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)
Thus far things had gone well, but more and more I was beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that perhaps my father was somehow vulnerable. Why I felt that way I couldn’t say, but his behavior today was strange to say the least.
He didn’t seem happy to see me when he opened his front door. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me. Instead, he was apprehensively looking behind me and glancing out toward the gate and the neighboring houses.
“What’s going on, Papa?” I asked, confused.
He caught my hand in a strong grip and quickly pulled me in. I knew how he got when he was worried about something, but when he shut the door behind us and locked it nervously, I understood that things were really not well at all.
In the bright light of the hallway, I saw dark circles under his eyes, the strange pallor of his skin, and a terrible fear in his eyes.
“What the hell is going on?” I urged anxiously.
He didn't respond. Instead, his gaze perused me, and this gaze I was familiar with, he was checking to see if I was alright.
“For God’s sake, Papa. What’s happening? Why did you have to pretend you didn’t know me at the restaurant?” I cried.
“Come with me,” he said, then turning, headed toward his home office.
He pushed the door open and I followed him in. He went behind the desk and settled into his old leather armchair. He was watching me intently, but for once I couldn’t gauge his mood as he deliberately kept his face expressionless. It reminded me of that night my mother had passed away and how he’d been trying to hide the grief he was feeling so I’d be convinced everything would be fine in the end. He regarded me silently as if he was deciding what he could reveal to me, and the quieter he became the more afraid I became.
“Dad, you’re scaring me.”
“Sit down. I want to talk to you.” With a defeated sigh he got out of his chair and went over to the cabinet next to him. On top of it was a single bottle of Scotch whisky. I watched my father, who was not much of a drinker, half-fill a thick, crystal tumbler and down it in one go. My eyes widened when he began to pour another. I walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down.
“How bad is this case?” I asked quietly.
He brought the half-filled glass over to his desk and sank down heavily into his chair. For a few seconds, he seemed lost in thought. Then he said something astounding.
“Do you remember Dante?” he asked.
I stared at him in shock.
A sliver of a smile curved the corners of his lips. “Maybe you don’t.”
I shook my head. “Of course, I do. You brought him here when I was sixteen. You were working on his case … and he saved my life.”
“Yes, he saved your life,” he murmured. “I don't think I ever told you what his case was about.”
“No, you never did,” I replied with a frown. “But why does it matter now?”
“Well, it matters now because the case I’m currently working on is for him.”
“For him?” I was surprised. “Are you trying to acquit him of murder? Again?”
“That’s not exactly how it was,” he replied slowly. “But let’s just say back then he helped me put a few nasty individuals away and now they’re coming for him.”
“What?” I exclaimed.
He nodded.
“And he came to you? Why you?”
“Who else can he trust? And who else is better?”
I frowned at his words and wished he wasn’t good at all. This thing he was involved in sounded downright dangerous.
“Anyway,” he said. “The reason I couldn’t acknowledge you at that restaurant was because it wasn’t a simple meeting. I was supposed to meet an informant who had incredibly sensitive information. We chose that location because of how busy and anonymous it was. And that was why I was so shocked to see you there.”
“We went there because it’s a block away from my office,” I murmured.
He nodded absently. “Yes, of course. I had forgotten.”
“If you were waiting for your informant, why did you leave?”
“I think we might have been compromised or my informant got spooked because he didn’t turn up. I would have waited a bit longer, but when you started to come up to me.” He stared at me reproachfully. “You should have known better. I’ve told you time and time again you should be careful about associating with me in public, especially when I'm in the middle of a case or I'm acting strangely. For this reason, I didn't even allow you to take my last name. How could you be so careless?”
I understood his words and scolding, after all, I had heard them a thousand times from when I was younger, but on this particular day, I couldn’t bear to hear him.