Page 111 of A Taste like Sin

The obvious suspicion.

“No,” I hear myself rasp. “I don’t think they even grew the shrub at the house.”

“Interesting.” Harrison cocks his head, his dark eyes unreadable. They trace the contours of my face,

settling over my trembling lips. They give me away, betraying all the things I can’t seem to voice.

Like the fact that I’m lying. “And you can think of no one with access to something like that? Someone

who may want to hurt him?”

Pain lances through my heart as remnants of an accented voice whisper across my brain.Do you

really think I would hurt him, knowing how much he means to you?

“N-No.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything.”

Harrison frowns, running his fingers along his jaw. “I’m disappointed, Juliana. If anyone could give

insight into your father’s health, I thought it might be you. You two were so close.”

I flinch. Any other moment, I’d write off the pointed grit in his tone as paranoia. Exhaustion.

Emotional distress. Taking a step back, I observe the man again. There’s nothing untoward in his

posture. Even his expression conveys concern. Too much concern.

“Let me give you my card,” he says, reaching into his breast pocket for one. He extends it to me,

meeting my gaze directly. “If you can think of anything at all, please don’t hesitate—”

“If you had a suspect, would it even matter what I thought?” I ask, running my tongue along my dry,

cracked lips. “You probably have the evidence—”

“Witness testimonyiskey evidence,” Harrison corrects. “Sometimes in cases like this, it’s the eye-

witness account that clenches a verdict more than any piece of evidence. In fact, your father knew that

better than anyone.”

“K-Knew?” I echo. “Diane said his condition is stable. He should recover. Unless you’ve heard

differently—”

“Of course.” The man sighs and stares in the opposite direction. His hand captures his jaw as his

thumb strokes the stubble growing there. “But in cases like this, who knows how quickly things may

change? After all, as long as your father’s attacker is still out there, he could try again.”

“That’s what your men are here for,” I surmise cautiously. “To prevent that from happening.”

“Of course.” He nods and inclines his head. “But I will let you in on a secret, one that isn’t very PC.

My men are diligent, but they are human, and your father has some powerful enemies. Who knows

what methods of deception they are capable of using if killing Heyworth Thorne is the ultimate goal?”