Page 116 of The Locksmith's Promise

Not the bad.

Nor the good.

My breath sawed in and out of my throat.

Miller’s hand gripped my shoulder.

Sarge came around his desk and gripped the other one.

“You ready to bury him, son?”

27

Answers

Maggie

I ran home as fast as I could. But the longer I stared at the wall, the more determined I was to get answers.

This time, I wasn’t running.

Buns and Biscuits was closed on Sundays, but Jenny lived in the apartment above it. She wanted to talk?

Well, now I was ready to talk.

Rounding the back of the building, I took the stairs up to her place two at a time and knocked firmly on the door.

“Jenny, it’s Maggie,” I clipped.

Whatever I’d planned to say died on my lips when she opened the door.

Eyes red-rimmed and swollen, she held a tissue to her face and stepped back. “You want to come in?”

Suddenly unsure, I gingerly stepped over the threshold. “Are you okay?”

She snorted, then gave her head a shake and nodded. “I will be.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Why are you here?”

“I saw you down by the docks with Baxter,” I blurted. “What do you want with him?”

She folded in on herself. “That’s why you’re here?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why else would I be here?”

“You haven’t talked to him yet,” she stated.

“No. I haven’t. I figured this time I’d talk to you before running away with my tail between my fucking legs. What were you doing down by the docks with Baxter?”

She laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound. Waving her hand toward the kitchen, she said, “You may as well come in. I’m not doing this standing in the front hall.”

I dropped my coat and slid my feet from my boots.

She led me through to her family room where she settled into an oversized armchair and wrapped a plush, raspberry blanket around herself. A pile of tissues and a half-empty cup of tea sat on the polished end table beside her.

Vibrant pillows lined the back of the wide couch, and a soft rug lay beneath my feet.

“I’d offer you a cup of tea but I’m all out of gas,” she murmured.

“Where’s Deacon?” I blurted.

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