Page 81 of Wild Frost

It didn't matter how many times you’d made a death notification—you couldn’t watch something like that and not get heartbroken.

Sadie’s skin went pale, and she broke out in a cold sweat. "I'm sorry, but I need to lie down right now."

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Yes, there is, actually. Would you call my sister and ask her to pick up the kids from piano?”

"Certainly," I said.

Sadie reclined on the couch and tried to stop the world from spinning. She pointed to her phone on the coffee table, told methe passcode, then I scrolled through her contact list to find her sister after she told me her name.

I relayed the request to Lynn, and we talked for a moment. Sadie was not in a condition to talk to anybody. Lynn said she would take care of everything and would be there shortly.

I noticed Sadie was just starting to show. It looked like they had another child on the way. It broke my heart even more to know that the kid would grow up without a father.

I shared a grim look with Jack, and we were both thinking the same thing.

We waited till Lynn arrived, then gave Sadie some space. I left my card on the coffee table and told her we’d catch up with her later.

There was something on my mind, and I wanted to have another word with Chris Sweet. We left and headed over to Pirates’ Cove.

I banged on the stern of theSerenityand waited for a response.

42

After I banged a heavy fist on the stern a few times, Chris poked his head through the hatch. With a scowl, he said, "I'm not saying anything else to you guys without an attorney.” Then he added, "No. My dad's not here either. I still don't know where he is.”

"We’re not here about your dad," I said.

Chris's brow wrinkled with confusion. "Then why are you here?"

"I want to ask you about your sister."

His wrinkled expression continued. "Why do you care?"

"I'm trying to get to the truth."

"The truth is, Darrell York raped and murdered my sister. Somehow, the state thought it prudent to let him go. Now people are dead."

"You know that happened before our time with the department. I really don't know anything about your sister. I don't know whather hopes and dreams were. I don't know what motivated her. I don't know what her life was like."

"What does any of that matter now? Her life is over. None of her dreams came true. And nothing you, me, or anyone else can do is going to change that.”

"I think Sarah deserves justice, don't you?"

His mouth tightened, and he hesitated for a moment. “She will only get justice when Darrell York is dead.”

"What was she like?”

Chris took a deep breath and lost himself in a recollection. His voice softened. "She was beautiful. I mean, she was my sister, but even I knew she was beautiful. Though a lot of people couldn't see that. They couldn't see her underneath it all. She was high-functioning. We really didn’t have terms for it back then. But she was on the spectrum. Super smart. Hyper focused. Shy. Awkward in social settings. She got picked on a lot. But I think it was really out of jealousy. She was way smarter than anybody in her class. All the girls knew she was prettier, but she just didn't really know how to own that. You know?”

Chris frowned and hung his head.

"Did she have a boyfriend? Was she interested in anybody?”

Chris shook his head. "She didn't have a boyfriend, but she crushed hard on Wesley.”

“Oliver?" I asked with a surprised brow.