“True.”
I laughed as I checked the time. Really, I was checking to see if Spencer had texted me.
Nothing.
Blake: I know you’re not happy with me right now. But can you just let me know if you’re back in the office or not?
“Yeah, I guess that ship has sailed.” She pulled my attention back to her.
“Sailed back in college.” I raised an eyebrow. She had been young, but we’d both made mistakes, and thankfully, what came from it was a long friendship that we both benefited from professionally.
We returned to the station where Benny was chatting with Meredith.
“Hey, Benny,” I called. “Is Spencer upstairs?”
“No clue. I’m still wondering why she stood me up for lunch.”
That’s odd.
“Hey!” Benny shouted over my shoulder. “Where the hell were you?”
Spencer had a handful of papers and held the phone between her chin and shoulder. She seemed a little consumed with what she was doing.
“Hey,” I caught her by the arm on the second landing of the stairs, “what’s going on?”
“Can you hang on a moment?” She paused. “Thank you.” She pulled the phone away from her ear. “I think I may have found something.”
“Okay, but you left after being told you had to let others know where you were.”
“I did.”
“Who?”
“Jackson. I ran into him on my way out.”
Oh.
“Can you at least let me know too?”
“Sure, next time I will.”
I felt slightly annoyed because I had begun to notice a distance between us.
“Spen—”
“Blake,” Bri interrupted, “we should get upstairs.”
When I turned to address her, she already had the phone back up to her ear.
“Hey, dinner tonight?”
“I have plans with Jaci. Rain check?”
Rain check?
“Sure.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Spencer
I had stayed in all last night to dig holes and flip over rocks and possibly had found a thread. Jaci had canceled, as she had a date, and I thought about calling Blake, but I knew he was busy entertaining Bri.
“I think I found something.” I burst into G’s office and almost made Lisa drop her lunch. “Shit, sorry.”
Lisa avoided eye contact as she wiped off her fork that had fallen on the not so clean floor.
“It’s fine, honey. How are you?” She glanced at G, and I finally tuned in to the vibe.
“Pretty good, actually.” I held up some paperwork but stopped when I realized neither of them matched my excitement. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”
G looked at me as he pushed his half-eaten burger into the trash. That also was a big clue something was up. G loved his burgers.
My gaze shifted to my aunt’s face. She looked down and kept her eyes on the floor.
“You know I hate it when you drag shit out. Spill it.”
“Sit,” he ordered.
“I’d rather stand.”
“Spencer.” He pointed to the couch, and I complied. “Look, honey, something happened today—”
“G!”
“Will was almost beaten to death this morning.”
I blinked hard as the world around me shuttered by like someone had snapped a series of photos, like little snips of hell stored on my memory card were flashing at me.
“We don’t know much, just that it happened around five a.m. and that he’s not doing very well.”
Lisa shifted to move next to me and pressed her head to mine.
“I’m sorry, Spencer. I know this isn’t something you need right now. I can’t imagine what’s running through your head.”
G turned off his phone and tossed it aside like the burger he had earlier.
“I hate to ask this, but do you want to go see him?”
I slowly shook my head, not so much to answer his question but more to move the words around inside.
“I know this is hard for you, but he is your brother, and he’s badly hurt.” This was a different approach, but I didn’t want to hear it. I stood and swung my laptop bag over my shoulder.
“Okay, enough.” I spoke quietly through the fine shards of ice that lined my throat. My brother needed to get the hell out of my life. “I should get back to work.”
“You can take the day off, hon.” Lisa looked horrified at my reaction. “We could go out and do something.”
“I should get back to work.”
G stood. Lisa warned him to stop, but he didn’t listen. “Will you go see him for me? Or maybe for your mother?”
“G!” Lisa scowled, knowing he went too far. He’d never used my parents like that before, so it did have an effect. Then again, Will’s name was never discussed. “Don’t use Molly like that.”
“I need to get some work done.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
I felt numb as I reached for the door handle and stepped out into the busy station.
People rushed by me, phones rang, and voices merged as somehow my feet took me toward the conference room.
How did you digest the idea of visiting someone you’d wished out of your life on every shooting star, every birthday candle, on every penny you’d flipped into a fountain? I’d wanted Will out of my life since the moment I realized who he really was. A waste of a soul.
I dropped my bag on the table. Two of the officers glanced at me but continued their conversation.
The file that held my findings peeked out, but I tucked it away. Now wasn’t the time. The rush of it all had now been put on the back burner inside my head.
Bri came into my line of vision. Her lips moved, but there was no noise. Benny appeared and put his hands on my shoulders, but I stepped back, and he dropped his hands. They both were wise enough to step away. My mind churned with it all. It was easier for me to hate; hate was easier to swallow than more pain.
Blake’s voice found me. I could feel his strength even from across the room.
“What happened, Spencer? Talk to me.”
I knew he couldn’t help me with this, especially not here, not with everyone around. “I need to go,” I managed to say.
“Where?”
I needed to close this chapter once and for all, for everyone’s sake. It was time to rule out my number one suspect. “I need to see my brother.”
I turned and walked out before I saw his expression. I left my stuff behind as I hurried down the stairs and out into the never-ending snow. I caught Jackson’s reflection in a shop window a few yards back, and I was happy he was watching out for me.
It wasn’t until the hospital doors sprang open and a rush of warmth hit my face that I snapped out of the daze I had fallen into.
“Can I help you?” a young woman asked as she hung up a phone.
“Um,” I still fought the battle within, but the decision was made, “yes, I’m looking for my brother. He was brought in this morning. His name is different than mine. He goes by William Reach.” The word brother burned on my tongue as I handed her my ID.
“Let me see.” She typed away on the computer, and oddly enough, I was added to his list of visitors. “He’s room 455.”