Page 71 of Spike

“He may not bepresident of your fan club now, but I know once he gets to know you more,he’ll—”

“No, it’s notabout me and him, it’s about the bruises and the blood.”

“The accident?”

I shook my head.“Your father didn’t fall off a ladder.”

She frowned.“What? How do you know?”

“The bruises onhis face and neck are from a beating.”

Her face scrunchedup in horror. “You’re saying someone beat my father up? Who would do that andwhy would he lie to me about it? Do you think someone at the church did thisand he’s covering for them?

“It could be, butI don’t think so,” I said.

“Why don’t youthink so?”

“There’s somethingelse I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

I scrubbed theback of my neck. “The other night when your dad invited me into his study, heexcused himself to go to the bathroom and when he came out, I saw white powderin his moustache?”

“White powder?”She cocked her head. “What, like cocaine? Are you saying my dad does cocaine?”

“I don’t know. Itcould have been. Or maybe it was crushed up pills. A lot of people get strungout on pain medication.” I met her eyes. “When did he hurt his back?”

“I don’t know.”She shrugged. “Maybe five or six years ago.”

“Do you know whatkind of medicine he was prescribed?”

She shook herhead.

“It’s not just thepowder, either. When he came back from the can, he was agitated, sweating andhis pupils were like pinpoints. I’ve seen enough guys on opioids to know thesigns and I’ve seen enough fights to know when a man’s been beaten by anotherman.” I took Trixie’s hands in mine. “Baby, I think your dad is in some serioustrouble.”

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Trixie

Whatever Spike saidnext was drowned out by the sound of beesswarming inside my head as my field of vision narrowed and I felt lightheaded.

“I think I’m gonnapass out,” I said, reaching for him before everything went black.

The next thing Iremember was the sensation of lying on grass, triggering happy childhoodmemories of running through the sprinklers with my brothers.

“Trixie, Trixie!”they called to me as we jumped over the oscillating streams of water. “Trixie,can you hear me?” Mattias asked, but it wasn’t his voice.

It was… Spike’s?Why was I running through the sprinklers with Spike?

My eyelidsfluttered open to reveal him standing over me.

“There you are,”he said with a smile.

“What happened?” Iasked, attempting to sit up.

“Hold on,” Spikesaid, gently. “Let’s just take our time getting up. You passed out for a fewtics, but I caught you.”

“Thank you.”

---