she somehow connecting with her mom to cover all of this up? Had Abigail or Bri been the one to summon me here? My chest tightened. Tucker didn’t appear to know anything. I spread the rest of the papers out in front of me and took pictures of them with my phone. I’d review them later. First things first. I had to talk to Bri.
***
I pinched the screen of my phone, zooming in on the report pages I’d taken pictures of before we left the station. We hadn’t had much time to review them so I’d wanted photographic proof in case I’d missed something.
Tucker pulled away from the station. “Bri doesn’t have any idea about this.”
I wasn’t too sure about that, especially if her mom had been the one to identify my mom’s remains. Pissing Tucker off wouldn’t be a way to get answers either. “I know.” The lie was easy. I’d lied about many things over the past few days in my search for the truth, and with each one I felt less and less guilty.
I typed a quick text to Amber, detailing where I was staying and who I was staying with, just in case. I failed to mention that Bri looked exactly like me.
“Aye, aye,” she sent with a sailor emoticon.
I grinned. I could almost hear her giggling at the stupid joke. Somehow it grounded me in this crazy situation I’d found myself in.
“Who’re you texting?” Tucker asked.
“A friend of mine,” I answered. “Amber. She’s covering for me while I’m here. It’s not like my dad would have allowed this.”
“I doubt any parent would,” Tucker mused.
Speaking of parents, I needed to know what I was up against. “What do you know about Abigail?”
“First—” Tucker pointed his finger from the steering wheel “—everyone calls her Abbey. And second, she’s a really amazing mom. She can be scatterbrained at times. She’s more of a friend to Bri than anything. That’s why we need to approach this delicately. You already hit the hot-button with asking about her absent dad.” Tucker stared at the road in front of us, his gaze calculating as if trying to figure out what kind of relationship Abbey and my mom had before I did.
I didn’t mind sharing this part of my journey. I didn’t need to prove anything at this point—well I did to Bri. Having Tucker on my side would make the situation easier. Now we had to get Bri on board. The idea of Bri on my side made my shoulders relax and a warmth spread through my body. I’d do anything to get that to happen.
***
Tucker’s truck was already parked in front of the condo when we arrived. I practically fell out of the car when we got close enough to Bri’s home. I raced up the stairs, only briefly hearing Tucker’s car door slam behind me. I pushed through the front door and found Bri in the living room, sitting on the couch. She whipped her head around when she saw me and her wide-eyed expression matched mine.
“What did you find?” I asked breathlessly.
She stood, holding out a piece of paper. “Not much.”
I took it and scanned the article. It was the same one I had rotting in my desk drawer at home, crinkled and worn from all the times I had read it. Dad thought I’d thrown it away as part of my “letting go”.
Tucker burst through the door and shot me a look. His eyes moved between us and I mentally sent him a message.
I didn’t tell her yet. Down, doggie.
“What did you find?”
Tucker took the lead. “We found the autopsy report on Cara.”
Bri’s eyes widened and she looked at our hands. “Where is it?”
“I took photos.” I handed her my phone.
Tucker held his hands in front of him. “There’s something you should—”
I held my hand up to silence him. I needed Bri to see this evidence for herself. I would know right away from her expression if she had any idea about Abbey’s involvement with my mom.
The air thickened as the seconds dragged on. Bri’s eyes darted across the screen.
A few moments went by before her body stiffened. I sucked in a breath as if I’d
***
I pinched the screen of my phone, zooming in on the report pages I’d taken pictures of before we left the station. We hadn’t had much time to review them so I’d wanted photographic proof in case I’d missed something.
Tucker pulled away from the station. “Bri doesn’t have any idea about this.”
I wasn’t too sure about that, especially if her mom had been the one to identify my mom’s remains. Pissing Tucker off wouldn’t be a way to get answers either. “I know.” The lie was easy. I’d lied about many things over the past few days in my search for the truth, and with each one I felt less and less guilty.
I typed a quick text to Amber, detailing where I was staying and who I was staying with, just in case. I failed to mention that Bri looked exactly like me.
“Aye, aye,” she sent with a sailor emoticon.
I grinned. I could almost hear her giggling at the stupid joke. Somehow it grounded me in this crazy situation I’d found myself in.
“Who’re you texting?” Tucker asked.
“A friend of mine,” I answered. “Amber. She’s covering for me while I’m here. It’s not like my dad would have allowed this.”
“I doubt any parent would,” Tucker mused.
Speaking of parents, I needed to know what I was up against. “What do you know about Abigail?”
“First—” Tucker pointed his finger from the steering wheel “—everyone calls her Abbey. And second, she’s a really amazing mom. She can be scatterbrained at times. She’s more of a friend to Bri than anything. That’s why we need to approach this delicately. You already hit the hot-button with asking about her absent dad.” Tucker stared at the road in front of us, his gaze calculating as if trying to figure out what kind of relationship Abbey and my mom had before I did.
I didn’t mind sharing this part of my journey. I didn’t need to prove anything at this point—well I did to Bri. Having Tucker on my side would make the situation easier. Now we had to get Bri on board. The idea of Bri on my side made my shoulders relax and a warmth spread through my body. I’d do anything to get that to happen.
***
Tucker’s truck was already parked in front of the condo when we arrived. I practically fell out of the car when we got close enough to Bri’s home. I raced up the stairs, only briefly hearing Tucker’s car door slam behind me. I pushed through the front door and found Bri in the living room, sitting on the couch. She whipped her head around when she saw me and her wide-eyed expression matched mine.
“What did you find?” I asked breathlessly.
She stood, holding out a piece of paper. “Not much.”
I took it and scanned the article. It was the same one I had rotting in my desk drawer at home, crinkled and worn from all the times I had read it. Dad thought I’d thrown it away as part of my “letting go”.
Tucker burst through the door and shot me a look. His eyes moved between us and I mentally sent him a message.
I didn’t tell her yet. Down, doggie.
“What did you find?”
Tucker took the lead. “We found the autopsy report on Cara.”
Bri’s eyes widened and she looked at our hands. “Where is it?”
“I took photos.” I handed her my phone.
Tucker held his hands in front of him. “There’s something you should—”
I held my hand up to silence him. I needed Bri to see this evidence for herself. I would know right away from her expression if she had any idea about Abbey’s involvement with my mom.
The air thickened as the seconds dragged on. Bri’s eyes darted across the screen.
A few moments went by before her body stiffened. I sucked in a breath as if I’d
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