FREDDY PRINCE

chapter fourteen

Kalani checked everywhere for Mayor Montgomery, only to come up empty-handed. The last place she expected to find him was his office, but she didn't rule it out completely. Not until she ran into Shonnie again.

"Is my dad around?"

"No."

Shonnie slammed the book in front of her shut and rolled her eyes.

"And even if he was, I think you'd be the last person he would stop his day to talk to. But maybe I can help. What's up?"

Kalani scoffed and folded her arms across her chest as she stared at Shonnie, wondering where she got her audacity. She thought about leaving and taking her search elsewhere, but then she thought it would be a good idea to put pressure on Shonnie as well.

Freddy warned her that Shonnie was no weak link and Kalani knew from experience how conniving and vindictive her dad's fling could be. But when it came to investigating and drawing out confessions, Kalani had her fair share of experience.

"As a matter of fact, I think you can help me."

She put on a fake smile and stepped closer to Shonnie's desk with her notepad in hand. That was a scare tactic she learned from her mom when she first got into journalism.

"I was given information through an anonymous tip a few days ago. It was video footage from the night before my mother's body was found."

Shonnie's eyes widened a bit. She no longer looked like she controlled the room and looked more like a helpless teen who was caught red-handed. Another tip Kalani learned from her mom was how to read a person's body language. Even when their lips spoke lies, their bodies would always give them away.

"I watched the video over and over and over again. At first, it was hard to see a third person inside the car because my focus was on the trunk. But the more I watched it and took everything in, I saw that there was someone else there that night."

Kalani's eyes squinted at Shonnie like she knew all of her dirty secrets. She didn't know for sure if there was another person in the car that night. Not until reading Shonnie's body language.

"I know Mack was there," she said. "My father. But what was so hard for me to understand was why and what they were getting rid of. I know my dad loved my mom. He had a fucked up way of showing it, but he would've never dumped her like that. Then, I started thinking about what he said in his office that day; how adamant he was about loving her, so I know it couldn't have been him who killed her."

Shonnie stood silent. Any other time, she had the right words to say for everything. But in the face of the one person who could bring down her entire operation, she had nothing but crickets.

"Do you know a woman by the name of Dahlia?" Kalani asked. "She was a good friend of my mom's. Mack's sister."

"No."

Shonnie's voice came out so low and weak, she had to repeat herself to sound in control again.

"No. I don't know her. Why?"

"Well, she knows you."

Kalani teased Shonnie with lies that were meant to lead her to the clues she needed to solve the crime.

"She knows a lot about all of you. Things I didn't even know. Too bad someone went after her too. I'm willing to bet I know who that was. But why?"

Instead of continuing, Kalani stared Shonnie right in the eyes. She looked terrified; like everything she thought she'd get away with was crumbling right in front of her eyes. Even though Kalani had no factual evidence that could prove who killed her mother, she knew she was on the right track.