It’s been five minutes.
And his dot goes red.
He’s logged off.
A sob rips through my chest like cloth tearing. It’s hot and raw in my throat. My shoulders convulse as I clutch the steering wheel. Tears pour out of me in a torrent of pain and loneliness.
I cry until I’m empty.
And then I somehow cry more, as if the flood of emotion I’ve held back for all these years has finally burst free.
When I can breathe again, I hold my thumb on theBeyond Justiceapp until it shakes and a little x appears in the top right corner of the app.
I press the x.
My phone asks if I’m sure I want to delete the app.
I’ve never been more certain of anything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
FLETCH
Those three dots take their time at first, but then a message pops up.
GracieLou
Arrow, I’m done hiding. My real name is Poppy Lewis, and I know you’re Oliver Fletcher.
What?
What??
My head is spinning as I read.
WHAT??
The next message comes in like a curveball to my helmet.
GracieLou
I lied about spending Christmas with my dad. He died two years ago of a heart attack while he was in prison.
Hang on: Poppy’s dad is dead? How many times has she mentioned him to me? Grace?Poppy?She’s told me stories about him, talked about all those shared traditions … it’s his release party!
Why didn’t she tell me?
Why didn’t I ask?
I drop the phone on the seat, my head swimming, connections coming faster and faster?—
Poppy is Grace.
Grace is Poppy.
The thoughts are rushing too fast for me to follow, but as snippets of conversation from the last four days float by, the truth surfaces again and again. The serial killer jokes, the music, calling me a secret softie. She teased about not picking up hitchhikers!
How did I not recognize her?
