What She Found

Reese glanced around the room while Hayden sat on her bed, watching him. "Is this interfering with your day?"

He shook his head, then picked up a picture frame that was on the stand with the TV. It was a photo of Hayden with a man with dark hair, both grinning at the camera. She looked happy. This was a woman he hadn't met yet.

"Not at all," he replied, studying the object in his hand. "Who's this in the photo with you?"

Hayden caned her neck. "That's my brother."

Reese blinked at her. "I wasn't aware you had a sibling."

"We don't speak," she said, pulling at a thread on her sweatshirt. "After our mom got sick, Mason shut me out. When I tried to talk to him, he wouldn't return any calls or texts."

Reese leaned against the closed door. "I'm sorry to hear that. Is your mother better?"

"She died last year," Hayden said softly. "Mason didn't even attend the funeral."

Reese frowned, but before he could respond, his phone vibrated. He looked at the screen. "I received a text from Detective Kinley. She's working on your case as well, and she asked if she could come by. She has a better eye for some things. She may be able to see something I missed."

"Of course," Hayden said. "What do you think he was doing in here? I don't keep anything valuable in here."

"Do you have a safe?" he asked.

"No, everything I own that's important to me is in a safe deposit box at the bank."

"Money?"

"When my mom died, I got a sizable inheritance. It's not much, but it's something."

Reese examined the bedside table. He opened one of the drawers, which contained some night cream and magazines. But other than that, it was empty.

"Did Mason know about the money?"

"I don't know how he could, but maybe. Wait, you don't think he had anything to do with this, do you? There's no way."

"It's possible," Reese answered. "In cases like this, it's generally the reason for a break in. They want money. I'll reach out to Mason, and if I can get him to confess, then this will all be over."