Clutch: Satan's Fury MC by L. Wilder

friendly smile, he motioned for me to come inside. “I’m headed out. Just lock up when you leave.”
    I stepped inside. I didn’t even have time to thank him before the door shut behind me. With him gone, I took a moment to glance around his apartment, and I was astounded at how nice his place was compared to ours. It was freshly painted, and it even had a few pictures hanging on the wall. It smelled so clean, and the furniture didn’t look like it had come from some secondhand store. I stepped into the kitchen and saw that he even had a washer and dryer. It was hard not to be a little jealous, but as soon as I stepped into that hot shower, all of my negative thoughts started to slip away. I was able to let my worries go and just enjoy the warmth of the water against my skin. Unfortunately, the clock was ticking, so my moment of peace and quiet didn’t last long. Once I was dressed, I quickly cleaned up my mess and, after locking his front door, I headed back to my apartment. To my surprise, the kids were already up and getting dressed, giving me a few extra minutes to finish up my morning routine.
    Once Charlie and Hadley finished getting ready, they followed me downstairs. Charlie started out back to meet up with Louise, but before Hadley followed, she came over to me and said, “You look really pretty today.”
    “Thanks, squirt. That was sweet of you.” I smiled and gave her a quick hug.
    Her eyebrows furrowed into a serious look when she said, “And I didn’t think you sounded like a hyena when you were screaming last night.”
    I shook my head and groaned, “Oh, sweetie. Don’t even give it a second thought. Let’s just forget any of that ever happened.”
    “Okay,” she smiled and rushed out back to meet up with her brother.
    Once they were both gone, I started my shift and didn’t stop until my afternoon break. I decided to use the time to call Detective Brakeman to see if there had been any changes in the case. I’d bought a cheap phone with a pay as you go plan, hoping that no one would be able to trace my calls. I grabbed it out of my purse and headed out into the alley to dial his number. It took me several tries, but I finally managed to get him to answer.
    “It’s good to hear from you, Olivia. How is Memphis treating you?” he asked in a much too friendly tone.
    “Memphis is great. There’s never a dull moment,” I said with a dry laugh. “I had a few minutes, so I thought I’d check with you to see if you’d had any leads on the case.”
    He covered the phone while he cleared his throat, then said, “There’s been a few things that have come to our attention over the last couple of days, Olivia. Maybe you should come in so we can discuss what we’ve found.”
    “I’m over twenty hours away, Detective. If there is something you need to tell me, then tell me,” I pushed.
    “Your father’s business partner, Mr. Perry, committed suicide last week. Upon further investigation, we discovered that he might have been involved with your father’s murder.”
    “Mr. Perry? No … that isn’t possible. Mr. Perry loved my parents. He’d never do anything to harm them!” When my father started his real estate company, Mr. Perry was the first person he hired. Over the years, they’d become close friends. We were always doing things with their family, like weekend cookouts, and we even vacationed together. When we were younger, his son Daniel and I were close, but things changed as we got older. His dad sent him away to some prep school for boys, and after that, he wasn’t around as much. We were all like family. There’s no way Mr. Perry was involved.
    “I’m afraid the evidence says otherwise, but the investigation is still underway. There are several leads we are looking into, so it’s just a matter of time before we find out who is responsible. Just hang tight and let us do our jobs.”
    “Yeah, well, that’s easier said than done,” I groaned.
    “How so? Have you run into