Page 12 of Having HIs Back

“Damn you,” he said under his breath to whoever had cut his sister’s life short. “I really hope you rot in hell.” He missed her with every fiber of his being. The only bright spot in this entire ordeal was Brian and the fact that he seemed to know what needed to be done. Kerry had been floundering for days, but Brian would stop by, and suddenly, Kerry felt grounded once more.

Kerry knew it was a bad idea to count on anything from Brian. After all, it was likely that once the case was solved, Brian would move on to something else, and Kerry would find himself with a new life as the sole parent of Phillip and Henry. That was frightening. He might know all about children in a professional manner, but he had no practical experience raising them.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think too far into the future. All he could do was take things one day at a time. It was his primary job to love and care for Caroline’s children and to make sure they grew up knowing their mother loved them more than anything else. He tried to settle his mind, but it refused to stop running. Finally, after a few hours of tossing and turning, he managed to fall asleep.

When Kerry woke, twisted in the blanket, he tried to get off the sofa, but nearly fell to the floor as someone knocked on the front door. He managed to untwist his legs and got to the door, opening it to Brian, who had raised his hand to knock again.

“You look like you’re about to fall down,” Brian said. “I was on my way to work, and I thought I’d stop by to make sure you were okay after the way I left you last night. I know you have been under a great deal of strain, and today is only going to add to it.”

“Well, thank you.”

Brian checked his phone. “I need to get to the station, but if you need anything, call right away.” He nodded and turned away.

As much as Kerry needed to go inside, he didn’t move until Brian and the car were out of sight, because he just couldn’t look away.

ChapterSix

Sometimes, itwas amazing how time seemed to warp itself. It could seem to fly—a blink and a week was gone, two blinks and a year had passed. This was not one of those times. Everything seemed to take longer than it should, especially when he was waiting for test results that seemed lost in a bureaucratic queue for the last ten days.

“Can you help me get these tests bumped up?” Brian asked Captain Rogers as he stood in his doorway.

“I’ve already made a call this morning, and I made one yesterday. I keep getting the same damned answer: they will get to it. But there are other equally urgent cases in the line.” Even the captain was grinding his teeth at this one. “What else do you have?”

“Fuck all is what I have. This DNA is about all that the killer left. He seemed to know his way around and lured Caroline out to the garage. She definitely knew him, and if I can get this testing done, I can either eliminate my prime suspect or nail his ass to the wall.”

“What about the kid?” Sometimes, the captain could be a little too dispassionate, or maybe it was Brian who had lost some of his objectivity as far as Kerry, Henry, and Phillip were concerned. Most nights, he lay awake, thinking of the promises he made to Kerry and hoping like hell he could deliver, just to see the man smile every now and then. If anyone deserved some answers and closure, it was Kerry and those boys.

Brian stifled a growl. “Henry is six, and he’s a traumatized little boy who lost his mom and had his world turned upside down.” Fuck it all to hell, he hated what they were going to haveto do. “We have a session booked with a child psychology center in two days, and we’re hoping that they can help him give words to what happened. We’re not even sure he saw anything.” All he could do was pray that Henry might have information that could help them.

“But you think he did?” He picked up a file from his desk, like he was coming to the end of the topic.

“His uncle does, and I tend to as well.” He just wished they knew for sure, but in investigations like this, nothing was sure until it was proven. Sometimes, you had a to do a little fishing to find the answers you needed. He just wished it didn’t involve Henry.

“They aren’t going to hurt him, just try to get him to talk about what happened,” Captain Rogers said, rolling his eyes.

“No. They’re just going to ask him to talk about the morning his mother died.” He thanked the captain for his help and left the office, checking the time before getting back to his cases. He had other crimes to solve apart from this one, but the others hadn’t gotten under his skin like this one, and the others affected weren’t keeping him awake at night the way Kerry was. He kept seeing those eyes in his mind as soon as he closed his eyes, and more than once, he’d wondered what Kerry’s full lips tasted like. But there was not a damned thing he could do about any of the thoughts that raced through his head. On top of terrible timing, Kerry was all turned around, and Brian knew that pursuing someone who had just lost their sister and found themselves as a new parent was the worst idea ever. Still, none of that mattered to his mind and his heart.

Brian had just pulled his mind out of its hamster wheel when his phone rang. He snatched it off the desk. “Yeah.”

“Brian….”

He would recognize that voice in the middle of a hurricane. “Kerry. What’s wrong?”

“He’s trying to sue for custody of Phillip.” Kerry sounded breathless and panicked. “Charles Westerly served me with papers saying that Phillip is his son and that he wants custody of him.” He sounded as though he was about to completely lose it.

“Okay. Hold on. I’ll be over as soon as I can. Just be calm and let me look into this.” He grabbed the file and pulled it open. “In the meantime, you should look into a lawyer.”

“I think that asshole came to the funeral home so he could make sure Caroline was dead and then try to take Phillip. This whole thing is a mess, and I can’t let Phillip go with him. He just lost his mom, and now some stranger is going to try to take him away.”

“It’s okay. Just breathe, and let’s take things one step at a time. Paperwork would have to be filed in family court, and I can make sure that they are aware that Charles is a person of interest that we have been trying to contact. That will buy us some time, because they are going to want a resolution before they let anything move ahead. I’ll be there just as soon as I can.” He ended the call and made another.

“Family Court Services, this is Linda.”

“Hey,” he said with a smile. “How are you?”

“Well….” She chuckled. “If it isn’t the man who used to pull my hair and call me names.” She laughed.

“As I recall, you gave it right back.” He and Linda grew up next door to one another. “I need a favor. There’s a new case for custody of Phillip Sutherland. Would have been filed in the last few days.” He waited as she typed. “I know you can’t tell me much, and I don’t need you to. Just wanted the court to know that the man pursuing the case is a person of interest in the murder of Phillip’s mother. We’re waiting on DNA as well as other evidence.”

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