Joe's pov
(A/N: major thanks to patrickpopp for some inspo!)
My Uncles, Aunt Erin, my kids and I had finally arrived in Warwick. Uncle Jamie and Uncle Danny were driving flatbeds to help bring stuff over, while Aunt Erin was with me and the kids in the car. She was the one who broke the silence
"What do we do first? I can take the kids shopping for a few new things while you deal with putting the house on the market. Danny and Jamie can help loading up the trucks. Then you and I can go deal with the life insurance claim."
That plan was as good as any, and the kids gladly went with her to the mall for toys and snacks, talking her ears off, reminding me of myself at that age. Uncle Danny spoke, clapping my shoulder
"They're chatty. Were you like that at their age? Your dad was."
I nodded
"Good to know. Because my Mom was not, and Taylor wasn't either. So they do get it from me. Thanks so much for the help, I gotta get the real estate agents over here."
My Uncle Jamie nodded
"You do that, and we'll get all the important stuff packed up, and the kiddos can add anything else they wanna take when they get here."
They go to work and I headed to talk to the real estate agents, giving them the address
"I'd like to place this house on the market asap. The previous owner, Taylor Riley Anderson is deceased, her sole beneficiaries are our children, I'm their biological father. They're moving in with me."
After the agent helping me had been satisfied with the evidence proving I was their father, she helped me put the sale in motion, taking all the pictures and information regarding the house and having it appraised. The 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2776 square feet house was worth 939,900 dollars. Whoa. Even crazier, two buyers immediately went to war over it, actually offering no less than a million bucks. The house was sold in a matter of hours. Up next, Aunt Erin was going to help me with the legal proceedings of retrieving Taylor's life insurance policy for the kiddos while my Uncles finished up the heavy packing and took care of the quads simultaneously. One thing that still bothered me, apart from why the spontaneous visit seven years late, was why kill her in a crash and bleed her out with slashes on top of that? The slashes were nearly at post-mortem, best I could tell before they kicked me off the investigation.
Aunt Erin and I were soon called to talk to the policy agent, who, not to my surprise requested proof of paternity. I was happy to provide the DNA results, to which she nodded
"Thank you very much. I'm so sorry for your loss. It would seem Ms. Anderson's policy is a million dollars, a quarter mill for each child. It was meant to grow over time, but..."
She trailed off, but I just nodded
"I understand, thank you. That's perfect."
Along with the agent, my Aunt walked me through cashing out everything and signing the right things. Monetarily speaking, I was in very good standing right now. I hope the kids are being good for Uncle Danny and Uncle Jamie, and that moving the stuff isn't being too stressful... Man, am I ever grateful for my family. Their 'no such thing as privacy' policy can sometimes work in my favor.
Jamie's pov
Danny and I had gotten the kids settled with snacks and a movie while we got the stuff in the trucks, but my brother and I were having a conversation about Taylor's case. She'd had family at one point, two brothers who had preceded her in death. And her own death was premeditated, out of her hands, and done in at least two parts. First the crash, then the slices. We talked as we worked, at least until Danny stopped in his tracks, picking up a note with gloves, putting it in some sort of bag. Not the actual baggies for evidence, but close enough. He showed me the note, and it was a diary entry from Riley, which she had meant to send to our nephew, because it was written more like a letter
Dear Joey,
It's been a long seven years since prom night. I miss you. But I had to leave, I'm so sorry. Dan and Fitz needed me in Arizona. At least that's what their letter said. When I got there, they were dead. Car crashed, other car gone, and along with the totaled car, their faces had been slashed. I'm scared, Joey. I... WE... have kids. You and me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you after prom, but the quads are 7 now. I can't let anything happen to them, so I'm coming with them to meet you. Please don't hate me, or worse, them. I needed to help my brothers, and then protect our family.
All my love forever and always,
Tay
I let out a low whistle
"Three kills, same MO. That's serial, but there was a seven-year break unless whoever did this killed anyone unrelated to them or unbeknownst to them before killing Taylor. And from what I gather, there was no DNA left at the scene other than Taylor and the kids..."
My older brother nodded
"Yeah. I sent a picture of this to the Detectives investigating, but I told them we were going to tell Joe as well. As long as he doesn't go rogue, they're ok with us telling him."
I nodded
"I'll be there when you tell him, he'll need both of us."
Danny nodded in gratitude, and Joe and Erin walked in that very minute. After Jojo, Dan, Em and Will gave them both some love, Danny and I ushered Joe and Erin outside and showed them what we found. Joe went pale, stumbling into Danny's awaiting arms, struggling to breathe until Erin and I helped him. He spoke worriedly, not above a whisper
"What if this person, or people, want to attack the kids next? What were the Andersons caught up in?"
None of us had answers to give him, and we quickly returned home to New York City, the case weighing heavily on our minds.