Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
35
JOSSLYN
“Ireally am sorry for your loss,” Leo says across from me.
I give him a tight-lipped smile. As enlightening as the night has been, I’m no closer to getting answers than I was before I got here. It’s why I ended up telling Leo—in a roundabout way—the reason I’m here, as I’ve been practically begging him to give me the names of everyone Mallory may have come into contact with at Onyx. I’m pretty sure that Titus is the only reason this man hasn’t already tried to bribe me with sex for information. Not that he’s said much about my stepdad, but he sang his praises when we first sat down and started talking, so that must be enough. Not enough to keep his eyes from staring at my cleavage, though.
“I just really need closure,” I say after a moment.
“It’s been, what, a year? Why now?” He takes a sip of his drink.
He says a year like that’s enough time for someone to process and move on from something this big. I guess it is for some people. It probably should be for me, considering I didn’t know Mal my entire life or anything. Grief doesn’t work that way, though. Guilt doesn’t work that way.
“I guess in the beginning, I was in shock, and then I filed it all away so I didn’t have to think about it, but lately it’s been haunting me.”
“Understandable,” he says, offering me a sad smile. “It was such a horrible accident.”
“Were you there that night?”
“I was out of town. My brother-in-law and sister were there, but they left early.” He takes another sip, eyes on the table like he’s lost in memory.
“I was supposed to drive her home.”
“Were you there when the fire started?” His eyes widen as he sets his glass down. “Do you remember what happened?”
The quick way in which he asks the questions makes me wonder if he’s covering something up or has his own suspicions about what happened that night.
“I don’t know.” I press my lips together momentarily to gather my thoughts. “I don’t remember.”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I think my brain blocked the night out,” I say, not wanting to give him too many details. “That’s part of why I want to speak to people she was close to. I guess I just want to understand what happened.”
“You don’t believe it was an accident.” His brown eyes narrow slightly. “Do you believe she took her own life?”
I know I can’t trust this man, and I’m scared that if I give away too much, he’ll pull back and not help me at all, but I need to play this right.
“What do you believe?” I ask.
“I think there is a lot of mystery surrounding this. I know the rope was found intact. Do you know how they identified her?” he asks.
I nod, swallowing hard. “Her teeth.”
They said it was so bad that the Barlows didn’t even have a choice to have an open casket. No one ever spoke about it, but from the research I did, I don’t think there was anything left of her but bones. The media said the rope that remained gave detectives a “clear understanding as to what probably happened.” They reported that she took her own life, but I’ll never believe that narrative. I probably should. It’s not like I thought my father would ever take his own life, and he did, so why not Mal?
I clear my throat. “I don’t think she committed suicide.”
“We can’t know that,” he says, offering a sympathetic smile. “I know you want the list of people who were there that night, but there’s the issue of privacy.”
“I understand.” I take a deep breath and look away. This is futile. I might as well just thank him for his time and get out of here.
“I’ll see what I can do for you.” He reaches over and sets a hand on mine. My stomach turns, but I try not to let my discomfort show on my face. “You’re too young and beautiful to hold onto this much sadness. If it will help you get closure and move on, I’ll try to get you the list you want or see if my brother-in-law has any videos put away somewhere, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
I offer him a small smile.
“Excuse me, Miss Santos?”
I snatch my hand back and look at the beautiful black woman standing there. She looks like a vintage pin-up model. Leo looks at her as well, licking his lips as he stares at her very ample chest. He’s obviously a tit man, and hers look great. That beige corset dress hugs her voluptuous frame perfectly.
“Yes. That’s me,” I say, returning her smile.
“Someone is requesting your presence in room five.”
My heart starts to race. “Who?”
“I don’t have a name.” She offers an apologetic smile.