The Frame-Up (The Golden Arrow #1)(48)

“You found—how could you know that?”

“We found a journal for an issue of THF that shows the Falcon retiring.”

Casey Junior’s face floods with color, and his hands move to grip the table. “You found a journal? Show it to me.” It was an order. A demand.

“We can’t share evidence—”

“If you want me to say another word, you show it to me.” Casey’s face is a dusky red, his voice shaking. I’ve never seen him unhinged like this. He is . . . furious? Scared? I can’t tell which.

Matteo doesn’t say a word but rises from his chair and exits the room.

My heart races a mile a minute, and I know Matteo is coming in here even before the door opens.

“We need that journal. There’s something here. Something he knows. Something he’s not willing to share for some reason.”

“It’s at my friend’s house,” I stammer. I hate using L’s name right after he was mentioned in the questioning.

“I’ll send an officer to go get it.”

Oh crap, oh crap. Not only have I not told Lawrence about the case or about telling Matteo I’ve seen the journal; now Matteo wants to go get it by force. My best friend won’t be my best friend anymore if that happens. I need to fix this. Lawrence would end up a suspect, and it would all be my fault. My mind flies to my messenger bag where I tucked the copies.

“How about the copies I have?”

Matteo’s eyebrows draw together over my withheld information, so I plunge ahead with my explanation. “We can just tell Casey that we can’t show him the whole journal, but this will prove we have it. I’ll ask to borrow the journal tonight and bring it to you tomorrow.”

Matteo thinks for a moment, then nods and accepts the copies before walking out the door, saying, “This will work in a pinch. Thanks.”

I wait with anxious breath for him to reappear on the TV screen.

“Interesting how much inside information you keep coming up with,” Rideout comments, not removing his eyes from the screen.

My stomach plummets. “Happy coincidence,” I manage to respond, following his lead and keeping my eyes on the screen.

“There are a lot of happy coincidences where you’re concerned—” Rideout continues but is interrupted by Matteo’s arrival back on the screen.

I didn’t miss the veiled accusation from Rideout and just pray he is the only one who thinks I am involved further. Matteo must know there’s no way I could actually be the Golden Arrow.

“Here are a few pages from the journal.” Matteo hands the photocopies over to Casey Junior, who studies them.

“Where did you find this? I’ve been looking for years for my father’s journals. Where are the rest of them? I need to see them. All of them.”

“We only have one. Are you telling me there are more?”

“Yes.” Casey Junior rubs his hand over his head so hard, he’d yank out hair if he had any. “Yes, and I need them. Where did you find this? It’s important.”

“Why have you been looking for the journals? To hide the fact that your father planned to stop a comic that put millions in your pocket?” Matteo drops the bomb like it’s no big deal, but Casey Junior explodes.

He stands up, knocking over his chair, and I think for a moment he’s going to rush Matteo. “I loved my father, and I didn’t know he was serious about ending the comics. I could never find his notes after he died to wrap up the story line. But this!” Casey Junior returns to the table and grabs the photocopies. “This proves that he had notes. Detective, you have to find them. The other journals. I don’t know how this ties in to your current case. Really and truly, I don’t. But these journals contain the identity of the person I think killed my father.”

Goose bumps race down my arm, and I gape at the TV screen. Killed his father?

Rideout, on the other hand, is in his element. Calm. Steely. “Chase it, Kildaire.”

“Murder? Mr. Casey, your father died of a heart attack.”

“That’s just what the police report says.” Casey Junior has regained some composure and sits back in his chair. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this at the beginning. It just sounds so ludicrous. I don’t expect anyone to ever believe it, but it’s my firm belief that my father was killed by the man he was following. The man he intended to write into his comic book as a villain. I’ve been searching his belongings for thirty years to find clues.”

Rideout grimaces. “Kildaire, this is starting to sound implausible. I suggest . . .” Then he throws the headset at the TV because Matteo has taken out his earpiece and leaned toward Casey.

“You believe your father was murdered? For writing a comic book?”

“Yes.”

“And that the police covered it up?”

“Yes.”

“And you think these journals hold the notes including the identity of the person who killed your father?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Casey, I have to ask . . . If you suspected murder, why didn’t you file a report?”

“I-I think it was a double agent. A cop he saw dealing drugs.” Casey runs his hands over his head, then places them back on the table. His eyes harden. “He was going to publish the cop’s real name when he unmasked the other superhero in the comic, but I could never prove it. I heard my dad and the kid arguing about it once, and I was afraid of coming forward without an identity or proof. In case . . . you know.”