Page 50 of A Forgotten Mistake

Cole turns to me. “So… your job is like… the people in the TV shows? Like you go to the crime scenes and figure it all out?”

“Yeah. I would take you to a crime scene, but I was told that I wasn’t allowed. They’re really unfair.”

“That’s okay. I think I like what Penny does best.”

“You could do that.”

He laughs, but it’s not a happy sound. “No, I couldn’t.”

“Why? What are your grades? Even if they’re shit, you just try hard in college. I let my grades absolutely tank one year in high school but ended up breezing through college and I didn’t even have to blackmail anyone for my grades. So why do you think you can’t do it?”

Cole shrugs and looks away.

“Relying on others for some things really fucking sucks. But Gabriel’s a good guy. You really should try relying on him.”

He just stares at me like he has absolutely no idea what I’m saying.

“And the next time someone tries to help you, don’t turn your back on them and support your monster.”

Cole looks alarmed before quickly covering it up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do we do now?”

I watch him for a moment before nodding. “Now we need to find someone else to harass.”

“I actually think that’s your job title.”

“Right? I’m good at it. And they pay me well. I’m actually a lead detective here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Right? Come. Let’s bother more people.”

I head over to Michaels’ office. “This is the sergeant. He got this position by looking pretty and smiling a lot.”

Michaels’ bald head whips around to glower at me. “What are you doing?”

“He barks at me to do things and cries a little when I do them with precision because he’s so proud of me. Sometimes I even call him Dad.”

“You’ve never called me ‘Dad’ a day in your life,” Michaels says with a growl. “Cole, right? It’s wonderful to have you heretoday. I apologize that Detective Hyde was busy and you had to…”

“He had to what?” I ask.

“Put up with you is what he was going to say,” Cole says as he laughs.

I grin, pleased with my ability to harass others. “Sergeant Michaels loves me, and he knows it. After the last big case, he even got me an ‘I told you so’ cake because I told him who the bad guy was and he refused to believe me. I even gotshotbecause he wouldn’t believe me.”

“Paige, why don’t we have someone else take over and you go back to your office where hopefully no one will hear or see you until you leave.”

“See, Cole, he even loves me enough that he gave me my own office. I’m the only detective who had my own office before he allowed pests to descend upon it.”

“I’m starting to think it’s so others can get work done without you harassing them,” Cole says.

“Cole, you are very right. Your art of deduction is splendid. You might be fit for a job in homicide,” Michaels tells him.

I ignore him and take my protégé off to meet the others, but before I get too far, Gabriel comes in. “Hey, Cole! Is Liam showing you all around?”

“He threatened to stab another officer to show me how blood splatter works,” Cole says. “We have to write an essay about our day shadowing, and I feel like that’ll be a good hook for the essay.”

Gabriel’s eyes snap over to me. “Would it now?Liam?”

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