Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“What…”
Romeo’s phone rang, and he answered it on speaker as he leaned his hips against the counter.
His feet were still covered in a layer of dirt as he crossed them.
“What’d you get out of him?”
“Guy sang like a canary. Apparently, Whitney Watts ordered him to do it or she’d get him fired. He did it, but only in a way that he knew it wouldn’t hurt them. He also riled the horses up to get them to make noise. He’s fully prepared, though, to go down swinging. He said the conversation took place in front of a camera. My guess, she took care of that footage.”
“She could try,” Romeo said. “But Apollo’s been tapped into all those cameras for months since we got here. There’s no way that she’ll erase them in a way that he can’t get back.”
“Good,” I muttered darkly.
Romeo winked.
“Speaking of,” Romeo said as he pulled his phone away from his face. “Apollo just sent a video. Check it out.”
I looked at the video over Romeo’s shoulder as I continued to stir the soup.
“You’ll go, or I’ll fucking end you, Skeeter,” Whitney hissed. “This is nonnegotiable. I’ve been keeping you in a job for years. If you want it to continue, you’ll do this for me.”
The order was simple. Whitney, my so-called stepmother, had ordered Skeeter to set fire to Romeo’s house. Only, Skeeter hadn’t followed that order and had gone for the barn instead.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“That’s enough to bring her in,” Romeo said hopefully.
“It sure the fuck is.” Gentry sounded amused. “We’re on the way there now.”
“Good,” Romeo grumbled. “Keep me updated.”
“Will do,” Gentry responded.
Just as his phone was set down on the counter, my phone rang.
I answered it without picking it up and placed it on speaker without checking to see who was calling. “Hello?”
Romeo gestured that he was going to take a shower, and I nodded in understanding.
“Hey,” Rocky, my lawyer friend, said. “Just wanted to give you some updates.”
“Oh, boy,” I said as I watched the soup swirl as I stirred it.
“It’s not all bad,” she said. “First, we filed your motion to get them evicted six days ago. Their lawyer countered with a countersuit, and I’m just telling you now it’s possible that the eviction will be delayed.”
“Of course, they did and it will.” I rolled my eyes. “I expected nothing less though, Rocky. It’s okay.”
“I just hate this for you. But don’t worry about this being pro bono. I’m able to do this in my spare time, so we can keep them tied up for a while so that it’s going to cost them,” she promised.
Even though I knew that she was going to do that, I still felt relief.
I had the money, of course, but again, I tried really hard not to use it.
I would be giving her a fat payment at the end of all of this, though. Whether she wanted it or not.
She was a really good friend, and friends didn’t take advantage of each other.
“The second thing that I did was start digging into the case that we’ll bring against your parents—Whitney especially—when it comes to identity theft and fraud. I spoke with Birdee at length over the last couple of hours, and she wants to bury Whitney. She wants to take this as far as I can take it. I already have my lead investigator on it. Once we get all that we need, we’ll take everything that we have to the police. Once I’m done with her, she’ll be in prison for the rest of her life.”
Something about the way she said it made me feel confident that this was going to end.
It may not be any time soon, but there was at least an end in sight.
“I’ve gotten a lot of anonymous help from someone really good with a computer,” she said. “I can’t use any of this without backing it up with evidence not obtained by illegal means, but I have a direction I can send my computer team in. Plus, I have a couple of contacts at the police stations in the two towns that y’all are in. They’re going to work with me. As well as a contact from the FBI who I think is pretty interested in it. He’s a new and rising agent who really wants to make a name for himself with a big case. And I think he’ll be excited to sink his claws into this one.”
“Good.” I breathed a sigh of relief, giving the soup one last stir. “Anything else?”
“That’s about all that I have for you right now,” she said. “I do have one last question, though.”
“Shoot.”
“Do we want to go after your dad?” she asked. “Neither you nor Birdee have really said anything about him. Are we going there? Or are we leaving it alone?”