Chapter Four

Reporters crowed around the edge of the police tape.

“Well, I gave a short and completely factual statement to the reporters so we can expect a conspiracy by tomorrow.” Kacey walked towards her partner.

“Not all reporters are skeevy or manipulative.”

“And you only say that cause you’re dating one, Dinah.”

Dinah snorted and stepped out of the way of two officers who were walking back to the patrol cars.

“Jace barely counts as a reporter. His website has 76 views per post...maybe.” Her eyes squinted a bit at the corners giving her speculative look before she relaxed her face and continued walking towards her car. “See it’s the job of a reporter or journalist to sell a story, a viewpoint. They report the world as they see it through their lens. It’s why I take my news from multiple sources. It allows me to get a...more....I’d like to say a reasonable point of view.”

Kacey opened the passenger door and looked at Dinah above the top of the car. “And that’s why I-”

A hand wrapped around Kacey’s bicep and nails dug into her arm.

Two officers started to move towards the group after Kacey’s shocked shout. They stopped a few feet away, waved off by Detective Carter who had walked to the other side of the car and around the passenger door to Kacey’s side.

“Fuck! Who...oh Miss Di’Ode. What made...why the fuck did you do that?!” Detective Castello had her hand in front of her putting space between her and the daughter of the late Mr. Di’Ode.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wanted to get your attention.” Josephine’s quiet and deep voice brought goosebumps to Castello’s arms with the nervousness and eerie coldness that came with it. The young woman’s dyed red hair caught and reflected some of the flashing blue lights from the police car and the yellow-white light that shined down on them from the street lights.

“I wanted to tell you something but I didn’t want to say it in front of my mom or that prick my dad was in business with.” Carter took Josephine lightly by the arm and moved her a little further away from Castello.

Josephine’s eyes seemed roll without her really thinking about having an attitude with it just happened on instinct.

“Whatever.” She pulled out her phone and started to swipe through her recordings, “Ever since my brother’s disappearance, stuff...has started happening a bit more regularly. People have come by the house and threatened dad which isn’t entirely unusual.”

Both detectives raised their eyes.

“Who has come by the house and threatened your dad? How exactly did they threaten your dad?” Detective Carter’s voice turned from the calm and measured tones it had been in most of the night to stern and questing voice that pressured Miss Di’ Ode to start talking.

Her shoulders tensed up and she tugged her dark blue coat closer to her skin. Words started to rush as she made in haste to explain what she had meant and to just get what she was trying to say in the first place over with. “My dad is a defense attorney. He defends many people some deserve it some don’t. Those that don’t can be...shady people who will pay a lot of money for someone who understands criminal law to be a loyal and discreet lap dog. When they are disappointed they throw major hissy fits to send a message.”

“Are you calling your brother’s disappearance the consequence of a hissy fit?”

“No...not entirely.”

“Do you have proof of this because if you do you could be charged with withholding information.”

“Look, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had him holed up and were waiting for my dad perform some fucking show of loyalty just to get their attention. To be even more honest I wouldn’t be surprised if they killed dear old dad before he could fulfill his end of whatever dumb deal they had him tied up in.”

“Miss Di’Ode if you have any clue as to who has your brother or who killed your father please tell us to know because not only is it in your best interest to tell us what you know but we want to find your brother and whoever killed your father just as much as you do.” Dinah leaned forward a bit causing Josephine to step back from the two a bit more than she already was in an effort to put distance of more than just space between her and the emphatic detective.

“Josephine! Get in the car!” Kacey and Dinah both turned to look at the man who called out for the young woman. Kacey recognized him as the man she had questioned earlier in the night, Madoc Parson, a criminal defense attorney who was the deceased, Kieran Di’Ode’s business partner. Dinah only saw a man in a fancy suit with a big bridged and bulbous tipped nose and slicked-back hair that looked way too greasy to be sanitary.

Dinah’s top lip pulled back in a mixture of discomfort and disgust, “Gross.” Her voice barely audible wasn’t able to catch the attention of either Kacey or Josephine who were more focused on what he was saying.

“I have to go but if you are going to look for suspects there was a guy my dad was about to represent, Aiden Sparks, who might know some of the bigger fish my dad was dealing with.” She gave the two detectives an almost uncertain look like she was unsure of how effective the two professionals who’d be at doing their jobs before running off to join her companion.

“So, that was a lot...:

“And not it feels like.”

“Yep...” Kacey pressed her lips together before ducking and stepping inside the car silently signaling for her partner to do the same.

Both car doors closed and the two just looked at the dashboard for a while the muffled noise of crackling voices from the radio the noise in the car beside the slight hum from the transmission and the sound of one of Dinah’s trinkets hanging from her mirror clinking against pine tree air freshener.

“Aiden Sparks...let’s add that to the list of people we need to talk to.” Dinah drove slowly through the people and police cars that we slowly trickling out of the scene.

“So we are starting our list”

“Please our list started the minute we found out she was head of the New York branch of the FBI

Silence filled the car.

“Withholding information?”

“Shut up.”