He looks a little hesitant. “I didn't really see much. But I'll tell you everything I know.”
“Thank you,” Sam says. “Sometimes, it seems as if you don't have any information that could be helpful, and it turns out to be critical.”
“Thank you, Gabriel,” I say. “I really do appreciate you coming in here like that. And it was good to see you.”
He smiles. “You, too.”
He leaves, and Sam gets up to close the door and lock it.
“Tell me what actually happened,” he says.
“I did,” I say. “That is exactly what happened. I came out of my office because I heard glass breaking, I heard somebody in the living room, and I got knocked on my ass. Then I started to get up and got kicked in the head. That's really all that happened.”
“And you didn't see anything else?” he asks.
“Why are you asking me this?”
“Because you're famous for leaving out details so you can figure things out for yourself.”
“That's not what I'm doing this time. My car, as you know, isn't here. It looks as if I'm not home, and I haven't been for weeks. Somebody was probably just watching and thought this was a good opportunity, not realizing that I'm here.”
“But what were they looking for?” Sam asks.
I shake my head. “That's the thing. He was only in here for a few seconds. But all the drawers are open. It's as if he came in and just systematically opened every drawer he came across as he walked through the house. He dug through them and tossed stuff out. He was looking for something specific.”
“And small,” Sam says. “Something that would fit in a drawer.”
“Only one thing I can think of might be catching somebody's attention,” I say.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“Maybe it wasn't random,” I say.
I get up and go to the kitchen. Running my hand over the counter, I look on the floor, then on the table. I go into my office and search the desk and the carpet.
"What is it?" Sam asks.
"The key," I tell him. "It's gone."
Chapter Ten
“Somebody knows what that key is to," I say. "And it was important enough for them to break into my house to get it."
“How could they know?” Sam asks. “You just picked it up from the police.”
“I know,” I nod. “But it was obviously important. Now I have to figure out not just what it unlocks, but who would want whatever it is enough to steal the key.”
"The key was setting on the kitchen counter, right?" Sam asks. "Then why go through the drawers in the other rooms?"
"I don't know. Maybe looking for the same thing I was. Direction."
My phone starts ringing, and I look around, trying to remember where it ended up when I hit the ground. I see it and scoop it up just as it's about to cut off.
“Hello?” I say.
“Griffin? Are you okay? You sound terrible,” comes Creagan’s voice.
“Today is just a fantastic day for making me feel good about myself,” I mutter.
“What?” Creagan asks.
“Nothing,” I sigh. “What do you need?”
“I need you to get your ass back here to Harlan,” he says.
“Why? Is something going on?”
“Just a hearing tomorrow,” he says.
“What hearing?” I ask.
“What's going on?” Sam asks. I shake my head. “It's Creagan,” I mouth.
“Xavier Renton,” he says.
That's all he needs to say. My eyes light up, and I reach for Sam. He stands up and comes over to me so I can grab onto his shirt and hold it tight to keep me steady.
“He's getting a new trial?” I gasp.
“The decision just came down,” Creagan explains. “They're willing to do a hearing tomorrow afternoon to determine the next steps. I think if you're here to speak on his behalf, it could make a major difference. Oh, and while you're here, maybe you'd like to use the search warrant I plan on securing to go to the temple.”
I let out a cheer.
“I leave for two days and everything happens," I say.
"Maybe we just needed you out of our way," he cracks.
"What the hell is going on today?" I ask Sam, turning my face away from the phone. "Everybody is just dancing around on me."
"Griffin? Griffin, are you listening?" Creagan asks.
“Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. Tell me what happened,” I say.
“Some of the details that Xavier told you turned out to be right. I can't really get into it a whole lot more than that, but it was enough to convince the courts to grant him a new trial, and I'm all but positive I'll be able to get us a search warrant. You need to get back here as soon as you can,” he says.
“I thought I was in your way,” I say.
“Shut the hell up, Griffin, and get your ass back here.”
“Lovely speaking with you, too, Creagan.”
I hang up the phone and throw my arms around Sam's neck.
“Can you believe it? They're going to give Xavier a new trial. His hearing is tomorrow. I need to be there to speak for him. I need to be able to tell them that they should release him from the facility until his new trial date,” I say.
“Do you think that’s best for him?” Sam asks, worry clouding his features.
My face drops slightly. “Why would you ask that? How could you possibly think it would be better for him to stay in jail?”
“He's been in custody a long time, Emma,” Sam says. “Maybe he's not ready to be out in the world. And would he be okay in Harlan, where all the power players have knives out for him?”
“So, he should have to stay locked up forever? They captured him and threw him in a cage for something he didn't do. So just because he thinks differently from other people and sees the world in his own way, he should just stay there? Because they stole his freedom from him and altered how he's able to perceive the world around him, that should be his consistent reality now? It should be
