Everett felt his throat thicken. He’d forgotten his fear of Mr. Bennick, and now he just felt bad for trying to trick him. But when he stood, the old man’s hand shot out to grasp Everett’s wrist. He nearly squealed in surprise at the strong grip.
“Don’t ask any more questions, boy. Don’t. My son . . .” His eyebrows covered his eyes so deeply now Everett wondered if he could see.
The hair rose on Everett’s arms. “Your son?”
“My son,” Mr. Bennick repeated, his pink-rimmed eyes filling with tears. “The police wouldn’t leave him alone. My poor son . . .”
His grip fell away, and he slumped back, gaze more unfocused than ever. Everett grabbed the printout, then backed up so quickly he almost stumbled over a potted plant.
When he banged through the door into the big open space of the lounge, Josephine wasn’t there.
Everett gave the receptionist a sloppy wave when she called out a goodbye, and then he raced out the front doors, onto the grass, and away from danger.
Josephine grabbed him when he reached the WELCOME sign. “I can’t believe you did that!” She tried to look mad, but it didn’t last long. “What did he say?”
“He said he has a son! I think that guy is his son, not his nephew. I mean, he’s named Alex, right? People name their own kids after themselves.”
“But what does that mean?”
“I don’t know. He said the police wouldn’t leave his son alone.”
Josephine gasped so loudly that Everett felt more scared than ever. “You think your mom is dating the killer?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“What does that mean?”
He started walking, Josephine trailing behind him. “Don’t worry about—” His words choked to nothing when he saw a man stepping up onto the curb, heading for the doors Everett had just left.
It was Alex Bennick. The younger Alex Bennick. And when he spotted Everett, he frowned.
Everett spun on his heel and headed the other direction, nearly plowing right into Josephine. “It’s him,” he whispered. “Walk!”
Her eyes went wide, and she started to turn, but he said, “Don’t look!” They rushed down the sidewalk and across an alley before rounding a corner.
“That was him!” he panted as they slowed. “Alex!”
“Did he see you?”
“Yeah, but I only met him once. I don’t think he recognized me.”
“What if he did?” Josephine nearly shouted.
“It’s fine.”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s fine’？ You think that guy is a murderer, and he knows who you are.”
“But he doesn’t know that we know about the women.”
“Everett, you need to tell your mom.”
He walked on, his mind churning. “I’m already in trouble, Josephine. She knows I looked through his stuff. And I told her about the missing girls. She thought it was stupid. The only new information I have is that I lied my way into an old-folks’ home. I need proof.”
Josephine grabbed his arm, yanking him to a stop. “This isn’t okay. It was supposed to all be in the past, and now you’re running into suspects on the street and breaking into houses, and I’m scared.”
“I didn’t break in!” he protested. “It was unlocked!”
“Who cares, Everett? You need to tell your mom. We’re just kids.”
He took a deep breath as they finally turned back onto Main Street and headed for the library. “Okay. I’ll tell her. But I need proof first.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Just give me one day, okay?”
She shot him a dark look, but Everett set his jaw and kept walking. He needed to send a message to his dad, and the library was the perfect place to do it.
CHAPTER 25
“What are you saying?” Lily whispered. She couldn’t stop staring at a strand of blond hair that had fallen from Gretchen’s bangs and now lay draped across her nose.
Lily’s mind felt distracted and spinning and so confused. She’d convinced herself this was related to her son, and she couldn’t manage to shift her brain out of panic mode.
Gretchen grinned at her.
“I thought this was about the audit,” Lily murmured.
“Well, it is! In a way. The audit was the last step, after all. Just a quick double checking of our records. So tell me: What do you think?”
Lily blinked several times. She’d expected this meeting would cause the floor to fall from beneath her feet, but now it was rising fast, launching her through the air, everything moving in the wrong direction. “We live here,” she said weakly, her hand barely rising to indicate the door to the apartment behind her. “My son and I.”