Page 55 of A Forgotten Mistake

Liam is silent, just sitting there, and for a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to lie.

“I always felt so awful that I never gave you the closure you needed,” Michaels adds.

Liam still hasn’t said anything, so I reach over and squeeze his hand. “His voice,” he finally says quietly. “I could tell it was him from his voice. I know it’s not the proof you need. And I don’t know if you can even do anything about it… but it was his voice. The instant he spoke… I was back in that room. He’s the one who took the money… not the one who killed my mom. But… he might know who that man is.”

“I will do everything I can to get you the answers you deserve,” Michaels promises. “Cole is due back at his school. Why don’t the two of you drop him off and take the afternoon off? There’s nothing happening here that the others can’t work on.”

“I’m staying on Jane Doe’s case,” Liam says. “Knowing the person who pulled her out of the river does not prohibit me from working the case.”

“Yes, but now his wife could be involved, with her claim that someone’s been following her.”

“Someone else can deal with his wife. I’m working on the Jane Doe,” he insists, and Michaels nods. Does he feel guilt for not having the answers Liam had needed and is willing to give him what he wants?

“And I’m looking at Abby’s file.”

“I give you an inch and you take a mile,” Michaels says, but Liam just stares at him and the guilt seems to control Michaels. “You can assist.”

Liam seems satisfied by this, and hopefully the two cases will keep him occupied enough that he’ll stop fixating on the idea of killing this man. I just don’t know for how long.

THIRTEEN

Gabriel

“The cat really needs a name,” I say.

“The cat really needs a new home,” Liam growls as the cat in question loafs on his lap while we sit on the couch.

I’ve tried treats, catnip, and chin scratches, but the cat acts like my lap is acidic, yet the moment Liam sits down, he hurries on over and becomes a loaf on his legs.

“I already love him, so you can’t get rid of him,” I announce.

Liam gives me a look filled with disbelief. “How could you love the thing already? We’ve barely had it days!”

“Well, I do,” I say as I stare at the loaf. His tail is twitching back and forth while his rusty purr fills the room. How could I not love him? He’s absolutely adorable.

“I saw you begging it to sit on you yesterday and it snubbed its nose at you! How can you love that? How couldIcare for something that doesn’t give you the love you deserve?”

“He’s not an ‘it.’”

“Sure looks like an it,” he grumbles as he pokes the side of the cat’s face. If I did that, the cat would wander off, highlydispleased, but when Liam does it, his purrs escalate to a whole new level of rusty chainsaw.

“What do you want to name him?”

“Free Cat in the hope someone will take it. I can’t believe I spent a hundred dollars on a cat when I could get a free one from the crazy cat lady across the street!”

“Can you believe you spent over athousanddollars on a blanket that will never love you in return?”

“I spent over a thousand dollars wooing your parents. The blanket was just a bonus.”

I shake my head because I’m really not going to win with him. “I’ll give youonemore chance to name him, and then I am.”

Liam gives me a desperate look as he reaches for me like I’m his last hope. “Please… Gabriel, nooo… I can’t let you name another. I mean… I don’t even care for the cat, and I can’t put it through that. If you name it, you’ll be starting his villain origin story. Okay… Okay… um… The Undesirable One since no one wanted to adopt him.”

I raise an eyebrow and wonder how I’ve fallen in love with this monster. “That’s it, I’m naming him. His name is now Butter. Get it? Because he looks like a loaf! And a loaf needs butter!”

“That is… a scarring name.”

“It’s not scarring! It’s cute!”

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