Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(110)

“It’s not the damn car I care about!” Holiday seethed, and she wrapped her arms around her. “You don’t do this to people who love you!”

Della rested her head on her shoulder for a few seconds before pulling away.

“I know what happened now,” Della said.

“Happened?”

Della nodded. “The night Bao Yu died. My dad didn’t kill her. Well, not … really. He wanted to help her. He found her and she was trying to pull the knife out of her chest. He did it for her. And that’s the last thing she remembered.”

Holiday sighed. “Does she know?”

“I think so. I don’t know if she believes it yet.”

“If that’s what really happened, she’ll realize it now.”

Holiday stepped back and looked at her. “You’re exhausted. Have you fed at all today?”

Della shook her head.

“Do you have some blood in your cabin’s fridge?”

Della nodded.

“Then go feed and get some sleep. Kylie and Miranda are worried sick about you, but don’t let them keep you up too late. Burnett said he’d talk to you in the morning.”

Della had barely stepped off the front porch when two cars pulled into the parking lot. One of them was a police car with its lights flashing.

*

At almost ten o’clock, at least six agents moved around the house. Chase kept his mouth shut and let Burnett do all the talking. When one agent asked how they’d found the crime scene, Burnett said he could read it in his report later. What they needed to do now was collect and find any evidence.

Thankfully Burnett’s order wasn’t questioned. Chase still didn’t know how Burnett was going to explain it.

So far, nothing appeared in Powell’s home to prove he was part of the council. But since Burnett had known Powell’s full name, someone at the FRU would probably put it together.

Wearing gloves, Chase helped two agents go through a desk off the back of the kitchen. He found an address book. When he flipped through it, he found Eddie’s old addresses. Not wanting them looking into him, he almost attempted to pull the page, then decided against it and bagged the whole thing for evidence. Even if they went there, they wouldn’t find anything.

The agent in charge of removing the body estimated that the murder had happened about seventy-two hours ago. That meant Powell had probably died the same day Chase had seen him.

The fact that Powell was probably killed by his own son made Chase feel a little sorrier for the old guy. Did Stone know his old man had turned on him?

“Chase?” Burnett called to him from another room.

Chase walked out and when he saw the look on the man’s face, he knew something else was wrong.

Burnett was ending a call on his phone. He turned to Trisha. “We’ve got something we need to handle elsewhere. Can you take over?”

“I got it.”

As they left the house, Burnett muttered, “The cops are at the school questioning Della.”

Chase’s chest filled with hot anger. If she learned her father had turned her in it might just break her heart. And if that happened, Chase just might have to break something of her father’s. Preferably his neck.

*

Holiday had sent Della to wait in one of the conference rooms housed in the main office cabin, with strict orders to stay put. Then she’d heard Holiday walk out to the parking lot to talk to the police.

It was just far enough away that Della couldn’t hear what was being said. She almost went outside, but considering she’d already disobeyed the woman once today, she decided against it.

A short time later, footsteps moved inside. A crazy thought hit. Were they here about her?

Two cops walked in and sat across from her at the table. Holiday sat beside her. One of them must have been a detective, because he was wearing a suit; the other wore a uniform.

“Ms. Tsang.” The detective introduced himself and the other officer.

“Yes,” Della inhaled, her heart hammering in her chest. She wondered if this was about the hospital breakin. Then another thought hit. Had Holiday called them when she took her car? No, she wouldn’t.

“We’re here about Mr. and Mrs. Chi. Are you aware of what happened to them?” the guy in the suit asked.

Holiday’s palm rested on Della’s hand, offering her some calm.

Calm that Della didn’t want. What she wanted was to understand. She pulled her hand down in her lap. “Yes, I’m aware.” She looked at Holiday and then back at the cops.

“Why are you asking me about this?” Della leaned in.

The dark-haired heavy-set uniformed guy sneered at her. He didn’t have a pretty face, and sneering just made it worse.

“I think you might be confused,” he said. “We didn’t come here for you to ask us questions. We came to ask you questions. And you can play nice and answer them or we can take you in. Ever been in jail, Miss Tsang? It’s not a nice place.”

Della’s breath caught.

“Just answer them,” Holiday said in a calm voice. But Della saw the fury glittering in the woman’s eyes. This time, there was no concern or love mingled with it. Just plain ol’ fury. And it wasn’t targeting Della.

Della recalled hearing Holiday call Burnett before the policemen had left their cars. Their dialogue had been quick. “The police are here.” It was almost as if she’d been expecting them.