Page 81 of Filthy Liar

“A body was found in the dumpsters out back of one of the clubs she worked at. Cops identified her yesterday.”

“She’s been missing for ages. How is she only being found now?”

“She wasn’t dumped there until recently. She’s been dead since she went missing, so she was hidden somewhere and then taken to the club to be dumped. It was a past client who killed her, and he thought he could cover it up with his money. Guess what? I have more fucking money,” she said with a shrug, waiting for the machine to finish so she could bring my coffee over and sit back down. “The kids know she’s gone.”

“They didn’t mention it this morning,” I said softly, sipping the scalding liquid.

“I think Greg already knew, and the other kids don’t seem to have had much of a connection with her in the first place. Xena and Nancy were a little upset, but Gregory practically raised the younger ones himself, so they didn’t really know her.”

“Have their older brothers been told? Or Florence? Surely she’s been back for her baby by now,” I asked slowly, the grim look on her face telling me otherwise.

“The police informed the detention center for the boys, yes. Greg went looking for Florence a few days ago and she basically chased him off. He said she was as high as a kite, sleeping in one of the abandoned houses with her boyfriend. We went to check on her but they’d left already,” she sighed. “It’s obvious the Heights police didn’t give a shit about her well-being before their station burned down, but I’ve sent BG after her and the boyfriend. She needs rehab, which I’ll pay for, and her boyfriend needs a fucking prison cell. What kind of twenty-three-year-old is attracted to a fourteen-year-old kid? I can’t believe no one’s done anything about it either. I had a meeting with some of the Heights council members this morning, urging them to push for a new police station. It’s one of the worst neighborhoods for crime, and the government needs to get off its ass and help fund a replacement. Between us and the council, hopefully we can push them. It would’ve been insured, so the fact they haven’t even mentioned rebuilding is ridiculous.”

“What happens to Greg and the kids now then?” I almost didn’t want to ask. I knew Rory was trying to pull back on bringing too many kids in because Lukas and Jensen were both going into new jobs over the next year and wouldn’t be home all the time anymore.

“I sat down with both Greg and Frank last night to discuss it. Those boys have been adults their whole lives, and I wasn’t about to make a decision on their behalf without their input,” she answered, and I loved that about her. Yes, they were kids, but demanding things from them when they’d been responsible for themselves and others for so long was just going to make them resent adults.

Giving them options was really nice of her.

“What did you guys decide on?”

She blew out a breath, motioning to Jade. “Red’s going to take in Frank and Lara. She’s been here a lot lately, and the kids are really loving her. I think it’s because she bribes them with baked goods,” she joked.

“And Greg?”

“We asked around for someone to take them all in, but no one wants seven kids under the age of twelve, with the possibility of a recovering fourteen-year-old addict, and the idea of letting the kids visit the two older boys in juvie. We want to keep the kids together, but it just isn’t possible.” My heart sank, and she studied me for a second before continuing. “In saying that, there’s no way we’ll allow the system to split them up. We’ve decided to foster them ourselves unless someone else steps forward.”

“You will?” I asked with surprise, emotion in my voice. “All of them?”

“All of them,” she confirmed with a nod. “When the boys get out of juvie, they’re welcome to stay with us too. No one else will take them in, they’ll both be adults and the system doesn’t give a fuck about that. Gregory did ask for a request though, which I honestly thought was a bad idea, but he’s insisting on it.”

Jade hummed, resting her elbows on the table to lean forward. “I think the kid’s smart for it.”

“I think he’ll regret it,” Rory said with a sigh, looking at me. “Florence claims she wants nothing to do with Maggie, and Greg has asked if we take her some legal documents, that she will give up her parental rights.”

“That’s good, right? Makes your job easier,” I asked slowly with confusion.

“He wants her to sign them so she can be adopted elsewhere. That boy has been making decisions that even a grown ass adult would struggle with, and he really believes finding her a home away from here is what’s best for her. I’ve told him I’d like him to think about it a little longer, but he really wants her to have a good life. She’s only ten months old, so she’d be adopted easily.”

“He wants to give her up?”

“He wants more for her.”

“You guys can give her that though, right?”

“We can give them a good home, but we’re always so busy. We never intended on having permanent kids here again, especially not younger ones. We’re already in the process of adopting Noah, but he’s seventeen. These kids need parents that can be home all the time, which we can’t,” she said honestly, lowering her voice even more. “Greg said Maggie’s at the age where she won’t remember anything other than the parents who adopt her, and he wished the twins were a little younger so they could have the same chance too.”

My heart broke for the kid, knowing he didn’t say those things lightly.

“What if someone wants to adopt the twins too? Will he let them go?”

“Yes,” I heard from across the room, finding Gregory standing there. I had no idea how long he’d been listening, and I felt guilty for talking about him behind his back. “If some nice mom and dad came along and would take all of them in, I’d let them go. As long as they let me see them.”

“Greg, we talked about this,” Rory sighed, motioning for him to come closer. “There’s been a lot of changes lately, so we can take our time deciding things. There’s no time stamp on you kids being here, okay?”

“There is,” he insisted, looking at me for help. “I’m not ungrateful that you took us all in, but they could have a nice home with a mom and dad, maybe a dog, and grow up in a neighborhood with no gunfire or poverty. Joseph talks about murder and naked girls like it’s normal, and he’s four. If I can find the twins an opportunity to get away from all that before they start to think the same, then I’ll do it. Of course I want them to stay with me, but that’s selfish. Maggie, Sia, and Paul could all thrive if I let them go.”

Rory gave me a look, telling me this had been a large part of the conversation they’d been having on repeat.

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