Chapters (45)
- I know you'll never forgive me...
- Part One - Your Father
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Part Two - Your Mother
- Chapter Twenty-One
- Chapter Twenty-Two
- Chapter Twenty-Three
- Chapter Twenty-Four
- Chapter Twenty-Five
- Chapter Twenty-Six
- Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-One
- Chapter Thirty-Two
- Chapter Thirty-Three
- Chapter Thirty-Four
- Chapter Thirty-Five
- Chapter Thirty-Six
- Chapter Thirty-Seven
- Chapter Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirty-Nine
- Chapter Forty
- Chapter Forty-One
- About the Author
On our way out of the house, I had to pee again. Darrell headed outside, and I tried to locate a bathroom. As I checked the doors, I collided with Penny Ramsey, who was coming out of a room that had been set up as a law library. I hadn’t seen Penny since Ajax and I interviewed her the previous December, so I hadn’t even realized that she was still in Black Wolf County.
Seeing me, her eyes widened. Quickly, she glanced both ways down the hallway to make sure we were alone, and then she took hold of me by the elbows. “Oh my God! Is it true about Ajax? He’s dead?”
“Yes, he is.”
“What happened?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Penny covered her mouth with a trembling hand and backed away from me. “I can’t believe it.”
“Do you know something about his death?”
“No. Nothing!”
“It looks to me like you know something.”
I saw her eyes welling with tears, and her fingers nervously caressed the necklace she was wearing. Without saying more, she ran down the hallway, and I saw her disappear into one of the other rooms. The door slammed shut behind her.
I’d only had a moment to look at her, but she’d upgraded her wardrobe, her hair, and her makeup since we met. The Amy Irving innocence I’d first seen at the motel had been replaced by a more polished style. If I’d had to guess, she’d found a boyfriend who was buying her gifts.
Like the expensive gold-and-emerald necklace she’d been fondling.
I was pretty sure I knew who’d bought it for her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Darrell dropped me back home after dark. I was exhausted, and although I hadn’t told him, I was having sharp pains in my belly as well as a constant dull ache in my lower back. I didn’t know if I was experiencing premature labor pains or if it was something else. Maybe it was just the stress of the day. I went inside and turned on the lights, and then I kicked off my shoes and settled into the living room sofa to see if the pains went away. In a few minutes, they did. I began to feel better.
I thought about putting on a record, or playing my guitar, but at that moment, I didn’t want to do anything that involved getting off the sofa. I was able to reach the phone, and I wondered for the thousandth time about calling Tom Ginn to tell him about my pregnancy. But no. If I heard his voice, I’d want to see him again. I’d probably fall in love with him again. As tempting as that was, there were too many complications to let it happen.