Chapters (54)
- Cover
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Epilogue
- A Note from the Author
- Discussion Questions
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Acclaim for David Rawlings
- Also by David Rawlings
Kelly’s expression ebbed and flowed with the conversation. Quick nods, a painful squint with eyebrows clenched. There were few words, but her face said so much.
Daniel looked up the stairs at the closed door to Milly’s bedroom. She had to have been the one who used the camera. He wrenched his gaze back to Kelly as she gasped, a hand over her mouth.
“Yes, we’ll come and see you tomorrow after school.” Another nod. “Yes, I’ll make sure Milly is with us.” A pained glance at Daniel. “Thanks for your call.”
Kelly placed the phone gently on the counter, shock settling onto her face.
“That was Milly’s teacher. She’s worried about her because her marks are sliding toward failing grades.”
Daniel’s mind kicked into its analytical drive. So that explained Milly’s withdrawal. She was struggling at school. Bad news, but good to know.
“Did you know about that, Daniel?”
He shook his head. “News to me, although it does explain why she’s withdrawn into herself. And now I know how to talk to her.”
Kelly folded defensive arms. “Don’t push it on her, okay? For me? We’re meeting at the school tomorrow, so I’d like to talk about it together.”
“Whatever you like.” Daniel’s cogs continued to whir. Failing grades meant Milly’s scholarship was under threat, and they couldn’t afford fees at that academy and this house. “Her grades can’t have fallen that far, can they? She needs to maintain a B average to keep the scholarship, so I’m glad the teacher nipped it in the bud. That’s good news, at least.”
Kelly’s expression didn’t agree as she slumped against the counter. “She’s failing at school and couldn’t talk to us about it?”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter how we found out. Now at least we know what to fix.” Daniel looked up the stairs again, glad for a piece of the puzzle that would hopefully lift the first of the clouds that hung over their home.
Fourteen
Shame burned through the greasy, spidery strands of the young woman’s hair, her face hovering inches from the toilet bowl.
Daniel moved to the next frame on Simon’s wall. Why would someone allow that photo to be on display?
The next frame held a couple’s altercation. A balding, ruddy man, his business shirt unbuttoned, stood with his arm around a young woman in a disheveled blouse. She clutched at his tie as if scrambling for a lifeline while a middle-aged woman in track pants and an orange San Francisco sweatshirt pulled at his arm, an angry sneer directed at her rival.