Page 67 of Good and Gone

In the meantime, we’ve taken a second mortgage on our home, as have Hailey’s parents. My dad says he’ll sell the farm, but so much evidence is buried there, it’s probably not the best idea, and besides, that property is all he has.

I’m currently unemployed, but Hailey is back at work. It’s not the same as it was, but like any of the brands that hire her, she’s doing her best to tell her story. With all the attention on the case, she’s gained a lot of new followers. Business is thriving, so at least there’s that.

“I hate this,” she says whenever I ask about work. “I’m just not interested in living my life in a fishbowl.”

“It takes money to eat,” I remind her.

“It all seems so pointless,” she says. “Doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” I tell her. “But part of our family surviving this without me serving jail time hinges on your ability to tell the right story.”

“This is not a story I want to tell.”

“You heard what the attorneys said. We have to stay ahead of this thing. We have to sway public opinion.”

“It all seems so fake,” she says.

“It always has.”

She looks at me like she wants to cry. “What do you want me to do?”

“Everyone loves a good victim story, Hailey. So long as it’s therightvictim story. I want you to milk it.”

She nods. “I’ve always been good at that.”

Call me cynical, call me an asshole, call me what you want, but my net worth is currently leveraged to the hilt. My personal freedom is on the line. But it’s not about the money or the house or the fact that the pharmacy has put me on administrative leave. That’s all just stuff. I have my family, and that is enough. A lot of the women in Hailey’s predicament did not end up as fortunate, and this is something I try hard not to lose sight of.

“I know. And I’ve never appreciated it as much as I do now.”

“I’m sorry, Tyler.”

“You’re not the one who shot anyone. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“It feels like I’ve ruined your life.”

“Youaremy life.”

“Okay,” she says. “But once this is over, I’m done. I’ll find other work.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Later that afternoon I’m in the office, going through the bills from Hailey’s hospital stay, when she comes in and says, “I’m going next door. If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, come find me and bring a gun.”

51

Hailey

There’s an old saying that goes, “Be careful of what you wish for because you just might get it.” That pretty much sums up the past few days.

I march over to Kenneth's house, determined to get answers. When he answers the door, my blood runs cold. He seems utterly unfazed by my presence, almost as if he has been expecting me.

“What's up, Hailey?” he asks in a neutral tone.

"Can I come in?"

He opens the door wider, and I follow him through the entryway and down the hall to his office. “Grab a seat,” he says, moving around his desk. He perches himself on the edge. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Kenny truly relax.

“I want to know what you know about the selling of infants,” I say before I lose my nerve.

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