Page 86 of Small Sacrifices

God, he's been so protected, hasn't he? Yes, maybe his parents aren't the most understanding. Yes, this world was not built with people like him in mind. But aside from schoolyard bullies, no one has ever tried to hit him. He's never been physically targeted for something he can't help.

It hurts to watch Everett freeze and then hunch in on himself like a puppet with its strings cut. At first, he shakes his head. But then he squeezes his eyes shut.

"Maybe," he says. "I don't know."

He's breathing hard, like he's trying to maintain control. Reid doesn't know how tenuous that control is, but he doesn't have any desire to test it. They need to change the topic to give Everettthe opportunity to regulate himself. Clearly, he won't ask them to do that.

"As important as it is to talk about this, I feel like we're getting distracted from our original subject." At first, Reid is worried that he might sound dismissive. But as he speaks, he can see Everett relax marginally. "Marisol? Do you still think we can't trust the lieutenant governor?"

He's told Marisol about the encounter he had with Coleman just after she'd been fired. Not that she looked convinced Coleman was on her side. Even as she listened, her expression had still been pinched.

Before Marisol answers, she cuts a look at Everett. But he's just sitting there, eyes closed, breathing deeply.

"I don't know," she says. "But we might have to. If we want an ally in the administration, she'd be the most powerful one. I don't even know who else we could talk to."

"I don't know about the Agrifarm thing. She didn't react to that when I mentioned it. But she's definitely on your side about Mr. Wright. That's a good sign, right?"

Marisol sighs and rubs her eyebrows. "Maybe. Right, here's what we'll do. Everett, you look for that laptop and see if you can find the email with the attachment. I'll go talk to Ms. Coleman about what Mr. Wright did and see how she reacts."

"And me?" Reid asks when she just trails off. It gets him a grimace.

"Honestly, I don't know. It’s a bit inconvenient you quit, it would have been nice to have an inside man. Just... maybe you can write down everything you remember. You handed in your notes, right?"

Reid nods.

"Well, then take new notes. We need all the details we can get."

For once, everything goes smoothly. In the evening, Everett brings over the old laptop and shows them where they can find the email and the attachments. Just to be sure, Reid makes a copy of the entire hard drive.

Then, he just stares at the two assessments side by side. They're almost identical. Only a few numbers are different, as well as the conclusion."This land is safe for residential use,"sure. But these little differences have caused a lot of pain. They're the reason that a six-year-old is dead. It hurts to look at them.

Everett hugs him from behind as he reads, and he welcomes it when Reid finally leans back against him. They're still cuddling when Marisol's text arrives.

Okay, I trust her. Can we meet with her tomorrow? All of us together, I mean?

They agree to meet at four p.m. Everett reserves one of the study rooms in his university library so that they have some privacy in a neutral location. Maybe they're being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

Chapter 30: Tipping point

"I'm sorry. You have what?"

Clarice Coleman's face is blank in the way that Reid would expect from any veteran politician. But her voice carries the emotions her expression doesn't. Namely, utter shock and confusion.

"Evidence that Governor Mackenzie knew, at the very least, that the assessment that declared the former Agrifarm land safe for residential use was faked. We're still looking through the documents we have to see if there is anything worse," Marisol adds when Ms. Coleman just blinks at her.

By "we," she means Reid. By now, he's slogged through so many dreadful emails that he almost wishes his eyes were bleeding—at least then he'd have a good reason to stop. He's encountered many of these emails before: the revolting flirtations with Mackenzie's mistress, the vile language he andMr. Wright used to discuss new hires. And then there are the nonchalant messages exchanged about the parcel of land now occupied by Lacrimosa Elementary School.

So far, Reid has found nothing new that would hold up as evidence in a court of law. But that doesn't mean that what he's read wasn't bad. They refer to the project as"the publicity stunt that could make the next election".

Apparently, it was a great tax write-off for Agrifarm. There's even a debate about whether building a high school there would be more beneficial, with the top argument being that high schoolers don't lick things as often. Given the context, Reid shouldn't have laughed, but he did. It wasn't a convincing argument, though, far overshadowed by the statement,"the younger the kids, the better they sell."Everett wasn't exaggerating when he called his father and his associates ghouls.

Sadly, it sounds just jokey enough that there's plausible deniability there. Which is why Reid simply made a note of it and moved on.

"And you want to go public with this?" Coleman asks.

"Yes." Everett's voice doesn't broker any arguments. "We have some work left to do, but I expect we'll do it within the week."

Within the week?Reid has not been privy to this part of the plan so far. Marisol doesn't look surprised, but given her poker face, that doesn't say much.

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