Aiden called in sick for the next two days and spent most of his time at his family's apartment with his little sister, Sophie, who had been plagued by nightmares. She had slept so little that their mother kept her home from school.
He tried his best to distract her. They played countless board games and two-player video games Sophie enjoyed, such as Mario Kart. It seemed to help somewhat, but the dark circles under her eyes only worsened.
Poor kid. She should be worrying about college applications, not murder. Who had she found, and why was the body in his family's neighborhood?
He got his answer two days later, around dinnertime. Sophie's phone rang while their mother put a casserole in the oven. Sophie's face went white as she listened silently, finally saying "Thank you" and hanging up.
"Who was that?" Aiden asked, frowning.
"Detective Flynn," she replied faintly. "The body matched a missing person report filed yesterday. A family member identified it. Her name was Lacy Knighton."
He fell out of his chair. "Lacy Knighton?! Did she have black hair and light green eyes?"
Sophie grimaced, remembering the blood matting the hair. "Yes. Did you know her?"
"Sort of. My boss knew her; I only met her once."
How could he explain that he'd been investigating her for years at his boss's request? His family had no idea about his actual job. They thought he was a typical IT worker at Hale Investments' call center.
"What was she like?" Sophie asked hesitantly.
Aiden bit his lip. He didn't want to speak ill of the dead, but there was nothing good to say. From what he'd seen, she seemed like a spoiled brat, though Aaron considered her demonic.
"She was very rich and loved to shop. That's all I know," he lied.
"Oh." Sophie rubbed her forehead. "If she was so rich, how did she end up in the Bronx?"
He'd wondered the same thing. As far as he knew, Lacy Knighton lived, shopped, and partied exclusively in Manhattan. She didn't seem the type to visit such a rundown neighborhood.
"I have no idea," he admitted, his mind racing.
Had she been moved after death? Or lured there? Either way, it was unlikely to be a random mugging. This was premeditated; the killer knew she'd be harder to find in an unfamiliar location.
But who would kill Lacy? He knew of no enemies except Aaron.
While Aiden often joked about his boss killing him, he knew Aaron wasn't capable of murder. If he'd planned to kill her, he would have done so before she could try to trap him into an engagement—forcing Aiden to act as a fake fiancé.
Besides, Aaron was in Rochester with his family. He probably hadn't even heard about the murder. Should Aiden tell him?
He didn't want to ruin his friend's vacation, but Aaron had been furious in the past about being left out of the loop. If he learned Aiden knew first…
Aiden texted his boss, praying he wouldn't be the bearer of bad news. Then, seeing Sophie looking pale, he changed the subject.
"So…want to play another game of Monopoly?"
Robert volunteered to watch the babies while they napped, telling Keeley and Aaron to enjoy the pool. It was their last day of vacation. Keeley was grateful for the chance to relax before facing their "Lacy problem."
The hotel pool was enormous and far less crowded than most she'd been to. A few families were swimming, but there were no more than fifteen people total.
Aaron had fallen asleep on a deck chair. What was the point of spending time together if he was asleep?
Keeley stood over him. He recoiled from the water droplets on his face. He squinted sleepily.
"What are you doing?"
"Come swim with me; I'm bored."
"…Do I have to?"
"Yes," she said, tugging his hand. "You've never gone swimming with me."
He frowned. "You're right. How did that happen?"
She rolled her eyes, pulling him from the chair. "Because you were a hopeless stick in the mud. Come on."
A mischievous glint appeared in his eye. He charged at her, wrapping his arms around her waist before they both plunged into the deep end. Resurfacing, he smirked.
"Would a stick in the mud do that?"
Keeley spat out some water. "I used the past tense," she pointed out.
His smirk softened. "So you don't think I'm boring anymore?"
"I never thought you were boring…" (Except during high school round two, when she was angry, but she wouldn't mention that now.)
"Really?"
"When we first met, I thought you were mysterious. There's nothing boring about that."
Aaron blinked in surprise. "That's why you originally liked me?"
"Originally, I wanted to figure you out. I'd never met anyone like you. The liking came later."
Had she never mentioned this before? She thought she had, in college. Maybe she hadn't. Aaron wasn't the only one with communication problems back then.
He nodded and continued treading water. Keeley flipped onto her back and floated. They'd come a long way since she'd first found him interesting. The final sentence about a website has been removed as it is not part of the story itself.