Page 15 of Deadly Sins: Envy

Dean looked like someone had put him through an adult-sized meat grinder when I first laid eyes on him.

He looked at Coop and said, “You’re Willow’s uncle, right? You were at a barbecue at Willow’s parents’ house a while back.”

Coop nodded. “Yep.”

“Aren’t you a cop?”

“Chief of police in Park City, Utah.”

“I see.”

“Dean, are you hungry or thirsty?” Gina asked. “Can I get you anything?”

“Will you ask the nurse when I can eat?”

“Sure,” Gina said. “I’ll be right back.”

“Ask if I can have a Gatorade too,” he said.

Gina nodded and ducked out of the room.

Dean’s focus shifted to me. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Sloane. My grandmother is dating Coop’s father. How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know ... like I want to punch someone.”

I thought of how fun it would be to offer Coop up as a volunteer and say, “Here, punch him.”

“A detective was just here,” Dean said. “He asked me a bunch of questions. I feel ... I dunno ... pissed at myself.”

“Why?” Coop asked.

“It all happened so fast last night. It’s a blur. I see fragments of images in my head, but I’m struggling to put them together.”

“Don’t concern yourself with all of that right now,” Coop said. “Just concentrate on what youcanremember. The rest will come to you when it’s right.”

Dean leaned back on the pillow and looked out the window at a grayish-brown robin with an orange underbelly perched on the metal railing outside. It stared into the hospital room, its head darting back and forth, before it flapped its wings and flew away.

“I remember my front door getting kicked in, and then this man came barreling inside,” Dean said. “I thought he was a thief at first until he demanded I step away from Willow.”

“Did he call her by name?” Coop asked.

“I don’t think so. After he started talking, I remember thinking he wasn’t there to rob the place. He was there for Willow.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“He barked orders at me, but his eyes were almost always focused on her, and he grabbed her, intending to take her with him.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think he knows her?” Coop asked.

“I don’t know. It’s possible.”

“Did Detective Murphy tell you a ransom note was dropped off at Willow’s parents’ house after she was taken?” Coop asked.