Gilded Craving - Olivia Jaymes Page 0,66

to cover as well. He felt badly that they'd had their hopes risen only to be smashed down again.

"You're going to ask them about Bradley's gambling."

Jack didn't phrase it as a question.

"Yes, I have to do that."

"I know you do. I just wish that my friends weren't going through this."

"So do I. I just hope that I can bring this investigation to some sort of conclusion."

Jack stood and walked over to the large window that overlooked downtown Chicago.

"You will. You'll find out what happened to Bradley."

"I wish I had your confidence. I'm not sure that I'll be able to do that. Cold cases are notoriously difficult to solve."

"I know that you will do your best."

His throat tightening with emotion, Ryan could barely speak. He'd never heard words like this from his father.

"Thank you for saying that. I will do my best. I hope that it's enough. I don't want to let Skip and Lilly down."

His dad cleared his throat a few more times, his gaze still out over the skyline. "You won't."

"Mariah says that you and I are a lot alike. You know...stubborn and competitive."

Ryan didn't have a clue why he'd said that, but his mouth wasn't following instructions from his brain at the moment. He was being guided by his heart instead.

Laughing, Jack smiled. "I could tell you some stories about my dad. Pat told me the same thing about me and him being just alike."

"I wouldn't mind hearing a few."

His dad checked his watch. "I've got a few minutes before my next meeting. How about I ask Gwen to bring us a couple of cold drinks and I’ll tell you about the time my dad caught me smoking outside?"

Ryan wanted to hear that story. He wanted to hear them all.

23

Knox had sent Ryan a message that he had spoken with Steve Alton and he didn't remember anything about that night specifically. He couldn't give Trent an alibi but he also couldn't say definitely that Trent wasn't home. It was all simply too long ago.

Jared had tracked down Isla's former roommates and Knox was headed there next to talk to them. Ryan didn't hold out much hope that they'd remember anything about Brad but it was worth a shot. In the meantime, he needed to see Skip and Lilly.

Mariah knew the Harringtons as well or better than he did, and she had offered to go with him when he talked to the family, but after discussing it this morning they'd both decided it would be better for Ryan to go alone. As much as he cared about Skip and Lilly, he needed to keep a professional demeanor this afternoon. This conversation had a high probability of being emotionally charged. There was no good way to tell parents that their son was a gambling addict.

Seb answered the door and ushered Ryan into the living room, just as before. Lilly and Skip once again sat on the couch while Seb perched on the arm of a chair nearby.

"Was it him? Did he do it?" Lilly asked eagerly, a wadded-up tissue in her hand. "Did he kill my baby boy?"

Ryan understood that the press had to do its job, but this would have been ten times easier if they hadn't reported that someone had confessed. They'd raised this family's hopes only to have them dashed mere hours later.

"I'm afraid not," Ryan said gently. "He didn't know any of the details that he should have known. He didn't do it."

Brows pinched together, Skip shook his head. "Then why on earth would he confess to something like that? Why would he do it?"

"Attention, probably," Ryan replied. "But he's not our guy."

Burying her head in her hands, Lilly sobbed into her tissue. "How could anyone be so cruel? To get our hopes up–"

She broke off, another sob swallowing whatever she'd been about to say. Seb immediately jumped from his spot on the chair and came to sit down next to his mother, pulling her close for comfort and patting her on the back.

"It's okay, Mom. It's going to be okay."

"I'm so sorry," Ryan replied, feeling like the worst human being in the world. He hadn't wanted anyone to cry. He was a sucker for tears. "I wish I could have better news for you, but I don't."

"Are you sure?" Skip asked, his hand seeking his wife's. "Really sure?"

"I am," Ryan said firmly. "He's not the one."

Skip gazed off into the distance for a long moment and then seemed to gather himself.

"Then it's back to the