Hidden in the Blood: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 5)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Sunny, Thursday

This needed to happen now. It needed to happen yesterday. Finally, finally, Sunny was able to get Agnes and Mandeep Randhawa in his office so all three of them could have a discussion of what to do about Patrick Marinville, because by some stroke of luck Agnes had a free morning at the same time as Mandeep and he had a free hour on a business day.

It couldn't have come at a more crucial time. Patrick was just now looking at a property with Tej (she texted him her status every fifteen minutes for his peace of mind) and had already made contact with Agnes at her parents' home in Richmond, and that meant he knew where to find her. "Rachel is giving me the key to their place today," she said, still sheepish after admitting such to both of them. "I'm going downtown to work at the Central Branch of VPL this evening, and I promised her I'd stop by her office, Justiciar Security and Investigative Services, to pick it up before I start my shift."

"Good," Sunny said. "Be prepared to go there at a moment's notice, with or without your children." When Agnes flinched in response, he explained, "you've said he was never violent toward any of you, right?"

"That's right."

"If you testify against him, his attitude won't change toward the children, but it might change toward you," Mandeep said. "You need to be able to stay out of his reach once you give your deposition."

"Have you told your parents about this place?" Sunny asked.

Agnes shook her head. "I never even told them I was dating Al before I moved to the Okanagan. How could I tell them I've been visiting him and making friends with all of you? I'd have to do that before I could tell them about the place."

"I take it you're a very non-confrontational person," Sunny said.

She shrugged awkwardly. "I just hate disappointing them. They've been so good to me, especially now, looking after the kids while I'm at work. To tell them everything I got up to when I was younger, and everything Patrick's gotten up to, would only distress them unnecessarily. They already don't like Patrick, because they feel like he kept me in the Okanagan much longer than I would have stayed." She sighed and shook her head. "Even though I went there to get away from them."

"You have a love-hate relationship with your parents," Mandeep observed.

"Yeah. Ultimately I need to just get my own permanent place, for me and the kids. My parents are already talking to them about God and Jesus, stuff we never raised them with at home, and so of course Patrick Junior and Melissa have no idea what they're talking about. It's just... awkward."

The two Sikh men looked at each other and smirked. "You and your husband didn't practice Christianity?" Sunny asked.

"I didn't want them turning out like me, so afraid to do anything daring for fear of going to Hell. Did I tell you Al was my first boyfriend, and I was almost thirty? Patrick was raised Catholic but didn't like how his mother wouldn't divorce his father because she wouldn't be able to receive Communion anymore, even though his father abused her."

Sunny nodded along even though he wasn't quite sure what Communion was or of the doctrine around it. He'd have to look it up sometime. "All right, Agnes. You said Patrick visited you on Tuesday?"

"That's right."

"When he visited, did he mention anything about being in a car accident?"

Agnes blinked in surprise. "No. Why do you ask?"

"When you talked to him, did you notice if his truck had any damage on it?"

She shook her head. "Not that I could see. Was he in an accident?"