Chapter 24
Liam
The case files arestill in my truck, locked up, because I couldn’t leave them at the station. Scott never came by to go through them yesterday. He is going out on a limb for me, but he believes something in those files might help us catch him. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Why else would someone come after her?
Will Harper get upset with me for going through the files? Honestly, at this point, I don’t know, but I am trying to keep her out of it. She doesn’t need to be reminded of that day, or see the crime scene photos which are inside the files. It would break her.
Sleep hasn’t really been in the cards for me much lately, between her nightmares and my worry. It’s starting to get to me, not being able to concentrate, daydreaming, and never ending terror that something very bad is going to happen to Harper. If I can prevent it by going through these files, then what’s the harm? She would forgive me for lying to her, right?
“I’ll be off around seven. Come home, shower, and then we will go to dinner, okay?” I say, gauging if she still feels up to it.
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” she replies. “I’m just going to do some cleaning around the house. Keep myself busy.”
“Okay, just call me or Tessa if you need anything,” I say, before dipping out the door to head to the station.
Surely, Scott will stop by today since it’s his day off and we can finally dive into the files. He has to give them back to the detective, and I want enough time to go through them with a fine toothed comb before that happens.
On the drive over, I contemplate why anyone would want to kill her parents’? They seemed like average people, hard-working folks, paying their daughter’s way through college. However, that’s just what Harper has told me, and we all know there are always two sides to every story.
I must prepare myself that there is a chance something in these case files could change my perception of her, and not for the better. Let’s hope there’s no skeletons in her closet.
Damon is waiting for me as I walk inside, and ready to jump on me.
“What are you doing?”
“Here to work. Why else would I be here?”
“Don’t lie to me. Why is Scott here? Tell me what’s going on,” Damon says.
Will he understand or throw me under the bus to Tessa?
My hand on my hips, contemplating whether I should tell him. My brother has always had my back, and he might tell me I’m being an idiot, but at least that would be honest. I feel like one, going behind Harper’s back, but who knows if she would tell me not to look into it, but I won’t have peace of mind until I do.
“We are looking into her parents’ murderer.”
“What good is that going to do?”
“It’s the only person who might have a reason to hurt her, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll do anything to protect her. I have to.”
Damon runs his fingers through his hair, and starts to say something, but then puts his hand up. “Just remember, if she finds out, she won’t be happy. Keeping it a secret. Tread lightly.”
I don’t have a chance to respond before he walks away, and Scott is approaching me.
“We need to go through these files today. The detective called and wants them back by tomorrow afternoon.”
Fuck, that’s doesn’t give us adequate time. How the hell are we going to be able to go through all of this before I get off work?
“Well then, we better get started and stop wasting time.”
I get them out of my truck and we go into one of the rooms where we usually take naps and lock the door, opening the box and pulling out a stack of papers combined together.
“Where should we even start?” I ask.
“Let’s go through it together, it’s all marked so let’s start with the crime scene.”
Scott opens the folder of the crime scene, and starts laying photos out on the table. As a firefighter, I’ve seen dead bodies before, burnt to a crisp, but this is different. I try not to look at them, save myself from seeing the gruesome work of their killer, but I have to. This could help Harper’s case. I take a deep breath, and start looking at the photos. Her parents are on the floor, bludgeoned to death, blood everywhere. A part of me wonders if looking at the photos are necessary, but can’t overlook anything within this file. Someone missed something.
After Scott puts the array of photos displayed on the table, he starts to read the initial report from the scene, including that her mother and father were stabbed over thirty times.