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“No, but I could hear sirens,” he replied.
“So, was there someone who was actually killed that night?”
“It was before I could read, but I was shown a headline the following day, supposedly saying that someone had been murdered. Whether it was real or not, or if it said what he claimed it did, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.”
“This might be a big break, Lex,” Dad said. “If someone was really killed, we might be able to pick up some leads on the traffickers. We just need some kind of time frame to help us check out the newspaper archives.”
“It was the year before we escaped the farm. It had to still be winter because there was snow on the ground, but it started to warm up a few weeks later. I noticed everything back then because I was becoming more paranoid.”
“Okay, that’s a great start. Why don’t you guys get going, and let me handle this, Gabe,” Jake said, patting Dad on the back as they headed toward the door.
Lex stood, still holding Amy’s hand. She kissed him gently before they followed Dad through the doorway.
Jake walked behind them into the lobby.
“Lex? I’ll talk with you soon. Try not to worry,” Jake said.
“Thanks, Jake.” Lex reached out to shake his hand.
Instead, Jake tugged him into his arms, patting him on the back. “I know this is hard.”
Lex nodded his agreement before Jake went on his way.
“You stay here with Amy, Dad,” Lex muttered. “Let me bring the car around. I don’t want to run into this guy without a plan in case he recognizes me.”
“Okay, son. We’ll be here waiting,” Dad said.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Before he walked outside, he glanced at Amy, whose eyes met his calmly. Lex had been scared for a moment when he’d been confessing the more sordid details of his past.
But he should have known better. Her acceptance had always been part of the reason why he loved her.
He warmed the car for a few minutes before scraping off the couple inches of snow that had accumulated from the windows, and then finally drove up to the front of the Inn.
Suddenly, he was ready to forget about the last hour and move on with celebrating the holidays. Grinning as he shifted the gear into park, Lex stepped out from the car, opening the passenger door.
Walking up to the lobby, he saw that Dad and Amy were on their way outside.
When Dad waited for Amy to go ahead of him, Lex winked at Dad, scooping Amy into his arms and carrying her to the car.
Startled, Amy was laughing when he rested her inside on the passenger seat.
“What about me?” Dad called out, laughing too as he approached the car, stepping into the back seat.
With Christmas music blaring from the car radio, they were soon on their way home.
When Lex pulled into the driveway, he saw that everyone was still awake and sitting in the solarium, probably discussing their plans for tomorrow.
Dad was already stepping out of the car and heading into the house.
“I’ll open the door for the two of you if you want to carry her over the threshold,” Dad said dryly.
“That’s a good idea,” Lex muttered, grinning.
Amy opened the passenger door, smiling. “I think I can make it into the house on my own.”
He scooped her up anyway, and kicking shut the passenger door, made his way across the snow-covered path to the door, which Dad was holding open.
