Page 31 of Deceiving Grier

Grier turned to me and explained, “Finn has a five-year-old son who he shares custody with Will’s grandparents.”

“Your parents?” I asked.

Finn shook his head. “No, my ex’s parents.”

“That’s unusual, isn’t it, to share custody with grandparents?”

Finn sighed. “Believe me, it’s a long story.”

“How’s that going?” Grier asked. “Are things getting any better with them?”

“I think so,” Alistair said. “When we dropped Will off last night, Helen spoke a full sentence to me. I guess that’s progress.”

“Don’t they like you?” I asked Alistair.

“They don’t likeme,” Finn said with a chuckle. “They blamed me for their daughter and me getting divorced.”

I wanted to know why his in-laws blamed him, what he’d done, but there was a fine line between idle chitchat and prying.

“Alistair’s right, though,” Finn continued. “The last few times we saw Bill and Helen, they haven’t been friendly, but they’re no longer openly hostile. So, it’s getting better, at least. I think with Shannon staying in France and having a new baby, Bill and Helen have finally accepted the situation.”

“Shannon must be due soon, isn’t she?” Grier asked.

“December,” Finn said.

“Will must be excited,” Jett said.

“Yeah, he is,” Alistair said. “He’s really looking forward to being a big brother, but I don’t think he understands that it’ll be a while before he can actually see the baby in person.”

“Maybe we could take him to France this summer for a vacation. We could rent a place. It would give Will a chance to see his mom and the new baby if that’s something you think you might want to do,” Finn said.

“Could we?” Alistair asked. “There are so many things we could do there. I think Will would love it.”

I thought Will would have preferred a trip to Disneyland instead of France, but I didn’t know the kid. Perhaps Will was a sophisticated five-year-old.

“How did you guys meet?” I asked, even though I sort of already knew the answer. But I was looking for a way to steer the conversation back to the other house and the fire.

“Back when we were renting the old place in The Square, Finn was doing some work around the house, getting it ready to sell,” Alistair said.

So, Greyson Mackenzie had been planning to sell the property, at least at first. What could have changed his mind between then and when the fire happened?

“I heard about what happened to you in the fire. That must have been terrifying,” I said tentatively.

“It wasn’tgreat,” Alistair agreed wryly. “I did save my cat, though.”

“You scared theshitout of all of us,” Grier said.

“It’s so random that someone chose your house to set on fire. It’s not exactly secluded being right there at an intersection. How no one saw anything is unbelievable.”

“You’re right. That house was a strange choice to set fire to,” Finn agreed.

“And the police have no leads?” I asked.

Finn’s polite smile faded. He watched me carefully. “What’s your interest?”

I shrugged. “No real interest. Journalism student after all. I’m just nosy by nature.”

“Right.” Finn nodded and shoveled in a mouthful of food. He sounded anything but convinced.

---