40. Delaney
CHAPTER 40
Delaney
M y heart feels like it’s been put inside a meat grinder, my throat is raw, and my eyes are sore from sobbing.
Twenty minutes ago, I stood in the driveway, waving until I could no longer see my mom’s car. Then I headed back to the porch, grabbed the file folder, and headed inside my house. But I wasn’t able to look at what was inside, so I set the folder on the table and sobbed.
My cell phone rings, and I sit up, grabbing it from the coffee table. Disappointment fills me that it’s not my mom but Callie.
“Hey.” My voice is raspy and weak when I answer.
“Are you okay? You called off work again today.”
“No, I’m not. Can you come over?”
“Of course. Need me to bring anything?”
“Pizza. I can’t eat pot roast right now without crying.”
“Okay. Let me call the order in, and I’ll pick it up on the way to your house.”
“You’re the best.”
Callie barely has time to set the pizza box on the table before I’m in her arms, sobbing. She hugs me, rubbing my back and rocking me.
When I pull back and brush the tears from my face, she nods toward the couch. “Tell me everything.”
We sit on the couch, and I tell her about the voicemail and unexpected visit from my mom.
I heave out a sigh, feeling drained. “She indicated my dad was into criminal activities that could ruin him, exposing him for the monster he is. But she didn’t say what. Instead…” I grab the folder from the coffee table in front of me. “She gave me this.”
Callie opens the folder and looks through the items inside. “What the hell does this mean? It looks like something the kids in your class would draw.”
“Exactly. It’s a treasure map of clues for me. She told me to use the secrets I kept for her to decipher them, and it would lead me to the evidence.”
“Wow. That’s brilliant. If your father would send any of his goons and they’d find this folder, they wouldn’t think it was anything more than things the kids in your class made.”
“She’s a smart woman.” I stand, heading for the kitchen. “Come on. Let’s grab some pizza.”
While we eat, I tell her about things that happened in Green Haven after she and I left. “Did you know Zayne’s dad was arrested for assaulting my brother?”
Callie nearly chokes on her pizza. “What?”
I nod. “She said Zayne brought his brother home from rehab and tried running the bar while his dad was on trial for aggravated assault. He ended up selling it and moving away with his mom and brother after his dad was sentenced.”
I shake my head, gesturing toward my laptop. “I did some research after she left. That happened so fast. My dad rushed that trial to get a quick conviction so it would help him be re-elected. But I don’t believe Zayne’s dad attacked my brother unprovoked. Mom said she saw Zayne in town two days later, and he had cuts, bruises, and a swollen face like he’d been involved in a fight.”
“Considering what Tim and your brother did at that bonfire, I don’t doubt they went after him.” She stares at me. “Do you think they ganged up on Zayne, and his dad tried to defend him?”
“That’s exactly what I think.” I grab my laptop and pull up a browser. “Look at these articles in the Green Haven newspaper.”
“Are they unbiased?” She hangs over my shoulder. There are several articles, so I start with the oldest and work to the newest.
I snort. “Do you think they’d paint the DA and his son in a negative light?”
“You’re right.” She reads over them, disgust on her face. “That is so fishy. Why do those idiots never question anything?”
“My father has the town brainwashed.” I roll my eyes. “Most of them are narrow-minded people who easily get worked up. My father preys on it.”
“What’s your brother doing now?”
“Following in Dad’s footsteps. Still living in Green Haven. He’s the DA. Dad was elected for two terms as mayor and is in his last term. Mom said he’s running for state governor.”
“Oh shit. He’s on the November ballot?”
“Yup. Two months away.” I sigh. “And my brother is running for mayor of Green Haven. Mom said Aidan and Tim also work for the mayor’s office.”
“Shit, Delaney. They’ve taken over that town.”
I shudder. “Glad we don’t live there anymore.”
“Absolutely.”
Although I don’t voice the thought out loud, I’m glad that Zayne and his family left. Mom said she heard he went to a college in California and took his mom and brother with him.
Looks like he left the past behind.