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Had they been watching me too?
ATRŌ TE BENEDICTO
OPUS NŌN PERFECTUM
“I think it’s time to stop,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, things are getting worse, not better. Maybe you and the sheriff were right at first. Maybe this is just someone pulling a very sick prank.”
“Do you believe that?”
She met my stare. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I don’t want to be here anymore. That’s the only thing I know. But my dad needs me.”
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. I looked over my shoulder. I couldn’t see Kevin from the window, but knew his bedroom was on this side of the house.
“I’ve been gone for over a decade. Too much of the burden of this has fallen on my little brother. I hadn’t realized how bad it got. He deserves a life too.”
“There are other options,” I said. “Some of the assisted living places in town are amazing. And he could be around people his own age. He could have a social life.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “I can’t even think about doing that.”
“Ginny!” Kevin called out.
She bolted to her feet. “Are you okay?”
“Help!”
I followed Geneva into the house. Kevin was sitting in the kitchen holding his long-handled grabber tool. Two bags of flour had fallen out of the cupboard where he tried to reach.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll clean this all up, Dad.”
Kevin threw the grabber across the room. “I was just trying to make myself some tea. The sugar jar’s empty.”
Geneva scurried around the kitchen, wiping up spilled flour off the counter then off her father’s shirt.
“I’m sorry, Mercy,” she said. “Maybe we can talk later.”
“Are you sure you ...”
“She’s being polite,” Kevin snapped. “We don’t need your help right now.”
Geneva gave me a pleading look. Kevin’s eyes were cold. An intense wave of rage rolled through me.
Did he know what I knew? Had he seen me this morning and pretended not to?
Geneva was right. In some ways, I felt no closer to solving her case than the day she first walked into my office. But now I knew she was living in the house with a liar. Or worse, a jailer.
“Just go,” Geneva pleaded. “I’ll call you later. We’re fine here. Really. Just ... just go take care of your own father. Please?”
Her words struck me like a blow. I knew by the look in her eyes, Geneva wouldn’t believe me if I revealed her father’s secret. And once again, I wondered how many secrets she was keeping of her own.
It was almost ten by the time I got back to the office. It would just be me today. Uncle Lloyd had picked my dad up for their weekly golf game.
It was good. I needed time alone. A million thoughts swirled inside my head. I went in through the back alley door, passing Dad’s Five Hundred. It seemed to sit there, taunting me. Reminding me of the looming decision I’d soon have to make.
Dad had handed me a set of keys for the car and the boat. But I knew he had at least one spare set somewhere. I couldn’t yet bring myself to ask about them. He’d stuck to his promise not to get behind the wheel. Someday soon, he might forget that he’d even made it.
