Ashes(84)

"Who else would have a motive to do this?"



Keenan shrugged. "The cops have finishing speaking with their son. He's over there, if you'd like to talk to him. Maybe he knows something."



Knox hadn't realized that Daniel was in Vegas. The demon had long ago moved away, though he remained part of their lair. "All right. Let's see what he has to say." Knox walked through the throngs of uniforms and ducked under the tape. No one tried to stop him; not even the humans. Knox had found that if you appeared to know exactly where you were going, people were very unlikely to bother you. Knox crossed to the tall demon staring at his parents' home and greeted simply, "Daniel."



The male slowly turned, eyes tormented. "Mr. Thorne. It's been a while." He exchanged a nod with Keenan.



"I know it seems like an almost mechanical statement, given how often it's used in these circumstances," began Knox, "but I'm sorry for your loss."


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Daniel nodded. "Thanks."



"How long have you been in Vegas?"



Pain flashed in his eyes. "I came here for Talia's funeral and decided to stay a while."



Knox inwardly winced. The guy hadn't just lost his parents, he'd lost his sister – and all in the space of a few months. "Where were you when this attack occurred?"



Daniel adjusted his glasses. "My hotel."



"You haven't been staying with your parents?"



"I love – loved – them, but living under the same roof as them never worked for me. My mom and I argued a lot. You might as well know that we argued the last time we talked. The neighbors heard it, so they'll tell you anyway. And I know how that looks, but I didn't kill them."



Knox doubted that he had, but he kept his expression blank. "What were you arguing about?"



"They wanted to take Talia's kid and adopt him. I didn't think they should."



That sure surprised Knox. "Why not?"



Daniel seemed to choose his words carefully. "They weren't good at parenting. They weren't abusive or anything," he hurried to add. "They loved us, but they didn't discipline us or support us – they let us go our own way."



A little like Lucian had done with Harper, Knox mused.



"Maybe they thought it would be good for us, or maybe they were just too lazy to be bothered guiding us because they had such busy social lives; I don't know. Talia went through the typical teenage rebellion, but it's hard to rebel against people who don't care if you do it. She kept pushing them, wanting a reaction. All she did was mess up her life."



"Whereas you cut your losses and moved on."



Daniel shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. Look, I didn't want the kid to go down Talia's road. He's been through enough, considering what his human mother did. So I told them they should just let him stay with Linda and Wyatt. Besides, if my parents had really wanted him, they'd have taken him when he was a baby."



For a moment, Knox said nothing. "They knew about him?"



Daniel seemed surprised by the question. "Oh yeah. My mother was there for his birth. She pressured Talia to switch him for a human baby. It didn't take much pressure, but it was still a shitty thing to do."

 

Knox exchanged a look with Keenan. "Why do you think they wanted him now, Daniel?"



"Because they were all about appearances. It would have looked bad to others if they hadn't tried to take him in. They wouldn't have wanted a black mark from society."



Knox could easily believe that. "Is there anyone who may be upset with your parents?"



"Linda Sanders, but I don't believe she did it. Linda came to the house, trying to pay my parents to back off and let her keep McCauley. They refused, but it didn't lead to a major row or anything."



Frowning, Keenan spoke. "I was under the impression that things were going well."



"They were," said Daniel. "Everybody seemed to be working together for McCauley's sake. But then Linda came here Thursday night and declared that she and Wyatt were taking McCauley away for the weekend to Florida, so my parents would have to miss their scheduled visit with him. My mother said she'd never begrudge McCauley a trip but that she didn't appreciate Linda giving them such short notice. Linda seemed …  disappointed by the response, as if she'd hoped to draw my mother into an argument – Pamela Winters wasn't a woman who was easily riled."