Page 21 of Deadly Forever
“Did he … threaten you?”
Mandy opened her mouth to answer and then snapped it shut, her heart pinching.
“It’s okay, baby,” James prodded. “He wants to know about the last few minutes of his son’s life. You can tell him the truth. He asked.”
“He threatened me a little,” Mandy conceded. “It was a weird threat, though. He just said he wanted to take me out before the cops got to him. He didn’t hit me or anything, though, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I don’t know what I’m asking,” Graham admitted, exhaling a shaky breath. “I don’t understand how this happened. He was a good boy. He was always a good boy. If he needed help … I don’t know why he did this.”
“Well, we’re hoping to figure that out, too,” James said.
“You are?” Graham’s expression warred between hopeful and suspicious. “Why?”
“Because my wife could’ve been hurt and I’m not happy about ending someone’s life, no matter the circumstances,” James answered. “We want to know exactly why those boys went into that mall and what they were hoping to accomplish.”
“But what will the information give you?”
James shrugged. “Peace of mind, I guess. I can’t ask for more than that. Why don’t you go into my office, though, and I will join you in two minutes. I just need a moment with my wife and brother.”
Graham nodded, offering Mandy a watery smile before trudging toward the office. James waited until he was out of earshot to address Mandy and Grady.
“I’m going to interview him,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Run a quick check on him, Grady, and if you come up with anything interesting shoot me a text.”
Grady nodded. “Okay. Do you think he’s going to have any pertinent information?”
“Probably not,” James conceded. “We need to start somewhere, though.”
“What about me?” Mandy asked. “What do you want me to do?”
“Get prepared to take dictation,” James replied, flashing a heartfelt grin. “Actually, I just want you to relax out here.”
“I can take her home,” Grady offered. “If you don’t want her to stay … .”
James considered the offer before firmly shaking his head. “I want her to stay,” he said. “I … this is going to be difficult. I want her close in case I need her.”
Mandy’s chest filled with warmth at the simple declaration. “I’ll take dictation for you anytime.”
James pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I know. That’s why I love you. Okay, wish me luck. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”
MANDY sat on the lobby couch next to Grady, casting the occasional look over his shoulder to see if he found anything during his computer search. The bulk of her attention was firmly planted in James’ office, though.
“It’s weird, right?”
“What’s weird?” Grady asked, distracted.
“Would you visit the guy who shot your son the day after it happened?”
“If I had questions about the death, like this guy clearly does, I probably would do the same thing,” Grady answered. “It’s his son. He wants to understand why this horrible thing happened to his family. He can’t wrap his head around it, so he came to the one person he thinks might have answers.”
“We don’t have answers, though,” Mandy pointed out. “We don’t know why the kid did it. We just know he did.”
“I know you’re worried about James, but you don’t need to be,” Grady said, dragging his eyes away from the computer and focusing on his sister-in-law. “He’s okay. He did what he had to do to keep you safe. He’s never going to regret that.”
Mandy wasn’t so sure. “I know he would do anything to keep me safe, but I’m not sure that Nate Graham was going to kill me. He seemed to be goading James. That’s how it felt to me, at least.”
“What do you mean?” Grady was intrigued. “I wasn’t there so I only heard about the interaction secondhand. The way it was described to me, the kid had a gun and was raising it in your direction.”
“He was raising it and I happened to be in front of him,” she said. “I was afraid he was going to hurt me but now … .” Mandy broke off, licking her lips. “I don’t know what to think now. I almost think that he did it to force James to shoot him.”
