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“Then when?”

My phone rings and I latch on to the distraction I pull it from my pocket, and the blood drains from my face

“I have to take this,” I say as I walk past him and out on to the back patio

“Detective Kunes?”

“Mr Heway, I think we have our man Can you come in for a lineup tomorrow?”

“Absolutely”

“How does noon sound?”

“Perfect”

“I’ll see you then”

Vindication is so close I can almost taste it I return to the house wherecloser to ht he paid for the hu It bothered me It was like the story where the villain prospered, and the hero died Only, Mom didn’t die, she simply shut down and hardened her heart to another chance a love The si She had a busy life full of family, friends, and activities, but I can tell she’s lonely I want more for her than a life lived alone She deserves to be loved by a man who’ll appreciate her

“Mo of me here” I cross my arms

“I know you hate to be cornered, so I’ll put this out there and leave it All I want you to do is think about fixing this with me,” Dad says

I open my mouth to shred hiaze

“Fine, I’ll think about it Are we done here?”

“Yeah, we’re done Thanks for trying to help, Deborah” He squeezes her shoulder and heads for the door I watch hie