SEAN
“No,” said Louise. The horror of it hadn’t sunk in, yet. She was still just staring at the empty table in disbelief.
Me? I was cursing myself. How had I not realized the phone call was fake? I should have got her to call the hospital to confirm or at least stayed at the house to protect the crop. I’d left it exactly when it was most vulnerable: we’d done everything except fucking gift wrap it for them.
“No,” said Louise again. The mounting fear in her voice resonated right through me, making my heart ache.
I never would have made that mistake, six months ago. I would have seen it for the obvious ploy it was. Hell, if I’d been asked to steal someone’s crop, it’s exactly the sort of thing I would have done myself.
I’d gotten soft.
I’d gotten involved.
“No!” Louise’s voice had risen to a wail. “No!” She was gripping the edge of the table, staring at the empty surface as if she could wish the crop back into existence if she only wanted it hard enough.
“It’s Malone,” I told her. “I called him this morning, while we were bagging, to tell him we were ready to make the deal.” My voice grew tight. “He must have figured, why pay when he can just take it?”
“But how? How did he even know where we were growing?”
I shrugged. “My guess is, he tracked you down and found out where you lived, then had someone follow you here one day.”
She didn’t reply. She just staggered away from the table, tears in her eyes. I gave her space for a moment—she was too fragile to even touch, right now, a bomb ready to explode.
“It’s not just money,” she said in a choked voice. “Doesn’t he understand that? It’s not just money that he can steal, it—it’s life. It’s Kayley’s life!”
I nodded. The weight of it all was crushing me down, a black granite rock a thousand miles high. “I know,” I said. And now I did reach for her, but she backed away, shaking her head.
“All that time,” she croaked. “This whole six months, we could have been—Jesus, I’ve barely seen her! I’ve barely seen my sister!”
“I know,” I said slowly. I held out my arms. “Come here.” I could see she was close to cracking and I needed to get her into my arms before—
“I got it wrong,” she whispered. “I got it all wrong.”
She ran and I grabbed for her just too late. By the time I caught up with her, she was already roaring off in her car.