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I stared at the list of suspects and sighed. Kerry had been the first person that had any kind of potential evidence, but I believed her when she said she wasn’t behind the STM grant.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no idea who could be doing all of this.

Yes, they were in the Facebook group. There was no way they would know everything they did without it. Unless someone was their informant.

And that took me back to step one.

Whoever was doing all of this was great at covering their tracks. They were smart and they didn’t want to be found.

But why? Why not own up to all the great things they’d done? Did they not want a thank-you?

I ran a hand through my messy hair. I’d been hoping that after another mysterious good night of sleep that I could crack this case, but I still couldn’t.

If only someone could spend a ton of money, then that would give me direction.

If only I knew just a little bit more about whoever this was.

I hated how out of control I felt these days. Ever since Gabriel had come back, my life had felt like it was on the brink of disaster. It didn’t help that my apartment was no longer calm with the two chaos monsters next door.

There was so much going on in his head that I didn’t understand. Even back when we were teenagers, it was always hard to read him.

Without thinking about it, my mind turned to the game that he made. It was clear what kind of mindset he was in when he made it. He hated small towns. He hated a lot of things.

I wasn’t upset that he’d made what he had. It was a good game, and it had propelled him into a lifestyle that I would never understand.

It was how he was able to spend more time with his girls without a job stopping him.

The last thing I needed to do was play it again. I didn’t need the reminder that he was so set on city life. I didn’t need the pain that came with finishing the game the same way I always did.

I hadn’t ever needed the pain he left for me. The game was a sore reminder of it all, and yet, I constantly returned to it.

Yesterday, I had gotten a ton of candles made, more so than would probably be ordered from the shop in a long time.

No one else needed me and I had nothing to do. So, I turned on the game console.

“You’re so desperate.” I muttered it to myself. “No one can ever know how desperate you are.”

I was putting on a good face in front of the town. I was sure that they didn’t fully believe I was okay, but they were believing me enough to leave me alone.

That was all I could ask for. But in the quiet of my own apartment, I could do what I wanted to. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted Gabe back. I wanted him to stay.

I wanted just a piece of what we had when we were kids before everything fell apart.

The closest I could get was this stupid video game.

20

GABRIEL

Dad Company (But Sometimes Good Advice)

Jim Miter: Sometimes I think my kids are the wildest things I’ve ever seen. Can anyone relate?

Comments:

Dean Briggs: Oh yeah, someone here can relate. Have they burnt down your house?

Robert Colt: Or thrown bees?