Page 26 of Girl, Reformed

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ella led Luca into a cramped box thatpassed for an interview room. In the center, hunched over a wobbly table, satthe Archie Newman’s parents.

The place had all the ambiance of a prisonvisitation area, which was fitting, seeing as how she was about to serve theNewmans a life sentence of misery.

Ella took a moment to study the couple, totake in the lines of devastation etched into their faces. The mother, a small,bird-boned woman with a halo of gray curls, looked like a strong breeze mightshatter her into a million pieces. The father, a hulking bear of a man with asalt-and-pepper buzz cut, had the shellshocked look of a soldier who'd justseen his buddy step on a landmine. Grief hung off them like a cheap suit, mixedwith a hearty dose of pissed-off.

Ella slid into a chair across from them,Luca following her lead. She laced her fingers on the table, met their gazeshead-on.

‘Mr. and Mrs. Newman, I'm Agent Dark. Thisis Agent Hawkins. First off, I want to say how sorry I am for your loss. I knowthose words don't mean much right now, but…’

‘You're right. They don't,’ Mr. Newman cuther off, voice rough as a gravel road. ‘What I want to know is what happened tomy boy. We heard… rumors.’

Ella's guts clenched. Rumors spread fasterthan crabs in this game. Someone probably overheard some cop chatter, blabbedto his buddies, and now it was all over town. The Newman's catch wind and ofcourse their minds go to the worst place.

‘I understand your frustration,’ Ellasaid, picking her words like she was defusing a bomb. ‘The investigation isstill ongoing, but I can assure you…’

‘We heard Archie was strung up,’ Archie’smother blurted, voice hitching on her boy's name. ‘Stuck in some kind of - oftorture thing. Is that true?’

Ella's tongue felt like lead. How the hellwas she supposed to soft-pedal this?

But before she could open her mouth, Lucapiped up. ‘Mrs. Newman, we won't lie to you. Archie was found in a devicecalled a pillory. It's a type of medieval restraint.’

Ella shot him a look that could curdlemilk. The hell was he doing, giving them the uncut version? But Luca barreledon, those baby blues big and earnest.

‘I know that's hard to hear. Believe me,if I could shield you from this, I would. But you deserve the truth.’

The mother let out a low keen, like agut-shot deer. Pops pulled her to his chest, his own eyes suspiciously bright.

‘Why?’ the dad croaked. ‘Why would someonedo that to our boy?’

And there it was. The million-dollarquestion. The one that kept Ella up at night, chasing answers she knew she'dnever find at the bottom of a bottle.

She leaned forward, held the father’sgaze. ‘I don't know. But I can promise you that we’ll find out.’

Mr. Newman regarded her. Measuring her up,seeing if she was just another empty suit spewing platitudes.

Finally, he gave a slow nod. ‘I'm holdingyou to that.’

Ella returned it, solemn as a blood oath.Now it was time to peel back the layers of Archie Newman's life, see what madehim tick. And what made him a target?

‘Can you tell me about Archie? What was helike?’

Mrs. Newman dabbed at her eyes with acrumpled tissue. ‘He was a good kid. A little rough around the edges, but heartof gold, you know?’

Mr. Newman grunted in agreement. ‘He hadhis moments, like anyone. But he was everything we ever wanted.’

‘What did he do for a living? What werehis hobbies, his interests?’

Mr. Newman cleared his throat. ‘He was abartender. Worked at that new place downtown, the Boathouse.’

Ella already knew this. She just wanted toassess the parents’ capacity for truth-telling.

‘Did he like his job? Get along with hiscoworkers?’

Mrs. Newman nodded, a wobbly littlegesture. ‘Oh yes, he loved it. Said it was like getting paid to party.’ A ghostof a smile flickered across her face, there and gone again. ‘He always was apeople person.’

Peopleperson.Ella mentally underlined it. It fit with the image she was building in her head- a young, outgoing guy, well-liked by most. The kind of person who madefriends easily, navigated the choppy waters of human interaction with a grinand a wink.

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