"Gotcha. I'm running criminal records now." He paused again. "Hey, if they're both there, does that mean Magenta and Cyan are together again?"
"You're not even supposed to know about that," I told him.
He just chuckled. "Everyone knew about that. Between them and Gran and Bea? Yeah, we got a real quick lesson on LGBT stuff. We also weren't dumb enough to say shit to either of them. When Crimson said he'd beat the shit out of anyone with a problem, yeah, we played ignorant."
I actually laughed at that, which felt weird with what we were looking for. "Yeah, I can see him doing that. And the guys aren't quite back together, but it's heading that way. They're talking again, which I'm counting as a win."
Then Teal breathed, "Shit," making me stop.
"What?" I asked.
"Hun, this man? You know he's a network admin for a telecommunications company. Like, head network admin. I got his IP, but his place is locked down a little too hard. However, I can tell you that there's enough to make me think Cy has a reason to worry. No arrests, but he was a known associate of a guy who was a character witness for a man who was convicted of child porn. That's a long line of bullshit, though. This Brody's never even been in the same town as the porn guy, but internet and all."
"Shit," I muttered, inadvertently parroting him. "Ok. How long before you can get me something good?"
"Not sure I can, Vi. In case you forgot, I wasbustedfor hacking. Means I'm not that great at it. Now, if you want me to push at this, I can drag in some people, but they'll ask a few questions."
"No," I decided. "Leave it for now, Teal. I have no proof, and I don't want anything to come back on you. Just save that info for me? I might change my mind."
"I'll run down as much legal stuff as I can," he promised. "Call Crimson. He can do a legit background check for you. I think he's still in Texas."
"Will do," I said. "Now go back and finish your game, ok?"
"Hey, I'm always here if you need me," he promised.
"Thanks, Shawn," I said. "I just don't want to see a kid get hurt."
"That's why you're the new Gran, hun. You got this."
I hung up the phone feeling a little more empowered. The new Gran. That felt kinda good. It was also a little intimidating. Unfortunately, it did nothing to solve my problem. Luke's daughter might be in danger, and I couldn't find a damned thing to prove either Brody's guilt or innocence. I didn't know how to make Luke realize that this wasn't us being a problem. It was actually our way of helping.
Even worse, I wasn't sure if things between him and Cy would ever be the same no matter how this worked out. I just hoped that Ashton was having a little more luck than I was.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ipulled up in front of my trailer and stormed up the stairs. I fucking hated this place. There was no way I'd ask Faith to live in it, but I didn't know what else I could do. If she was with me, though, I'd have an extra six hundred a month for rent. We could probably find a place for that. Not a nice one, but a place. One with floors that didn't sag and a roof that didn't leak.
I was barely inside before I turned on the window unit and started peeling out of my church clothes. It was too fucking hot in here for a long sleeve shirt. Sadly, I couldn't afford to run the air when I wasn't around. This place had more holes than swiss cheese, and the cold just fell right out. I kept telling Mr. Simmons that it was about to fall apart, but he told me it was good enough for now.
Tossing the shirt on my second-hand couch, I headed to the fridge and found a bottle of iced tea. That was one thing I needed to get Violet hooked on. The woman was addicted to her flavored water, but tea couldn't be any worse. Once I had that, I headed back to the couch to kick off my boots, open my pants, and let the air wash over me. Pulling out my phone, I started researching what Cy was talking about.
He couldn't be right. There was no way my little girl was getting bullied at school for not being pretty enoughandhaving some creep checking her out because she was too cute. It was one or the other. I happened to think she was the prettiest thing in the world, but I was her dad. I was kinda supposed to.
Then there was the cutting. Was that because of something happening at home? I knew that Meredith and Brody fought like wild cats, but I didn't know how that would have a thing to do with some old man wanting to paw on my baby girl. Oh, and if that fucker touched her? He wouldn't have a hand to do it again.
Typing my search into Google, I was told that I spelled pedophilia wrong - it only had one L - but a list of results still popped up. I looked for signs or hints that a child was in danger. One page, project-change.org, was filled with information. Sadly, it only helped so much. The signs of a pedophile were things that I couldn't necessarily know. Did Brody have child pornography? He wouldn't justtell me.
But too many of the others fit. Granted, they also fit me, and I was certainly not interested in kids. Things like being a respected member of the community? Everyone at church was now suspect. Volunteering for children's activities? That meant everyone working with the youth group should be scrutinized. Shit, I'd been a chaperone for Faith's dance stuff back when she was like five. Meredith had asked because I was free during the day, and I actually liked the kids.
The only thing that made me even consider that Cy might not be insane was the part about grooming. How many times had Brody offered to watch Faith when Meredith had plans of her own? The fact that he didn't want to be involved in everything his fiancée was doing was the red flag to me. A new couple that wasn't joined at the hip? But Brody was a homebody. Meredith wasn't.
Sadly, there wasn't much I could do. If I made a scene about this and Cy was wrong, I'd lose my little girl forever. If I did nothing and Cy was right? I would never be able to live with myself. But Violet had told me to call Faith, so I checked the time and decided that it should be late enough for her to be back home.
The phone rang twice before she picked it up. "Hey, Dad!"
"Hi, cupcake. I miss you. How are things going?"
"Cy's coming over tomorrow to meet Brody," she said, and then I heard her door close. That meant she'd retreated to her room. "Mom's fighting with him about it. He says I don't need to talk to anyone and that I'm too strong to need a shrink."
