Page 11 of Honest Neglect

“Warren Stone,” I replied, and as soon as I came out with that, his whole demeanor shifted. His face took on a harder edge, but this time, it wasn’t aimed at me. No, it was aimed at whoever had pulled Warren into this because, all of a sudden, it looked as though it had just become personal.

“Grace, get the coffee pot on, please,” Leroy told his wife as he sat down at the table opposite me. “I think we’re going to be up for a while to get this all straightened out.”

Silver shifted at my feet and let out a sigh, and I reached down to pet her again. I was tired, but if talking to Leroy a little further would bring us another ally, it was well worth the lack of sleep.

Chapter Seven

Warren

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“WARREN, PLEASE, JUST take a breath.”

I stormed out of the courtroom so fast I couldn’t even hear what Diane was trying to say to me. I figured she was attempting to keep me from losing my head, given what had just happened in there. Given the absolute bullshit I had just been put through.

I couldn’t believe they had even managed to get the case up in front of a judge. There wasn’t a single bit of evidence. The whole thing was a farce, and yet, still, McCarthy and his pigs had managed to get me up there, accused of being a serial killer.

And I knew that wasn’t a label I was going to be able to shake anytime soon.

The judge had dismissed it at once, of course, given that he didn’t have anything to keep me there. If I was going by the look on his face, I would have said that he wanted to throw me away in prison and toss away the key, but he knew he had to at least pretend not to be completely owned by the McCarthys like everyone else in this town.

I could already feel their eyes on me. I was sure of it. I knew they were all going to be judging me, avoiding me, and, most importantly, doubting me. Tony and Mark had managed to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the people in Oakville, and I would be a pariah unless I could find a way to bring them down for good.

But right now, there was one thing on my mind and one thing only—and that was getting Lily back.

“Warren, slow down.” Diane puffed as she caught up with me. She knew I would be out of there the first chance I got. I didn’t want to have to stick around any longer than I already had, entertaining this ridiculous notion that I might have been the one with wrongdoing in my past.

Yeah, and where did that leave them? If anyone caught even a sniff of what they had bubbling under the surface, it would be over for them.

If I could get them to believe me.

“No, we need to go,” I told her. “We have to find Lily. Now.”

“Warren,” Frank called to me as he reached the car, planting his hand on the door. “You need to calm down for a second. We can’t just go running off and doing anything we want. You know how tactical these guys are, and they’re going to make you pay if you make a reckless mistake.”

I grimaced, knowing he was right, much as I wished I didn’t have to admit it. I just wanted to leave all of this behind and go find her. I knew she had to be out there somewhere, and I wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she was back in my arms.

And Silver? Silver had been sighted on that road. Maybe that could be a sign. Lily’s dog might have gone after her, right? Tried to track her down? If we could find out where she’d been seen, it could be a clue as to where Lily had been taken.

“I have to go,” I told them again. I wasn’t thinking straight, I knew that, but how could I even come close to holding myself together when I knew she was out there?

“If you want to stop the McCarthys, you have to start thinking like one,” Frank told me firmly. “I know it’s not easy for you right now.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” I muttered.

“But you have to consider what they would have done,” he went on, ignoring my interjection. “They’re not going to have her anywhere you can find her easily. That’s the whole reason why they’ve taken her in the first place. We know that the phone went out of town, and they might have her stashed somewhere way across the state. You can’t run out there when there’s work to be done on the ground.”

I grunted and squeezed my eyes shut, balling my hands into fists. After all they’d done to us, it felt crazy to me not just to be going after the McCarthys with every bit of strength I had in me, but I knew he was right. If I could take the time to work out our next move, we could ensure it was an effective strike, instead of just driving them to take Lily even further away and hide her somewhere they knew we would never be able to get to her.

Frank put his hand on my shoulder.

“I have to get back to the station,” he told me.

I managed a wry smile. “You sure they’re going to want to see you? After you came and publicly supported me?”

“Trust me. I don’t think that was the first sign they got that I might not be on their side,” he replied, shaking his head. “I can handle them. They’re not going to try anything with me. They know better than that. It would draw too much attention. I can get back to work on Lily’s case, and you can rest up somewhere other than a prison cell tonight. How does that sound?”

“Better than another night in the cells,” I admitted. It wasn’t much, but it was something. At least the judge hadn’t been stupid enough to buy into the story they’d spun about me, even if I wasn’t sure his reasons were entirely pure.