Secret Memories by J S Donovan

Author:J S Donovan [Donovan, J S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-09T22:00:00+00:00

18

Jackpot

Sitting around Hitch’s table, Angela worked her knife through the steak strip. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she started eating. Frank was more reserved in his appetite. He hadn’t said much since they left the hospital.

Hitch doused his steak with A1 sauce. Wrinkles etched his face. “How goes the case?”

“It’s going,” Angela said. “We got a chance to talk to the Blackburn girl.”

“Oh,” Hitch replied.

“She remembered something that might help us,” Angela said. “It all ties back to this mysterious lodge.”

“I see,” Hitch said, sounding wise despite his strong Southern twang.

Frank smiled, moving up the corners of his mustache. “Why don’t we talk about something else? How was your day, Hitch?”

“Probably not half as interesting as yours,” Hitch said before listing the chores he completed, the books he read, and the phone calls he made to old friends.

After the meal and small talk, Frank set up his bed on the couch. It consisted of a few pillows and blankets. The news played on the TV nearby, casting its vast array of colors across the unlit room. Angela approached him after Hitch had gone to bed.

Angela looked down at the lounging investigator and frowned. “You’re mad at me.”

“Well, you did traumatize that little girl,” Frank said.

“At least now Carla knows what happened. She just has to find a way to cope with it.”

“We’re pushing hard with this case,” Frank said. “We’re making rash decisions.”

“I get your concerns,” Angela replied. “You don’t want to be so caught up in playing safe that we miss something.”

“Well, I don’t want us to keep running headlong into danger and face a devastating blowback. We should take a few steps back and let nature set its course. And when the time arises again, we take the plunge with minimal amount of risk,” Frank explained. “We have people chasing us, for crying out loud.”

Angela rubbed her brow that had become increasingly more creased the longer she stayed on the case. “You’re right, Frank. It’s dangerous. It’s deadly. But what do we have to lose?”

The words made horror stick to Frank’s face. “Our, uh, lives.”

“Do you have a spouse or child?” Angela asked, hands on her hips.

“No,” Frank said, hiding any traces of shame behind his masculine voice.

“Do you have any relatives?” Angela asked, knowing the answer.

“A sister and mother I don’t talk to. A few uncles that I haven’t communicated with since junior high,” Frank answered, his expression sinking deeper into depression.

“Guess what?” Angela asked, looking into his big blue eyes. “I don’t have anyone but Hitch.”

“Sometimes, Angela, you make me want to drink.”

Angela nodded. “Yeah, well, thanks to our abundance of personal issues, we’re the best ones to tackle this case. Call it fate, divine appointment, whatever, we are two people with nothing to lose, which means that we can give everything.”

Frank sighed. “I guess I see your point.”

“I knew you would,” Angela replied. “Now tell me why Pete doesn’t like you. You have clients in Ashton?”

“I have a lot of clients. Some have ties here.

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