she said with surprise.

"He also told me that Paul had confided in him over the past few months how bad he was feeling, how depressed he was about his inability to find work that would be of value to the family, and apparently there were also financial problems. Paul hadn't just been drinking the past year, he'd also been gambling. Tanner believes that Paul jumped off that roof. I said I couldn't see him doing that, but maybe I'm the one who can't see what's right in front of me."

"It's certainly something we have to consider. But putting Paul's death aside for a minute, I now don't believe Todd killed himself. A suicide wouldn't lead to his house being set on fire. There's something else going on, and we have to figure out what it is, because it might change the circumstances of Paul's death, too. What if neither one of them killed themselves? What if someone else did? What if they pushed Paul off the roof and forced Todd off the road and into the river?"

His gaze narrowed on her face, but he didn't immediately dismiss her suggestions as ludicrous, which they might be.

"Okay, let's say both those things happened," he said. "Why would they come back and set fire to the house? Wouldn't that just draw everyone's attention and make Todd's accident look suspicious?"

She frowned at his undeniable logic. "Yes."

"So…"

"We need more information."

"Tanner did tell me something else. He said they're still going through Todd's vehicle, but there's no sign that there was a problem with the brakes or any other mechanical failure."

"He was certainly more forthcoming with you than with me."

Ryker gave her a faint smile. "He said you'd always been a shit-stirrer, but he wanted me to know that he's doing everything that needs to be done."

"Well, how reassuring," she said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "But just because Tanner had his man-to-man, soldier-to-soldier talk with you doesn't mean I'll back off. I'm going to get to the truth. It's what I do. It's actually something I'm really good at."

His smile broadened, crinkling the corners of his mouth, bringing a new light to his eyes and reminding her once again of the man she'd found so completely irresistible five years ago.

"I like your confidence," he said. "And I never thought you would back off. I told him that I have no control over what you're going to do."

"Good answer."

"I also told him that regardless of what happened with Paul, we still need to find Todd. Because if he somehow survived the crash, he's no doubt in some kind of trouble."

"Maybe he didn't come back to his house, because he was afraid someone would come after him again. He could be hiding."

"Agreed."

"Paul and Todd were living together the last three weeks. They could have both gotten into trouble gambling. Perhaps they owed someone money. Although, that wouldn't explain the fire. That seems more like a cover-up or a personal attack or something." She stopped abruptly, a new thought running through her head. "We told the firefighters there was no one in the house, but we didn't go upstairs. What if Todd was there? What if he was unconscious when the fire started?"

Ryker's lips tightened into a grim line. "Damn. I don't want to think that."

"Sorry. My mind is running through all the possible scenarios. But with the explosion, we couldn't have gotten into the house, Ryker. We couldn't have saved anyone."

"Maybe we should go back to the scene."

"They won't know anything yet."

"We still need to let someone know we didn't go upstairs. I'll call Tanner."

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