Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Every trace of amusement immediately left me. She was in pain, immense and heartbreaking pain and I understood that. I knew what the pain of loss felt like.
I softened my tone, something I couldn’t ever recall doing.
“Zola, I don’t know how I can make you believe it, but you are in extreme danger and it was the only way I knew to protect you.”
At my words, the pain in her eyes turned to a murderous fury. “All of a sudden I’m supposed to believe you care for me?”
I told her the truth because I didn't know how else to get to her.
“Not you, but your father. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“So, in order to protect your golden conscience you took my job away?”
The way she was putting it didn’t make me feel good, but there was no way she could convince me that I had done the wrong thing.
“You might not believe this but I owe your father everything. I am here today … because of him.”
“And where is my father?” she asked. “Because of you, he is gone, and yet you’re still not willing to leave me alone? How can I make myself clear? Oh yeah, stay the fuck away from me.”
It was obvious to me that exchanging words in this way would not be productive so I got straight to the crux of my offer. “There are rumors going around that you might be able to identify the murderer which makes it certain there is a hit out for you right now.”
She sank into the chair nearest to her and stared at me with a mixture of horror and disbelief at her situation.
“I can protect you, Zola, and it’s very frustrating to sit here and not be given the chance, but it’s either me or the witness protection program, and trust me they will not be able to protect you the way I can.”
She shook her head as if in a daze. “Why does everyone keep assuming I saw something? I haven’t made any such claims to the police when they interviewed me so why is there even an offer that I should join the witness protection program?”
I studied her. “It doesn’t matter whether you saw something or not … you’re not someone they want alive. You were with your father before he died so they must take into account that he could have given you some information that none of us are aware of. Actually, there could be a hundred different speculations, but what I’m trying to say is they don’t need a hundred and they don’t need one either. The moment they have a suspicion about a possible threat, they immediately eliminate it. Their motto has always been better safe than sorry.”
She sighed, but I could tell that rather than agreeing with me she was simply trying to control her temper.
“I’m going to give you one last warning to stay away from me. If you don’t, I’m going to give testimony alright and it’s going to be against you.”
She stood and started to walk out of the room.
“Your father wanted to defend me,” I said.
At first, she kept going, but then her steps slowed until she came to a complete stop.
“What the hell does that mean?” she asked as she glowered at me. “Are you trying to shift blame from yourself?”
“No,” I replied directly. “It is my burden to bear, but here is a little history for you. I was once falsely accused of murder. Like you, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time so I knew it was only a matter of time before they also tried to get rid of me. The dead don’t talk.
“I knew how to take care of myself. That was no problem, but I didn’t know how to stop them from throwing me in prison and letting me rot in there for the rest of my life … until your father believed in my innocence and was genuine in his kindness, he footed the entire cost of defending me and worked tirelessly to ensure I came out a winner in the end.
“I owe him my life and I’ll forever be grateful to him for that. So … I also feel his loss deeply. His presence had been something I’d treasured for so long. The world was a better place because he was in it.
“I don’t know what your father told you, but I did not hire him to work on my case. I would never put him in danger. For precisely that reason I gave the job to someone else, but he kept working on it on his own steam. It was he who uncovered the whistleblower. Then I had to listen to him. All I could do was try to protect him the best way I could, but because of a momentary lapse in judgement, I failed in that and it’s a scar I will always hold.”