Chapter 37
Huddled on the inoffensive beige carpet in the corner of the motel’s compact family suite, I tried to distract myself from my despair by running through as many names of people I went to school with as I could remember. Tessa Bright, Kate Simpson, Emma McKenzie, Kiara … something. Tania Cox, Emily Chau, who else? They felt like someone else’s memories, from another life. Maybe the boys would be easier. Noah, Bane … come on, Lainie, think. Jarrod Pike, we always called him Jarrah Spike. Bailey Carson, Jake Evans … Bane killed Jake’s dog. The remembered sound of its canine yelp and the hideous crunch as it hit the bumper bar filled my mind, just as the faded green door of the motel suite burst open in a shower of cheap plywood framework.
In an instant, Sergeant Loxwood jumped in
