Page 153 of Torin

“Writing about myself.”

I’d spent months asking other people to tell me about terrible things that had happened to them. Then I had information that belonged in the investigation, and I was the source.

“My father hadn’t just interfered with old cases. When his own daughter got too close to what he’d been doing, he used the same power against me.”

“What made you decide to include it?”

“Because leaving it out would have made the investigation less truthful. And because what he did to me showed exactly how far he was prepared to go to keep the rest of it hidden.”

The moderator looks at the clock.

“We have time for one last question.”

Hands go up across the room.

At the back, Torin playfully lifts a hand. The little mark on my shoulder buzzes. I try hard not to grin at him.

The moderator points to a woman near the front, and a volunteer takes her the microphone.

“What are you working on next?”

“A residential treatment center in Colorado. It closed eighteen months ago after operating for nearly twenty years. I’m looking at allegations from former patients about what happened there, and why complaints to regulators repeatedly went nowhere.”

“How far along are you?”

“Early. I’ve been interviewing people for the past few weeks, and there are still a lot of records I’m trying to get hold of.”

The moderator thanks everyone and brings the event to a close.

Applause fills the lecture hall. People begin getting to their feet, filling the aisles and reaching for bags and coats.

Torin stays where he is, waiting for me.

Professor Bennett turns to me.

“You handled that well, my dear.”

“I was terrified for the first five minutes.”

“It didn’t show.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I look out over the lecture hall. A couple of students have stopped near the front, waiting for me.

“I enjoyed it,” I admit.

He smiles. “I could tell.”

I turn back to him. “Thank you, Professor Bennett.”

“For taking me seriously. For teaching me how to do this. For telling me to keep digging when it would have been much easier not to.”

I smile. “And for the cabin. Obviously.”

“That one turned out to be more useful than I anticipated.”