Page 19 of Innocence

She took a bite of her beignet and sipped her cocoa. Then she looked up at the two men.

“I should forgive my parents, shouldn’t I?” she said.

“No one can tell you to do that,” said Ghost. “You have to do it in your own time when it’s right for you. There are no manuals on how to parent, Victoria. Hell, there aren’t any manuals on how to be good human beings. Most of us come with at least some common sense, and then our folks add on the rest. Teachers, counselors, coaches, they all help. I imagine it would be difficult to forgive your folks. What they did to you was pretty terrible.”

“No more or less terrible than what Trak’s parents did to him.” Trak squeezed her arm, letting her know that he appreciated her understanding. “What if there was something going on with Tracy’s parents? I mean, for your daughter to die and all you do is handle the funeral and leave, that doesn’t feel normal. If it were my child, I’d want to find out who killed her and what happened. If I hadn’t seen her in a while, I would want to know who her friends were, was she dating, did she have a job? But all this, it just doesn’t feel normal to me. Is it normal?”

“I don’t know if it’s normal or not. I’m not exactly the expert on talking about normal and abnormal,” said Trak, “but it definitely feels odd. You might be right. Maybe someone needs to go to Tacoma.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that trip,” she smiled. “But thank you. This day was perfect as far as I’m concerned. I enjoyed spending time with both of you and felt safe the entire day. Can we do it again soon?”

“Any time you want, little one. Any time you want.”

CHAPTER TEN

With the insight from their visit with Victoria, Ghost and Trak decided to make a visit to Tacoma, Washington, and find Mr. Bingham. It wasn’t hard.

Close to Seattle, the port city offered something for everyone. Water, mountains, hiking, clean air, and so much more. Chip Bingham owned a distribution center that handled goods coming from Asia. The massive waterfront warehouse was buzzing with activity with two ships in port.

“Can I help you folks?” asked a man.

“We’re here to speak with Mr. Bingham,” said Ghost. The man looked around then pointed to a man in a red flannel jacket.

“That’s him, but just warning you, he’s not in a good mood today.”

“His daughter?” asked Trak.

“Daughter? Huh. I didn’t know he had a daughter. No, it’s just been a beast of a day,” said the man. He walked off, leaving the two men staring at one another in utter confusion.

“People seriously piss me off,” said Ghost. “I’m gonna try to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t guarantee a damn thing.”

There were fine flakes of snow coming off Puget Sound as it mixed with rain and then more flakes. It was beautiful to look at, but neither man wanted to live in this.

“Mr. Bingham? My name is Ghost, and this is Trak. We’d like to speak with you about your daughter.”

“My daughter? It seems a bit late to speak with me about her. She’s dead,” he said coldly.

“We’re well aware, sir. We’re trying to find her killer,” said Ghost, holding back his anger and disdain.

“I thought that colored fella did it?”

“Colored fella?” frowned Trak. “His name is Sterling Moore, and he was released of all charges. He tried to save your daughter.”

“Huh. Well, I guess he didn’t do it. Hey! Put those near pier forty and move it! We’ve got a deadline,” he yelled. Ghost pursed his lips, watching as Trak fisted his hands at his sides.

“Mr. Bingham, you don’t seem bothered at all that your daughter was beaten, raped, and murdered. I’m trying to figure out how a man gets so cold when it’s his own daughter we’re talking about.”

Bingham turned slowly, staring at the two men. He set the tablet that was in his hand down and nodded.

“I can see where my behavior might seem cold to you. Tracy’s mom and I got married when she got pregnant. I wanted to do the right thing. I was working two jobs, trying to build this business up, so I was gone a lot. Came home one day to find Tracy in her bed, wet, hungry, and crying. Her mother had goneout.

“When I finally found her, she was with two men. I beat the hell out of the men, and I’m ashamed to say it, but I slapped the hell out of my wife. I was pissed,” he said, shaking his head. “I went home, a neighbor was watching Tracy for me, and I knew that I was a single father. I worked a lot. Probably too much.

“Tracy and me, we were like ships passing in the night. Thank God she was a good kid. Got herself up in the mornings, off to school, did her homework, all of it. When she picked a college so far away, I saw that as a sign that she wanted to get away from me. She would call once a month or send an e-mail or text, but that was all.

“I know you won’t understand this, but I did love my daughter. We just weren’t as close as we should have been. I own that. It’s my fault. I’ve grieved for my daughter in my own way. That’s all I can tell you.”

The two men nodded at him. They didn’t understand him, but then again, they didn’t have to.

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