Page 91 of Reading Between the Lines
Diem continued to stare at the iPad. I had a mind to tear it from his hands and see for myself.
“Diem, do not go into incommunicado mode. You know how I feel about that.”
He scratched the thick scruff covering his jaw and shook his head. “I asked Delaney about the girlfriend. She claims she had no idea where Londyn lived. She only knew her as a flighty girl Weston met at school. The Mandels moved to this town less than five years ago, so they haven’t been in the area long enough to get the lay of it. They don’t know everyone like most residents might.
“Delaney met Londyn twice, both times when Weston brought her to the house. Delaney said the two hadn’t been dating long, and no matter how much she poked and prodded, her son wasn’t eager to share details about his first girlfriend with his mother.
“When I told her Londyn lived in a three-story house on Hope Street, and her property backed onto the woods and trail, she told me I was wrong. She claimed only two properties butted close to the trail. The Wilsons in the beige brick house on the corner, and the Abercrombies next door in the three-story house with the white siding.”
I frowned. “Wait. Abercrombie? As in—”
“Hugh fucking Abercrombie.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. We saw the twins coming out of—”
“I know.” Diem turned the computer. “They’re his fucking kids.”
22
Diem
Tallus seemed too shocked to argue or notice when I snagged the half-empty bottle of whiskey from the bedside table instead of drinking the lukewarm coffee from the carafe. The liquor worked wonders to blanket the pain coursing through my shoulder and neck every time I moved. Mixed with a few painkillers, I hoped I could continue this godforsaken investigation.
“Hold on a freaking minute.” Tallus held the iPad, squinting his gorgeous hazel eyes at the screen like he wasn’t wearing his glasses. “He’s their father?”
“Yep.”
“The English teacher.”
“Yep.”
“Hugh Abercrombie the English teacher.”
“Yes, Tallus.”
A property search had proven Delaney correct. The three-story white house where we’d seen the twins come and go belongedto Hugh Abercrombie. Delaney had claimed Londyn’s last name was Brydges, which had thrown me off, but a quick search in the right places gave me answers.
Hugh Abercrombie was or had been in a relationship with a woman named Sonya Brydges. I found no record to confirm they were married, but it wasn’t unusual for couples to live as common law these days. The twins were clearly a result of that relationship and had been given their mother’s last name.
Tallus removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. Let me get this straight. The twins have a secret hideout in the woods, where evidence suggests they hold secret club meetings. A member of this secret club winds up in the river under suspiciously similar circumstances to a story the club was working to perfect. Hence, it’s not far-fetched to think someone else in the club could be responsible for Weston’s…accident.”
“Yep.”
“Do you think Hugh knows Loyal is running a secret writing club in the woods? Essentially inhiscabin?”
“I don’t know. When we mentioned to the twins that we knew about the location, Londyn got panicky, remember?”
“I do.”
Tallus flipped the iPad screen back to the Notes app. “Who do we know is in this club for sure? Londyn and Loyal are a given.”
“Duke, who seems to harbor a crush on Londyn.”
Tallus stared into the middle distance. “Do you think there might have been a rivalry between him and Weston?”
“Maybe.”
Tallus jotted it down. “What was the girl’s name who was hanging off Loyal’s arm at the diner?”
