Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
I can’t mess this up.
Jenna takes the file and throws it down on the table, making a sound like a slap. I feel it to my core. She’s pissed at me, and I have to fix this.
I take a deep breath, and then I start. “I want to say first that I have a solution to all of this,” I say. “I mean it. I know how to fix it. I’ve spent a long time figuring it out, and now I have a way for all of us to come out of this better off. Just keep that in mind from the beginning.”
“Should I be worried here?” Jenna’s Dad asks, looking at his daughter. I assess him for a moment. We must be about the same age – perhaps he’s five years older than me – but the difference between us is palpable. I’m fitter, and healthier, and I look younger by a long way.
He hasn’t aged well. The stress of his life is written over his face. It must have been hard losing his wife that way, especially when he had a young daughter to look after at the same time.
“Yes,” Jenna says, turning to him. “Actually, Dad, there’s a lot going on here, and first and foremost, I’ll always love you as your daughter. But I’m also mad at you. Really mad. More than I ever have been.”
He swallows, looking suitably humbled. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on, but…”
Jenna sighs and reaches over, flipping the file over. “That’s what’s going on,” she says. She doesn’t need to say anymore. The images and files will speak for themselves. We all know, in this room, what those images tell. There’s no use in Frank, Jenna’s Dad, denying it anymore. He must see that.
He avoids meeting her eyes for a long moment, looking away from the photographs and only glancing up briefly as she flips through more pages and lays them out.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t intend to lie to you, Jenna. It’s just – I had this great opportunity to bet on a game, and….”
Jenna sighs loudly. “Dad,” she says. “It’s not… it’s not something you can excuse away anymore. You have to realize that. You promised me you wouldn’t do it anymore under any circumstances, and yet you did.”
Frank makes a noise under his breath, his mouth opening and closing. I get the feeling he’s trying to come up with something that will somehow justify his behavior. I sink onto the edge of an armchair opposite them. I need to take the weight off my feet and stay out of it while they talk it over.
“I know,” he says, hanging his head.
He has nothing to say. It’s hard to imagine anything he could say to improve this, but my heart breaks for Jenna. It must be so difficult for her right now, seeing her father brought to this point.
“I know the people to who you owe money,” I say quietly, taking over while the lull in the conversation rests. “They’re not going to stop coming after you until you’ve paid them off, one way or another. And since you’re not going to be able to do it with money, they will take their pound of flesh. So you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. This could cost you your life – or your freedom.”
“I know,” Frank groans, resting his head in his hands. “But I’m in now and can’t see a way out.”
“I have one,” I say. “It’s complicated, and it involves a bit of side-stepping. My first question is this. Do the men you owe money know about Jenna?”
“They know I have a daughter,” Frank admits. “They haven’t ever seen her. That’s why I’ve been encouraging you to stay away at college, sweetie. I didn’t want you to come back here where they would see you.”
“And I brought myself back here,” Jenna says in a low voice. “I’ve made it even worse.”
“You didn’t do anything,” Frank says, the first time I can actually find something to like about him. “You’re just trying to help your stupid old man.”
“I’ve been talking to some contacts of mine in the police,” I say. I hold up a hand to ward off both of their wide-eyed looks, wanting to finish first before they start in on me. “Just wait. I haven’t mentioned your name yet, Frank. For all they know, it’s an anonymous client of mine I’ve been talking about. But if you want to, they will help you. And you won’t have to get in trouble for what you’ve done so far.”
Frank’s eyebrows rise high. “I’m listening.”
I take a breath. “It goes like this,” I say. “The police want the leaders of the gang – really want them. They’ve been desperate to take them down for a long while. If you can help do that, you’ll be protected, and you won’t need to worry about them coming for you if they’re all in jail.”