Every House Has a Secret - 21

 

 

By the time Sunday evening rolled around, Brady and Rand were beginning to wonder if it was all worth it. They knew it was, although their aching muscles and blistered hands seemed to say otherwise.

 

"With luck," Brady said, once they were seated at a table in one of their favorite restaurants and had beers in front of them, "the floors will be dry by Tuesday night. At least enough to walk on them in our socks, like the guy at the rental place said."

 

"Then, we paint, and paint, and paint." Rand yawned, getting a grin of amusement from his husband. "Did you let Nick know the cabinets and tiles have been delivered?"

 

"Yes. I called him when we broke for supper last night." Brady patted Rand's back. "I guess you weren't paying attention."

 

"I was eating, before the slave driver—" Rand shot him a look, "—said it was time to get back to work."

 

"Me?" Brady looked at him in horror.

 

"Yes, you, love. You were subtle, but you still made it clear we needed to finish the sanding before we could go home and crash."

 

Brady shrugged. "It had to be done. Anyway, there's nothing we can do tomorrow night, because of the floors. Nick will hopefully have the kitchen finished by then, and the floor tiled."

 

"A day off." Rand fist-pumped, much to Brady's amusement.

 

"Yep. I'll do what research I can fit in at work tomorrow on Hodges and his family."

 

"So tomorrow night we can start putting the information together to see what we come up with. I need something to write on." Rand flagged down the waitress, asking if he could borrow a pencil and paper. She disappeared, coming back with what he needed a moment later. "Okay. We have to find out what happened to all of Hodges kids."

 

"We know the first pair went to live with his wife's family after he was dismissed from the force," Brady replied. "I wonder why."

 

"Maybe he wasn't in any shape to take care of two young boys," Rand speculated. "Or having them around reminded him of his wife's murder and everything that happened afterward."

 

"Possibly. We can presume the second Mrs. Hodges, umm, Irene, got custody of the two boys from the marriage, after she divorced him. When she remarried, Lawrence Thatcher probably adopted them."

 

"I wonder if either of Hodges first two sons got married and had sons of their own."

 

"Now that's a good question," Brady replied. "If so, it might be possible that they posed as Alan and Steven Thatcher in order to have legitimate access to Hodges's house after he died."

 

"For what reason?" Rand asked.

 

"To find the gun, although how they'd know about it is a question."

 

"We have to find out if the burglars who killed Hodges's wife were ever arrested for the crime." Rand added that to his list.

 

"If they were, that would have made the papers, I think," Brady replied. "But…" He nodded. "Okay. Say they were never caught, but somehow Hodges found out who they were and took things into his own hands."

 

"Using the gun to kill them, and then hiding it in the house, along with the photos. That could work. But how did the phony Thatchers find out about it?"

 

"We'll have to ask when we find them," Brady said.

 

"If we do."

 

"Between us, we'll make it happen," Brady stated firmly. "For now, let's eat." A logical suggestion since the waitress had arrived with their meals.