Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Okay,” I say. “Brad wasn’t in school at all that year. Pat Lamone left after what would’ve been Brad’s freshman year. So Brad wouldn’t know Pat at all.”
“No. Maybe he knew of him. It’s a small town. Oh…” Dad sighs.
“What?”
“Diana was a freshman that year as well. Maybe she knows him.”
Oh, God. Diana knows him all right. He freaking poisoned her, except she doesn’t know that. Only Callie and Rory know that, and they told me.
“I know of him,” I say quietly.
“How? They moved right after his junior year. You were still in middle school. Sure, you probably heard the name here and there, but how did he make any kind of impression on you at that age?”
He didn’t.
I only know because of Rory.
“You going to answer me sometime this century?” Dad raises his eyebrows, still watching the road.
I draw in a breath. This is my father. The man who I trust with my life.
Also the man who has been lying to me—even though it’s lying by omission—my whole life.
I love my father. I love him with everything I am.
But I can’t break Rory’s confidence.
No.
“Donny mentioned him,” I say. “Apparently Mrs. Mayer’s house, where he’s renting a room, was vandalized while she was out of town. He filed a report with Hardy Solomon, and Hardy told Donny.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he named Jesse Pike and the rest of his band as the vandals, but all of them except Dragon had an alibi. So apparently Hardy dismissed it.”
“Maybe it was Dragon by himself,” Dad says.
“No. Lamone named four masked men.”
“If they were masked, why did he think it was Jesse and the band?”
“Because…” I swallow. “Because…”
God, I can’t do it.
Dad slows the truck down, pulls over to the side of the highway.
This isn’t going to be good.
“Brock, what the hell aren’t you telling me?”
“I made a promise, Dad. It’s not my story to tell.”
“I’m your father. You can tell me anything.”
“I want to. It’s just… Rory…”
“This has something to do with Rory? And Callie?”
I nod. I can give him that much at least.
“Rory told me in confidence,” I say.
“If it has to do with Callie, then Donny knows.”
I nod.
“All right. Maybe Donny will tell me.” Dad grabs his phone.
He can try, but he’ll fail. Donny won’t speak of it until he has Callie’s permission.
“Hey, Don. Sorry to bother you at work. Brock and I are on our way to Wyoming to check out those coordinates.”
Pause.
“Yeah, I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Hey, Brock.” My cousin’s voice comes to the line.
“Hey, Donny.”
“I just gave your cousin some news,” Dad says. “I’m going to need to know what you know.”
“What news is that?” Donny asks.
“We got a name from our people. The name of a grandson. An alleged grandson of your great half uncle.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. A man named Pat Lamone.”
Donny’s phone clatters to his desk. Seriously. I hear it happening. Then the noise of him scrambling to pick it up.
“Did you just say Pat Lamone?” Donny asks.
“I did. And apparently your fiancée knows the man, according to my son here.”
“Brock…”
“Hey, I didn’t tell him anything. I said I couldn’t say anything until I talked to Rory. He decided to call you because he figured if it involved Rory, it involved Callie, which means you know.”
“I do.”
“Listen, Donny,” Dad says. “If this Lamone is truly a relative of ours, and if he’s a bad seed, I need to know.”
“Has he taken a DNA test?” Donny asks.
“Not that I know of, and of course we will insist upon that. But here’s the thing. We’re talking three generations descended from a half sibling, so a DNA test may not be conclusive.”
“How the hell can’t it be conclusive?” Donny asks.
“Because we all have second and third cousins walking around that we don’t even know about, and this is a descendant of a half sibling on top of that.”
“Right,” Donny says. “That makes sense.”
“Brock won’t tell me what’s going on with this Lamone guy without Rory’s permission.”
“I may be able to help you out there,” Donny says. “Rory’s here. In the office with Callie.”
My heart jumps. Just the mention of Rory’s name, and my heart responds.
“All right,” Dad says. “Can you ask them? Get their permission for Brock to talk to me?”
“I’ll try. Hold on a second.”
Shuffling, as Donny moves out of the office.
How long will we have to wait? I have no idea. And what is Rory doing in the city attorney’s office anyway?
Get over yourself, Brock. She’s probably just visiting her sister. It’s lunchtime. Which means—
“Hey, I’m back,” Donny says. “Rory and Callie are here with me, and they’ve given me permission to tell you about what’s going on with them and Pat Lamone.”
My heart beats faster just knowing Rory is on the other end of the line. Damn.
“Have you told them who Pat Lamone allegedly is?” Dad asks.
A throat clear. Then, “I have not.”