Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
From a distance, he spotted a short man with brown hair and a mustache, standing in a wide-open spot. Frank Wilson held a teenage girl in a fast-food uniform at gunpoint. Roman hated him immediately. “I don’t know that guy,” he whispered to the detective.
When they got close enough to communicate, Detective Parks stopped behind a half wall. “Call to him. See if he will talk to you.”
Roman cleared his throat. “Frank Wilson. I’m Roman Amato. You wanted to talk to me?”
CHAPTER 11
“Coco!” Isabella hissed when she came back to test some ear swabs for a cat with a probable infection.
“Hey, Isabella. Did you do okay with Ralphy?” The ancient bulldog definitely had a target on Isabella in previous visits.
“I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“What? You’re scaring me, Isabella.” An icy chill zinged down her spine. The look on her friend’s face scared her.
“Come watch.” Isabella held out her phone. “I just got an alert from the police that they’ve closed down the mall. There’s a hostage situation there.”
At the word mall, Coco closed the distance to stare at the news coverage outside her Daddy’s mall. As she watched, the reporter announced the owner had arrived fifteen minutes before. They showed a clip of Roman Amato walking into the east entrance with a police escort. The delicious lunch she’d eaten churned inside her stomach.
“I have to get there,” she whispered.
“They’ve closed the mall and aren’t allowing anyone in the parking lot,” Isabella said before plucking the swabs from Coco’s hand. “You watch. I’ll test these. Come, stand next to me at the microscope. You shouldn’t be alone.”
Coco nodded automatically, letting Isabella make all the decisions. Her brain didn’t function. All she could think about was her Daddy walking into a possibly dangerous situation. “For fuck’s sake, go invert… inside, and find out something new,” she said to the reporter who simply repeated the same information over and over.
“What’s going on?” Sofia asked after leaving an exam room.
Isabella quickly filled her in.
Sofia joined Coco and watched the coverage. “You saw your Daddy go in there?”
“The polite… police walked him in. What do you think is happening? He didn’t do anything wonky… wrong,” Coco said confidently. Roman was a good man. She hadn’t seen a whiff of any bad intentions or habits.
“Of course he hasn’t. They probably need him to look at cameras or floor plans. He knows all about the building and the structure.”
Coco was vaguely aware of Isabella leaving the room. Sofia stayed close, watching with her. Then a few minutes later, Isabella was back and Sofia disappeared. Soon, the office manager, Elizabeth, was at Coco’s side. Something registered in her brain, reminding her that Elizabeth wasn’t usually in the back.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Elizabeth asked.
“I don’t know. They just keep saying the same thing over and over,” Coco said, hearing the stress in her own voice. She rolled her shoulders and tried to relax.
“How scary. Have you tried calling Roman?” Elizabeth asked.
“I don’t want to disintegrate… distract him. What if the phone ringing causes some problem?” Coco asked.
“Smart. That would be bad.”
“I can’t go there. There’s no one I can call. I don’t know what to do.” Coco shook her head, trying to fight off the tears that had threatened repeatedly since this all began.
Elizabeth put her arms around Coco and hugged her. “Roman is very smart, and he’s there with the police, right?”
“Yellow… Yes.”
“Then they are going to take excellent care of him.”
“I hope so. I’m so scarab… scared.”
“I know, Coco. It’s going to be okay.”
“Come closer. I want to make sure it’s you,” Frank answered, pivoting to focus directly on Roman.
“Try to stall and stay here,” the detective suggested quietly from his backup position.
Roman never took his eyes off Frank. “I don’t think I want to do that. How about letting the girl go and dropping the gun? We’ll sit down and talk.”
“I tried for three months to get an appointment with you. You won’t talk to me if I let her go.”
“I’m sorry, Frank. I don’t remember you contacting me. Tell me what I can do for you?” Roman asked, trying his best to sound calm and talk to the man as if this were a normal encounter.
“All I wanted was some grace for my store. My wife got sick. I had to close the store for several days to take care of Carol. You repossessed our space when I violated the open-seven-days-a-week policy. You wouldn’t listen,” Frank called.
“Frank, I’m sorry. The manager should have met with you. Let’s see if we can fix this. How’s your wife?”
“Dead. She was gone in a month.” Frank laughed, a dry, humorless mirth. “I have nothing now. No Carol. No store. No house. You took it all.”
Roman swallowed hard. That statement a month ago would have registered as sad. Now after finding his precious Little girl, Roman couldn’t imagine losing her—much less experiencing that and having the rest of his life disintegrate as well.