Page 58 of Kingpin

“You look familiar.”

“Oh?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re a Moretti girl, aren’t you?”

I felt my heart stop in my chest. “At one point in time, I was, yes.”

He pointed his pencil at me. “I remember you from that night.”

“What night?”

“Your parents died in a car accident, didn’t they?”

I blinked. “How do you know that?”

He started furiously writing things down, and I started growing curious.

“What are you writing?” I asked.

He tucked his pencil into his pocket. “Thank you for answering my questions.”

“I asked you a question, sir.”

“I have to be on my way.”

I leaped up quicker than I had ever moved and gripped the officer’s arm. Israel came rushing for me, his arms wrapping around my waist.

“Sweetheart, I think you’re mistaken. This man is trying to help you,” he murmured softly.

I wasn’t deterred. “How do you know what happened to my parents, and what did you write down afterward?”

I felt Israel stiffen behind me. “I’d answer her if I were you.”

The officer sighed. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I was the officer on duty that night. I was the one who found the car in the ditch, and I was the one who came to your home that night. Remember? On the porch?”

I blinked. “My God. It’s you.”

He slipped my hand away from his arm. “Did you ever figure out what caused that accident?”

“They…uh, th-th-they said…”

“That it was just an accident?” he asked.

Israel took the reins. “Why do you say it that way?”

The officer leveled his eyes with me. “Have you had any contact with your uncle recently? Pava?”

I lied. “No, sir. I haven’t.”

“Well, I’m going to be having some contact with him. My men are going to scour this place for evidence, and I’m going to talk to him. Because in the pit of my gut, I know he was somehow responsible for your parent’s car accident.”

I felt my legs go numb. “Wh-wh-what?”

Israel stepped in. “I think we’ve heard enough here.”

The officer held out his hand. “No. She deserves the truth if she’s being lied to. Did they tell you about the brake lines?”

I swallowed hard. “My uncle killed his brother?”

---