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Again, she glances around furtively as Able loads the box into the car "Are you friends of Sandy's?"

"Yeah We're friends of Sandy and her sister Suzanne," Able says s mention of Sandy's family The woman's shoulders relax a little, taken in by Able's easy h she's unsure whether she should be speaking in front of such a tattooed brute I sh it's doubtful I'll achieve it My look was designed to scare people away, not encourage them to open up with their secrets But then she takes a deep breath and talks, and I realize that I haven't totally fucked things up

"I'm so upset about what happened to Sandy," she whispers, even though there is nobody around to overhear us "If I could e without this job, I would have walked out of here with her, but things are difficult at home My husband hasn't worked for a while I'ht now" Able nods as though he knohat she's talking about, even we have no idea "There have been ruht they were stirred up by people ere jealous of his success Then, when I found Sandy crying in the hallway after he groped her, well, I knew the ru like that She was distraught"

What the fuck? My fingers flex into tightly held fists, and roped Sandy, and she was crying I want to tear the asshole's head from his neck

"That ht sound to his voice that he's holding back his own anger in order to find out more

"It was so hard I told her she needed to report hio with her for support, you know…but she wouldn't hear it She just…she told irl… she's just too sweet for her own good"

"So she didn't report him?"

The wo Her round face is tinged with pink,her story or her frustration about what happened to Sandy "She just went ho renewed I kneas that asshole getting his own back because she rejected his advances"

"He fired her because she wouldn't let hi in a warning

"Exactly" The wo worked up "That asshole is on holiday right now enjoying himself, and poor Sandy has to look for another job She even had to move out of her apartment"

"That was going to be our next question," Able says, picking up on the opportunity "We went past her place, but there was so there" It's a lie but plausible and adds to our credibility

"Well, she's over on Hanover Street at her sister's"

"It's been a while since we visited, and anted it to be a surprise…you know…to cheer Sandy up What was the door nuain?"

"It’s sixteen," the woe to cheer her up It must be so hard for her to try to find another job with all of this hanging over her"

"We'll do our best," Able says, shooting her anotherelse we can help you with?"

"You're such a sweetheart," the wo everything out in one go Thank goodness you were here to help"

"Well, ma'am, thank you for all your help," he says with a bow of his head When he turns to face et out of here, so that's e do When we're back in the truck, Able exhales and shakes his head "I can't believe Sandy's been going through all of this, and she never said a thing"

"She didn't want to burden us," I say "She's that kind of person who feels like sharing anything less than sunshine and roses is overstepping"

"She's gotten used to dealing with her trouble on her own," Able says "Haven't we all"

I nod because he's right The more we suffer and look around for help and find none available, the less we ever want to rely on others in the future Maybe Tyler is responsible for this trait in Sandy Maybe, if we can show her that we'll help her deal with her troubles, she'll co us