“Yeah, of course. They’re doing good. Ethan is playing with Play-Doh here with me, and Lila is playing the princess dressing game on her tablet.”
“That’s good.”
I felt horrible for Dylan. For him to be the man his dad couldn’t be. But even if I tried to let him be a kid, he’d refuse. He was always right there to fight with me for his mom and siblings.
“All right, I’ll see you soon, honey.”
“Okay.”
“Love you,” I said.
“Love you too.”
Then I hung up.
For how long I just stared at the trees, I had no idea. I just sat there, watching their lifeless branches reaching for the sky.
“Stop it,” I scolded myself.
I had to get it together now. I had to get my daughter out of jail so she could get the treatment she needed. I had to save her life.
And Jack … his lackluster laziness on the case, which had started as soon as it seemed really hopeless, had also reached itslimit. I would stop by his office and demand all the files he had. Read them over myself. Study them. The crime scene. The facts. The laws. There was no way the police hadn’t messed this up. Or that Thomas, the AG, hadn’t tried to hide evidence to make me pay for what happened to his son.
Zach had been stabbed forty-four times.
And my daughter was found in the woods, so traumatized she couldn’t speak anymore.
Something had to be there.
I needed to get another lawyer. Someone a bit more engaged for $400 an hour.
My daughter wasn’t a murderer.
I put the car in Reverse.
Jack’s office.
Bars.
Home.
Then I would work on getting Lacey out of there. And that was the end of it.
Chapter 18
Dylan
The kids were in bed, and Dad was passed out drunk on the couch. I had just grabbed cold pizza from the fridge and put it into the microwave when Grandma’s cell rang on the kitchen table.
The display read Principal Hoover. It was after eight p.m. This was a bit strange.
I picked it up for her before it could go to voicemail.
“Nicole?”
“No,” I said. “I’m sorry, this is her grandson. Hold on a second. She’s in—”
“No, that’s okay,” Mr. Hoover said. “Can you deliver a message to her for me?”
