Page 23 of Sweet Revenge
A subtle but meaningful shift in loyalty and the hierarchy of the Callahan clan. As Declan moved to stand behind his chair at the head of the table, he caught Aidan sliding in at the last minute, barely thirty seconds to spare, and sent him a warning glance.
“I know the rumor mill has been churning over what happened to O’Brian and Mary Elizabeth,” he began. “I was planning on telling you this was all a random burglary so we could put the rumors to bed. Turns out there might be more to those rumors after all.”
He waited for the murmurs to fade. “I want to know what you’ve heard. Then I’ll tell you what I know.”
Colin Maguire spoke first. “My youngest, Kevin, cleaned the crime scene. Said it looked like murder.”
“Why?” Declan’s tone was level. He didn’t want to give anything away.
“Too much blood.”
Not exactly foolproof logic. “And if I told you it was a murder-suicide?” He could see the disbelief on their faces.
“Was it?” Rory McBride asked.
Declan spread his hands, palms up. “Hypothetically.”
“Then I’d have to say bullshit,” Mick Donahue spat. He and O’Brian had been close. “O’Brian loved Mary Elizabeth and his girls, and he wouldn’t hurt any of them.”
“I agree,” Declan said and watched some of the tension visibly drain from the room. “Because yesterday both Nessa and Evie found these messages on their bathroom mirrors.”
He pulled up side-by-side photos of the big red letters on his tablet and held them up.
“What kind of cryptic bullshit is that?” McBride demanded.
“The kind that means this was definitely a hit.”
Declan nodded at Donahue. “Does anyone know if O’Brian had beef with somebody? If he’d changed his routine? Anything that gives us a place to start.”
When no one spoke, Declan sighed. “People do not fuck with our people and get away with it. So take this back to your families, put them on alert, and if you hear something, I expect to be your first call.”
He met each gaze in turn, waiting for their nod of understanding before dismissing them.
“I don’t like that we’re shooting into the dark here,” Finn said once they all filed out.
“Neither do I. I want to call Maura’s sister, Reagan, in to look at the scene. She works as a forensics tech for PPD, and she might be able to see something we didn’t.”
“Think that’ll really work?” Aidan wondered.
“I don’t know, but it’s better than nothing.”
ChapterThirteen
By the time Declan picked her up early Friday morning, Evie was restless. With the revelation that her parents’ murder might have been planned—or at least personal—she was anxious to figure out who and why. She’d tried to coax more information out of William over the phone, but he stubbornly refused to share anything unless it was in person.
Evie had considered making a run up to New York by herself instead of waiting for Declan but decided against it. She was probably going to need his help, though she hoped to avoid it. Still, there was no need to antagonize the man unnecessarily.
When she climbed into the passenger side of Declan’s Range Rover, he handed her a large coffee and a brown paper bag.
“Good morning to you too.”
“I figured you hadn’t eaten. You always skip breakfast when you’re nervous.”
“I was going to eat on the train,” she lied. It was unnerving for him to know her so well even after all these years.
He grunted, pulling away from the curb. “You should eat.”
She sipped her coffee instead. “I really can manage this by myself, you know. I’m just going up to—where are you going?” She demanded when he passed the turn for the train station.
