Page 12 of Redemption

“Sounds like you love what you do.”

“Oh, I do, I really do. Most days…”

“What happened then, that has you so upset?”

“I don’t know if I should but… Well, one of the boys, he’s one of the children at the center—well was…” Her eyes gloss over. “Anyway, he said something that made the hair at my nape stand up. And I still don’t know what it means. It’s just that it must be something significant because he’s so deep in his autism, he rarely interacts with us.”

My heart takes a small leap. “What did he say?”

Kerry hesitates. “I—I shouldn’t.”

“Don’t mention him by name and you’re good. You clearly need to get this off your chest.”

She chews on her lip and fiddles with her purse, then she looks up at me, and again I get this electrical feeling when our eyes meet.

“All right. He, uhm... said he’d seen something red.”

“What red?”

“He didn’t specify. I don’t think he’s able to process his impressions.”

“And what do you think?”

She swallows visibly. “It could have been paint, right?”

I cock my head and regard her. “But that’s not really what you think, is it?”

Frowning, she shakes her head. “But I’m just stupid. I mean, if he’d only said that but…”

“What else did he say?” I tense up. Here we go.

“I asked him where he’d seen the red. It was such a stupid question. I just wanted to encourage him to keep talking.”

I nod. “And?”

“He said he’d seen it on the floor, and… on a man.”

“Could have been someone who got hurt.”

She nods eagerly. “Exactly.”

I reach over and put a hand over her twitchy hands that keep fiddling. “Then why are you so rattled?”

“I don’t know. My imagination ran amok. But then I asked his dad and he gave off this really strange vibe. Like… intimidating. I got the feeling he said, between the lines, ‘I know where you live’.”

“Did he now?” I can picture it perfectly. Salvatore, with his bodyguards, black suit, tall and broad, staring this girl down. “Who’s his dad?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you that.”

“Confidential?”

She nods. “I think I’ve told you too much already.”

“No, you haven’t. You’re good. And whatever you say to me stays with me. I promise. So, what do you think happened, Kerry?”

My heart pounds a little harder.Don’t doom yourself now, this is your slim chance.

“Christian… I can’t tell. Mr. Salvatore said—” She slaps a hand over her mouth and her eyes go wide.