Into the Future: A Callahan Novel by Celya Bowers Page B

braced himself for the worst as his best friend since forever neared them. 
    Brad re-holstered his gun and took out his cell phone.  The first call was to his mother.  “Mom, tell Josie I’m going to be late.  Something came up and I have to handle it. Okay, I’ll explain later.”  He ended the call. His next call was to an agent. “I need you here now.”  He rattled off Lizzy’s address and ended the call.  Now he faced the couple. 
    “Lizzy, I’m going to need to ask you a few questions.”
    She nodded.  “What’s wrong with my house?”
    “When is the last time you talk to Paul?”
    “Wednesday.”
    “What kind of relationship do you have with your ex-husband?”
    “Not good.  He reported me to CPS, among other things.”
    He felt her nervousness or tension.  He held her tighter against his body, hoping to block out the impending doom that hovered over them like a rain cloud.
    Brad took a deep breath.   “First of all, I found Paul.  He was in one of the bedrooms.  Unfortunately, he’s dead.  Two bullet wounds to the head.”
    A sob escaped her lips.  “What is he doing in my house?”
    “That’s a good question,” Brad said.  “He’s probably been dead about an hour.  The shots are clean, and nothing else looks out of order. It was one of the kids’s room.  From the looks of it, I would say it was your son’s.”
    Tristan wanted to inspect the room himself.  He also wanted to see if the disc was still there.  Lizzy also needed comforting.  Then there was the kids.  What on earth could he say to those young children?  He looked down at Lizzy, but she wasn’t a mass of tears.  Sure she had the odd tear running down her beautiful face, but little else.  “Baby, are you okay?”
    She turned in his arms and faced him.  “Yes, I’m okay.  I feel sorry for the kids and his mother. I really want to see if that disc is still here.  Why would someone kill him here?”
    Brad shrugged.  “That was a hit.  Someone must have been following him.  Two shots to the head is a hit.  Know of anyone that would want to put a hit on your ex?”
    “Besides me? No.  I do know the company he’s working for is being investigated.”
    “More like, his department,” Brad said.  “According to our sources, there’s about four million dollars missing and he was the prime suspect.  The company let him go about three months ago.”
    “What?” Lizzy asked.  “He never said anything about being fired.”
    “Baby, why would he tell you?”  Tristan knew Paul’s child support payments were well below what he should have paid. 
    “You’re right.  He has no reason to tell me.  He didn’t pay the kids insurance, and his child support payments were taken out of his checking account.  This sounds so much like him.”
    Tristan never liked Paul, but surely hadn’t wanted this kind of end for the man.  He glanced in Brad’s direction.  “So what happens now?”
    “I already called the police.  So they should be here soon.  I would suggest, once the police give the house the once over, Lizzy, you should bunk with Tristan.”
    “You mean I won’t have access to my own house?”
    “Not while there’s ongoing investigation,” Tristan said. 
    “I have children, I’ll go to my parents,” she said. 
    Tristan knew that was the sensible thing to do, but he actually wanted her and the kids under his roof.  Besides, he knew she wouldn’t survive long under her parents roof.  “Honey, I don’t mind. I have plenty of room and their school isn’t that far away.”
    “Let me think about it.  I don’t have to do anything right now.”  She stared at the house.  “I can’t believe this happened.  I mean, I can believe it, but not in my house.  I bought a new house to get rid of the negative energy that was my marriage, and the dog ends up getting killed in my house.”
    “I know, baby.  Just not fair.”  He kissed her forehead.  “You want to call his