Page 78 of Ruin Me
“Not even close. But Kent’s lawyer is doing his best.”
Dad squeezed my arm and pulled me into his arms. I breathed in his familiar scent, taking comfort in the strength, warmth, and acceptance I’d always found with him.
“Alright, baby girl, Ife’s waiting for you in the living room. While you two are busy, I’m going to take my granimals for a walk. I doubt they got a proper exercise following you around all day.”
“You’re right. The guards try to keep them distracted but they’ve grown attached to me and want to be around me all the time.”
“Like that cat. He struts around here like he owns the place until you get home. He turns into molasses so fast, I get whiplash.” Dad kissed my nose, leaving me with the task Kent gave me.
I straightened my shoulders and entered the living room.
“I’ve been looking over these pictures your investigator took and I think he found something,” Ife said as soon as I crossed the threshold.
She sat on the ground with printouts surrounding her in various piles.
“Here. These are for you.” I handed her the envelope with the proxy.
She opened it with a frown. However, as she read, her eyebrows raised. “Isn’t this a bit drastic? After all, he’s getting out today.”
“Actually, he’s not. I just came from the hearing.”
Ife checked her watch. “Shit! I can’t believe I missed it. I was deep into these documents.” She rocked back on her heels. “He must have thought the worst of me for not being there to support him.”
“Your father is more understanding than you give him credit.” I cleared my throat, reminding myself now’s not the time to fall apart. “We’re expecting an announcement for an emergency meeting to come out soon, so look out for an email.”
Ife studied my face. “There’s something else on your mind, isn’t there?”
I kneeled beside her and booted my laptop, where I’d transferred the photos I’d taken. “Sam’s not the only one who found something.”
“Oh my God, Mads!” Ife blanched, her warm brown complexion took on an ashen undertone. “You got these from Hal’s house?”
“Yeah, which means he’s the one who’s been killing all these women.”
“But there are more here than are connected to my dad. We have to get these to the police.”
“We can’t.” I stalled her from leaping off the ground and explained why they would doubt any evidence we brought tothem they didn’t find on their own. “I can’t even call in a tip without worrying they’ll trace the call back to me.”
Ife slumped down but perked up a second later. “You have staff with random connections. Can’t they call in a tip?”
“I thought about that but haven’t figured out how to point the police to the exact location without sparking an investigation that will uncover my employee. On top of that, there were other files I found worrying. And I’m sure you’ll share my concerns when you see why.” I located the image of the three empty files I found and showed it to her.
She crinkled her brow and switched from studying the photo to me. “Am I understanding what I’m seeing?” She pushed my laptop away to pace. “Hal labeled the folders with the other women by their surnames. Two of those folders have our surnames on them.”
“I think you need to hire some bodyguards,” I said as she paced, her energy more manic as she dwelled on the threat.
“I had dinner with Hal. He could have?—”
“But he didn’t, and I think it’s because he still needs you.”
“If that’s the case, why is your file empty? He seems to have it out for you, yet he hasn’t made a move since Carol.”
I shrugged, although I had a theory. “I think Hal deeply hates your father. He’ll either wait for him to be released, which is tenuous right now, or he’ll engineer the perfect moment to inflict the most emotional damage.”
“Does my father know about this?” Ife plopped beside me, and her openness and proximity were painful reminders of other times we worked toward a common goal.
“Not yet. I don’t like the idea of him knowing and not being able to act on the information while he’s behind bars. Honestly, I just want him out.”
“Alright, if Dad’s out, and your people are out, we might need bigger guns.”