“Then why are you laughing? And as far as Roy’s art goes, I haven’t seen any of it. I assume you have. Do you think it’s psychotic?”

“No. But I’m no art expert, either. He does a lot of portraits, but he also does abstracts. Some of it is pretty dark, but some isn’t.”

“I’m not sure this detective has a clue,” I said. “I do think Roy knows something—something he wanted to tell us at the bar the other night. But our brother is no psycho. That’s a term reserved for the bastard who fathered us.”

“You think Dad was a psycho? I don’t know, Rock. He was an asshole for sure, but I don’t think you could call him psychotic.”

Of course Reid didn’t. He didn’t know what he’d done to our sister. Did that make him psychotic? Probably not. Sociopathic, for sure.

“Reid,” I said. “You were nine when I got shipped off. What happened during those years?”

Silence met my ear.

“Reid?”

“We don’t talk about it.”

“We meaning who?”

“Roy and I.”

“What about Riley?”

“Riley was fine. She was Daddy’s little girl. He doted on her.”

Wow. A lot my brother didn’t know. “He did, huh?”

“Yeah. Nothing was too good for her. She had the best of everything. He even took her on special trips. He called them princess trips. Roy and I didn’t get anything like that.”

My brother didn’t know how lucky he’d been. I knew exactly what went on during those princess trips. Damn. My poor baby sister. But my brothers? How could they have missed everything? Had they seriously been too preoccupied with envy that they couldn’t see what he was doing to her? Unreal.

“Have you ever wondered why Riley struggles so much?” I asked. “Why she runs away from time to time?”

“She’s a spoiled brat, Rock. I know she’s had her issues with depression and all, but damn, if she didn’t live such a coddled life, she wouldn’t have time for such self-indulgence. God knows I don’t.”

Wow again. Reid was truly ignorant. And naïve.

“Dad used to beat the shit out of me, Reid. Many times because I took it when he went after you. Did you know that?”

“I know. I suppose I should thank you, but after you left, who do you think he took it out on? Roy some, but mostly me. Roy was always closed up in his room working on some painting. I was the one who tried to gain favor with Dad, the only one of us who was truly interested in learning the family business. And for that I was punished.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry.”

And I was. I should have been there to protect not only my sister but my brothers as well.