Page 21 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

Chapter Twelve

Haley considered Matt's rather cynical statement as she watched Trent move in their direction.

Trent was of average height, dressed in an expensive dark-blue suit, his light-brown hair styled, his boyish, charming face giving him a rich boy-next-door kind of look.

The last time she'd seen him, he'd been wearing jeans and a T-shirt, his eyes red from lack of sleep and maybe even some tears for her brother.

He'd been twenty-one then and had seemed completely overwhelmed when she'd met with him the day after her brother's body had been found.

He'd been nicer to her than some of the others.

He'd actually given her a hug and told her how much he'd liked Landon.

"Haley," he said, giving her a compassionate smile. "Trent Adler. My sister told me you were here. I was surprised, but it's good to see you." His gaze ran down her simple blue dress. "You look better than the last time I saw you."

"I was going to say the same thing. This is Agent Matt Lawson."

He nodded, turning to Matt. "I heard you have some new information about Landon's death. Henry also told me yesterday that an associate of his died, and you were there asking questions about her. Are the two incidents related?"

She was surprised by his direct questions, but maybe Trent was smart to go on offense because he didn't appear at all threatened by their presence.

"I can't answer that," Matt said. "It's an ongoing investigation."

"Well, your appearance here suggests a connection, whether you can answer or not. What do you want to know? How can I help you?"

"Did you see Landon at the party? Did you witness his excessive drinking? Was there any kind of fight?"

"I wasn't at the party. I was at a friend's house that night, but my friends told me Landon was drinking heavily, that he started early on his twenty-first birthday celebration.

" Trent paused. "Landon was a good guy. He got along with everyone.

I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt him. He was very well-liked."

"I heard he was having problems with fraternity brothers wanting him to help them cheat by changing their grades or giving them test answers in advance," she interrupted. She didn't miss the sudden shift in his expression, although he quickly tried to cover it up.

"I don't know about that. I can't imagine Landon would help anyone cheat. He was very ethical."

"If he was being pressured by someone in the house, who do you think would have led that charge?" Matt asked.

"Are you suggesting that one of my fraternity brothers killed Landon?" Trent asked, bewilderment in his voice. "Because he wouldn't help them cheat?"

"I'm just asking questions," Matt said.

"The questions are insulting. And, no," Trent said with a decisive shake of his head. "I don't believe anyone was pressuring Landon, and I certainly don't believe anyone killed him. Whoever is feeding you that information doesn't know what they're talking about."

"Who doesn't know what they're talking about?" Henry Adler interrupted. "Agent Lawson, we meet again."

"Mr. Adler," Matt said, with a tip of his head.

"And Haley Kenton," Henry added with a nod in her direction. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has." Henry had been the least forthcoming of anyone she had spoken to about Landon. Even at twenty-one, he'd seemed slicker than the others.

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"Landon's death," Trent said.

"I thought you were investigating Sabrina Lin's murder. How does that tie to Landon?" Henry asked with an inquisitive gleam in his eyes.

"I can't say," Matt replied.

Henry gave her a hard look. "What about you? Do you believe they're connected, Haley?"

"I don't know if there's a connection, but I believe my brother was murdered." It was the first time she'd said that to any of them. She'd said it many times to Julia and the police but never to one of the fraternity members, and it felt good.

Both Henry and Trent appeared taken aback by her words, an awkward silence developing between them.

"I hope that's not true," Henry said finally. "That would make his death even more terrible."

"You don't really believe that, do you, Haley?" Trent asked, his gaze more shadowed than it had been before.

"I do. And now, with the help of the FBI, I'm going to prove it."

Henry nodded. "Good," he said. "If it wasn't an accident, then Landon needs justice. And we are happy to help. But we'd also like to hear evidence not just speculation."

"We'll get evidence," she said confidently. "And we'll follow it wherever it goes."

"As you should," Trent put in, his gaze troubled. "It feels like you don't think we're on the same side, Haley, but we are."

"I hope so."

Henry cleared his throat. "Is there anything else? Because Jill wants Trent and me to put in some bids to get the auction action going." He turned to his cousin. "She especially wants to see your name at the top of every list, Trent. She said it's your brotherly duty."

"As long as I don't actually have to buy any of the art, I'll put my name down," Trent grumbled.

"Your place could use some art," Henry said. "It's about time you stopped decorating like a twenty-year-old. You should use my mom's interior decorator. She'd turn your apartment into something worthy of art."

"The last thing I want to do is live in an apartment that reminds me of your mother or mine," Trent said.

Pausing, he turned to her with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry all this is coming back up again, Haley.

I understand why you're desperate to get answers.

I just don't think you're going to find your answers here. We were your brother's friends."

"Trent is right," Henry said. "Landon was our brother. And his death was a blow to everyone who knew him and cared about him."

They both had just enough sincerity to make it difficult to call them outright liars, but she still didn't believe a word they were saying.

"At any rate, we should help with the auction," Henry continued. "Are you going to bid on anything, Haley? Or are you just here to question people who went to Westbridge?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I haven't looked at the auction items yet, but I might be interested in something."

"They pay you pretty well at the Sentinel ?" Henry asked.

It bothered her that he knew where she worked, although it was hardly a secret. "Of course not," she said, sensing his comment was also meant to put her in her place, remind her she wasn't one of them. And she couldn't help but wonder if he'd done the same thing to Landon.

"There are some inexpensive items," Trent put in. "Jill likes to make sure that the auction is accessible to all levels of donations."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said.

"Good luck with everything," Trent said, pausing for a moment as Henry left. "And I really do hope you find answers. I always thought it was an accident, but if it wasn't, then someone needs to be held accountable."

"Thank you," she said as Trent headed to the patio.

"Well, those two are night and day," Matt muttered.

"Not just in looks but in personality," she agreed. "Henry is dark and shady. Trent is open and light."

"Or at least that's who they want you to think they are."

She turned and met his gaze. "Henry wanted to remind me I wasn't of his class."

"I noticed that. Did it bother you?"

"No. I've been poor my entire life. I don't need some rich kid to remind me of that. I'm very aware of the size of my bank account." She let out a sigh. "I feel like we go around in circles in every conversation."

"Because Henry is right. We need evidence, not speculation," he said. "And it kills me to say Henry was right because I don't like him."

"Me, either. But I guess being a sleazy, arrogant prick doesn't necessarily make him a murderer."

Matt smiled. "No, it doesn't. But it also doesn't exonerate him. Do you want to get out of here?"

Despite the hopeful note in his voice, she shook her head. "Not yet. Let's go look at some art. I could use a break from the pointless conversations we've been having."

"They haven't been that bad. I'm getting a better idea of who everyone is now. Out of those we've met so far, I'd say that Brooke and Trent would be the most likely to help, while Henry and Jill have much sharper edges."

"What about Kyle?"

"Not sure about him. He wasn't at Westbridge when Landon was killed, so he's of less interest to me."

"That's true. But he's engaged to Brooke, and he works with Drew, so he's connected to the group in multiple ways."

"Have you seen Drew Sanderson?"

"No. Not yet. Maybe he's also looking at the art." She smiled as Matt let out a resigned sigh. "It really won't be that painful."

"We'll see."

As they entered the exhibition area, her tension immediately eased as they wandered through the rooms, admiring the art pieces.

She knew Matt was probably bored, but the art soothed her soul, the way it always had.

And it made her feel closer to Landon, to the times they'd shared at museums all around the city.

"Are you dying of boredom?" she asked about thirty minutes later.

He shrugged. "I'm fine. Some of it is…okay."

"Okay is not good enough. You have to look closer." She stopped before a painting of a woman at a window, her expression unreadable. "This one is layered with emotion."

"She just looks sad to me."

"But why is she sad? Look at her hands—see how tightly she's gripping the windowsill?

And the way the light falls across her face, half in shadow.

The artist could have painted her crying, made it obvious, but instead, he's showing us her restraint.

The way she's holding herself together, even though something's breaking inside her.

" Haley's voice grew passionate. "You can feel the weight of whatever she's carrying.

Sometimes the most powerful emotions are the ones people try to hide. "

Matt gazed at her, then back at the painting. "You think she's waiting for someone?"

"Or she just realized he's never coming back." She blinked away a tear.

"I thought art was supposed to make you happy," he commented. "You're talking about yourself, not her."

"Maybe both of us," she said, giving him an emotional smile. "And it does make me happy. Because she's not just sad; she's strong. She's not giving up. She's going to move on. She's not the type of person to quit."

"You get all that from this painting?"

"Well, I suppose it's possible that we see what we want to see. And that's okay, too. Because art is supposed to inspire, not just depict."

"I have to say, you've given me a different perspective."

"Then the art did its job."

"Or you did," he said with a smile. "For the record, I happen to think you're also a strong woman who is never going to give up, never going to quit, because that's not who you are."

"It's not. Especially not when it comes to family.

" As they moved past the painting, she stiffened as a silver-haired man walked into the room with Matt's former partner at his side.

"That's Senator Alan Matson. He was the deputy chief of police when Landon died. Why would your partner be with him?"

"She said she was working this party. Maybe he's part of an investigation."

"I think it's a weird coincidence, Matt. Shari is the one who takes Sabrina's call and says she never talked to her. Now she's here with Senator Matson, the one who shut down my brother's investigation…"

He frowned at her words. "How do you know Matson is the one who shut down your brother's investigation?"

"Julia said she thought he was behind it when I spoke to her earlier."

"You spoke to Julia today?"

"She wanted to find out what AJ told me."

"And you shared information after I told you not to?" he asked, disappointment in his gaze.

"I didn't tell her much of anything," she said defensively. "I couldn't just cut her off. And I trust her, even if you don't."

"Did you tell her where we were going today?"

"Yes," she admitted.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Haley, you have to stop talking to her. If you aren't willing to do that, then I'll have to reconsider what I tell you."

The last thing she needed was for Matt to cut her off from the investigation.

"Okay. I won't tell her anything else." She paused as her phone began to vibrate.

She pulled it out of her bag. "That's weird.

It's my neighbor. She wouldn't call me unless there was a problem.

" She moved toward the hallway behind them to get away from the crowd, and Matt followed.

"Hello? Mrs. Gonzalez? Is everything all right? "

"No, it's not," her neighbor said in a tense voice.

"I saw someone running away from your apartment, wearing a hood over his head and dark glasses, and he had some tools in his hand.

He knocked me down and called me some swear word and then disappeared.

When I looked at your door, it was hanging on the hinges. "

"Oh, no," she said in alarm. "You're saying he broke in?"

"Yes. I called the police. They're on their way. I didn't know if you were in there, and I didn't want to go inside, but I called your name and you didn't answer. Eli said he thought he heard you leave earlier."

"Thank you so much for letting me know. I hope you weren't hurt."

"No. But I don't like what happened."

"I don't, either. I'll be home soon." She ended the call and turned to Matt. "Someone broke into my apartment. I have to go home."

"We'll leave now."

"This is bad, isn't it?" she asked, meeting his gaze.

"Let's go," he said, not answering her question, but then, he didn't have to.