Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“A few things, but mostly ... I wanted to know more about my mother’s case.”
His eyes soften, and sympathy washes across his features. “Of course, I’m happy to talk about anything. Within the limits, of course.”
“Well, I guess I never asked much about it after she died. I was too young, and I just believed everything Da ... he said. I have a feeling what I know is so far from the truth. I know she died in a car accident caused by drink driving, but why do I have a sick feeling it wasn’t that simple?”
Something flashes across Sergeant Davidson’s face, something that has me straightening in my seat. “A car accident?”
His words send a shiver up my spine. “Why are you looking at me with confusion, Sergeant?”
“You know my name is Harry, please call me that, and I’m looking at you like that because I am concerned about the story you have been told.”
Swallowing, I take a deep breath. “It wasn’t a car accident, was it?”
He shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t. It was recorded as a suicide, but I always had unanswered questions, but back then, people simply thought I was crazy and wouldn’t let me look into the case further. It was ruled a suicide, and that was that.”
Suicide?
It feels as though someone has slammed a fist into my chest. My mother took her own life? She chose to leave me? All these years I thought she recklessly got herself killed drunk driving, but that wasn’t true. I was made to see her as a monster, as someone who chose herself over me, and all that time I was wrong. All the pain and anger I have carried over the years is for nothing.
An unfamiliar sensation has my throat feeling like someone has their hands around it. My eyes burn and my nose stings, but no tears come out. It’s as though I’m stuck in a moment I can’t escape from. A horrifying, broken moment that is ripping the life from my chest.
“Mera?” Harry says gently, his face concerned.
“How?” I croak. “How did she do it?”
“She was found just out of town on a dirt road in her car, one gunshot wound to the head. I’m sorry, Mera. For what it’s worth, I never did believe it, and I feel like it was covered up, especially knowing what I know now.”
I look at him, my eyes burning. “Can we reopen the case, is there something I can do?”
“Because of the circumstances surrounding it, and that fact that your father turned out to be a killer, there is a chance they will allow us to reopen her case. Is that something you are wanting to do? It might bring answers you aren’t prepared for.”
I straighten my back. “My father lied to me, quite possibly for my entire life, I deserve the truth, no matter how hard it might be.”
Harry nods. “I will do what I can.”
I finish up with Harry, and by the time I step back onto the busy sidewalk, my heart is racing. I find it hard to calm down, hard to slow my racing thoughts. I walk, not paying a single ounce of attention to anyone passing by. I end up at the same bar I went to with Jace, and I’m ordering without even thinking. My brain feels numb, and my body aches, but my heart ... it is broken to a degree I’m scared it will never heal.
The bartender passes me a vodka and soda without a word then continues to do so as I sit there, staring down at the pale wooden counter, not saying a word. By the time my fourth drink rolls around, I’m feeling a little less numb and begin paying attention to my surroundings. The bar isn’t as full as it was the last time I was here, but I do notice an all too familiar crowd – the same bikers are here, sitting at the back, drinking and partying.
My eyes scan over them, and I turn quickly, not wanting to make eye contact. I’m not in the mood today to be told yet again that I don’t belong here. I go back to sipping my drink when a familiar voice comes from behind me, causing my back to straighten and my eyes to roll. Fucking Esmerelda. She can’t take a damn hint, and she is going to make sure I know it.
“So, your settling in seems to be going well?”
I grit my teeth and don’t look at her when I respond, “Fuck off, Esmerelda. I’m in no mood for you.”
“Come now, Mera. I’m only being friendly.”
I glare at her now, spinning in my stool until I face her, my eyes narrowed. “Nothing about you is fucking friendly. Now, if you don’t mind ...”
She leans a hip against the bar. “I’m just getting a round of drinks for my friends and me.”