Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“It’s not fair for this man to not have his son because of something he was doing to his wife.”
“Who?” Aja asked him.
“Mr. Regan,” I told her. “He was beating his wife.”
“Mr. Harcourt, I never said that––”
“Oh, well, Detective, speaking as an educator, I can tell you that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs begins with safety. If a child doesn’t feel safe in their environment, all else shuts down,” she explained. “There’s an amazing study by––”
“But as far as we know, the father never beat the child.”
“So you know the guy is a dirtbag and has been beating his wife!” I crowed.
“Mr. Harcourt––”
“It’s inhumane to have a child watch a parent be hurt either physically, emotionally, mentally, or any––”
“The father has rights as well, Dr. Harcourt.”
“I suspect that once this poor woman, this Mrs. Regan, shows evidence to authorities—perhaps in another state or even in another country—then she will be able to secure full custody of her child.”
“I––”
“Perhaps if you do your due diligence and check with the school, then maybe Mrs. Regan’s child was noticed by teachers or administrators as being at risk.”
“It seems like maybe you know something, Dr. Harcourt.”
“As I said, I’m in education, Detective, and teachers are with students the most after family members, and some even more than family members, so my money is on someone having spotted something. Perhaps it’s time to go check.”
Aja sounded so kind, so soothing, and she even squeezed his bicep, used her dark eyes, and would have used her perfect smile, but he couldn’t see it under the mask. Her husky angelic voice was going to have to suffice.
“Listen, you two––”
“The fuck is going on?”
We all turned sideways to the enormous SUV stopped in the driveway, and leaning out the window was the chief deputy.
“This is Detective Vega,” I told the love of my life. “He’s here questioning me about my involvement with Sodalite.”
“Are you doing a job for somebody?”
“Is your husband doing a job for Sodalite, Mr. Kage? Or does he work with them?”
“I don’t know,” he told Vega. “He’s a graphic designer, so he could be doing all manner of things for a soda company.”
“No, not––” He swore under his breath. “––not a soda company, Sodalite, like the stone.”
“Oh,” Sam said, brightening. “Did you know that sodalite virtually disappeared between the first and nineteenth century? My daughter just did a report on it for her coven.”
“Her coven?”
Sam’s brows instantly furrowed. “Do you have a problem with wicca, Vega?”
“No, sir, I––”
“Just—get off my lawn, and you should all be wearing masks. What kind of example are you setting for kids?”
And with that he roared down the driveway to park his monster car.
I turned to Vega. “I think that perhaps the takeaway here, Detective, is that if you want people to trust you, you have to begin by asking yourself, is the organization I’m part of trustworthy? And if the answer is no, then you have to work very hard on making that a yes and then go forward from there.”
“But that’s not going to help this one situation.”
“No. But every change toward the greater good is a step in the right direction.”
He sighed heavily. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you.”
“Sometimes the story has to come from the source, Detective. Don’t you think?”
He looked weary, but I knew that sometimes happened with me and people.
“Not to be rude, Detective,” Aja said with a sigh. “But the chief deputy will be out of his work clothes soon and have washed his hands, and when he does, he’s going to come charging out the front door, and if I were you, I really wouldn’t want to be here when he does.”
They were all three big, swaggering, macho detectives, but holy crap did they clear out fast. By the time Sam hurled open the front door and stormed out onto the porch in a T-shirt and threadbare jeans, they were already driving away.
“You,” he barked, pointing at me, “and you,” he said, pointing at Aja, “are in big trouble. What did I say about that?”
“Oh, Sam, you should have seen the video she uploaded,” Aja said sadly, moving toward the porch, taking the steps and then walking into his waiting arms. “I—it was all I could do not to get a bat and go beat the man myself.”
“I will beat people up for you,” he assured her, hugging her tight. “And are you guys sure your site is secure?”
She pulled back to look at his face like he was insane. When he looked over at me, I was squinting at him.
“Oh, of course, your guardian angel had that site made.”
“Aaron Sutter takes his privacy very seriously,” Aja said, leaning back into his arms, soaking up the contact which I wanted some of myself. Sam Kage hugs were the best.
“Just be careful,” he told her, rubbing her back.