In the Dark by Chris Patchell

Author:Chris Patchell
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: NEWEST
Published: 2015-08-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 38

Marissa’s cell phone rang. Groaning, she rolled onto her side and plucked it off the nightstand, checking the call display. Her heart lurched.

Kelly.

“Hi, Mom.”

The words were like sweet rain on parched earth, soaking into her heart and easing the pain of last night. They spent a few minutes just talking—nothing profound. It was just so good to hear Kelly’s voice. Marissa thought about how close she’d come to ending it all. Staring into the bathroom mirror, her hand filled with pills, she’d realized she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t abandon her girls. No matter what, she would find Brooke. She would win Kelly back. She would fix her broken family.

Fueled by that realization, she pushed herself out of bed and took the train into work.

“Ah, you’re here, Ms. Rooney,” Holt said, looking surprised to see her. “Do you mind if I . . . ?”

Her words trailed off, and she waved toward the fan on the desk. Marissa shrugged. Why should she care if Holt smoked? Her lungs were probably screwed anyway.

“You left suddenly yesterday. Is everything okay?”

Marissa folded her coat over the back of her chair and nodded.

“Kelly was attacked outside her school. She was taken to the Renton Police Department.”

Holt’s expression changed. Concern filled her gaze as she drew a long white cigarette from the pack stowed in her desk drawer. She flicked the button on the cigarette lighter, touched the orange flame to the end of the cigarette, and sucked deep. A plume of silvery smoke issued from her lips. Reaching out a bony finger, she turned on the fan. The whirring turbine sucked Holt’s sins from the air.

“Was she hurt?”

“She’s okay. She’s staying with my ex-husband for a while.”

Holt tapped the gray stack of ash off into a black onyx ashtray. She took another drag on the cigarette and held the warm smoke in her lungs for a beat before releasing it into the air. Looking deep in thought, Holt watched Marissa and fiddled with the gold pendant hanging from the gold chain around her neck.

“Ms. Rooney, I see now it was unfair to offer you this position. How can I expect you to focus on the foundation when you are under such enormous pressure at home?”

Marissa needed this job. Money aside, how could she possibly stay sane if all she did was sit alone in her kitchen waiting for the phone to ring? She knotted her hands together on the desk and stared across the room at Holt.

“I can do this, Ms. Holt. I need to do this,” she said in a shaky voice. “This is my best shot at staying close to the investigation. Please.”

Marissa rose. She pulled a piece of folded paper from her pocket. She’d spent the entire train ride into the city writing, and while she knew it wasn’t perfect, she hoped it was enough to show Holt she was serious about the job.

“I’ve been working on a press release for the foundation.”

Holt took the copy from her outstretched hand and quickly scanned it.

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