Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
When the judge gestures for the court officer to remove Detective Pascall from the courtroom, words shoot out of her mouth like bullets. “She didn’t kill the man you found her guilty of murdering, your honor.” The courtroom gasps in sync when she says, “I did.” She shoots her eyes to Ark standing motionless with Tillie before she slowly trails them back to me. “I followed you to his hotel. He was bleeding and a little woozy”—she makes a gesture with her hand that shouldn’t say as much as it does—“but he was still breathing.”
The hurt in her eyes exposes that she isn’t thinking about my father right now while recalling the scene she witnessed. Someone far more important is occupying her thoughts.
My heart sinks when recognition dawns as to the true cause of the pain in her eyes.
Oh god.
She found out too late.
She found out about her child’s abuse after her daughter took steps to make it stop.
When I step closer to her, one mother desperate to comfort another, she holds her hand out, pleading for me to stop, like she doesn’t deserve my sympathies.
“I met your father shortly after Luba’s death.” She sucks in a pained breath that she releases with a sigh. “He never disclosed your connection. He just said he had footage that proved I was there the day Luba died and that it could expose the true cause of his death.” She spins to face the congregation as if they deserve more answers than me. “Luba’s life insurance policy wouldn’t have paid out for suicide, so when my unit was called to the motel, I made it seem as if he had been murdered. He owed a lot of people a lot of money, so it wasn’t a hard stretch.” Her eyes return to me. They’re wet and somewhat honest. “But they took it all, anyway. Every cent. I would have gone under—”
“If it weren’t for my father?” I murmur, recalling how he kept people’s suspicions low by killing them with kindness. He had everyone fooled. Doctors, nurses, my teachers. Everyone believed that he was an admirable man.
Sanya nods, snot dribbling from her nose. “He made out you had been syphoning Luba’s bank account for years by threatening to tell me about your relationship if he didn’t pay up. He never disclosed the rest, and I never questioned him about it because…” She’s too ashamed to admit her reason. No one wants to admit they fell in love with a monster.
“I heard what he said to you when he learned he had a granddaughter.” I picture the agony Ark went through when she whispers, “In an instant, he went from wanting money to wanting her.” The disgust in her tone announces she heard the need in my father’s tone as readily as Ark did. “When I confronted him about it, he became abusive. He hit me and told me my daughter’s death was my fault. I snapped.” Her eyes flicker as if this part of her story is a true confession. “I pushed him. He hit his head on the corner of the bar in his room on the way down.”
“Did you call anyone?” the judge asks, as invested in her story as I am.
Detective Pascall shakes her head. “I watched him take his last breath, relieved that he couldn’t hurt anyone anymore, before I had him cremated and buried as a John Doe.”
There are holes in her story, many of them, but everyone but me seems oblivious to them.
The judge warns her as to the consequences of her confession in a court of law, and that acquitting me after a verdict has been decreed will shelter me from further prosecution, but she maintains her stance.
She takes blame for a murder she didn’t commit, and I’m helpless to stop her.
48
ARKADIY
“Ms. Palkova,” the judge begins, silencing the court, “after hearing the confession of the true perpetrator, it is clear that a grave mistake has occurred today.” The people shouting in anger only minutes ago cheer in glee when he bangs down his gavel while saying, “You are hereby exonerated of all charges.”
Mara’s eyes widen in disbelief as tears threaten to stream down her face. Her supporters mistake them as droplets of relief. I know that isn’t true. She’s upset for what Sanya went through and wondering if she had fought harder to have her father convicted of his crimes if she could have saved Sanya’s daughter from being hurt.
It will take a lot to convince her she isn’t at fault. Since I am confident I am the only man capable of achieving the seemingly impossible, I refuse to take steps that will deny me the opportunity anytime soon—if ever.
I’ve previously said Mara’s safety is my utmost priority—both mentally and physically.
That hasn’t changed.
Mara’s wet eyes flick from me to the bailiff when he’s instructed by the judge to remove her shackles. A wave of relief washes over me when their removal is swift and without incident.