Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Laurel
“Come on, girls,” I shouted up the stairs. “Breakfast is ready.”
Two of them walked into the kitchen as I plated their French toast.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Upstairs. She’s taking her time,” Stella said.
“She doesn’t want to go to school,” Sophie spoke.
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
“Because some boy is bullying her. I tried to get him to stop, but he won’t,” Sophie said.
“Why am I just hearing about this now? And who is this kid?”
“His name is Justin Keeley. He’s mean. A lot of the kids are afraid of him.”
The front door opened, and Julian walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Evans fam.” He grinned.
“Good morning, Julian.” Both girls smiled .
“Who’s ready to go to school and have a great day? Wait. Where’s Sara?”
“Right here.” She walked into the kitchen, sat at the table, and lowered her head.
“French toast?” I asked Julian.
“Sure. Why not.” He sat down next to Sara. “Why the somber look, kid?”
“A boy at school is bullying her, and she doesn’t want to go,” Stella said.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this boy, Sara?” I asked her.
She shrugged.
“I was bullied at school as a kid,” Julian told her.
“You were?” Sara looked at him.
“Yep. So were Parker and Roman. All you need to do is stand up to this boy, tell him you don’t like what he’s doing, and if he doesn’t stop, you’ll tell the principal.”
“Then she’ll be a tattle-tale, and it’ll make things worse,” Sophie said. “Besides, other kids reported him, and the principal doesn’t care.”
“Is that what you did?” Sara asked him.
“Well, we didn’t use words. We used our fists.”
“Julian!” I exclaimed.
“Of course, you don’t do that, Sara. I’m sure if you tell him to stop, he will,” Julian said.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go. We don’t want to be late,” I said, grabbing my purse.
The girls and I climbed into the back of the Escalade while Julian sat in the front. After introducing the girls to Sam, he drove us to the school.
“Be good, and have a great day!” I kissed each of them goodbye.
“That’s him!” Sophie pointed. “That’s Justin. ”
I stared at the kid and narrowed my eyes. Opening the door, I climbed out.
“Laurel, wait,” Julian said, following me.
“Girls, go inside the school,” I told them. “Excuse me? Are you Justin?” I walked over.
“Yeah. Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Sara’s mom. I hear you’ve been bullying my daughter.”
“She’s bullying material.” He laughed, and so did his two friends standing with him.
“Listen, kid—” Julian chimed in, and I raised my hand to stop him from speaking.
“Look at you, Justin Keeley.” I bent over and stared him straight into the eyes. “I’m going to take a wild guess here. Your dad is a drunk who can’t hold down a job, so your mother has to work long hours to support the family, leaving you in the care of your alcoholic father. She’s barely home, and I bet your dad likes to take things out on you. You’re so full of anger that you feel the need to take it out on innocent children. I see the road you’re heading down, and it leads straight to a juvenile detention center and possibly prison when you’re older. You’re nothing but an insecure little boy who will be a loser his entire life. If I ever get wind that you’re bullying my daughter or any other kid in this school again, I will string you up by your dirty underwear to that tree over there for the entire school to see. Got it?”
His eyes widened as he nodded, and he and his friends ran into the school.
“Damn.” Julian laughed as we climbed into the Escalade. “You’re scary. Did you see the fear on that kid’s face?”
“He’s an asshole. ”
When we got to the firm, I set my things in my office, poured a cup of coffee, and took it to Morgan’s office.
“Oh good, you’re here.” She smiled. “Grab your purse.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to grab a coffee at the coffee shop where Georgina is right now.”
“How do you know she’s at a coffee shop?” I furrowed my brows.
“I went to her house last night and put a tracker on her car. I’ll need you to act surprised when you see her and get her to pull out her phone so I can clone it.”
“Seriously?” I smiled.
“Seriously. Let’s go.”
“What do I tell Julian?” I asked.
“Nothing. I already told Roman that I needed your help with something. And as soon as we get back, I want your phone so I can try to trace the ‘unknown number’ that keeps calling. Roman told me what happened at your house. Any idea who it could be?”
“None.” I sighed.
Laurel pulled up to the curb outside the café. We climbed out and stepped inside, noting Georgina sitting at a table alone.
“Georgina? I thought that was you.” I walked over and smiled.
“Laurel. What are you doing here?”
“Just grabbing a coffee with Morgan. I was going to call you later, but now I don’t have to. Are you available the day after tomorrow to go over some things about the case?”
“I think so. Let me check my calendar.” She pulled out her phone. “Yes, I’m free. What time?”
“How about eleven a.m. at the firm? ”
“Okay.” She typed it into her calendar. “I’ll see you then.” She smiled.
“See you then.” I walked over to Morgan, who ordered us two coffees. Once we had them, we left the coffee shop and climbed into her car.
“While we were grabbing our coffees, Georgina sent a text message to someone.” Morgan showed me her phone.
Don’t come here right now. My attorney is here. We’ll have to meet later. I’ll text you with a time and place.
Suddenly, the text message vanished.
“I have to hand it to her. She’s smart,” Morgan said. “It looks like you were right. I think Georgina did hire someone to murder her husband.”
“God, I hope not.” I tipped the cup to my lips.
When we returned to the office, Julian stopped us in the hallway.
“And where have you two been?”
“Out.” Morgan smiled. “I needed Laurel’s help with something.”
“With what?” he asked.
“Oh, Julian.” She patted his chest. “It’s a personal matter. Not everything concerns you.” She walked away.
“Seriously?” His brows furrowed at me.
“She just needed my help with something. It’s no big deal. Don’t forget we have a meeting with the Andersons and the birth mother’s attorney at one o’clock.”
“Who is the attorney again?” he asked.
“Colton Finch. Do you know him?”
“Not personally, but I’ve heard of him. He’s a shark. If the birth mother couldn’t afford to take care of her kid, how is she affording his legal services?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out later.”