Page 16 of Blood on the Rocks

Something waffled in her mind, like a leaking faucet dripped one drop at a time in the same spot over and over again. It told her that she was on to something, but she just didn’t know what that was. Maybe if she could get her hands on those books...

She grabbed her nearby cell phone and quickly dialed Simon’s number. Thankfully, he answered on the third ring.

“Mr. Spade?” Seraphina began. “It’s Seraphina Hanson, Ken’s granddaughter.”

“Oh yes, hello,” he said in a friendly tone. “Please, call me Simon. How are doing?”

“I’m getting by, thank you,” Seraphina said. Before he could comment on her response, she pushed ahead, not wanting to dwell on how she was feeling because talking about it never made her feel any better. “I was hoping to set up an appointment with you, if possible, actually. I wanted to compare my grandfather’s financial book for this season with the one you have just to get a better idea of what he planned to do with the team.”

“Oh, of course, of course,” he said. “What a great idea. I’m surprised I didn’t think of it. Yes, absolutely. Can we do Friday at one o’clock in the afternoon?”

“Yes, that works. Would you like me to meet you anywhere?”

“Oh no, no, no. I’ll drop off the books for you at your office at Sea Side.”

“Perfect, thank you very much.”

When she got off the phone, Seraphina felt much better than she had before she made the call. Once she got Simon’s books, surely there would be answers. Or, at least, more answers than what she had now. She leaned back in her chair, hoping to give her mind a little peace before resuming her work. Instead of trying to figure out what her grandfather wanted, she decided to try and learn more about the game and more about the players. When she reached out to grab Hockey for Dummies, the sight of her grandfather’s planner stopped her. How could she not have thought about this before? Perhaps Papa would write his thoughts in his planner since he didn’t keep a journal. She grabbed the planner and relaxed in her chair, pulling her knees up and resting the book on her thighs. Instead of focusing on the dates, she decided she’d rather flip through the pages, looking for notes. But after a quick search, she was left empty-handed once again. There were no side notes or anything, just appointments.

Okay... Well, might as well start with the obvious. She flipped back to August 22, a Sunday. The day of her grandfather’s death.

Interestingly enough, there was an appointment marked there... with Brandon Thorpe at six o’clock that evening. Seraphina had found him just before seven thirty. She wasn’t surprised that her meeting with Papa wasn’t marked; it was something between the two of them, informal, casual. Most of the time, it was last minute, impromptu sort of thing. But it did surprise her that it was likely the last person to see her grandfather alive – besides, of course, his killer – was Brandon Thorpe.

Why didn’t he mention that to her?

Had the police found this out? Surely they must have because they returned his planner to her. Had they questioned him? Seraphina didn’t know; she doubted it. He was still at every practice and Henry hadn’t mentioned anything. But if Brandon Thorpe hadn’t told her about this meeting, he might not be so forthcoming about being questioned by the police.

Did knowing this cause her feelings for Brandon to change? Did she still believe so adamantly that he didn’t do it?

Yes... ?

She should probably call him and ask him about it directly. Like, now, so she wouldn’t have to think too much about it.

Flipping open her phone, she dialed the number next to Thorpe’s name in Papa’s book. With every ring, Seraphina’s heart pounded harder and harder.

“Hello?”

“Um, Mr. Thorpe? It’s Seraphina Hanson.” He did remember who she was, right?

“Oh, yeah. Is everything okay?” His voice was cool, calm, revealing absolutely nothing.

“Yeah, I just had a couple of questions, if you don’t mind,” she said. “I’m looking at my grandfather’s planner and it says that he scheduled a meeting with you at six the twenty-second of August.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the day her grandfather died; it felt too accusatory, too rude, and too soon. “It doesn’t actually say what that meeting was for, though, and I was just wondering if maybe you could tell me.”

“Um...” He let his voice trailed off, and Seraphina felt herself hold her breath. She had no idea why she was nervous; she had every right to ask him about this. “Listen, I’m actually heading to dinner right now. Could you meet me? We can talk about everything there.”

“Oh.” Well, that threw her off. She blinked once, twice. “Yeah. Where?”

“Jack’s Burgers. It’s a small Mom-and-Pop burger joint.”

“I know it.”

When she got off the phone, Seraphina dashed up to her bathroom in order to shower. She threw on jeans and a t-shirt, ran a brush through her hair before grabbing her keys and heading out the door. She knew the place Brandon was talking about. When she was younger, her grandfather would take her and her sister down there Saturday afternoons. It had two televisions and enough space for no more than forty people. Waitresses came and went – usually high school girls who needed money – but the owners knew Seraphina and her family by name. In fact, Jack Dawson, the owner, actually called the sisters personally in order to offer his condolences.

Seraphina was actually surprised that the guy asking for more money knew about a small dive like Jack’s Burgers. It wasn’t long before she arrived. The place was nearly empty, save for a couple of regulars sitting at the bar. Brandon was already there, off to the corner of the room, as far away from the inhabitants as possible. When she reached him, she took a seat at the table across from him.

“To answer your question,” Brandon began, diving in directly instead of beginning with expected small talk, “the reason we were meeting was to talk about my contract.”

The waitress interrupted the two of them, asking for their order. Brandon ordered a cheeseburger and a side of fries with Coke. Seraphina ordered the same thing, except she substituted the Coke with an ice water.

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