Page 47 of The Sinner's Son

“Do we?” Jason narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. “You’re willing to consider this a coincidence, Uncle Ro? Andrew Bishop killed the sex workers he hired, and now his son just happened to be Dane’s last client before he disappeared. Come on. You’re smarter than that.”

Alec recoiled like someone had struck him. “Client? I don’t know what you’re talking about? I didn’t. We didn’t.” Alec swallowed hard. “I mean,we did, but not like that. He…I…”

“We’re getting nowhere fast,” Sawyer said, pushing the water bottle closer to Alec. “Take a drink and gather yourself.”

Alec nodded and complied, downing the rest of the water. Royce grabbed another bottle from the minifridge under the bar. He slid it to him, and they waited as Alec drank more. He took a deep breath and tried again. “I met Dane at a bar. We hit it off, and I asked him back to my place. We hooked up, but there was no exchange of money. I ordered food, and we hung out and talked a lot. Watched a movie. And um, you know…hooked up again. I wanted him to stay the night, but he said he had to work in a few hours. I asked if I could see him again. Dane told me he had a lot of family obligations and wasn’t sure he could spare the time. I offered to drive him home, but he refused. Seemed a little jumpy about it. He said he’d order a ride, but I did it for him. It felt like the gentlemanly thing to do, especially since Ihoped to see him again.” Wide eyes scanned the patio, searching desperately for someone to believe him.

Jason was the first to speak. “This sounds like bullshit to me.”

“I believe him,” Royce said.

“What?” Jason shouted. “Why?”

“Jay,” Cayden said softly. “I think you’re wrong about him, and Dane’s messages to T prove it.”

“Let’s hear about the evidence you found on Dane’s laptop,” urged Sawyer, the ever-present voice of reason.

“And maybe we talk about how you discovered the laptop and accessed the information,” Royce said, pinning Cayden with a harsh look. “Illegally obtained evidence can’t be used to arrest or prosecute a suspect. You’ll learn a lot more about that in the Explorer Academy.”

“I told you I had a lead on where Dane might stay when he wasn’t at home,” Jason said. “I followed that hunch and found gold.” He tapped the laptop. “I’ll refer to Dane’s friend as T because that’s how he’s listed in Dane’s contacts. He wants to stay anonymous.”

“But he’ll do the right thing and come forward if he needs to,” Cayden added hastily.

“T met us an hour ago to give us the stuff Dane had left at his house,” Jason said. “Cayden figured out Dane’s passwords, and we read through his WhatsApp messages.”

Cayden’s ears turned bright pink, and he lowered his gaze.

Royce suspected there was more to the story, but he decided to pursue the information they found instead of lingering on how they’d obtained it. He’d circle back to that later. “What did you find?”

“Dane messaged T that he’d gotten stood up by his date. They were supposed to meet at a bar, but the guy was a no-show. Dane was disappointed since he needed the money. About thirty minutes lapsed, and Dane reached out again to tell T thathe’s going home with that hot podcast guy who’s in town. When T responded that the guy could probably afford to pay double, Dane told him that the hookup was just for him.” Cayden opened the laptop and clicked on an app. “T continued to check in with Dane over the next few hours, but Dane only responded periodically. He assured T that he was safe and enjoying his night.” Cayden lifted his head and stared at Alec for a few moments before continuing. “Dane said he wished the date could be the start of something real. They bantered back and forth briefly aboutPretty Woman.T called Dane Vivian. Then Dane got silent for a few more hours. His last message came at two ten on Thursday morning. Dane told T that Edward had ordered him a car, and he’d be on his way soon.”

“Who is Edward?” Royce asked.

“That’s the name of Richard Gere’s character in the movie,” Sawyer said. “How have you not watchedPretty Woman?”

Shrugging, Royce said, “I saw it years ago. Probably once. Nothing blew up in it, so it’s not my kind of movie.”

Jason pointed at Alec and said, “Why is Dane calling him Edward if he didn’t pay for sex?”

“Whether money exchanged hands is irrelevant,” Royce told his nephew. “Alec has a record of the ride he ordered for Dane. His account history also shows that the driver left without a passenger.”

“You didn’t make sure he got in the car?” Jason asked.

“Dane wasn’t a toddler,” Cayden argued. “And it was after two in the morning.”

“Why didn’t T raise an alarm when Cayden didn’t show up?” Sawyer asked.

“He assumed Dane changed his mind and stayed with Edward,” Cayden said. “Something must’ve happened to him before the driver arrived.”

“The ETA on the driver’s arrival was five minutes when we kissed goodbye on my porch,” Alec said. “Dane headed down the driveway, and I went back inside to take a shower. The main bedroom is at the back of the house, so I didn’t see what happened.”

“Five minutes,” Royce whispered. It seemed like such a short amount of time, but lives could get destroyed in mere seconds. He closed his eyes and imagined the scene. Dane walking down the driveway to wait for his ride, standing at the curb, likely looking down at his phone and not paying attention to his surroundings. An assailant could’ve ambushed him in the dark before he made it to the curb. Or a car could’ve pulled up in front of him, and he got in, thinking it was his ride. Neither scenario boded well for Dane. If they were lucky, a Ring camera in the neighborhood would’ve caught something. “We need to call Katie and tell her what we know.”

“Who’s Katie?” Alec asked.

“Katie O’Donnell is the detective investigating Dane’s disappearance,” Royce replied.

“She’s going to think I did it, isn’t she?” Alec folded into himself as if trying to get as small as possible. “The media outlets are going to find out, and all the good I’ve tried to do will be over.” He shook his head and sat taller once more. “But that doesn’t matter. We need to find Dane. I said I’d do anything to prove my sincerity and innocence, and I stand by that.”