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From the second I saw Kali, it’s been impossible to think straight. Keeping my feelings in check is a constant battle. I have to remind myself that she’s not here to see me. We’re done. I’m helping her because she’s important to me. Even if I can’t tell her how much.
And now this?
“Do you…do you think she had something to do with…” Kali’s voice trails off.
I swerve to pull off the road, slamming the truck in park, and release a painful sigh with a death grip on the steering wheel.
Fuck, yeah, I do. Somehow.
I turn in my seat, finding sparks of shock in her eyes. “Everybody’s been looking for a connection. I think I just found it.”
“Pearl wouldn’t…” she starts.
“There is evil inside that woman, Kali. She put me through hell after my dad died.”
Realizing the potential connection, she whips her head around so fast, I heard it crack. “We need to go back, Paxton. Right now!”
My principles escape me for a moment. I hear Kali, and she’s right. But it’s her. I’m not sure I can control myself if I find out she’s the reason for all of this.
“My best friend is missing. If she knows anything…” Kali squeezes my bicep. Hard. “Paxton, we need to find her.” Her jaw sets, and her eyes burn with a fierce intensity. I’m afraid to tell her no.
Fuuuuck! Confronting my mom again sends a ripple of dread through my veins, but what choice do I have? I need to put aside my personal demons. We could call Martinez, but he’s an hour away. Despite my stand-down with this case, I’m still a cop, and time is crucial. Riggs senses the shift in atmosphere, his ears perking up as he whines from the back seat.
“Hold on,” I say, shifting the vehicle into drive and making a harsh U-turn.
Kali glances at the back seat, checking on Riggs. He’s fine. He’s used to this. So there’s no question I’m hiding anything, I give Martinez a quick call and tell him what happened. There’s not much to say, but I want him to be aware of my mom. Of the connection.
We only have a link. But one link hooks to another and another until you find your anchor. The answer.
Who buried Kali alive?
The fear of discovering the answer and facing the possibility that the woman who birthed me is capable of such a heinous crime gnaws at me.
Kali’s quicker than I am, already swinging open the door before I put the truck in park when we reach the diner. She bolts into the restaurant. I let the engine idle for Riggs’s sake and chase after her. By the time I make it to the door, she’s already rushing back toward me.
“She’s not here. Roberto said she just left because she wasn’t feeling well.” Her voice is mixed with frustration and haste. She grabs my hand, pulling me back to the truck. “C’mon, we can catch her at her home.”
Not likely.
What have you gotten mixed up with, Mom?
The drive starts off quiet. God knows what Kali’s thinking. Me, I’m wondering if I’m about to come face-to-face with the man I almost killed ten years ago. Maybe that’s who Kali saw on the plane. He fits the description. Considering he locked a teenage boy in an underground storm shelter for days at a time, without food or water for punishment, it’s not too far-fetched he buried someone alive. If he did it, I’ll kill him myself. Nobody will stop me this time. I glance at my phone to check if Martinez has sent me the names yet, but he hasn’t responded.
“She’s a nurse. Why the hell was she a waitress?” I’m still confused. She’s lived here all this time?
“Pearl’s a nurse?” she blurts out.
I nod. At least that’s what she was in Oklahoma. “Is she married?” I ask.
“She wasn’t. At least the entire time I knew her. She told me she had been married four times before, though.” She turns in her seat, questioning, “How long has it been since you saw her?”
I take a moment to remember when it was. “She popped up at work. Not long after you found the note on your car.” Thinking back to the timing, I should’ve questioned it more. “I hadn’t seen her in a decade, and there she was. She told me about moving to California and wanted to say bye before she left.”
“You never told me that.” She sounds hurt.
The white SUV in front of me blurs, my focus clouded by regret. “I just…there wasn’t a point in bringing it up.” Kali remains quiet. She doesn’t agree. “She was leaving the state, and truthfully”—I look over at her, wishing I could make her understand—“I was hoping to never see her again.”
She nods, dropping her head. “I guess I never knew her,” she murmurs, shaking her head. “There.” She points to a small, weathered house.
