Dalton frowned. They were? When Caden headed to the door with Shiloh, Dalton asked, “Hey, what’s next? Did Marcel say how they’re going to find out where the key came from and how Brandy got hold of it?”
Jace shrugged. “I’m not sure, and he didn’t say. I’m hoping Bruce Townsend will be able to locate all the information that was wiped off Brandy’s hard drive. Marcel also mentioned they had checked surveillance videos from around Brandy’s apartment to see if any gentlemen had visited her in the past six months or so.”
“I hope you won’t be one of them,” Caden said, grinning at Dalton.
Dalton rolled his eyes. “I told you what the deal was with Brandy and me. Shiloh, you might want to get him out of here before he makes me mad enough to hit him.”
Shiloh laughed. “Then, by all means, let me get him out of here. Did Caden remind you both about his concert at the end of the year?”
Dalton chuckled. “He didn’t have to. An announcement was made on radio and television like he’s some kind of celebrity or something.”
Of course, he’d meant it as a joke, because his brother was a celebrity. Caden was a Grammy-award-winning saxophone player, who had sold out concerts worldwide. He’d given it up temporarily to keep their grandfather’s deathbed promise. Shiloh had talked him and his band into headlining Charlottesville’s annual Live-It-Up Ball to benefit cancer research.
“He is a celebrity,” Shiloh said, grinning. “My celebrity.”
Dalton hoped Caden and Shiloh weren’t about to get all mushy on him now. He could handle only so much of such nonsense. “So where are you two going for lunch?” Jace asked the couple.
“We’re meeting Sedrick and Cassie at Shelburne,” Shiloh said.
Dalton glanced inquiringly at Caden. It was no secret that Sedrick hadn’t taken the news of his sister marrying Caden well. “Sedrick?”
“Yes. Sedrick and I are trying to work out our differences,” Caden said easily.
Too easily, Dalton thought. “Why bother?”
“Well, enjoy your lunch,” Jace said, obviously hurrying them along. As soon as his office door closed, he turned a deep frown on Dalton. “What was that about?”
Dalton rolled his eyes. Shiloh’s father, Samuel, had died last year of cancer, but as far as Dalton was concerned, her mother and brother were bad enough. “I don’t like Shiloh’s family, and I’m surprised you and Caden can even try to get along with them. They treated us like crap when Dad was sent to prison. Damn it, Jace, Sedrick was your best friend, and he didn’t defy his father when he ordered them not to have anything to do with us. The only one who acted like she had any sense was Shiloh.”
Jace rubbed his hands down his face. “Have you ever thought that maybe there’s another side to the story?”
“Yeah, right. What other side is there? Sedrick’s father gave the order, and he obeyed by dropping your friendship like a hot potato. And as far as Sandra Timmons being a victim, I’m not buying it. She could have left the old geezer. She could have walked away and taken Sedrick and Shiloh with her. I believe she was just as bad as he was, and I don’t trust her, either. As much as I like and admire Shiloh, I can’t stand her family.”
Jace didn’t say anything for a long moment. In a way, Dalton was right; Jace had felt utterly betrayed when he was sixteen and lost his best friend without a fight. He truly hadn’t expected Sedrick to toe the line like he had. Shiloh certainly hadn’t. She sent Caden notes, secret messages and birthday cards every chance she got.
“I’ve gotten over it, Dalton, and so should you.”
Dalton wished he could, but he and his brothers had been made to feel like shit during that time, and all because people wanted to believe his father had been guilty of a crime he hadn’t committed. That would make finding his mother’s real killer all that much sweeter.