I told you I wouldn’t say anything. You treat me like I’m a baby—you never believe me.

JW44:

THEN STOP ACTING LIKE A BABY.

Corareef12:

I’m not!

JW44:

THEN PROVE IT. STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR WINDOW.

Corareef12:

Why?

JW44:

STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR WINDOW AND LIFT UP YOUR SHIRT.

Corareef12:

No way!

JW44:

SO YOU ARE A BABY.

Corareef12:

I am not. Why are you being like this?

JW44:

DO IT.

JW44:

DO IT NOW.

Corareef12:

Okay. I’ll be right back.

Corareef12:

Are you happy now? I did it.

JW44:

LIAR.

Thomas Petit Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Thomas Petit

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Every time Thomas walks past the fireplace it’s all he can do to not stare. Last night, after Officer Wilson took Jordyn away and the deputy left with evidence bags filled with Jordyn’s clothes, Thomas looked up the chimney with a flashlight to make sure that the book bag was where he left it. It was. Thomas debated whether to yank the pack down, look through it to see if Jordyn’s house key was inside and find a new hiding place but decided to leave it alone, at least for the time being.

He came home from the police station beside himself and he knew that he couldn’t keep this news from Tess any longer. He wanted to drive to the skilled care facility and tell her in person, but he told himself that he didn’t want to be too far away from Jordyn in case she needed anything. If Thomas was being completely honest, he would admit that he just couldn’t bear facing Tess. So he called her instead.

He tried to downplay it by saying the police were just questioning her, that it was all one big misunderstanding, but in his mind all he could think was, They put her in a cell! A twelve-year-old girl in a jail cell where thieves and drug addicts and murderers and all other sorts of criminals belonged.

Thomas promised to call Tess later in the day to give her an update, but in the meantime he goes to the kitchen to put on a fresh pot of coffee and though he doubts he’ll be able to eat anything, he drops some bread into the toaster just in case.

Thomas’s knees protest with each step and he knows he’ll have to go to the doctor to get a cortisone shot soon, but not today and not tomorrow but as soon as Jordyn comes home. Thomas pulls the butter dish from the cupboard and sets it on the kitchen table along with a jar of peach jam Tess canned last summer when the phone rings.