Page 12 of Broken Halo
I hear him come to a stop, working to catch his breath. “Told you he’s been walking the straight and narrow as far as everyone could see. I’ve heard chatter, but the masses were scared of him—he was no one’s bitch, that’s for sure. Far as I can tell, he got everyone to do his bidding and didn’t have to get his hands dirty. Doesn’t take much to get parole, not when we’re bursting at the seams.”
“Great,” I mutter.
“What can I say? Business is good,” he quips and I roll my eyes. “Does this mean you’re not a client anymore? ‘Cause I can’t lie, I’m bummed. I like you—you pay on time.”
“I want to know where he’s living, if he has a job, and who his parole officer is. The way I see it, I’ve been paying you for years and you got me this information a week late. You owe me.”
“Dude, I took a vacation—”
“I don’t remember signing a contract for vacation time. I want to know if Ray Barrett takes a shit outside the Huntsville city limits so you’d better be on the phone with me before he has time to flush. If you can’t do that, I’ll find someone who can.”
He answers quickly. “No. I want your money.”
“And I want timely information, Charlie. The next time you decide to take a break, find someone to cover for you.”
This time he doesn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir.”
I don’t wish him well or offer a goodbye. I toss my cell to the desk before standing. What a day.
“You should go home.”
I turn and find Jen Montgomery, my new boss, standing in the doorway. “I didn’t know you came back. Thought you would’ve stayed with your sister.”
Jen hikes a brow. “You can say her name, you know.”
“Trust me, I said her name plenty this afternoon while I was on the phone with CPS and the Plano PD. The stick-up-her-ass from CPS isn’t going to do me any favors, so I’m hunting down the officers who were there.”
She gives the doorframe her weight and shakes her head. “I’ll let you know if Eli digs up anything on Robert’s parents. And for your information, Ellie wasn’t exaggerating—her in-laws are controlling assholes and this is the only way they can hit her where it’ll hurt. Thank you for going today, I know you didn’t want to.”
Jen knows nothing about what I want.
“Seriously, go home. I feel bad you came in after your mom’s funeral.” She holds her hand out low and gives me a small smile. “Just going on record here, I told you not to come in at all today, but given what happened, I’m selfishly glad you were here.”
I wish I would’ve stayed home, but I don’t say so. “Your name’s on my paycheck. I hail to the House of Montgomery again, remember?”
“I’m not going to give you shit about being so salty given your day.” She hitches her bag up her shoulder. “You really do need a dog, though.”
I ignore that, too, and turn to my desk.
As she leaves, I hear her call from the hall outside my office, “Go home, Trig.”
I’m not going home. I pick up my cell one more time and skim through my messages until I find the number I need.
My realtor.
It shouldn’t bother me to sell my mom’s house. I bought it for her five years ago as soon as I could swing two house payments so she could finally have something to call her own when she was willing to retire. She moved in with the family she worked for when I left for California. They loved her, had plenty of room, and were happy to have her there. But when their daughter went off to college, my mom was able to retire and I made sure the next phase of her life was a good one.
She tried to stop me from doing it.
Then she tried to help pay for it, which she couldn’t even if she’d wanted to.
That was right before she broke down in tears thanking me for it—for giving her something beautiful. She tore at my heart a little more as her tears bled into my shirt when she fell into my chest, going on about how much beauty she had in her life.
If anyone knew my mother, they’d wonder what beauty she was talking about because her life was about as ugly as they came.
I should know. I lived it with her until my dad went away. I never thought it was possible that it could get uglier, but it sure as hell did.
So, the minute I could afford to, I put her in a home bigger than her dreams and far away from the shit she endured with my dad. I bought her a bigger house than she needed but was damned determined to make sure she had the best.
