Don't Make a Sound (Sawyer Brooks #1)(83)

“That is a plus, since the cat can catch the mice and rats for you.”

She laughed.

“Six-month lease?” he asked.

She nodded. “Six months.” After another quick look around, she noticed Coleman looking at her. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“Just that I’m happy to be here with you.”

“Oh.”

He smiled and said, “You were right about Waylan Gage. You do realize if it weren’t for you, he might never have been caught?”

“I’ll give Palmer some of the credit,” she said, “for finding a PI friend to get hold of Gage’s DNA. But yeah, I guess I’m sort of a badass.”

“You’re humble too. I’ll have to add that to the list of things you told me about yourself.”

She felt her cheeks flush. “I was hoping you’d forgotten what I told you when we talked on the phone.”

“Sorry. It’s all been burned right here into my temporal lobe.” He pointed at the left side of his brain.

“Erase it,” she said. “I made it all up.”

“So there is no ex-boyfriend named Connor?”

She made a face. “That part was true.”

“And what about him cheating on you?”

“Also true.”

He took her hand in his. “What about the being-touched part?”

“True,” she said, but she left her hand in his.

“More importantly,” he went on, “I hope you don’t remember any of the disturbing things I told you about me.”

“Only everything,” she said.

He leaned forward and kissed her. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just a brush of his lips against hers, and yet she had to resist the urge to push him away. Maybe over time she would find a way to let him into her life.

Sawyer got the feeling he knew she was uncomfortable. He let go of her hand. “Did you know that everyone’s talking about your River Rock article?”

“Seriously? What are they saying?”

“That you brought transparency to a town riddled with secrets. Because of your story, the River Rock Rotary Club collected enough money to commission a bronzed statue of four girls.”

“No way.”

He pulled out his phone and showed her the drawing he’d seen. “It will be placed in the town square, where everyone can enjoy it.”

Two life-size girls held the ends of a jump rope while one was getting ready to hop over it. The fourth girl was on a swing, high in the air, grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s beautiful,” Sawyer said, stunned.

“Your story made people see how important it is that victims of homicide not be remembered through hushed whispers of tragedy, but instead stand as a reminder to be grateful for the light that each of them brought to the world while they were alive. Those girls will not be forgotten.”

Sawyer’s gaze met his. “Thank you.”

He looked around the apartment. “So this is where you’re going to live, huh?”

She nodded. “It’s perfect.”

“Let’s go find management,” he said, “and tell them you found a winner.”

She smiled as she followed him out the door and into the sunlight.



Harper waited for Nate and the kids to leave before she logged on to her computer and checked in with The Crew.

LILY: Have you seen the latest?

CLEO: Latest what?

LILY: Brad Vicente. The dickless moron. With the waiter’s help, Brad has been doing his best to get the public on his side.

BUG: He’s been telling the press and anyone who would listen that five female vigilantes wearing wigs attacked him and voted on whether or not to cut off his penis. When asked about the final vote, he said it was three to two not in his favor. He also said the “female mob” used nicknames like Bug and Psycho. Those were the only two names he remembered. He went on to say that he would seek revenge without resorting to such barbaric acts as those who dismembered him.

PSYCHO: And?

LILY: Sorry. I had to take care of a problem. Kid just got home from school. Back to Brad. At first his plan to gather sympathy was working. But two days ago, a young woman by the name of Mary McCoy appeared on the local news with her lawyer and stated that Brad Vicente had drugged her and held her captive inside his Midtown house for five days. He’d raped her and tortured her and threatened to kill her and her family if she ever came forward. But when Mary saw Brad on the news, she broke down, couldn’t handle the lies, and she finally opened up to family and friends, who convinced her to tell the truth and go public.

BUG: I saw that some people were attacking Mary McCoy, calling her a whore because the dress she’d worn to dinner was short and too revealing. One bitch said, “What did she think would happen?” Others are saying she wants to be a part of the Me Too Movement and it’s all for attention.

LILY: Yes. For an hour or two, it was bad and seemed to be drawing out bullies. But then another woman came forward with her own Brad story, and then another and another. In total, nine women have joined in. A few of them were able to show video and pictures of their date—Brad Vicente. Most of them saved email conversations that proved he knew them. And that, my friends, turned the tables. The bullies have been shamed and quieted.