Gilded Craving - Olivia Jaymes Page 0,67

investigation," he finally said. "Have you found out anything? Anything at all?"

Having already made Lilly cry, Ryan wasn't thrilled that he was going to upset her further. But he couldn't back out. This was his job. It wasn't the first time he'd had to deliver unpleasant news but it was the first time he'd had to do it when the person wasn't a stranger.

"We have, actually. We pulled Brad's phone and bank records. It appears that he was withdrawing large sums of money on a regular basis. He was also talking to multiple bookies in both Chicago and New York. It appears that he had a gambling problem. Were you aware of that?"

He braced for the blowback.

Lilly's eyes went wide and Skip looked like someone had slapped him in the face. Seb had buried his face in his hands.

The couple exchanged a glance and then shook their heads. Lilly opened her mouth to speak but couldn't seem to get any words out, but Skip managed.

"No. No, not at all. Of course not. I can't believe that. You must be mistaken."

"I wish that we were," Ryan said softly, hating himself at the moment. He was breaking these parents' hearts. "He was definitely communicating with bookies. We know that for sure. Paired with the withdrawals and the money transfers, it looks like he was betting every single day."

Skip was already shaking his head again before Ryan even finished speaking. "I know he bet on football a little bit. Maybe when he played golf, but every day? I don't believe that."

"He made calls every day."

Skip jumped up from the couch and began to pace back and forth in front of the window.

"You have to be mistaken. Maybe his phone records got mixed up with someone else's. It was a long time ago, right? These things can happen."

"I suppose there's a small chance of that happening, but I think it's too remote to consider."

Lilly looked up from her sodden tissue, her eyes red-rimmed. "And this is why you think Bradley was killed? Because of the gambling?"

"I don't know for sure. It's something we're looking into. It's simply a possibility but it's one that we need to explore more."

She nodded as if she understood and then turned to her son. "Seb, I think I need to lie down, please."

Immediately, Seb helped her up and was shuffling her out of the living room, leaving just Ryan and Skip.

"Believe me when I say that I take no pleasure in telling you this today," Ryan said when she and Seb had gone. "But I can't do this job unless I'm completely honest with you."

"Yes–yes, I see that." Skip shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "Can I ask you a question? You can answer me honestly now that Lilly isn't here. Do you think that you can really find out what happened to Brad that night? Is this case even solvable?"

It was a good question. A difficult one, too.

"To be one hundred percent honest, I don't know if I can solve this case. I've solved cases like it, but that doesn't mean that I'll be successful with this one. Cold cases are the most difficult and there isn't much physical evidence. The odds aren't in our favor but I'm going to keep working and pushing until I'm out of leads."

"And then what happens? The investigation ends?"

"Yes," Ryan admitted. "Unless some new evidence comes up, which can happen."

He wanted to give them hope, but not raise their expectations too high.

Skip stroked his chin. "That's all we can ask for. Your best. I know you're trying, Ryan. If you can't solve this, I doubt anyone could. Lilly and I may just have to learn to live with not knowing."

Ryan only wished he had better news for the family.

"What's next?" Skip asked. "Where do you go from here?"

"I'll talk to Caroline and Danny again. Maybe Theo. See if any of them noticed Brad's gambling. We'll try and talk to the bookies that he was using. If we can find them. One's in prison and the other is deceased. The latter might have had business associates that we can talk to."

"Anything else?"

"I still need to talk to Isla. She's been busy but I'm hoping to speak with her tomorrow."

Skip seemed to recognize that there wasn't much to go on. He had an utterly sad and defeated expression on his face, as if he'd aged ten years in a mere five minutes.

"Thank you for coming here and telling us in person."

"I