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“Just believe ainst her questions “I don’t want you to get involved in this”

She came back to the chair and dropped onto her knees in front of hio to the doctor and the sheriff htened by the failure of any of this tomysterious and wild

“I don’t want to leave you, Cat” Tears shimmered in his eyes, but they weren’t caused by pain “But if the sheriff finds out, he’ll arrest ain”

“But ould he arrest you?” she persisted

“Because II knoho killed your mother”

For a moment, his statement lay in the absolute stillness of the room while Cat stared at him “What?” It was a small, little sound She was almost convinced he was crazy “She died in a plane crash”

“Caused by a broken oil line” He nodded “But it didn’t break on its own It had help Soh”

“Howhow do you know that?” She was skeptical and hesitant, yet he sounded so convincing

“Because ” An anguish swept through his expression “Rear and you thought you heard so?”

“Yes” She nodded slowly “Was that you?”

“No It was hi in the motor After you and Taylor left and he’d sneaked away, I checked I figured he’d done so to it, but I couldn’t tell what”

“Youwith that plane? You knew and didn’t tell anyone?” She stared at hi back when she realized the crash that had killed her mother and so severely injured her father could have been prevented

“I didn’t know for certainI didn’t know if he’d had enough tiie ” The torment was in his voice, a wretched sound to hear “Don’t you see, Cathleen? That’swith the plane, but I never told anyone Andshe died Not your father She died”

“How could you!” She began to sob angry tears, hurting all over again “How could you kill hs as she cried passionately and released all the stored-up violence that had been churning inside since her mother had died so suddenly

Culley cried with her, more silently but with no fewer tears When she had finally exhausted herself and lay crying on his knee, his hand touched her hair, barely stroking the shiny ends