it."
Courtesy of Liza's grocery run.
"That all sounds good."
They didn't talk much as they devoured their food. Knox filled him in on what was going on at the office, and Ryan talked about the status of the case.
"So we're going to the prison today?" Knox asked, getting up to rinse his plate. Clearly, he was going to be a good guest. His mama had trained him right. "Do you think this guy did it?"
"I have no idea," Ryan replied. "I've never had a case blown wide open with an out of the blue confession from someone that wasn't even a suspect. It seems a little too easy, if you ask me, but it would be great if this were the answer to all of my unanswered questions. I'm just not sure that I'm that lucky."
"Do we need a plan when we talk to him? How will we know his confession is real?"
Ryan drained his coffee cup and then checked his watch. They needed to get on the road. It was a long drive.
"According to the coroner, Brad was killed with a piece of metal pipe that was found next to his body. It fit the fracture of the skull perfectly. That information has never been released to the public, though. If this guy did it, he's going to know about the pipe. The public only knows that it was blunt force trauma to the head."
Knox nodded approvingly. "Got it. If he doesn't have that detail it can't be him."
Ryan had borrowed Mariah's car for the drive to the prison just outside of Chicago. It was a maximum-security facility, and the man they were going to visit was already behind bars for a double murder in a convenience store robbery.
Tim Muldeen. He had a record as long as Ryan's arm, starting with petty crime when he was a teenager and graduating to more hardcore activities as he aged. He had the perfect storm of a childhood - abusive and poverty-stricken. He was in and out of foster homes, hated school, and his father used him as a punching bag.
This was what Mariah had been talking about. Ryan may not have had the perfect upbringing but he hadn't been abused in the least. His parents had done their best and he was one lucky son of a bitch to be born into the Beck family.
Tim Muldeen, on the other hand, had been dealt a losing hand from birth. It wasn't difficult to imagine the man hitting another human being with a metal pipe.
Muldeen was a murderer. But was he Brad's murderer? Only time would tell.
Mariah knew she wasn't going to get away with not talking to Liza about what she'd seen last night so instead she decided to face it head on. She scheduled a lunch for the two of them because the sooner they talked about it, the sooner they could all move on.
She was sure that Liza was going to be thrilled about Mariah's second try with Ryan. She'd been pushing for it and now she was getting what she'd wanted for so long.
So when she sat down at the table with Liza, she didn't bother to beat around the bush.
"Yes, we're back together. We're going to give it another try."
Letting out a squeal that had heads turning in the restaurant, Liza hopped out of her chair and gave Mariah a huge hug.
"I'm so excited," she gushed, finally sitting down again. She was bouncing around in her chair though, her cheeks red with excitement. She looked like a five-year-old with a sugar-laden birthday cake. "I knew that if you two just spent a little time together that you'd see that you were meant to be. Oh my gosh, you're going to be my sister for real now."
Mariah laughed and held up her hands in a surrender motion. "Easy there, we haven't plighted our troth or anything like that. We're not planning a wedding."
"Not yet," Liza said, her eyes sparkling. "But you will be. Ryan's the marrying kind. He wants kids, too. You want kids, right? This is so wonderful. I'm going to be an auntie."
"Could you please slow down? We're just in the beginning stages of this. Don't book a church, okay? I'm not even sure that I want to get married again, and you don't know for sure that Ryan wants to get married."
"He does," Liza said, nodding knowingly. "And since when are you anti-marriage?"
"The divorce wasn't easy. I don't really want to go through that again."
"But you and Ryan