Vindicate (Recovered Innocence #1)(67)

I help translate and then we’re heading back to the care center.

“Why are we going back here?”

“It’ll be quick. Wait here.” He leaves me at the front desk and jogs down the hall. In a few minutes, he’s jogging back.

“What are you doing?”

“Come and help me talk to the lady at the front desk.”

“What is going on?”

“I’ll explain everything in the car. Ask her if there’s an empty room with a window that looks out on the street.”

Giving him a What-the-f*ck? look, I do as he asks. “She says there is one. She wants to know why we’re asking. I’d like to know why too.”

“Ask her if Mrs. Wheeler can have that room.”

I relay the message. “She says it costs fifteen hundred pesos more a year than the rooms she’s in now.”

“How much is that American?”

I ask the lady and she taps on her computer. “She says it’s a little over a hundred dollars, depending.”

Leo pulls his wallet out and peels off three hundred-dollar bills. I can’t help but gawk that he has that much on him.

He hands it to the lady. “Tell her that’s the difference for two years and there’s a little something there for her if she can have Mrs. Wheeler moved today and her bed set up near the window.”

“What are you doing?”

“Repaying a favor.”

“What did Mrs. Wheeler tell you after I left?”

“Will she move Mrs. Wheeler or not?”

I chat with the lady at the desk, who is so thrilled at her sudden windfall she picks up the phone and makes the arrangements. “She’s having her moved right now.”

Leo flashes a wicked smile. “Muchas gracias.” He takes my hand again. “Let’s go. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

We jump in the car. It’s the most animated I’ve seen Leo, and that’s saying something, since the guy is practically an anime cartoon. He tells me about Mrs. Wheeler’s notebooks and the photos and a bunch of other stuff I can’t believe. I was so sure this trip was a monumental waste of time.

As soon as we cross into the United States, Leo calls his dad who has some news of his own. Damien LeFeaux admitted to lying on the stand in exchange for having his outstanding grand theft warrants reduced to minimal charges and his DUI case dropped altogether. When faced with the proof of his lies, LeFeaux gave up everything. He agreed to recant his testimony if Mr. Nash can make it so he doesn’t serve any extra time for lying on the witness stand.

Leo tells his dad what we learned from Mrs. Wheeler and how she’s willing to testify to what she saw. Leo gives Mr. Nash the license-plate number of the detective who took her statement and then didn’t add it to the case file. We also tell him about our suspicions that this detective may have harassed Cassandra before her death and he may be the real killer.

“If there’s a cop behind this, then we’re talking about a whole other level of danger here,” Mr. Nash says. “You kids be careful. I’ve got a friend at the DMV who can run the plate, but I’m concerned if we do there could be some kind of alert set up by the owner of the car that lets him know if anyone runs it. I’m going to have to see how we can go about this in the safest way possible. He’s already onto you guys. He knows you’re getting close. If he suspects for one minute that you found Mrs. Wheeler…On second thought, I have a better idea. It’s time to bring in the lawyers to see what they can do. You kids stay safe. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.” He hangs up.

“I can’t believe it,” I say. “I can’t believe we’re so close. I need to see Beau. I need to tell him what we’ve found out. I just can’t believe it.”

Leo chuckles and takes my hand. “It’s too late to go out to the prison today and we’re not on the list for tomorrow. You could call, but it’ll probably be faster to send him a letter.” He brings my hand up and kisses it. “I can’t tell you what it does to me to see you smile like that.”

I lay my head back on the seat rest and study his profile. Haloed by the low, late-afternoon sun, he’s breathlessly handsome. I can’t believe I’m sitting here with him. A few months ago I never would’ve imagined I’d be interested in someone like him, let alone have a relationship with him. I didn’t think I needed anyone in my life. I had Beau and Jamie and a handful of work acquaintances. I had my case files and more than I wanted to handle with my parents.

I realize now that I had nothing, nothing to call mine. Everything I did, from the way I dressed to how I spent my time, revolved around getting Beau freed. I’m not sorry about it. At all. I wouldn’t change a damn thing except to find Mr. Nash’s agency sooner…and Leo.

The summer’s almost over. We’re closer than I’ve ever been to accomplishing my goal. I can’t help but look toward the future. My future. What will I do with myself if I’m not spending every waking moment on Beau’s case? What am I going to do when Leo leaves for school? How can I go back to the way things were before I met him? I don’t think I can be that person again. I didn’t realize it then because I was so obsessed, but I was lonely. Instead of doing something about my loneliness, I dug myself deeper into Beau’s case.