Telling the story always made her edgy and upset. She wished she had something stronger to drink than coffee. It would also help a lot if she could read Blaze Hamilton better and judge his reaction. She was sure his years as a SEAL had taught him how to keep his face expressionless, but she needed to know what he was thinking.
“Have you spoken to anyone else?”
“I tried talking to the people who work at the restaurant, but they were as skittish and distant as everyone else. They gave their reports to the cops and that’s all they know. And no, they couldn’t give me the names of any customers without their permission. They are very sorry and wish they could be more help.” She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Blaze cocked an eyebrow. “I have to admit, this definitely sounds more than a little weird.”
“I had all that trouble getting a copy of the police report. When I did, I was stunned that it had nothing of use in it.” She rubbed her forehead. “They must think I am very dumb.”
“I agree what they told you is a crock of shit.”
“That’s why I wouldn’t leave it alone. As a matter of fact, they weren’t even going to print out a copy of the report for me until I threatened to get an attorney. I mean, a traffic accident report? Get real. Here. Tell me what you think of it. My grocery list gives more information.” She took it out of her purse and handed it to him, watching as he studied it in silence.
He shook his head. “This tells you nothing. Did you point that out?”
“I might as well have saved my breath. They kept saying they were very sorry but that was all the information they had. They’re very good at expressing condolences but not so much at giving straight answers.” She took a deep, calming breath. Falling apart wouldn’t help this situation. “Dane was buried the week after I got here. We had to have his funeral without Brianne there.”
“That’s tough.”
“As I mentioned earlier, Dane’s parents couldn’t wait any longer. They were just so destroyed by the whole thing and no one knows if or when my sister will wake from the coma. They needed to bury their son. His father wanted to sue the police, but I think it was just empty talk on his part.”
“Do they live here?” Blaze asked.
“South of here, in Sarasota. They took Dane back there to be buried because—” Peyton stopped and pulled in a breath. “Because obviously no one knows at this point if my sister will even wake up or what shape she’ll be in. It was so depressing going through the house with them so they could pick out clothes for him to be buried in.” She rubbed her face. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the memories of that funeral out of my mind. And how am I going to tell Brianne if we’re lucky and she does come out of this?”
If only she could wake up and this was all a very bad dream.
“They have to be devastated.”
“They are. Apparently, they were very close. I insisted they take the time to pick out any of his things they wanted to keep as mementos, but they said they’d wait for Brianne. They were sure she’d want a lot of his things.”
“That was very kind of them.”
“They’re very nice people,” she agreed.
“So no one’s followed up on it since then?” Blaze asked the question again. “The police aren’t doing any more?”
“You’re kidding, right?” She waved a hand in the air. “They’re pissed off at me and just want to be done with the whole thing. They have no way to identify the driver because the pictures are blurry. They did their best, everyone is sorry, but just go away and leave them alone. According to the report, there wasn’t even anyone who could describe the car. If they interviewed anyone, they all had to be stupid or brainless or…” She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture, then let them drop.
“Or bought off,” Blaze finished for her.
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
She narrowed her eyes. “If you ask me, I think there’s a huge conspiracy in place here. A big coverup. But I’m just one person with little power, which is why I can’t get anywhere.”
He was quiet for a moment, studying her. “You may be right. A hot young attorney gets run down, he dies, and his