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Tyler moved his legs around Jayne so he could sit on the edge of the bed next to her. His head hung low. “I guess,” he said.
“It didn’t work out with Aunt Clara,” Jayne said. “She tried, gave it her best shot, but after what you—”
“It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“If it had been anyone else, you probably would have been charged. But she wouldn’t do that, because she loves you and understands you’ve been through a lot.”
“I didn’t know the glass would break like that. I kind of lost it for one second. Jesus, no one’s ever going to let me forget it.”
“I don’t want to debate that all over again now, Tyler. But you blew it with Aunt Clara. Andy letting you live here, this is your second chance.”
“You haven’t told him,” he said.
“No,” Jayne said. “And as long as you keep on the straight and narrow, there really isn’t any need to. But we’ve both got your best interests at heart. And there’s another thing.”
She paused, took a breath, let it out slowly. Tyler waited.
“I love him,” Jayne said. “I love this man, and I want to make it work. There’s things going on I haven’t even told you, or Andy, but it’s really crucial that we all have some, you know, structure in our lives right now. It’s important.”
“What haven’t you told me?” Tyler asked.
Jayne bit her lip, making a decision. She leaned in, put her lips close to his ear.
“You don’t have to whisper,” he said. “There’s nobody here.”
But whisper she did. Tyler’s eyes went wide as she moved her head away.
“So, I need you to help me make this work,” she said.
Tyler saw the tears forming in his sister’s eyes and slipped an arm around her. “I’ll try,” he said.
“That’s all I’m asking,” Jayne said.
When Jayne came back downstairs, she thought about what Tyler had said, wondered why he’d lied to her.
She knew he’d been places other than Cam’s house. Her little brother wasn’t the only one with some tech skills. Jayne had secretly put an app on his phone that would let her know where he was at any given time, and when she had looked at it earlier this morning she’d noticed he’d been hanging out in a nearby cemetery. Maybe that was where he and Cam had gone to get drunk.
But she’d decided not to call him on it. Once he knew what she’d done, he’d delete the app. The good thing was, unlike most kids his age, Tyler was not all that tech-savvy. It wasn’t that he couldn’t figure stuff out. It simply didn’t interest him that much. Anyway, Jayne tried not to overdo it when it came to snooping on her brother, but she believed it was a prudent move to be aware of his comings and goings.
She sent Andrew a text.
Everything okay?
And hit send.
She watched the screen for a few seconds, waiting for the dancing dots that would indicate a reply was in the works.
Nothing.
And then she heard the car pull into the driveway.
Before she opened the door, she peeked outside. There was a black, nondescript sedan sitting there with a woman behind the wheel. Jayne wouldn’t have called herself an expert in these things, but she thought the car was some kind of police vehicle, given how plain it looked.
The woman behind the wheel got out and started walking toward the front door. Stocky, short hair, big glasses. Jayne opened the front door and stepped out.
“Can I help you?” Jayne said.
The woman smiled and said, “Hi. I’m Detective Marissa Hardy. Milford police.”
