The Gentle Slope by R.M. Lowery

Author:R.M. Lowery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: crime fiction, crime thriller, suspense fiction, investigative mystery, murder mystery
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Published: 2024-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Meghan was already in the conference room with Hannah when I got back to the newsroom. I didn’t want to interrupt or be a third wheel, so I went to get a cup of coffee, but the damn machine was still broken.

The door to the conference room opened, and I turned to find Meghan in the doorway, waving me to her.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Get in here. We’ve just started.”

I followed Meghan into the conference room, sans coffee. Hannah was seated at the table, dressed normally for a woman her age—jeans with rips in the legs, and a purple T-shirt with the silhouette of a cat on it—but her attire was noticeably less conservative than Melissa’s other daughters.

Meghan stopped at the head of the table. “This is Hannah. Hannah, this is Jakob.”

Hannah offered a shy smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I was probably staring. She looked so much like Grace—same hair color, same smile—I nearly forgot to respond. “You as well. If you’d rather speak with Meghan, I can wait outside.”

Hannah shook her head. “It’s okay.”

Meghan returned her attention to Hannah. “You were telling me how you were living with your grandparents until your mom married William.”

Hannah exhaled sharply, just shy of snorting. “My mom. It’s weird to hear her called that.”

“Why’s that?” Meghan leaned closer. “You don’t think of her as your mom?”

“Not really. She never wanted me as a daughter, so she dumped me on my grandparents. Then she married him, and suddenly, she wanted me back so they could have some sort of instant family.”

“You said you grew up outside of Kansas City, is that correct?”

“Yeah. Liberty, Missouri. Super exciting place.” She chuckled darkly.

“Is that where your mom—um, Melissa—met Will?”

“It’s okay. You can call her my mom, but yeah, she had me before she even graduated high school and then dumped me on my grandparents. She went on to live her life and married some loser named Kevin—I don’t think he was my birth dad, but she’d never say. Anyhow, she gets married and then, like a couple years later, gets divorced. That’s when she started going to church. I think she felt like she owed it to God or something for being such a slut.” Hannah smiled wryly. “Anyhow, it’s weird. My grandparents were never very into church, so it was just bizarre that Melissa got so into it. I guess she met Will at church, and they started seeing each other. They got married super-fast, like in a year or some shit. All of a sudden, she wanted me again. I mean, I don’t remember any of it—I was just a kid—but Nana says she just showed up one day and wanted to take me with her.”

Meghan checked her notebook. “You were five at the time, correct?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Hannah fidgeted with the Stonebridge Gazette pen from the table. “Like a few months later, Grace was born. I guess Melissa was already prego when they yanked me from my grandparents. I’m not even sure if she told Will or not.

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