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A softness resided in her face that Annie hadn’t seen sinceher sister had come back to her. “I’m so sorry, Annie. I care about Kylie.”
Annie gave a jerky nod. “I know you do.”
Sarah’s lips trembled. “Tell Kylie I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt her.”
“I’ll tell her.”
Annie stepped out of the way, and Mason guided Sarah out toward the fire road. The paramedics had gotten Michelle out as well, and only Annie and the SAR teams remained to trail out of the woods.
Annie accepted a small bag of pistachios from Bree and split one with her thumbnail. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten.
“Let’s get out of here. I want to let Kade know the case is over.”
Annie nodded. “I need to check on Jon, too, and see how he’s doing. And I want to be in on Mason’s interrogation of Idoya.”
Bree shouldered her backpack, and Annie, Naomi, and she began the trek out to the fire road. “Idoya doesn’t seem the type to take the fall for Glenn,” Annie said. “She will likely tell Mason all she knows as soon as he picks her up.”
Annie was ready to hear the full story. And she was ready to try to build that new life with Jon.
***
Who knew an orthopedic injury could be so painful? Jon’s arm was in a sling, and a bit of the wrapping around his ribs peeked out the top of his hospital gown. Now that he had to wear a wrapping, he understood his patients’ complaints. But he was glad to be alive.
Annie and Kylie sat beside his hospital chair. Kylie was intent on herPokémon Gogame, and he leaned over to admire the Frillish she’d just caught. The window was open and looked out on Lake Superior.
A movement caught his eye, and he looked up as a woman came through the door. “Good morning, Agent Cheng.”
Annie tensed, and he knew she dreaded the upcoming interview. She hadn’t wanted to stir up any fear in Kylie after her ordeal, but he’d urged her to let Cheng do her job. He felt Kylie needed to talk about it and let it all go. Just like Annie should have done years ago with her own trauma.
Cheng smiled when she saw Kylie. “I lovePokémon Go. My buddy is a Pikachu. Mind if I join you?”
Kylie showed her the Frillish too. “Look at its stars.”
Cheng pulled up a chair. “A hundo.”
The woman knew thePokémon Golingo, which impressed Jon. He was just beginning to figure it out.
“I had a few questions about your day with your aunt.”
“Okay,” Kylie said.
“Did you go see your aunt Sarah, or did she come find you?”
“I saw her when I was in Bree’s yard and came over to talk. She’s lonely. We’re her only family.” Kylie shot a cautious glance at Annie as if to ask if she was allowed to talk about such personal things.
Annie nodded to let her know she could talk about anything. Jon took her hand.
“That’s sad. So you feel sorry for Aunt Sarah?”
Kylie nodded. “I wanted her to feel better. I didn’t really want to go hiking when she asked, but she had tears in her eyes. Iwanted to make her smile again. I thought if we went for a walk, she’d laugh more. And she said we could get ice cream.”
“That’s always important,” Cheng said. “How was the hike?”
“We didn’t go at all! And I didn’t like taking Kade’s ATV. Aunt Sarah left it by the side of the road. That’s not a smart thing. I’m glad no one stole it.”
“I’m sure Kade would have been sad,” Cheng agreed. “Did you hear your aunt talking to the woman who picked you up?”
Kylie shook her head. “I cried when we left the ATV behind. The other woman was mad at me, but Aunt Sarah kept telling her to leave me alone. I was sleepy, and when we got to the house, they let me take a nap in the bed.”
