Hunter couldn't see or hear anyone else. His eyes stayed connected to the caskets in front of him. They were getting ready to bury them. He should have been there that day with them, but his wife had been pushing for just a girls trip. He should have set his foot down and told her no.
Every member of the royal families had come, but he was too consumed in grief to care. He should have thanked them all for coming, but he was afraid to stand and he was sure they understood. His second, and best friend had also lost his wife. They hadn't connected the way he and Stephanie connected. Some times that happened with arranged marriages.
Shawn squeezed his shoulder. Hunter wiped the tears and looked around. No one was around, but the workers, Shawn, and himself. When did everyone leave?
"Sorry, I just", Shawn stopped him.
"We understand. Sit for as long as you want", Shawn said.
Hunter nodded and looked once more at the caskets containing his wife and two girls. He took a deep breath before standing and joining Shawn. He buttoned his jacket.
"Lets go", he said.
Shawn nodded. Getting in the car, they drove to his castle. He entered it and looked around. The silence was killing him. His daughters were always making noise and running around. When he got home, they always ran to greet him. Kissing him and hugging him, asking how his day went.
Shawn saw the way his friend was suffering. He knew that pain because he had lost his wife as well. He wished he could help his friend through this, but nothing could fix it.
"Do you want me to stay?", Shawn asked.
Hunter shook his head no.
"I'll be fine alone. I just want, I want to be alone", Hunter said.
Shawn nodded. He understood that as well.
"Okay. I'll be back in two days to check on you. Whether you like it or not", Shawn said.
Hunter nodded, knowing there was no arguing with him. Shawn left. Hunter broke down as soon as the door closed behind him.
Shawn was sitting in his apartment, something had been bugging him since they found out what happened to Stephanie and the girls. He stood and grabbed his car keys, going to the office. Guards waved at him or sent him a nod.
He grabbed the phone on his desk and hit the button.
"Hey, I need everything the guards have on the accident of Stephanie and her daughters. I need them now", Shawn said.
"Yes sir", his secretary said.
No one questioned him. He was second to Hunter. If you second guessed the King or his second, you must have something to hide. A few minutes later, two guards walked in with three different boxes. They set them down where Shawn told them to and left. He walked over to them and set one box on his desk.
Opening it, he pulled out photos of the accident and a few disks that contained videos of Stephanie and the girls. Each of their stops for gas and food. Grabbing his laptop he watched each one. They all looked pretty normal to him, nothing out of the ordinary.
He sighed and shut it hard. Someone knocked on his door.
"Come in", he shouted, rubbing his tired eyes.
The door opened to one of his guards, Billy Gunn.
"What do you need Billy?", Shawn asked.
Billy closed the door behind him and walked closer to Shawn's desk. He pointed to the boxes and pictures on his desk.
"Need help sir? I saw them bringing the boxes in", Billy said.
Shawn raised a brow before nodding. They trusted Billy, they had grown up with him and he's defended them since becoming a guard.
"What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room.", Shawn said.
Billy nodded and sat down.
"I don't believe Stephanie's accident, was an accident.", Shawn said.
Billy nodded.
"And what would make you think that boss?", Billy asked.
"I don't know. Its just this feeling I'm getting. I mean, Stephanie, Hunter, me, you. We've all driven down that same road to get to Opal Region. How could she have possibly crashed? They say she swerved off the road, but why? What happened?", Shawn said.
Billy nodded.
"What does Hunter say about this?", he asked.
"No, I don't want to involve him till I actually have something. He's grieving right now. If I'm not right about this, it will crush him even more", Shawn said.
Billy nodded.
"What do you need me to do?", Billy asked.
"Help me look through these videos", Shawn said, handing him a few.
Billy nodded and stood.
"I'm going to go get my laptop", Billy said.
Shawn nodded. Before Billy could open the door to walk out, he stopped and looked over at Shawn.
"You know, its weird. It was the first thought that entered my mind after I grieved over the Queen and Princesses", he said.
"What's that?", Shawn asked.
"Why would the Queen take that road? Its not our usual and you know that if she ever goes anywhere or we take the girls for them to Opal, Hunter makes us take the other one, because it has cameras and people are always around.", Billy said.
Shawn didn't think about that. Billy was right.
"You make a point. Why did she take the back road?", Shawn said.
"I can check into it for you before I come back. Maybe it was closed that day", Billy said.
Shawn nodded.
"Let me know Billy, and remember, don't say a word about this to anyone", Shawn said.
Billy nodded and left. Shawn couldn't get that out of his head now. Billy was right. Hunter would have had Stephanie take the safe road. The back road didn't have cameras and there was hardly anyone around. The view was beautiful though.
Shawn went through the box and found the last video of Stephanie before what he assumed was the accident. He pressed play and watched as she paid for gas and snacks for the girls and the other women who went on the trip with her.
He watched her laugh and talk to his wife. They walked out. The video from inside the store ended and he started the final one. She pumped gas and the girls got back in the car. It showed Stephanie was the one driving this time. The car pulls away and the camera can spot it at the red light, the car slowly goes towards the ramp that leads to the safe road.
The car stops and turns left. The video ends.
"Something stopped you from taking the ramp", Shawn mumbled to himself.
Shawn moved the video back and zoomed into the ramp, but he couldn't see anything. He sighed. Billy came back in and set a file down.
"This is the list of all the times they closed the ramp. It was open the day they died", Billy said, showing him the date.
"I need you to look at this", Shawn said, turning the laptop and playing that last few minutes of the video.
"Something stopped her from taking it", Billy said.
Shawn nodded.
"But the question here is, what?", Shawn asked.
Shawn looked down at the paper.
"If this says it was open, that means something or someone told her not to take the ramp", Shawn said.
Billy nodded.
"You know what. Let me get the rest of the videos of that day. Maybe something happened before she got there or maybe it will show us if anyone else takes it after her", Billy said.
Shawn nodded.
"See if the store across the street from the gas station has cameras. Maybe that angle will help us", Shawn said.
Billy nodded.
"Oh, Billy", Shawn said, stopping him from leaving.
"Yeah?", he asked.
"See if you can find me someone to investigate. Someone we can trust with this", Shawn said.
"I've got a friend. He use to be a guard, but with the rules and stuff, he couldn't take it. He's a private investigator now", Billy said.
Shawn nodded.
"Call him", Shawn said.
Billy nodded. Shawn was going to get to the bottom of this. No matter how long it took. This might not bring back Stephanie and the girls, but it would bring peace to Hunter. If only just a little bit.