Page 65 of Unbearable

“Some of it.” Ethan was always so perceptive. He debated trying to explain that his mom was moving out. That he hoped Ethan would get to stay, but it wasn’t certain. Instead, he decided to let him enjoy what might be his last day in the school he had settled happily into. He would find out soon enough that life was often very unfair.

“You need a butterfly.”

“Is that what my problem is?” He couldn’t wait to see where this was going.

“Yeah. Ms. Wynn says sometimes you have to let your worries go. Just like a butterfly.” He mimed setting a butterfly loose from his hands.

“Ms. Wynn sounds like a very smart person.”

“She’s very smart,” Ethan agreed. “And pretty.”

“Mmm, sounds like the perfect combination in a teacher.”

“Yeah.” Ethan giggled.

They finished their breakfast while Fox learned the other virtues of Ethan’s teacher. He cleaned up their trash, and they walked back out to the truck. They sang along to all of the new songs the kids were learning at preschool on the way. When they arrived, Fox pulled over to the curb. It was policy that the four-year-olds were walked to class.

“Okay,” he said, squatting to Ethan’s level. “I want you to have the best day ever. Can you do that?” He pulled Ethan in for a tight squeeze. It took everything he had to finally pull back. “Bye, buddy.” He watched from the hallway as the boy ran to greet his friends.

“Is everything all right?” Ms. Wynn asked.

“Not really.”

“Oh no.” Her gaze drifted to a happy Ethan before moving back to his. “Well, we’re just going to wish for the best.” With a nod, he left the building.

He returned to his truck but didn’t drive away. Typing out a text to Bailey was next on his list before getting to work. He decided it made more sense to just call. Her voice would make everything better anyway.

“Hey,” she answered.

“It’s done. I broke up with Brooke this morning. She’s supposed to find someone’s couch to sleep on until she gets her own place. I can’t spend another evening having things thrown at me or wondering where she is. I’m worried about Ethan, though.”

“I know. I’m so sorry, but I think you did the right thing. Did you talk to her about letting you keep Ethan for a while?”

“I did, but I don’t know. She wouldn’t even talk to me about any of it. We’ll just have to see what she does. This is all such a fucking mess.”

“It will get better,” she answered. “Just give it time. I’ll keep up with Ethan if nothing else. I don’t think she’ll cut me off. She still wants a free babysitter, and with Jimmy in jail, I’m it. This will all work out in the end. We just have to believe that.”

“I hope you’re right.” He sighed. “I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late to work. His majesty will never stand for that.” He rolled his eyes even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“This too shall pass.”

“From your lips to God’s ears.” They disconnected. This would have all been so much better if he had just met Bailey first. At least he was on the right path now.

CHAPTER 25

Dover was exhausted.She had been running around for twelve hours now without much to show for it. Sean had prioritized the autopsy, but it didn’t tell her anything she hadn’t already figured out.

Death was caused by strangulation. He was also beat with a whip before death. The rest was caused after he was dead. That was at least a little good news in the middle of the horror.

The incident room was slowly emptying out as most of the extra support left for lives outside of the police station. She felt like she had been wearing the same clothes for days and wondered if anyone else felt the same. Knox had shown up around dinner time with an armload of sandwiches which he handed around to everyone staying on.

“I’ve got something!” Detective Jones burst in the room. She knew he had spent the day trying to run down the bar Mr. Hansen spent his last hours in. “The bartender remembers him. Said he was boring a woman to death at the bar half the night.”

“Did you get a description?” Danny asked, moving to the boards.

“Blonde, thin, about five foot eight. He guessed her age between twenty-five and thirty. He said he remembered cardingher just to be safe, but he can’t remember her name,” Jones continued. “I got a copy of the video from their cameras. I’ll start going through it.” He left the room for the video lab.

Dover stood at the back of the room looking at the boards in front. What was she missing? They had bodies, but no specific type. They had a matching means of death, but no answers on exactly what the strap was. They had staged dumps, but nothing that tied the scenes together other than they were all private schools.