Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“The police finally released your home to us this morning,” Kent told her. “Liam and I went through it to salvage what we could of your stuff and to see if there was anything the police missed.”
“We found this.” Liam told her, holding up her worn backpack. “The stuff had been dumped out, but it seems that no one realized it has a secret pocket.”
She licked her lips. “In . . . in high school some of the boys were real dicks. They’d tip girls backpacks up. Rohan got that backpack for me so I could hide things in it. Not that I had a lot to hide . . . I’m rambling.”
She stared from one to the other and she just knew.
“You found my stationery.”
“Yeah, baby, we did. What were you thinking?” Hayes demanded.
“Hayes, easy,” Kent told him.
“No! I can’t be easy.”
Oh God.
He was really mad. Her breathing started coming in fast pants.
“She needs to know how serious this is!” Hayes added.
“You should speak in a quieter voice since you are scaring her,” Liam said matter-of-factly. “At least, she appears frightened. Her pupils are wide, her breathing is fast, and she has grown pale.”
“Fuck! Shit.” Hayes moved to her, gathering her up into his arms carefully. She pushed her face into him as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her good arm around his neck.
“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” she cried. “It’s just . . . he’s such an asshole. I knew he could have done better for Rohan, it was like he didn’t even care. And Rohan is all I have and I got so mad every time I visited him. Stein took all of our money. Rohan had to sell his car and his apartment and he gave that . . . that rat every cent and he didn’t even try!”
Hayes started rocking her, hushing her. But she couldn’t stop now. She was on a roll.
“I would visit Rohan on a Sunday and then I’d take a bus to a different area of the city and I’d just pour my feelings out to that bastard and send him the letter. I kept stamps and paper and envelopes in my backpack. I should have mixed up the stationery.”
“Yes, that would probably have been smarter if you’d wished to remain anonymous and get away with this,” Liam said in a monotone voice.
A sob broke from her lips.
“Shit, Liam,” Hayes said. “Do you have to be so blunt?”
“That was blunt?” Liam asked. “I thought I was just telling the truth.”
“It’s all right, baby. Don’t cry,” Hayes whispered.
“I’m going to go to jail!” she wailed. “I think I’m entitled to cry.”
There was silence other than her small sobs, which she gradually got under control. The tension in the room was weird. Leaning back, she stared up at Hayes, then over to Liam and Kent. She expected them to look angry or disgusted. Instead, Liam appeared blank, Kent seemed sympathetic, and Hayes looked shocked.
“What is it?” she asked as Kent walked over and grabbed some tissues holding them out to her.
Hayes shifted her weight to one arm so he could grab them. Then he wiped her face and held them to her nose. “Blow.”
Liam watched in interest. Which was slightly strange, although she didn’t get any weird vibes from him.
“Blow?” she repeated.
“Yes, blow.”
She stared at the tissue in shock. What was happening right now?
“I believe he wants you to blow your nose on the tissue,” Liam told her. “Why he wouldn’t let you do it . . . well, it could be one of those Daddy things. Or maybe it’s a Hayes thing. I’m not certain. Kent, do you hold the tissue when Abby needs to blow her nose?”
Kent sighed. “Liam, that’s one of those things you probably shouldn’t ask about.”
“Hmm. Noted.”
“Blow,” Hayes commanded.
This time she blew her nose. Gross.
“Jail?” Hayes said after pulling the tissue away from her nose. “I can’t believe you think I would allow you to go to jail.”
What?
“I . . . I . . . isn’t that why you’re all here?”
“Why would we bring this to you if we wanted you to go to jail?” Liam asked. “We’d simply go to the police and have them arrest you. Although with how incompetent the local police force around here is, there’s only around a seventy-five percent chance that they would actually arrest you.”
She sifted through that information for the important parts. “I’m not going to jail?”
“Of course you’re not going to jail!” Hayes barked, making her jump.
“Hayes,” Kent said in a warning voice. “You’re scaring her.”
But he wasn’t. She’d much rather he just give it to her straight. She buried her face back into his chest and started to cry again. Silently, this time.
“So the letters were posted on Sunday,” Liam said. “That’s why they usually arrived on a Tuesday. We were right to think that they were related to one of Stein’s failed cases. He really did bungle your brother’s case. But then, you know that.”