Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I feel like I'm not adequate enough this time. Chris has grown over a foot taller than I am, and he's no longer the gangly teen I can wrap my arms around and protect the way I did when Dad died.
I sit beside him on the sofa, leaning over and grabbing the half-empty box of tissues that I've been using each time I find myself thinking about Sadie since getting home from California.
"I'm going to head back home," William says entering the room after getting Faye settled. "I'll call Charleston in the morning and make arrangements for burial."
Both Chris and I look up at him.
"I think a quiet family affair would be best," he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The less press we have on this matter the better. She has ruined this family's name enough."
"The better?" Chris snaps. "She was our sister, you cold, heartless bastard!"
I wrap my insufficient arms tighter around Chris, wondering if he's going to stand up and go after his older brother because I can feel his body trembling with rage.
William looks at him as if his outburst is unreasonable.
"Shh," I tell Chris before looking back up at William. "I'll walk you out."
According to our mother, it's customary to stand on the porch and wave at people until they're fully out of your line of sight so that they're not alone as they begin their journey away from you.
I don't want to do this for William, but it would be weird if I didn't.
Cold chills rush up my arms when we're alone in the hallway walking toward the front door.
"You don't seem surprised," he says.
"I don't think it has fully set in yet," I mutter, wondering if he's suspicious of how I've reacted to the news.
I knew it was going to be difficult for me. As much as I've tried, I've never been much of an actress. I can smile and take things on the chin with the best of them, but this sort of stuff is out of my wheelhouse. I haven't come to the end of my grieving, but I've had more time than Chris to come to terms with the truth. Maybe William has had even more time, and that's why he's so very capable of keeping his emotions under control.
"Let me know what you work out," I tell him when he opens the front door to leave.
"Don't let him leave tonight. He's not in any condition to leave."
"I'll make sure he stays," I assure him, my hand on the edge of the open door.
I close it behind him the second he steps on the front porch, lifting up on my toes to peek through the keyhole, needing to know that he's actually gone.
He doesn't immediately leave. He stands on the porch as if confused about what's expected next of him.
He shakes his head, lifting his chin as if staring at the stars above for answers.
"Aww fuck, Sadie," he says, his voice muffled through the door, but the emotion in his tone is very clear. "Why did you do this to us?"
I pull my face back and let him have his moment, and when I go back to my younger brother, I know without a doubt that William had nothing to do with her death.
Now I'm left with the responsibility of making sure the government doesn't pin this on my brother because they need a scapegoat to cover the fact that they haven't been capable of capturing this hitman.
Chapter 31
Ace
I don't know if I've allowed Cora to get in my head with the hopes that William isn't involved, but I'm more confused by his reaction than anything else.
I consider how I'd react if I hired a hit on someone, and I don't think I'd act like a complete asshole because that would be suspicious, but he acted no differently tonight than he did when we had the initial meeting about Cerberus working Sadie's case. He's a complete douche, but does that make him a killer?
I'm livid as I leave the Preston home, knowing I'll need to make hotel arrangements for tonight before figuring out what my next step is tomorrow.
The fact that my supervisor, Dale Fredricks, showed up tonight playing the role of Charleston police burns me in a way I never thought possible. I have no doubt it was his idea to change from a phone call to an in-person visit, and it has everything to do with me, and him being an asshole, and nothing to do with the actual case.
I don't call him before pulling up outside of a small motel, and that's my only recourse as a means to get back at him because it's what he expects of me, but I'm not attached to this case through ICE, and I have no obligation to speak to him.