child in the family. My older sister passed away when I was still very young. She was in a car accident. But we definitely had a brother.”
I thought of some of my relatives that I’d like to forget about. “Not a good situation?”
She shrugged “You could say that. He could never stay off the booze, and he could never hold down a job. He bounced around a lot, and from what I’ve heard, he’s been on the streets more than once. I was just wondering if he might have been the person that you saw instead of Hamilton.” She flipped through some photos on her phone until she found one. She held the phone up for me to see. The photo was older, and I assumed that she’d taken a snapshot of the older photograph. The man did bear a resemblance to his brother. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. I’d never met either one, and I could only go off the images that I had seen. This one was slightly blurry from the image-of-an-image effect.
I shrugged. “It could be. Did you tell the police about this?” I wondered why Danvers hadn’t mentioned this to me. He was usually anxious to tell me when I’d screwed up.
“My parents strictly forbade me from mentioning him to anyone, much less the police, and I’m sure they didn’t, either. At the time, they were still sure that Hamilton would come home, and they didn’t want to embarrass him or hurt his chances to win the race for city council. Milton was always the black sheep of the family.”
I didn’t speak, but I mentally chalked one up for me. I had uncovered something that Danvers had not. I now wondered how I could parlay that into even more information about the murder. “Was he among the homeless here?” I asked. It would have looked terrible for the campaign if the candidate who wanted to lock up the homeless also wanted to lock up his relatives for the “crime” of homelessness.
“I honestly don’t know. He could have been. I haven’t seen him in probably six years or so, but I definitely know that at the time he left, he’d lost another job and my mother indicated that he would likely not be able to keep his home then. He’d taken some money from the business he worked at and gambled it all away. He also took some money from our gallery that he wasn’t entitled to, and that was that.” She finished the story in a rush as if she desperately needed to unburden herself. She looked relieved to have finished. “He was supposed to marry someone in our social circle, but those actions put an end to that, and he left. I can’t speak for my parents, but I haven’t heard from him since. My mother mentioned a few years ago that she’d heard from him, and he was in Texas, but that’s the extent of what I know.”
I indicated that I would ask the police about the resemblance and learn if I had been mistaken. I wondered again if I had been wrong. I had been so certain of my recognition of the man, but now that so many people were questioning what I’d seen, I was beginning to doubt myself.
“Oh, I have to go. Milton’s ex-fiancée that I mentioned is here. She isn’t very kind about our family in circumstances like this. I’m going to have to go ensure that she doesn’t go telling stories.” She gave me a more genuine smile this time and walked off to talk to the other guest.
I spied her with a tall blonde who was wearing a bright red dress. A diamond necklace that I assumed to be real sparkled around her neck, and a large rock was on her finger, indicating that she had married after the debacle with the Preston brother. Given that Hamilton had just been found dead, I wasn’t sure that the attire was best suited for the occasion. However, she was quite the center of attention and several people, including Brianna, stood near her, listening to her talk.
Land looked at me. “You’re not going to ask the police about this,” he stated. He knew me and my competitive drive well enough to know that I wanted to show Danvers up on this case.
I thought of some of my relatives that I’d like to forget about. “Not a good situation?”
She shrugged “You could say that. He could never stay off the booze, and he could never hold down a job. He bounced around a lot, and from what I’ve heard, he’s been on the streets more than once. I was just wondering if he might have been the person that you saw instead of Hamilton.” She flipped through some photos on her phone until she found one. She held the phone up for me to see. The photo was older, and I assumed that she’d taken a snapshot of the older photograph. The man did bear a resemblance to his brother. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. I’d never met either one, and I could only go off the images that I had seen. This one was slightly blurry from the image-of-an-image effect.
I shrugged. “It could be. Did you tell the police about this?” I wondered why Danvers hadn’t mentioned this to me. He was usually anxious to tell me when I’d screwed up.
“My parents strictly forbade me from mentioning him to anyone, much less the police, and I’m sure they didn’t, either. At the time, they were still sure that Hamilton would come home, and they didn’t want to embarrass him or hurt his chances to win the race for city council. Milton was always the black sheep of the family.”
I didn’t speak, but I mentally chalked one up for me. I had uncovered something that Danvers had not. I now wondered how I could parlay that into even more information about the murder. “Was he among the homeless here?” I asked. It would have looked terrible for the campaign if the candidate who wanted to lock up the homeless also wanted to lock up his relatives for the “crime” of homelessness.
“I honestly don’t know. He could have been. I haven’t seen him in probably six years or so, but I definitely know that at the time he left, he’d lost another job and my mother indicated that he would likely not be able to keep his home then. He’d taken some money from the business he worked at and gambled it all away. He also took some money from our gallery that he wasn’t entitled to, and that was that.” She finished the story in a rush as if she desperately needed to unburden herself. She looked relieved to have finished. “He was supposed to marry someone in our social circle, but those actions put an end to that, and he left. I can’t speak for my parents, but I haven’t heard from him since. My mother mentioned a few years ago that she’d heard from him, and he was in Texas, but that’s the extent of what I know.”
I indicated that I would ask the police about the resemblance and learn if I had been mistaken. I wondered again if I had been wrong. I had been so certain of my recognition of the man, but now that so many people were questioning what I’d seen, I was beginning to doubt myself.
“Oh, I have to go. Milton’s ex-fiancée that I mentioned is here. She isn’t very kind about our family in circumstances like this. I’m going to have to go ensure that she doesn’t go telling stories.” She gave me a more genuine smile this time and walked off to talk to the other guest.
I spied her with a tall blonde who was wearing a bright red dress. A diamond necklace that I assumed to be real sparkled around her neck, and a large rock was on her finger, indicating that she had married after the debacle with the Preston brother. Given that Hamilton had just been found dead, I wasn’t sure that the attire was best suited for the occasion. However, she was quite the center of attention and several people, including Brianna, stood near her, listening to her talk.
Land looked at me. “You’re not going to ask the police about this,” he stated. He knew me and my competitive drive well enough to know that I wanted to show Danvers up on this case.
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