Chapter Twenty-Three: No More Crying:

I got his text. Now, I don’t have any choice to back out of this. I sat on my bed in the dark. I thought about calling my therapist but I had a guess about what she was going to say. I didn’t need that right now.

There came a knock on my door.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Are you okay in there?” mom asked. I sniffled before sitting up straight.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m good.” Mom didn’t try to open my door.

“Lunch will be ready in a couple of minutes,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. I didn’t move as she walked away from my door. I laid down on my side. I’m tired of feeling like this. Up until now I have been pretending to be okay. But was that really good enough? I used to think it was. I looked at Daniel’s text again.

“We found where Lanie’s been holed up. Send me a reply if you want me to text the address.”

And there it was.

He wasn’t going to let me run away again. I haven’t done anything to help him and I still don’t know why he asked. What could I do anyway? I just want to go home. But something won’t let me. I need… I need…

I buried my head in my hands.

This is dumb. I probably should eat first and then decide what to do. I got up off my bed and walked out of my old room.

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To put an end to all of this, I had no choice but to say it out loud.

“Mom,” I said at the table. She looked up with her spoon in her hand.

“Yes, baby?” she asked. I sat up straight.

“I have been asked to help out with a case here,” I said. “It’s the Lanie case.” Mom raised her eyebrow.

“Lanie? As in Lanie Cape?” she asked. I slowly nodded.

“Lord,” she said. “What did she do now?”

“Haven’t you been watching news?”

“I know about her grandpa. What has she done now?”

I leaned back in my chair. “They think she killed her mother too.” Her mother fell into her bowl.

“What?!” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“And the police want you to help them?” mom asked. I put my hands behind my head.

“It’s out of my jurisdiction,” I said. “I wouldn’t be much help. I don’t know why Danny asked me to do it.”

“Are you going to?” mom asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know what good I would be doing.” Mom looked at me with no emotion on her face. What did I tell her anything for? Did I really think that she was going to tell me what to do? I’m not in high school anymore. I’m one of the best detectives in Raleigh, damn it!

“What do you think you should do?” she asked. I didn’t need to think about the answer.

“I should go and help him out,” I said. Mom gave me a little smile.

“Then I think you have your own answer,” she said. Once again, I felt myself smiling for real. I finished up my chili and rice. When I was done, I pulled out my phone and replied to Daniel’s text.