Protector - Laurel Dewey [165]
“No, you don’t,” Emily said, resentment pouring out of each word.
“Yes, I do. I’ve been on this earth, breathing in and out, longer than you. And I’ve had to endure a lot of shit. I’m not trying to make out like I’ve suffered more than you. I’m just telling you that I know what you’re feeling. You’re pissed off because you want to be in control but the powers that be aren’t letting that happen. I’m yanking your chain every single day, telling you what you can and can’t do. Meanwhile, your memory is serving up little pieces of disjointed crap that doesn’t make sense, but scares the hell out of you nonetheless.” Jane couldn’t help but think of her own chaotic visions of blinding light, Glocks, bizarre wolf faces and backwards dates on hand-prints. “Trust me, kid, I do know what it feels like to see things that disturb you and make no sense.” Emily considered Jane’s statement. “So, you feel like you’re being used. And you know what? You’re absolutely right.” Emily looked surprised. “What? You thought I was going to tell you that you’re not being used? That’d be a lie and I don’t lie to you. The Denver PD used you and I’m using you to try and solve your parents’ murder. If you want to know the God’s truth, I didn’t want this case. Not because of you, but because of what I know you must have gone through.” Jane leaned forward. “I’ve seen what you can’t see. I’ve seen what you don’t want to see. I’ve felt the same fear that you feel . . . And I’ve heard the voices, Emily.”
Emily couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was it possible, she wondered? Could she risk telling Jane everything or would Jane think she was crazy? Would she even believe her? “Jane, I—”
“I’ve never asked you the tough questions,” Jane interrupted. “I’ve never forced you to tell me every last detail of what you can remember. I didn’t want to be the person responsible for destroying you.”
Emily realized it was all about what she saw at the house. She quickly reasoned that to reveal anything else to Jane at that moment would complicate everything.
Jane took a long drag on her cigarette. “Some things have changed in the last couple days. You and me are up against the wall. So, I’ve got to ask you the hard questions in order to connect the dots.” Emily slowly nodded. “You’ve told me that your parents fought a lot and that they fought more frequently in the weeks leading up to their murder. Can you remember anything that was said during those fights?”
“I tried not to listen. I’d go in my closet and close the door and turn on my Starlight Starbright.”
“You weren’t sitting in your closet all the time. You had to hear something.”
“Daddy came home later and later. He said he was helping A.J.’s daddy with his computer at his office—”
“Your dad’s office?”
“No. At A.J.’s dad’s office. A.J.’s dad got confused a lot. A.J. told me he acted crazy sometimes. He didn’t know anything about computers and so my dad said he would help him. My dad was a computer whiz.” Jane tried to put things together. She pictured David sitting in the back office of one of Bill Stover’s convenience stores—the same back office where the Texas Mob was thought to have set up shop. “I heard Daddy say to Mommy once that he felt important ’cause he could help out A.J.’s daddy.”
“Did that mean a lot to your dad? Feeling important?”
“Sure. Everybody wants to feel important.” Emily’s mind drifted momentarily. “But Mommy didn’t like that Daddy felt important helping out A.J.’s daddy.”
“Really?”
“It scared her. They fought a lot about that before Mommy and me went to Moab for our camping trip. I asked her when we were away why she was so scared, but all she’d say is that Daddy makes bad decisions because he’s a drunk and he wants to be a big man and he’s really just a little man. I didn’t get what she meant by that.”
Jane recalled the conversation she had