Page 42 of When You're Safe

“I can seethat my powers of persuasion would not work on you, Frau Wolf.” Finn smiled.

Winters leanedin, her voice low and steady. “Frau Wolf, we need to know about Quentin’s will.Who might benefit from it?”

Frau Wolfstraightened her posture, her steely eyes regarding Winters coolly. “That,Detective, is deeply personal family business,” she replied curtly.

Winters wasn’tone to be easily deterred. “With respect, Frau Wolf,” she began, her voicegaining an edge of intensity, “there are lives on the line. More DeGreys couldbe targeted if we don’t get ahead of this.”

Frau Wolf’slips pursed into a thin line. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I cannot divulgethat information.”

Finn observedthe exchange, then intervened with a softer approach. “Frau Wolf,” he began,his voice almost a whisper, “how deeply do you care for the DeGrey family?”

She looked athim, the ice in her eyes briefly thawing, replaced by a hint of pain. “They’remy family. I love them.”

“Did you loveMaggie?” Finn’s question hung heavily in the air.

Frau Wolf blinkedrapidly, her composure cracking for a brief moment. “Yes,” she whispered, hervoice filled with emotion.

Finn leaned incloser, locking eyes with her. “I can see your pain, Frau Wolf. Her loss is aterrible one, but I can tell there may be one that would cut even deeper. Ineed you to think. Think of that one member of the DeGrey family you couldn’tbear to lose.”

She opened hermouth to protest, but Finn pressed on, watching her every reaction. “Imaginethat person, your favorite, lying cold and lifeless because we couldn’t preventanother tragedy. Imagine seeing their face, their eyes once filled with life,now vacant and still.”

As Finnpainted the grim picture, he noticed Frau Wolf’s hand tighten around herhandkerchief, her eyes glossing over with tears. She tried to hide it, but Finnsaw her flinch when he mentioned lifeless eyes.

“Please,” Finn’svoice broke slightly, “I can’t bear to see another life taken when it couldhave been prevented. Tell us what we need to know. Let us save the ones you love.”

Frau Wolflooked down, and for the first time since their conversation began, a tearrolled down her cheek. With a shaky breath, she patted her eyes with her handkerchief.“Enough!” she exclaimed.

She took amoment to regain her composure before she finally spoke, her voice filled withresignation. “If it means saving more lives, then so be it. There are fivemembers of the DeGrey family mentioned in Quentin’s will: Morgan, Nathaniel,Francis, Elizabeth, and Lloyd.”

Finn noddedsolemnly, letting the weight of her revelation sink in. The stakes had justbeen raised.

For a briefmoment, amidst the revelations and heightened emotions, Finn caught a fleetinglook in Winters’s eyes. It was a look of admiration, perhaps even respect. Hereyes, which always seemed so sharp and focused, now had a soft twinkle underthe soft glow of the yellow hall lights. For a second, he allowed himself todrift, thinking that in another time, in another life, he might have asked herto dance right there in that grand hall, with its ancient walls echoing talesof romance and passion from centuries gone by.

But the momentwas interrupted by the shrill ring of Winters’s phone. She swiftly pulled itfrom her pocket, and Finn watched as her face went from composed to visiblyconcerned.

He couldn’thear the words said on the other end of the line, but the color slowly drainingfrom Winters’s face was evidence enough that whatever news she received wasgrave. Her voice, though still composed, had a tremor as she quietly thankedthe caller and hung up.

There was aheavy pause, an ominous silence that settled over the room like a thick fog.Finally, she looked up, her eyes brimming with sorrow, to address Frau Wolf.

“I’m so sorry,Frau Wolf,” Winters said, her voice barely above a whisper, “but NathanielDeGrey… he’s been found dead, just fifteen minutes ago.”

A sharp intakeof breath filled the hall, followed by a piercing wail of grief from theelderly lady. Finn felt as if the ground had been ripped from under his feet.It was one thing to discuss hypothetical scenarios, and quite another to facethe grim reality of yet another murder.

Despite the overwhelmingpain, there was a strength in Frau Wolf that Finn couldn’t help but admire.Within moments, she managed to pull herself together, her deep-set eyes nowholding a look of determination mixed with desperation. She reached out,holding Finn’s hand, her grip firm despite her frailty. “Promise me,” sheimplored, her voice breaking, “promise me you’ll catch this monster, this evilcreature who’s tearing my family apart.”

Finn nodded,squeezing her hand reassuringly. “I promise, we will do everything we can.”

But as he metWinters’s eyes, he felt a sinking sensation. Despite his words of reassurance,both knew the chilling truth—in this dark and treacherous game, there were noguarantees.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The night feltthick with apprehension and mystery as Finn and Winters made their way out ofthe DeGrey estate, driving through a winding road that took them deeper intothe English countryside. Thirty minutes later, the dim glow of the Hopkins Farmappeared in the distance. It wasn’t an ordinary farm; it was one of the manyestates owned by the DeGrey family. Rumored to have been acquired during theheight of the British Empire, it was currently mostly uninhabited, save for thecaretaker and his family who looked after an eighteenth-century manse high on ahill overlooking the farmland.

Finn knew itwould have looked cozy in the sunlight, but given the dark shadows of night hadfallen, and that a dead body was inside that place, it took on an altogethermore menacing atmosphere.

The manse atHopkins Farm was a testament to the former grandeur of the DeGrey family whenthe British Empire had expanded around the world. Built with rich red stonesthat had darkened with age, it commanded attention. The conservatory attachedto the southern wing, with its glass walls and intricate iron framework, was a starkcontrast to the solid, stoic nature of the manse.

As Finn’s carcrunched up the gravel driveway, the faint light emanating from theconservatory suggested that someone was already there. As they pulled up in frontof the grand entrance, the tall, imposing figure of the Hopkins Farm caretakermet them, his face ashen, lit by an old paraffin lamp that he carried.

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