Page 81 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

“About how you’d expect.” Noah ran a hand down his face. “But there’ll be no charges filed against us. Apparently, we’re now paid investigators for the district attorney’s office.”

“Really?” She didn’t bother to hide her skepticism. “This would be for a nominal payment, I gather?”

“You’re in charge of the books, you tell me. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict he’s given us a dollar at best.”

Katrina’s expression transformed into one of disgust. “Ireallydon’t like the district attorney. He may be angry about our work, but he sure is happy to take the credit for it.”

“That’s what you get when jobs turn into roles that require an election to fill.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile before leaving the apartment. Noah heaved a weary sigh, but as he watched Annabelle walk his sons through the process of drawing a fight scene, his tense muscles began to relax.

Katrina was right—she had a gift. And she’d also enthralled his boys. She sat at her drawing board, the computer monitor on the desk beside her displaying his sons as they drew along with her. Above the drawing board, she’d rigged up a couple of cameras to show different angles of her work. She also had a camera trained on her face so the boys could see her when she talked to them.

He smiled. She’d done this before. It amazed him just how connected Annabelle was to the world she couldn’t set foot in. She was part of a massive online community, chatted with people all the time, and had built up a base of local artist friends who visited frequently. Well, when she wasn’t on lockdown as a key witness in the trial of the decade.

“You see?” she said. “The line tapers, creating a sense of movement. It’s important that your lines follow the angle and shape of the body. That way, you can suggest form and movement with the minimal number of strokes.”

“And leave lots of space for color,” Sammy said eagerly. He was all about the coloring.

“This is so cool,” Jacob said. “I can’t wait to show the guys at soccer how to do this.” He smiled shyly at her. “I’ve got them all reading your comics. They think you’re amazing.” He blushed, the adoration of youth in his eyes.

No doubt about it, she’d won his boys over.

“That’s wonderful,” Annabelle said enthusiastically. “I’m so glad they like them.”

Of course, Sammy wasn’t to be outdone. “I told everybody that you have a whole room full of comics. Can I bring my team over to see it?”

She laughed. “That might be kinda hard, seeing as I’m in Houston and all your friends are in Atlantic City.”

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded, unbothered by his mistake, and carried on coloring.

“Annabelle?” Jacob said. “One of the guys was telling me about Comic-Con. It’s like a big… market, or fair, right? Only with comic book artists and people dressed up as characters. I looked it up online, but it was kinda confusing.”

She nodded. “Probably too many videos about specific parts of it rather than a clear overview.”

“Yeah, that.” Jacob nodded.

“You’re right, though. It’s usually held in a massive hall with lots of stands and booths. People sell stuff to do with comics or fantasy stories and art. There are actors from Marvel movies?—”

“Spiderman!” Sammy shouted with a grin.

“Absolutely.” She grinned back. “They do talks too and promote new movies and stuff. And there are definitely lots of people in costumes.”

“It sounds cool. Do you think Dad would take us?” Jacob looked hopeful.

“I don’t see why not. You should ask him.”

“Will you go with us?” Jacob blushed. “Sorry, you’re probably already there, giving talks and stuff or meeting your fans. Maybe we could see you there?”

Annabelle stilled before smiling softly into the camera. “I don’t go to Comic-Con, Jacob.”

“Why not?” Typical kid—no boundaries or tact.

Noah waited to see if he needed to intervene with his nosy kids, but Annabelle had it in hand.

“I don’t go out,” she said simply.

The boys stopped drawing and stared at her through the screen.