Chapter 47 Erik
Chapter forty-seven
Erik
“They need a bath,” I say, rolling the window down only three quarters of the way.
Dewdrop looks like he might decide to take his chances with the outside world rather than two men. The only thing anchoring him is Raindrop.
“Do dogs share traits with male goats?” I ask.
“Google didn’t tell you?” Remy says. “No. They won’t smell like this after a bath.”
He sounds certain. I am not.
“She knows the Dark Angel.”
The truck jerks as Remy looks at me.
“What? Who?”
“Christianna. She named her child after her.”
I brace Dewdrop instinctively as Remy slams on the brakes. His arm shoots out to do the same for Raindrop.
He pulls over and turns to face me. Dewdrop cowers against my chest. Raindrop starts nervously licking at Remy’s chin.
Remy absently scratches the dog’s ears. “Repeat that,” he says quietly. “With context.”
I do. Quickly. What I saw. What I heard. Why I thought a dog might help.
His forehead drops to the steering wheel. “No wonder she shut down when we questioned her.”
“I ran a background check after the hotel,” I say. “She received a settlement from the professor’s family. Ten million.”
I hesitate.
“She barely touched it. Paid rent. Bought a base-model Camry. Rarely went out.”
I exhale. “With interest, it’s grown to over fifteen million.”
“Erik,” Remy says, hesitant. “In this case, I don’t think running a background check is going to help us.”
“It does,” I say. “We know why she was hurt. We don’t need her to explain it.”
I pause. “The baby I only learned about this morning. That feels private.”
I don’t tell him about the song.