Page 62 of Never Forget
The boys were there again. Three of them, maybe sixteen or seventeen, leaning against the side of the house with cigarettes dangling from their fingers. The butts were scattered in the grass.
I parked in the driveway and helped Rosie out of her seat. She ran ahead toward the front door while I walked over to them.
"Hey." I kept my voice polite. "Can you guys make sure the cigarette butts go in the trash? There's a bin right there."
One of them shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
The others nodded without meeting my eyes.
I doubted they'd follow through, but I was too tired to push it. I turned and walked back toward the front steps where Rosie was waiting.
Then I stopped.
There was something on the welcome mat. A folded piece of paper. No envelope. No name.
I picked it up and opened it.
Go Back To New York
I stared at it.
I'd been a journalist long enough to know this feeling. Anonymous notes, angry emails, the occasional phone call from someone who didn't like what I was digging into. It came with the territory. When someone felt threatened enough to try to scare you off, it meant you were poking at something they wanted to keep buried.
But who? The only work I'd been doing in Havensworth was the reform proposal. Had I upset the firefighters that much? Were they really so resistant to change that they'd leave a note like this on my doorstep?
I couldn't believe that.
"What's that?" Rosie tugged at my hand.
I folded it and slipped it into my purse. "Nothing, sweetheart. Just junk mail."
I unlocked the door and ushered her inside. I'd show Sam tomorrow.
Rosie had started asking to sleep in my room after Loretta left.
Our evening ritual had become my favorite part of the day. After bath time, Rosie would sit on the edge of the bed while I brushed her hair. She'd inherited Sarah's golden curls, the kind that spiraled at the ends no matter how carefully you combed them. Sometimes, with her hair falling around her shoulders and her big eyes watching me in the mirror, she looked like a porcelain doll.
I set the brush down and wrapped my arms around her from behind, giving her a squeeze. She laughed and squirmed against me.
"That tickles!"
"Does it?" I squeezed tighter and she shrieked, dissolving into giggles.
She climbed under the covers and I tucked them around her. Her envelope of stories sat on my nightstand now, right where she could see it.
I was reaching for the lamp when my phone buzzed.
Sam
Quiet shift tonight. How did it go with Megan and Danny?
Jamie
Danny's going to talk to some of the guys.
Sam
That's good. Danny's got pull.
