then Judith cleared her throat.
“I thought you were supposed to be out of town,” Judith said. “Some conference?”
“Fell through. The boss got sick at the last minute and we had commercial accounts to be delivered this week.”
“I see,” Judith said. “Look, I know how you felt about your father and I’m not about to try to change your mind. The past is what it is and he’s dead and gone now and nothing could change any of it anyway. But I wish you’d consider forgiving him. For yourself. Living with a grudge is hard work. I had one for my daddy and it weighed on me until it almost broke me. I don’t want that to happen to you, Liam. You’re the closest thing to a son I’ve ever had and ever will. I don’t want you carrying that burden around like I did for so long.”
“I know you don’t,” Liam said. “You’re the only person who’s ever cared about me except my grandma. But I still don’t know that I can get there. Hell, he’s causing me more trouble dead than he did alive.”
“What do you mean?” Judith asked.
“The cops have come twice already—once to my house, once to the business. They asked to search both places. I let them search my house but said they have to have a warrant for the business or permission from the owner.”
“You shouldn’t have let them search your house,” Judith said.
“What difference did it make? There’s nothing here to find. Nothing at the butcher shop either but since I don’t own it, I can’t say what’s done there, even though the owner will agree to anything to keep the shop’s name out of the papers. And even if he doesn’t, they’ll just come back with a search warrant anyway.”
“Is your boss giving you any trouble?”
“He’s not happy. He hasn’t said anything about firing me or cutting out of our deal, but the bad publicity something like this might bring could put him out of business. If my name heats up with the cops, he won’t have a choice.”
“Oh, Liam. I’m so sorry,” Judith said, her distress clear.
“It just pisses me off. What the heck do they think—that my father screwed me over years ago, so I waited this long to get back at him? And what sort of revenge was that anyway? He would have loved being the center of attention. I bet there’s not a person in Sinful who isn’t talking about him today. He’s probably smiling in hell.”
“I agree that it is all very strange. I can’t really see the point to any of it. But Liam, I came today because I wanted to let you know that I’m always here for you but also to tell you something important. I don’t want you to be surprised by it.”
“What now?”
“Your father changed his will a year ago. He split everything between you and Tiffany.”
“What?! No way!”
“I witnessed the document myself down at the attorney’s office. He said he knew it wasn’t enough but it was the least he could do.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want his dirty money.”
“Come on, Liam. He earned his money and your grandfather earned it before him. His personal decisions might not have been aboveboard but his business decisions were. Hell, I wasn’t even happy with him only leaving you half and told him so. Most of it belonged to your grandmother and I see no reason that Tiffany should take away a huge chunk of it, especially after what she did.”
“What she and my father did. And I hold him more responsible than her. He owed me better. But then why should I be surprised. He put himself first my entire life.”
“I’m really sorry. I hope this doesn’t cause you more problems.”
“I’m sure the cops will love it. I’ll have even more reasons to be happy the man is dead. I’m guessing they’ll see the whole headless thing as insulting in some way.”
“It was a rather gruesome thing to have happened. I just can’t help but think it’s someone crazy, you know?”
“Yeah, that was my thinking as well, but what kind of crazy do you have to be to pull a stunt like that?”
“I don’t know. You heard about what happened last year, right? Maybe someone thought they’d copy it and it would be a lark. It’s not like your dad was killed at the festival.”
“That other guy wasn’t either. Man, the more I think about it, this whole thing is just weird. Look, I appreciate