Under Her Care(4)

I shift my attention back to my dad. “How’d she do tonight?”

“Meh, not so hot, but she’ll do better tomorrow.” He gives a casual shrug. “You look really tired, kiddo.” He points to my car. “You should get out of here and get to bed.” I don’t move from my spot. “Unless you’re too scared to go home and be by yourself, pumpkin?”

“That’s not it. I just keep trying to think about what Mom would say. What she’d tell me to do.” My emotions catch in my throat. It’s only been nine months since she passed. Pancreatic cancer took her so quick. Neither of us is used to this yet.

Tears instantly wet his green eyes. “She’d tell you to listen to your gut. Just like she always did.”

He’s right. That’s exactly what she’d say. But my gut has never been so twisted.



So much for taking time to think about it. Detective Layne called before eight o’clock this morning and asked me to come back to the police station as soon as possible. I rearranged my entire morning to fit him in this afternoon. I’m not any closer to making my decision than I was last night, and I haven’t had a second to think about it today. I’ve had back-to-back clients since dropping Harper at school. I even skipped lunch to squeeze them all in.

This time Detective Layne is the one to meet me in the reception area instead of Gunner. He looks terrible and smells bad. He’s wearing a different shirt than yesterday, but probably just because he keeps an extra one in his office, because he sure looks like he hasn’t slept.

“Thanks for coming in again,” he says as he hurries us down the hallway and back into the office we were in yesterday. “Sit. Sit.” He motions to the chairs. “Disregard everything I said yesterday about having you appointed as a CASA for Mason. That’s not gonna happen. We initiated the paperwork last night, and her attorney put a stop on it immediately. The judge threw out the request this morning. I don’t know if I told you or not yesterday, but Genevieve has an amazing attorney. One of the best in the state.”

“You didn’t, but I’m not surprised.” Genevieve’s husband was a successful financial broker who died of a massive heart attack six years ago and left her everything. But even if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered, because she was loaded long before they ever met. She comes from one of the wealthiest families in Jefferson County. Her family has an entire street at Auburn University named after them. There are benches and bricks across the campus with their names engraved on them.

“But luckily, we have a plan B. You’ve always gotta have a plan B. That’s the first thing my supervisor taught me right after I graduated the academy and took my first run at street duty. He was right, you know, he was right.” He wags his finger at me. “Surprisingly, her attorney agreed to let you be present for any interviews I conduct with her, and he’s open to the possibility of you speaking with Mason alone as long as he or Genevieve is allowed to watch. It’s not ideal, but I’ll take it.” He shrugs like everything’s been decided, but I haven’t agreed to anything yet.

I nod slowly, trying to wrap my brain around any possible repercussions before committing myself to something I can’t get out of. Will it bring my family any unnecessary trouble? Attention?

He jumps in after a few beats pass and I still haven’t spoken. “And obviously, I mean, I can’t believe I forgot to mention this yesterday when we talked, but we’d compensate you for your time. We don’t expect you to do this out of the goodness of your heart. Basically, you would function as a consultant on the case and be treated and compensated as such. How’s that sound to you?”

Money’s been tight this month. I had to pay the reenrollment fee for Harper’s school, and her prescription drug just changed companies, so they no longer have a generic version of her medication. It costs me an extra two grand a month. I wait a few more seconds before responding so that it’s not so obvious that money is the factor tipping the scale for me in all this. “Okay, I’ll do it. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“Great. Now that we’ve got that settled, there’s another matter we need to get straight.” He doesn’t skip a beat. “Everyone thinks they know what’s going on with this case, but they don’t. No matter what everyone’s saying. There’s information we haven’t released to the public yet, and it’s stuff that will be helpful to you if you’re going to work on the case. However, we can’t have you leaking any of the private information to the public—or the media, for that matter. Am I clear?” His squinty eyes pierce mine like he’s the parent and I’m the child, even though he’s not that much older than me.

“I understand.” At least I think I do.

“I can have formal paperwork written up, but I’m a guy that likes to take people by their word. I’m old school that way. Do I have yours?” Again, the parental look.

“Of course. Absolutely. I won’t say anything about the case.” Except to Dad, but he’s not going to tell anyone. I make eye contact with the camera perched in the corner of the room just in case it’s recording. Do they have to get my consent to record me? Is everything fair game in a police station?

“Okay then, I’m going to level with you, Ms. Walker. We like Mason for this crime. That’s how we’re approaching the case. He’s the one that makes the most sense, and all the evidence supports it.” He pushes his chair away from his desk like there’s nothing more to say about the matter.