Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt

Author:James Hunt [Hunt, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-05T22:00:00+00:00

15

Jim brought the girls’ letters, sifting through them again on the drive, but he could only read through so many before he was struck with car sickness. He set the letters aside and rubbed his eyes.

“Anything useful?” Kerry asked.

“Not unless Clark from biology abducted them,” Jim answered and then blinked away the blackspots from his vision. “I never thought I would learn so much about a boy I never met.”

Kerry smirked. “Mutual crush?”

“I don’t know if ‘crush’ is the right word,” Jim said. “‘Obsession’ probably works better.”

Kerry laughed. “I remember those days.”

Jim nodded along, but he didn’t laugh. What childhood he’d known had been limited to survival. There were no crushes or secret notes passed during class. The only thing Jim had ever concerned himself with when he was in the foster system was getting out of it, and at any cost.

“You all right?” Kerry asked.

“Yeah,” Jim answered quickly. “Fine.”

Kerry was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke again, she trod lightly. “I imagine there’s a lot of pressure on you right now.” She shot him a quick glance. “Between this case and with the IA investigation.”

Jim scoffed. “It’s all bullshit.”

“Did you tell IA that?” Kerry asked, her tone sarcastic.

Jim finally smirked, but it faded quickly. “I know what people say about me. I hear the whispers. I see the stares. I know I don’t have a great reputation in the department.”

“The first step is acceptance,” Kerry said.

Jim ran his finger down the length of the scars on his left palm, thinking. “I knew turning Rich over was going to put me in hot water. I knew it the moment I found out he was dirty. I brought him down, and then he made all of these allegations against me, saying I was a part of his dealings all along.” He closed his hand and shook his head. “All I’ve ever done is try to do the right thing. And I keep getting burned for it.”

“My dad always told me people do what’s right only when they think people are watching,” Kerry said. “But it’s when we’re alone that we know our truest selves.”

It was surprisingly insightful for a murderer, but Jim suspected Kerry’s father had possessed some degree of intelligence for the amount of time he spent undercover. “Do you think that’s true? That we only know our truest self when we’re alone?”

Kerry shook her head, sighing. “I don’t know. I hope not. I hope we’re never really alone, and there are people who care about us and love us even when we’re not there. I know I have that with my family.”

When they arrived at the house, Kerry was the first up the drive, and Jim lagged behind. She rang the doorbell, and they waited until a short, middle-aged Asian woman opened the door.

“Mrs. Simmons?” Jim asked. “I’m Detective North, and this is my partner, Detective Martin. Do you have a moment to talk?”

The woman nodded gravely and let them inside.

It was dark in the house. All

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