Chapter 26
Amy’s behavior strikes me as odd. She seemed nervous, but why? I’m going to keep an eye on her. She’s been working here for quite a while now, and I’ve never seen her like this. I’m very perceptive—my profession demands it. I can read people by their expressions, and something was off about her.
I’ll set this aside for now, but I’ll keep an eye on her to see what she’s up to. Another hearing for James has been scheduled in a month. Now that I’m moving on with my life, I’ve been thinking about just letting things run their course and finally letting him get out. So I call my informant.
“Everything’s set. I’m thinking about stepping back—letting him out.”
“You’re the boss. If you want, we’ll drop this.”
“I think it’s time for him to get out. We won’t act this time. Consider the case closed.”
I hang up the phone and think about everything happening in my life—Amy, how happy I am with her. It’s been a month since we got together, and she makes me happy. We go out to dinner, take Ellie to the mall. I decide to leave the past behind.
It’s been a long time since I felt this way. I thought I’d never find someone to share my life with again, but Amy gradually entered my world. First, she won over Ellie with her sweet nature. Yes, despite being a little devil, she’s also very sweet, especially with my daughter.
Her behavior today struck me as strange. I’m going to talk to Marcus and ask him to keep an eye on her while I’m away. I send him a quick text, and minutes later he enters my office.
“Close the door, Marcus.”
“Did something happen, boss?”
“Have you noticed Amélie acting different these days?”
“She’s been acting normally with everyone in the house. Why, is there a problem?”
“I don’t know. Today I noticed she seemed a bit off, even nervous, when I saw her. I found her behavior odd, that’s all.”
“Could it be something with her grandmother?”
“Yeah, could be. I’ll ask her, but either way, I want you to keep an eye on her for me.”
“Okay. From now on, if I see anything wrong, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Marcus. You’re dismissed.”
“Excuse me, sir.”
He leaves, closing the door behind him, and I turn my attention to the case files I brought. I have a hearing coming up, and this time the case is more serious—a seized shipment of weapons. It’s next week, but I want to start studying it now.
I’m deep in my documents when I hear a knock at the door. I tell them to come in. Amy pokes her head in and smiles.
“Busy?”
“A bit. Studying a more serious case—I have a hearing next week.”
“Can you share?”
“Unfortunately, I’d prefer you didn’t know about this one. It’s a complicated case involving trafficking, so the less you know, the better.”
“You’ve been in here so long. Dinner’s almost ready—mama asked me to come get you.”
I look out the window and see it’s gotten dark.
“I’m so focused on this case, I didn’t even notice the time.”
“So how about you leave those papers, come have dinner, and then rest? You still have time to study this case.”
“Let’s go. I’m tired anyway—it’ll be good to stop now.”
I put the documents back in the folder and we leave the office. I follow Amy to the kitchen, where dinner is already served. We eat and then head upstairs to the bedroom. Ever since Amélie and I got involved, I’ve asked her to sleep in my room, and that’s how it’s been.
It’s been almost a month since we got together. We still haven’t made our relationship official—we’re just letting things flow—but it’s been really good. Our sex keeps getting better every day. She’s more forward than before, and I can’t resist her.
We’ve been careful so she doesn’t get pregnant, since she’s still very young and heading into her third semester of college.
Our first time, we weren’t careful. We wanted each other so badly that by the time we realized what was happening, it had already happened.
But since it’s been a month, I don’t think anything came of it.
We lie down to sleep. She settles into my arms—we’ve gotten used to sleeping like this—and we start talking about our day.
“How was work? You haven’t been bringing cases home.”
“Everything’s calm, that’s why I haven’t brought any. The ones we have ongoing are heading to trial, so there’s a lot to do.”
“It must be difficult to judge a case.”
“That’s why I analyze each one very carefully. I review the evidence as many times as necessary. I like to be fair in my work.”
“Have you ever made a mistake?”
That question sends a chill up my spine. I was completely wrong with the man who hit my car years ago, but I don’t want to get into that, so I try to change the subject.
“Mistakes happen, so we have to be very careful to avoid them. Now let’s sleep, little one. We have to wake up early tomorrow.”
She falls asleep in seconds, but I lie there, still awake for hours, thinking.
Her question stole my sleep. Every time I think about what I did, I feel guilty—but who would be to blame for my wife’s death?
I look at the clock. It’s already two in the morning.
I try to doze off, but I can’t. I wait a few more hours in bed and finally get up, put on gym clothes, and head downstairs.
It’s six in the morning now. I barely slept at all.
This is going to affect me during the day.
This topic always gets under my skin, and I take out my frustration at the gym, working out until I can’t go anymore. Today was one of those days. Once I was completely exhausted, I lay down on the gym floor and stayed there for a few minutes, thinking about everything.