Page 89 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

“I’ll start a damn petition if he doesn’t get life.” Gonzalez was still mad as a hornet. “When I think about someone doing to me what that man did to Dwayne and Tylesia? He better get life.”

I really didn’t think a lesser sentence would happen, but we’d see.

“Well, on a different note”—Donovan seemed amused for some reason—“we’ve been kind of left behind. Tylesia is already on her way to the hotel. Grant’s been whisked away. Atlanta’s Missing Persons begged and pleaded, and he caved and said he’d help them until tomorrow morning.”

I had to shake my head. “Didn’t we bring him with us to give him a break?”

“Man’s a soft touch.”

“Apparently. Well, we’ll have to abscond with him tomorrow. He has no way back without us.”

“A fact Alan is counting on, I think. Let’s go back to the hotel if we’re not waiting on them. I, for one, would like a hot shower.”

I got instant agreements. Good to know we were all on the same page.

31

Finally, we were home. We’d had a late breakfast with the Evans family, and it was so celebratory—so filled with love and hope and laughter—it had been kind of hard to tear myself away from it. In the end, the need to get home had set in, and we’d parted ways there.

Then I’d had to go rescue Grant and Alan, as Atlanta’s Missing Persons department hadnotwanted to let go of him. Man hadsadly worked most of the night, and the second he got into the car, he zonked. Slept all four hours of the drive. Alan did not look happy, so I had a feeling boundaries were going to be set. Really, I understood both sides. Grant had a hard time saying no when he knew it was a life-or-death situation. Alan’s focus was on Grant’s health. I wished them luck finding that balance.

We got home that evening after dropping Grant and Alan off. I wanted out of this carsobadly. Words couldn’t express how badly.

I pulled into my parking lot and whined to Donovan, “We have no food in this house.”

“How about I run out and pick up something?” he offered. “I’m craving fries right now.”

Fries meant Five Guys in our language. “Oooh, yes. Sold. Go. I’ll feed cats and face their wrath for leaving them alone.”

“Fair trade.”

I handed him keys, kissed him, then bounced inside. Freedom!

The second I had my back door open, I heard light, feminine voices from inside. Eh? Who’d invaded my place? Then I recognized a laugh and wentduuuuh. Skylar and Abby. I had asked them to look in on the cats while I was gone. They were likely over here doing just that. I forgot to remind Donovan to text them. Oh well.

“Hey, girls, we’re back!” I called.

Skylar’s head popped around into the hallway. “Hey, you sure are. Uncle Donovan said you found Tye, so we called Dwayne this morning and got thefullstory. You guys had a crazy time.”

“‘Crazy’ about covers it. How goes it here?”

“Well, we think we’ve figured stuff out. And the cats are fine, we’ve been playing laser pointer.”

“A favorite game.” One I sadly could not participate in, but I had feather wands, and the cats loved those equally as well.

I came in closer to have a proper conversation. Abby was still playing, casting the laser pointer all over the living room floor, sometimes the couches, and the cats were chasing it for all they were worth. They would definitely not hold a grudge against Donovan and me, as they’d be fast asleep after this. Bless my girls for wearing them out. Bless.

Deeming it not safe to sit on the couch, I took up a barstool instead and prodded Skylar, “What did you figure out?”

“How to handle the upcoming school year.”

Ah right, that had been a question. It wouldn’t be comfortable for either of them to be apart for long, and a full school day for a newly bonded pair? Not in the cards. But there was such a driving distance—and Nashville traffic was so insane—that one of them commuting to the other’s school was not the optimum option.

“So what did you guys decide to do?”

“Basically, we’re going to act like we’re shared custody kids.” Skylar laughed while saying this. “We’ll stay with my parents during the school week, then stay with Abby’s dad during the weekend.”

“My dad works crazy hours sometimes on cases anyway,” Abby explained to me, still zooming the laser pointer everywhere. “So it’s hit or miss whether he’s home during the work week. This just made the most sense to us. Plus, Skylar’s school is better than mine, so it’s a leg up for me.”

---