reason I came out here.”
Raleigh’s chest tightened. “More bad news?”
“Yeah.” Pax’s gaze flicked to Mia. “It’s pretty personal, though. About Cody.”
Hell. Raleigh knew what was coming, though he didn’t know how it had come. “It’s all right. Mia knows everything.”
“They found pictures on your father’s computer. Kid porn. Most of it looks like crap he downloaded from those depraved sites, but…there were a few shots of Cody.”
Rage and disgust roared through Raleigh. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. “Posed?”
“No, he probably didn’t even know he was being photographed. Looks like they were taken through a window. Sick son of a bitch had pictures of him getting undressed, taking a shower.” After Pax let that settle, he said, “You don’t look shocked. Sickened, but not shocked.”
Raleigh wrestled with how much to tell him. “Are they going to question Cody?”
“Sounds like it. That sort of thing is a good motive for murder. And I mean good because anyone who does shit like that deserves to be stabbed and dumped in a lake.”
Mia gripped Raleigh’s arm. “They don’t think Cody killed him, do they? I mean, that would be ridiculous. He doesn’t have the strength, much less the aggression, to wield a weapon like that against a grown man.”
“Kids his age and size do commit murder, Mia,” Pax said. “It’s sad but true. But my dad’s not going for that angle.”
“He’s going for me,” Raleigh said.
Pax nodded grimly. “You told the sheriff that Cody came over to the garage that night, and then Rose came by. Hank did something to the kid, didn’t he?”
Raleigh sank to the sofa, his face in his hands. It bombarded him, how everything was unraveling. “Can I tell you in confidence?”
“I’m not a cop anymore.” Pax sat down across from him. “I’m on your side. And if you went off on Hank because—”
“I didn’t. That’s just it, Pax. I couldn’t find him. Maybe I would have, though I wouldn’t have killed him. Beat the hell out of him, sure, but not kill. Then I would have hauled him to the police, where he should have been put in the first place. I hunted him, but he’d already disappeared. Mia and I have been working through the timeline.” He told him what they’d come up with. “None of us could have done it. I know Cody didn’t, because he would have been covered in blood, and more freaked than he already was.”
Mia, ever his support, sat down beside him, her thigh pressed against his.
Pax nodded. “But you know it’s a big coincidence that Hank died within hours of molesting Cody.”
“Yeah, we know, we know. But the cops have no idea what happened that night.”
“They know Hank picked up his son for his birthday. That they hung out at the beach for a while, then Cody came your way. You told them the truth, right?”
“Yes. I just left out the attempted-molestation part. I didn’t want to put Cody through that. And I didn’t think it was related at the time. Now I’m wondering.”
Mia put her hand on top of Raleigh’s. “Cody won’t tell them.” But she remembered them talking about his fear giving him away if he was questioned about that night. Her mouth turned in a frown.
“We’d better call Grace and tell her about this can of worms.”
Mia stood. “I’ll call. She should be there when he’s questioned.”
Pax met his gaze, eyes a moss green now. “Did he ever…”
Raleigh wanted to say no. To keep that dark secret to himself and Mia. “That’s how I knew to warn Cody and Rose.”
Pax gripped Raleigh’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. About that, about everything. You never told me. Never even let on.”
Raleigh shook his head. “I stuffed it all down.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help, y’hear? I’m going to run down the people on that list as a civilian.”
“I already talked to Lola at the park.” Raleigh filled him in on their conversation.
There was more pounding on the front door. Rose shouted, “Raleigh! Mia!”
“Come in,” Raleigh said, meeting her halfway as she dashed into the house.
“They took Cody to the station! The sheriff—” She came to a halt when she saw Pax.
“It’s okay,” Raleigh said. “He’s not a cop anymore. He quit over this. Wait. What do you mean, they took Cody?”
“My client said the sheriff came by and asked Cody if he could come down to the station and answer some questions. Assured him he wasn’t under arrest or nothing, just wanted Cody’s help in tracking down who