Page 35 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“You’re a teenager. Most teenagers do.”

“And I broke all of the rules!”

“Also normal things teenagers do,” Steve assured her. “You’re lucky you have a mother who has built a safety net to catch you and keep you safe.”

“I lied about the messages when you questioned me,” Camila said, her face burning with shame. “I did send them. I shouldn’t have. It was wrong.”

“It was,” Steve agreed but tried to keep his tone even. “Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.” She roughly wiped her face. “My grandmother Mirta expects me to call her tonight.”

Steve perked up at that piece of information. “But you don’t have a phone.”

“I almost did,” she said so quietly he barely heard her. “Last night, they left a package for me.”

“They?” Steve seized on the word. “Who? The two men in the truck that tried to kill me and your uncle?”

Camila swallowed nervously before nodding. “I think it must have been them.”

“They were here? At the house?” Steve jumped to his feet, a cold chill racing down his spine.

“I’m not sure,” Camila hastily replied. “They were supposed to leave a box in one of Tia Lola’s greenhouses.”

“Which one?” Steve had spent most of the afternoon touring her spaces. They were within walking distance of the house, but not so close they were within the small perimeter of security the family usually kept.

“Her zinnia greenhouse,” Camila said. “I looked but I didn’t find anything.”

“And how did you know it would be there? The box and the phone, I mean?”

“My friend told me.” She wouldn’t meet his inquiring gaze.

“The boy you were with when we found you?”

She shook her head. “Someone from school.”

“Someone? Who?” Steve tried to contain his irritation at having to pull information from her bit by bit.

“My counselor,” Camila admitted finally. “She helped get me back in touch with my grandmother. She says it’s important to have open dialogue with family and that I should know my father’s side of the family so I can heal from the trauma.”

Steve hoped this counselor had a good lawyer and health insurance. Once Dina heard this, she was probably going to beat the brakes off this woman and then sue her into oblivion.

“My stomach hurts. Can I go now?”

“Yeah. Of course.” Steve watched her stand on shaky legs. She clutched at her midsection, and he hoped she wasn’t about to puke all over him. “You need me to get your mom?”

She shook her head. “I get stomach aches when I’m nervous.”

“Yeah. My sister is the same way. IBS or whatever they call it.”

“Uh, sure,” Camila said, obviously uncomfortable talking about such a diagnosis with him.

“You’ll need to tell your mom what you told me,” Steve said as Camila walked toward the door. “I can’t keep that secret for you.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“See that you do.” After she disappeared, he picked up the folder. He fixed the messy sheets of paper sticking out at all angles. His mind ran a mile a minute, thoughts barreling around in his head at breakneck pace.

What was the connection between the counselor and Diego? Was she a friend of the family? Of his mother? Or was it something else? Money?

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