Page 33 of The White Picket Fence

Kayla’s expression morphed, going all heart-eyed. “That’s so cute!”

Tino chuckled. “Here. Give this to your mom.” He tore off a sheet from his sketch pad and held it for her to see. He’d drawn Charlotte and Kayla prepping the vegetables, both wearing expressions of concentration. “This way you can include her in the experience, even if she’s not here with you.”

Kayla looked stunned. “You’re so good. That looks just like us.”

“He’s a sketch artist,” Charlotte said, hearing the pride in her voice and not caring if she sounded like a sappy fool. “He works for the police. He sketched the man who hurt my aunt.”

Kayla turned to Charlotte. “You didn’t say that your aunt was hurt.”

Charlotte hesitated, because she hadn’t intended to say it now, but it had slipped out. “You’ve already got enough on your mind with your dad. No reason to add to it with my issues.”

Kayla frowned. “But you’re dealing with my issues and yours. I can do the same for you, Charlotte.”

Tino cleared his throat. “She’s right.”

Charlotte threw an irritated glance at Tino before returning her focus to Kayla. “You’re right. My aunt was beaten in her home.”

She wasn’t sure if she should add that the police thought that Kayla’s father’s assailant might be the same man who attacked Dottie, but Tino took the decision out of her hands.

“My brother is a Homicide lieutenant,” he said. “He’s exploring a possible connection between Charlotte’s aunt’s assault and the shootings on this street.”

Kayla stared at Charlotte. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What purpose would it serve?” Charlotte asked. “You’re worried enough about your father. You’re trying to keep your family fed. Trying to help your mom. There isn’t anything you can add to the investigation. I’m sure you told the police everything you knew, which couldn’t have been much because you weren’t there that night your dad was shot.”

She expected Kayla to nod briskly and get back to the food, but the girl stood in the middle of her kitchen looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Kayla?” Tino asked softly. “You weren’t there that night, were you?”

Kayla swallowed and turned for the skillet. “What do I add next?”

Charlotte took the skillet off the burner and set it aside. “Kayla. Were you there?”

Kayla hung her head, like she was too tired to hold it up any longer. And then she nodded.

Charlotte carefully turned the girl to face them. “Why were you in your dad’s store in the middle of the night, honey?”

Kayla’s eyes had filled with tears. “I was out with my friends.”

At two a.m.?Charlotte wanted to demand, but that wouldn’t help Kayla. “And?”

“We got hungry. I didn’t know Dad was there. He wasn’t supposed to be.”

“His regular night clerk was sick,” Charlotte said.

Kayla blinked, sending tears down her cheeks. “Jason is the night clerk. He’s twenty-one, and some of my friends think he’s hot. He always lets us get snacks and never tells my dad. So when we’re out, we always stop at the store. But it wasn’t Jason. It was Dad at the counter. He was so mad at me. My friends ran. Left me there. He was yelling at me, saying this was why I was failing math, because I was out so late.” A little sob bubbled up. “I didn’t go out on school nights. Just Saturdays. Mom and Dad were always sleeping by then, so it was easy to sneak out.”

“And then the man came in with the gun?” Tino asked softly.

Kayla nodded miserably. “I’d backed away from the counter when he came in. I was in the snack aisle, trying to get away from my dad, because he was yelling at me. The man had the gun in his hand when he ran in, and my dad had us trained on what to do if that happened. I ran out the back door and called 911.”

Charlotte frowned at Tino. “Wouldn’t your brother have the 911 transcripts? Wouldn’t he have known Kayla was a witness? That she called it in?”

Kayla looked away. “It’s a burner. All my friends have them. Our parents monitor our phones, so we get burners. I just gave 911 the address. I didn’t give them my name. I panicked and hung up.”

“Oh,” Charlotte murmured. “What happened after you called 911?”

“I ran through the alley to the front of the store. I figured the guy would clean out the register, and then he’d run. Dad would be shaken up and I wanted to help him. But then police and ambulances came and blocked the road, and I couldn’t get closer.”

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