Page 216 of The Art of Almost Losing It
I grind my teeth.
Frank looks at me. “Can we go into your study, Graham?”
“Of course. Dani, could you bring coffee?”
“No need.” Frank holds up a hand.
He follows me into the study. I sit behind my desk, though I don’t feel like I have the spot of power.
He sits across from me then leans forward.
“Your mom’s very upset about that video, the one where that girl is kidnapped.”
I didn’t do it!I want to scream.
“Oh, yes. I’m sure,” I murmur.
“I told her I’d dig into it. I’m retired, but I’d try to pull some sway with my old colleagues, see if we can get some more investigation.” Frank rubs a hand over his face.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“And what did they say?”
“They pulled the video from the girl’s camera. They’re analyzing it. Seems legit. That’s the only lead, though. And you.”
“Me?” I raise an eyebrow.
Frank’s staring at me now. “You were driving home from the restaurant. That street is on the route you’d take to go home. It happened around the time you would have driven right past it. You don’t happen to have a camera on that fancy car of yours?”
“It seemed like a needless luxury.”
I make a mental note to thank Finn for his paranoia about government surveillance.
“Hmm. So you don’t remember anything?”
This is where a guilty man would make up some excuse about why he wasn’t paying attention and inadvertently give away the plot. I’ve dealt with Frank for years, though. Learned that lesson the hard way.
“Nothing at all. Sorry.” I stay seated. Let him be the first person to stand up.
“Well,” Frank finally says, slapping his thighs. “If you think of anything, let me know.”
“Of course.”
He almost runs into Dani when he opens the door. The tray in her arms jostles.
“Have some coffee!”
Frank frowns. “I said I didn’t need any coffee.”
“Oh! Right. Yes—no coffee.”
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
I take the tray from her, or try to. Dani has a death grip on it. I finally just let it go, but Dani’s hands catch up to what mine are doing, and the tray crashes to the floor. Lulu barks.
“Oh my gosh!” She’s barefoot.
I grab her around the waist. “No, I will do it.” I pick her up. “I don’t want you to cut yourself.” I carry her to the living room.
