Page 26 of Wasted

“Oh, he’s going to. We’re going to get married.”

Victoria watched Sydney, trying to figure out the puzzle. Was the girl simply engaging in wishful thinking? Or making things up? If Robert were there, he could tell Victoria if Sydney was lying. Having a brother who was a psychiatrist could be handy in some ways.

Victoria took in a breath. “Okay, when do you think that will happen?”

Sydney shrugged both shoulders. “Sometime after she’s born, I guess. But he said he loves me and wants to marry me. So I know he will.”

And Victoria knew a dead end when she reached one. “Well, in the meantime, I don’t want you to worry about your mom and your living situation. The rooms here at Life Center are all full right now, but I’ve gone through the process to become an approved temporary foster home. You can stay with me if your mom does evict you. Okay?”

“Really?” The teen’s blue eyes widened. “Oh, that would be awesome.” She pressed her hands to both sides of her face as a smile blossomed.

Victoria returned the smile. “I wanted to tell you the news at an appropriate time. You don’t need to worry about a place for you and your little girl to stay.”

“Thank you so much.” The breathlessness in Sydney’s voice expressed the joy and gratitude written on her face.

“Don’t get too excited before you see my house. It’s tiny and nothing fancy. But it’ll do if needed.”

Sydney giggled. “It’ll be so cool. I know it.”

“Let’s get you home for now. And you know you can always text or call me if you need me.”

Sydney nodded, still smiling as she scooted out of the chair and stood. “You’re like the nicest person in the world.”

“That’s Christ in me, Sydney. I’m not nice or good on my own.”

Sydney squinted slightly. “Oh, right. Like how you said Jesus lives inside you and changed you to want to do good things. It must be cool to always know what’s the right thing to do.”

Victoria fell silent as she helped Sydney put on the winter coat that couldn’t quite close over her extended stomach.

If only Victoria did always know the right thing to do. Even with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she wasn’t always sure, as in the situation with Detective McCully. Or perhaps, she was letting fear or timidity keep her from sharing more of what she knew about Thomas.

By the time she closed the passenger door of her car for Sydney and walked around to sit behind the wheel, she knew what she must do after dropping off the teenager. She needed to pay a visit to the police station.

Chapter

Nine

“Detective McCully?” Victoria paused outside the open doorway of the detective’s office at the police station.

He angled his brown-haired head to see past the computer monitor on his desk. His eyes narrowed, seemingly at the moment he realized who she was. Not exactly pleased to see her, apparently.

She mustered a smile and stepped inside. “The lady at the desk said I could come back to your office.”

“Did she?” The question sounded rhetorical, and decidedly unhappy.

Perhaps this had been a bad idea. But if Thomas was murdered, and she had evidence the detective didn’t, she had a duty to share that information. She would simply do so in a manner that was as kind and non-threatening as possible.

“May I borrow a moment of your time?” She walked farther into the office, pausing at the chair that stood opposite the desk. “I realized that, in my shocked state this morning, I forgot to give you some information. I know detectives like to have all the facts to do their job, so I must apologize that I forgot to tell you everything earlier.” She paused, but he still didn’t ask her to sit.

He simply stared at her. At least his expression appeared to reveal he was thinking, not about to shout at her or send her away.

Hesitation could be helpful. Victoria stepped in front of the chair and sat before he could tell her not to. “I forgot to tell you what Thomas said to me the day before his death.”

“You saw him yesterday?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell you that. I was sure you’d want to know.”

His lips pressed together.