Page 50 of Whispers Left Behind

Still, the anger inside of Kinsley was becoming almost too much to bear. While there was no absolution for what she haddone, her father had no idea that his daughter was no better than those he represented on a daily basis.

It wasn’t fair for her to continually penalize him.

“Even fathers aren’t perfect,” George reluctantly admitted as he shifted in his chair. Such admission wasn’t easy for a man like him. “If I could go back and handle the situation differently, I would do so in a heartbeat. I miss you, butterfly.”

The sincerity in her father’s voice clawed at her resolve, which had been torn to shreds recently. Hearing her childhood nickname tore it completely in two. She was the only one of her siblings who hadn’t been able to stand being swaddled in a blanket, and she would work tirelessly until her arms and legs were free from their constraints. Her father had mentioned many times that it was like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, thus was born her nickname from day one.

Kinsley stared at the man who had taught her to stand firm. He was oblivious to the cracks in that very same foundation. She came to the realization that their relationship was akin to the fire between them—complex, flickering with moments of warmth, but ultimately unpredictable and capable of leaving scars.

A loud snap cut through the night air.

The sharp sound had nothing to do with the fire, and Kinsley scanned the darkness for any sign of immediate danger. She usually left her firearm in her safe at home before joining her family for dinner, but the busy day had forced her to drive straight to her parents’ house from work. While Owen’s review of the footage hadn’t revealed anyone outside her home, she couldn’t shake the belief that someone was monitoring her from afar.

“It’s just the wildlife,” George reassured her as his interest focused on the sliding glass door instead of the thin stretch of land in front of the treeline on the backside of the property. “There’s my toothless granddaughter.”

“I’m not toothless, Grandpa. See?” Lily smiled as she came closer to them, pointing at her front teeth that still weren’t fully settled. “Everyone is watching the game, and I need someone to play cards with me.”

“You just want to play with someone who isn’t good at Go Fish,” George complained good-naturedly, causing Lily to giggle with delight. “Come on, squirt. I’ll play you a hand or two.”

Lily grabbed her grandfather’s hand, and he allowed her to believe she was dragging him into the house. Her laughter was loud enough that it would have scared away any critter nearby.

Kinsley didn’t sense a change in the air, though.

She might not have proof, but someone was out there.

Waiting…watching…and planning something that could very well destroy their lives.

“Dad?”

Kinsley drew her gaze away from the darkness. Her father had just reached the sliding glass door when he heard her call out to him. He released Lily’s hand as she disappeared through the open doorway. There was a vulnerable quality to his stance that she had never witnessed before. Maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world to take hold of the olive branch.

“I miss you, too.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alex Lanen

October

Thursday — 11:47 pm

The usual occupants ofthe night shift, Detectives Dodd and Crosby, were nowhere to be found as Alex strode to his desk. He had spent most of the evening across the street at The Bucket watching the football game with Wally and Izzy. His intention afterward had been to go home and get some sleep, but he wasn’t tired in the least. He figured he might as well knock some work out of the way to free up time for him and Kinsley to reinterview some key witnesses.

Once his jacket was hung on the coat rack and his computer turned on, Alex made his way into the kitchen on the opposite side of the floor. It shouldn’t take him long to examine the security footage from Hanson’s neighbors. The doorbell cams only recorded when activated by something or someone, so all that needed to be analyzed were short thirty to forty-second clips spanning three months from four different homes.

Alex hadn’t been in the mood to drink alcohol this evening, so he had nursed one beer through each half of the game. He hadn’t wanted to feel like shit in the morning when he hit the gym.

He flipped on the light switch in the kitchen, not bothering to fuss with the large coffee maker. Instead, he used the single-serve appliance that one of the wives had brought in for her husband. With his favorite mug in hand three minutes later, he exited the kitchen to find someone had turned on the overhead lights. Considering he hadn’t heard the usual chime associated with the elevators, the individual must have used the stairs.

Since Dodd and Crosby had been summoned to the railroad tracks west of the city, Alex doubted the two men had returned to the station so soon. He hadn’t bothered with the fluorescent lights since the egress lighting had been easier on his eyes. His interest immediately landed on Laura’s desk, only she wasn’t the one sitting in her chair.

“Levick, what are you doing here so late?”

Lauran’s personal effects had been removed, from the picture of her daughter to the pen holder she had made in first grade. Seeing as Alex had remained at his desk until close to eight o’clock, Laura must have intentionally waited until he had walked across the street to The Bucket.

He didn’t care for how much the deliberate action stung his already bruised heart.

“Lanen,” Shane greeted as he rose from the chair. “Haugen and I have to be at the firing range first thing in the morning. Ididn’t want to have to stop by the station to fill out the remaining paperwork regarding my transfer, so I’m emailing them to HR now.”

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