Evidence of Innocence by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-06T18:07:33+00:00

EIGHT

Having a seven-year-old around was a great distraction, but despite endless games of Go Fish and a treasure hunt adventure in the yard, Kinsley’s mind kept returning to the phone call Marcus had received.

If someone had been trying to get into the apartment, he would have had a difficult time. Charlotte had top-notch locks and security systems. The apartment was cozy, and Kinsley was happy there. The company she’d hired to clean and restore her house had given a four-week estimate for the length of the job. Elizabeth had suggested she move into a bigger place while she waited. She’d said a month was a long time to be in such a small place.

It was nothing in comparison to being in a prison cell for fifteen years. As long as she had her freedom, Kinsley would be happy almost anywhere.

“All right. That’s it. Time for bed, Rosie,” Winnie said as she scooped up the playing cards.

“But it’s early,” Rosie argued, her dark eyes flashing with energy. Marcus had been right. She rarely stopped moving and talking, but when she was focused, her focus couldn’t be broken.

“It’s late,” Winnie corrected.

“Uncle Marcus—”

“Don’t even try it,” Winnie warned. “Go hop into bed. I’ll tuck you in shortly.”

To her credit, Rosie didn’t argue further. She stopped next to Kinsley, gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek and bounced up the stairs.

“She’s very sweet,” Kinsley said.

“She is. Marcus thinks she’s like his sister, but she’s more like him. Always into mischief but with the best heart. Jordyn never got into trouble when she was young. Then she became an older teen and decided to experiment.” Winne stood. Tall and curvy with raven-black hair and gray-blue eyes, she didn’t look a decade older than Marcus.

“That must have been hard.”

“It was. It still is. I feel like I could have done things differently and, if I had, Jordyn would still be around.” She sighed. “I’d better go tuck Rosie in. If I don’t, she’ll be up staring out the window and imagining traveling to space until I do.” She jogged up the stairs.

Kinsley listened to the soft hum of voices drifting from somewhere above. She’d spent years longing for silence. The constant noise of prison life had made relaxing difficult and sleep nearly impossible. Now, she enjoyed the quiet of living alone. In the evening, she listened to the white noise of the freezer and the hushed whoosh of the heating system. She played music or turned on the television to fill the emptiness with sound.

This was nice.

Sitting at a kitchen table while life was carried out in other parts of the house. It reminded her of her childhood, her grandparents watching television while she worked on her homework and they all waited for her father to come home.

She missed those days.

A murderer had stolen the years she should have spent with her father. The criminal justice system had taken the last years she could have had with her grandparents.

And now life seemed empty, her only focus on justice she wasn’t certain she would ever get.

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