Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Detective Reeves gave her a surprisingly soft look. “If I was you, I might take a bit of . . . pleasure in pointing out to your father how wrong he was about his golden cop.”
Unless her father did know what he’d done . . . if he’d asked him to do it. No, that didn’t make sense.
“Isn’t that a bit petty?” she asked, even as the idea took hold.
“I say be petty,” Brody told her. Then he flushed as everyone looked at him. “Also, you might be able to get some insight into your father by studying his reaction.”
That was true.
“All right. I want to do that.”
Detective Reeves nodded and stood.
“Can I have a moment with my sister alone?” her brother asked.
Matthieu stiffened beside her and she knew he was going to stay no. But she wanted to talk to her brother. She felt like he was a stranger to her now.
“Yes,” she said.
Matthieu leaned in closer. “Maya, I don’t want you out of my sight.”
“She’ll be safe with me,” her brother said, sounding offended.
“You might say that, but I’ve learned that there are very few people that I would trust Maya with, especially her family.”
“I know you’re looking out for me, but my brother won’t hurt me. And I’m safe here, right?” There was only one door in and out. And while she couldn’t say the same for all of her family, she was pretty sure that her brother would not harm her.
Although pretty sure wasn’t a hundred percent certain.
“Come on,” Ink said to Matthieu. “We need to talk and we can do it in the hallway.”
“I’m going to leave the door open slightly,” Matthieu warned her brother.
“I’m going to get some treats for your pets,” Brody told her. “Any dietary requirements?”
“Um, Gummy can’t eat anything too hard,” she told him. “And none of us eat pork or chicken. That’s really nice. Thank you.”
Finally, they were all gone and it was just her and Marlin.
He tapped his fingers on the table, looking awkward. What was going on? What more did he have to say?
“This isn’t easy. It wasn’t a simple decision for me,” he finally said. “Looking into Dad, that is.”
Ahh. That’s what he wanted to talk to her about.
“I’m not judging you or upset with you,” she told him. “I get that this wouldn’t be easy.”
“I wanted to be a cop to protect people. I never imagined that I’d end up working for IA. They approached me when they received a number of complaints against Dad. They figured I was the best person to take on the job. At first, I agreed to do it because I didn’t believe them. I thought I’d prove them wrong. Then I saw things with my own eyes that I couldn’t ignore. Things are bad in the force and the people of Billings deserve better. You deserve better.”
“And no one else could do this?” she asked.
“No one who Dad wouldn’t have suspected. There are still plenty of good cops on the force. But more and more I’m thinking that the tendrils of evil penetrate deep into the folds of the police force. And I think that some of the good cops are being blackmailed or threatened into doing bad things.”
That didn’t sound good.
“How long has it been going on?”
“I don’t know. A couple of years maybe,” he said. “You know that saying, ‘The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing’?”
“Yeah, Mom liked that saying,” she said.
“She did. She would want me to do this. No matter who I’m going up against. But it still doesn’t make it easy. I wanted you to know that.”
Maya nodded and then made a choice. Standing, she threw her arms around him. “I know it’s not easy. I know it probably more than anyone else does. Thank you for taking this on, though. Because as hard as it is for us, it has to be done. What’s happening isn’t right. And I know that Mom would be proud of you for doing what’s right even when it’s so hard.”
She felt the tension slump out of him.
“You think Maisy will understand?” he asked.
Leaning back, she looked up at him with a small smile. “She will. Maybe not straight away, but we were all raised with a sense of right and wrong and justice. I don’t know what happened to Dad along the way, but the three of us remember that.”
“Sorry I failed you, little sister.”
“I did my best to push everyone away. It seemed easier that way. Now, I realize I was incredibly alone.”
“I don’t want you to feel like that ever again. After this is over, I might have to leave. I don’t know what will happen. But you can come with me, if that’s what you want.”