“Maybe he didn’t kill Boy Boy.” Carmen shrugged. “But I’m not sad Boy Boy’s dead.”
I wish I could say the same. Not that I wanted a big gang member running around killing people, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should have done more to save him. A life was a life after all.
“Did you hear they finally posted Kyle’s position?” Carmen asked.
My mind flipped from Boy Boy to my future. “No. I didn’t know.”
“It’s on the city website. Come see.” Carmen led Shayla and me into the park office. She pulled up a tab on her computer and there it was the full-time position listing. I scanned eagerly down the page looking at all the qualifications needed checking them off in my head as I went.
“Is this open to the public or just internally?”
“Looks like its open to the public. But didn’t Ursula practically say you had the job on television?”
I didn’t trust Ursula to stick with any promises she made whether on TV or not. My fifteen minutes of fame was quickly coming to an end meaning my profitability was too. If I didn’t act quickly, I might not have a chance after all.
“Do you mind if I work on my application a little bit this afternoon?” I asked Shayla.
“Nah, it’s a slow day. I’ll call you if I need you.” She turned to walk out of the office then turned back. “And Rylie?”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Please stay away from the murder investigation.”
“I will,” I lied.
Shayla frowned as if she didn’t believe me, but with Carmen standing right there, she probably didn’t want to get into it too much.
“I’ll be in the back office,” I said to Carmen. “Thanks for giving me a heads up on the position.”
“Sure thing.” She gave me a toothy grin. “And don’t worry, if your guy does have multiple personalities it’ll almost be like dating multiple guys. Could be an adventure.” She winked.
I laughed nervously. I had no interest in dating someone with a personality that could kill someone.
I hit the submit key from my laptop at home that evening saying a quick prayer that my application would be looked upon favorably and then pulled out my cell phone. Tinder had paired me with a bunch of guys, but I just didn’t have it in me to go through them. At this point, dating was starting to sour my stomach.
Garrett still hadn’t reached out which meant the judge had probably denied his bail. I couldn’t imagine they had enough evidence to keep him unless they had found the money.
I texted Luke.
Did Garrett get out on Bail?
Almost instantly the little bubbles appeared indicating Luke was typing his reply.
No. Judge denied bail.
Why?
Because he’s a murderer . . .
I clicked off the screen and tossed the phone onto my bed next to where Babbitt and Fizzy were snuggling as if they hadn’t had a crazy morning.
Garrett didn’t have multiple personalities. There had to be another explanation. Especially since I could see him in my future.
My heart leaped in my chest, a mixture of excitement and anxiety.
We had only been on two dates. And he was in jail. If there was going to be a future for us, I had to talk to him about what was going on. I had to ask him if he had multiple personalities.
19
I arrived at the jail an hour earlier than I had the day before. I didn’t want the girl at the counter to have any reason to deny my visit. My plan was flawless, I would hold up a note to the glass, out of view of the cameras, asking if he had multiple personalities. I only hoped he would be honest.
“I’m here to visit Garrett Henry again.” I smiled at the same girl who had helped me the day before.
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you see him.” She looked back at me with an icy stare.
“But why not? Did Luke—”
“Luke did nothing. Garrett doesn’t want visitors.”
I nearly choked on my own spit. “Visitors as in me? Or has he had other visitors?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss this with you. If you don’t have anything else, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“But I need to talk to him. It’s crucial.”
She shook her head once. “I don’t care how important it is, he doesn’t want to see you.”
“So it is just me then?”
“I didn’t say that.” She looked down at the papers on her desk. “He doesn’t want visitors. Please leave.”
I stood there for a moment longer.
“Rylie.” Luke stood behind me, his hands on his hips. “I need you to come with me.”
The girl behind the glass looked up and blushed.
“I was leaving. Geeze.” I threw my hands in the air and cleared my throat trying to clear the tears clouding my vision.
“No, I need you to come with me,” he said motioning at a door I hadn’t been through before.
“Why?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Am I under arrest now too? Do you think I’m a murderer too?”
Luke’s face was turning red. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then why?”
“Just please come with me.”
“Fine,” I said and followed him.
“It may be my fault he doesn’t want to see you,” Luke said as we walked down a corridor that had offices on both sides.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we questioned him this morning after we listened to the recording of your conversation yesterday.”
“Why? I didn’t say anything.”
“You mentioned something you knew about the boat,” Luke said. “So we asked him. He probably wants to make sure you don’t incriminate him any further.”
Knife. Twisted. I was only trying to help. “I didn’t mean anything by the boat.”
We came to the end of the hallway and walked out a door leading to a huge parking lot surrounded by tall barbed-wire-topped fences.
“What’s going on?” I asked Luke. “Why are you taking me to the impound lot?”
“We brought Garrett’s boat and truck here to search more thoroughly—and we did.”
“And did you
