Frank rose as he approached. “What are you doing out here?”
“Praying.”
“You have a lot to be thankful for.”
“And a lot to be worried about. Bad things are happening in this town, Officer Merret. You see, don’t you?”
“Yes. Of course. And let me assure you that we’re doing everything-”
“Nothing can stop it.”
“Stop it?”
“In one breath it praises our Lord God Almighty. In another it curses the very thing made in His image.”
Frank nodded, feeling the reality of Caldwell’s heavy, somber words. The two men stood for a moment. Then Frank patted him on the back. There was nothing more to say. They understood each other and understood far more than that.
“Merret! Wake up!”
Frank wiggled awake with a startle.
“You were asleep,” Grayson said, leaning against the doorway. “I know it’s been a rough twenty-four hours.”
“Sorry,” Frank said, rubbing his eyes and then adjusting the paperwork on his desk. He must’ve dozed off while filling out the police report. One side of his face felt wet.
“How’s it coming?” Grayson asked.
“Good. We’ll have plenty for the DA.”
Grayson stepped farther into the room, shutting the door. “Gavin came to talk to me this morning. Requested to be assigned to a different training officer.”
Frank rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever.”
“Said you talk down to him, won’t answer his questions, and dump him off somewhere for an hour while you disappear.”
“I get it. It’s okay-”
Grayson smiled. “Are you kidding me? The kid needs to suck it up. I told him if he can handle you, the criminals won’t be a problem.”
Frank laughed. Finally they were on the same page.
“But,” Grayson said, “I do want you to follow up on an idea Gavin had. About the cell phone being used as a spy device.”
Frank sighed. “Okay. Sure. I’ll go this afternoon.”
“Finish that up and take a couple hours to rest first, all right? We’ve got to stay on top of this Web site deal. We’ve had double the number of calls this morning. People are losing their minds.”
Frank nodded. Yeah, he kind of predicted that. Grayson left, and Frank started back on the paperwork but couldn’t continue. He threw down the pen. Trying to concentrate was useless. Maybe he needed more coffee.
No.
It wasn’t coffee.
Frank sighed heavily, twirling his pen through his fingers. The sounds of the police station echoed down the hall.
What nobody knew was that Frank already suspected someone of the Web site fiasco and was pretty close to proving it.
But he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
21
Kay rose from the computer, straining to see clearly for a moment. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. How long had she been sitting here, reading all that?
She checked on Jenna. Still watching TV. She climbed the stairs, deciding laundry was calling her name. She grabbed the basket in the hallway and went to her bedroom, intending on hanging the clean clothes. But something caught her eye in the far corner. She set the basket down and walked toward the freestanding mirror.
The bedroom lights dazzled in the background of the long mirror and the reflection it held. She was thinking of changing into something a little nicer than sweats. She didn’t want to feel grungy.
Except as she stood there, it wasn’t the outside that was bothering her. It was something deep, internal, voiceless.
Kay covered her mouth, trying not to acknowledge it, trying to hold back the tears. But there it was, right in front of her. Not what she wore. Or how her hair looked. But something nobody else could see.
Why was it rearing its ugly head now? Why wouldn’t it go away?
Kay was unable to look at herself. A deep, heavy cry was unwillingly forced out. It was maddening too, and she slammed her hand against the mirror. It tipped backward and crashed into the wall.
“Mom?”
Kay gasped, scrambling to pick up the heavy mirror. “Jenna?”
“What are you doing?”
Kay swiped at her face. “Nothing… I just…” How could she hide this? Gauging Jenna’s expression, she’d been standing there long enough. She opened her mouth, intending to falsely confess this was about Gabby. But as she stared into her daughter’s eyes, she knew that wouldn’t do. It wasn’t fair. To anybody.
Kay sat on the edge of her bed and motioned for Jenna to join her. Her daughter sat next to her, crossing and recrossing her legs. Stale air and awkward silence wedged between them, but Kay wasn’t going to be deterred.
“I want to tell you something. About myself. I was about your age, in high school like you and all that. But I wanted to fit in better. I had a few friends, but not the kind that I felt I wanted. So I went against my parents’ rules and started dressing… loose.”
“Loose? You mean, like, baggy clothes?”
Kay smiled a little. “No. Actually really tight clothes. Low cut. Supershort shorts. Miniskirts galore. I’d sneak them out of the house under other clothes, then change at school. And you know what? It worked. I was noticed.”
Kay’s shaky hands stroked the silky comforter on the bed. “One day I was coming out of chemistry. I rounded the corner, and there was spray paint all over my locker.” She paused, but not even a deep breath could stop the tears from rolling. She looked away from Jenna. She didn’t want to see her face when she told the next part. “Spray-painted all over my locker were the words slut and whore.”
Kay finally glanced over, afraid of the shame her daughter would feel toward her. But instead, to Kay’s surprise, the hard and steady glare that had disappeared overnight had returned. Jenna’s eyes sank underneath her furrowed brows as if they were backing slowly into a deep and dark cave.
Kay quickly added, “I’m just telling you this because it was so painful. It was the worst day of my life. Still is. I’ll never get over standing there staring at those words.” She reached for her daughter’s hand, but Jenna pulled away. Jumped to her feet as if something had grabbed her underneath the bed. “Jenna? What?”
Jenna didn’t look her in the eye. “Nothing. I get it, okay? It’s a long-winded way of saying it, but I get it.”
“Get what?”
“Please. Don’t sit there and act like that was an innocent little story you wanted to tell to get off your chest.”
Kay swiped at more tears that began to fall. “You’re right. But, honey, a mother’s hope is that she can prevent her children from making the-”
“Same mistake. Yeah, I get it. Except I don’t have to have my mistake painted across a locker. I’ve got you writing it all over me every day, don’t I?” Jenna turned and rushed out of the room.
Kay fell backward on the bed, too exhausted and emotional to do anything but lie there and stare at the ceiling.
So they were now back to square one. Thanks to Kay opening her big mouth. She knew there was a reason she had kept it secret all these years. She curled into a little ball and willed herself to sleep.
There was a disproportionate number of cell phone stores to the number of residents in Marlo, but Frank decided on the popular one that offered rollover minutes, free phones, unlimited texting, and every other useless but endlessly fun thing on the planet.
He tried to stop smiling to himself, but he couldn’t help reveling in Squirmy over there in the passenger’s seat. He’d driven through Starbucks in silence, letting the kid believe whatever he wanted to about Frank’s mood. He didn’t help matters when he refused to let Gavin order.
Frank glanced over while taking a sip of coffee.
As if he had superpowered peripheral vision, Gavin turned and offered a tentative smile.
“So,” Frank said, lowering his voice to sound the slightest bit irritated, “you don’t like working with me.” He had to sip more coffee to keep from smiling.