Page 71 of Hide From Me

I didn’t havea lot to lose, but that still didn’t make this seem any less stupid. There had been no one at the front desk, which probably should have been a warning sign. Let’s just say that if this was a horror movie, I would be the first to go. Whoops.

How sad was it that the only thing that would miss me was a little electronic dog thing that might be dead again anyway? I was being petty, because I was pretty sure Cas would miss me, but I was just too mad at him.

I felt cute at least. I’d dressed more business rather than flannel and jeans like I usually did. The heels were oddly comfortable, and I’d had a few of my mom’s old dresses still in a suitcase. For some reason, this just seemed like the right time to pull them out.

I might have been shipped off the second her body was found, and I was an orphan, but we’d lived out of boxes anyway, so it wasn’t hard to grab the things we owned. Some days I missed her, but most days I just remembered how broken she seemed. Still, she kept me safe for years.

I’d come out here thinking maybe I would get answers about my mom. I couldn’t figure out what else anyone would wantto give me answers on. I knew my dad and wasn’t sad that he burned alive. My mom said she had no family. What else was there to know? Other than who she was running from and who had finally caught up with her.

This floor seemed like a mix of half-finished work and some still ongoing construction. There was a sign that hung on a shiplap designed wall, but I didn’t know who the company was. Whitehall Holdings.

“Hello?” I called out.

There was nothing for a few seconds, but then I froze. Footsteps. Why was that so scary? I’d just yelled out hello into the open space.

“Miss Klein, is that correct?”

I tilted my head and shifted my weight.

“Who’s asking?”

The guy looked to be middle-aged, but not anyone that I’d have recognized. I might suck at names, but I was good at faces. Faces were easy to pick out and run from.

“Sorry, let me introduce myself. I’m Pat Thornehill, the private investigator hired to come find you.”

I couldn’t help myself, and I started laughing like that was the biggest joke here.

“I’m unsure why that’s funny, Miss Klein. I’ve been following you for months now. You should thank your aunt for reaching out.”

I stopped laughing and glared.

“I wouldn’t thank her for anything. She hated me. I don’t even know why she would take me in with as much as she said I was a trouble to her.”

He took a step around plastic sheeting that was hung up for what I had to assume was dust or something while they finished.

“Ah. That is a mystery. I did find some substantial deposits, but they were dead ends. Cash. Being that she was in a cash business.”

I stopped him when I took a step closer.

“She was a stripper and a whore. You can say the words. She wasn’t shy. My mom loathed having to dance, but she was just really good at it, and it was easy to get a job every time we had to leave again and again. My aunt? Well, I said what I said.”

His hands were clasped behind his back as he walked a few more steps closer.

“Well, yes. But these payments were much larger sums, and they increased as the years went on. Until, well. You’re here, so you got my message. Finally.”

Finally?

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged.

“Someone has been getting to my little packages before you could. Until tonight. I finally figured out who the problem was.They should be tied up for a bit.”

What the ever-loving…?

“Look, I don’t really know what you are talking about. You said if I wanted answers to show. So here I am. Now, what answers do you even have? Why my mother was murdered?”

He clucked his tongue.

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