Page 47 of Little Bitter Truths
Karl shot to his feet, the chair legs scraping hard against the floor as he pushed it back.“I’m not a suspect because I didn’t kill anybody!This was a mistake.I never should have agreed to come here.”
He turned and bolted for the door, and I shook my head, glaring at my mother.“You have all the timing of a natural disaster.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, dear,” she said.“Don’t be so dramatic.I was just trying to help.”
I stood and rushed out of the room after Karl, but when I got to the parking lot, I realized I was too late.He was gone.
18
Hunter tracked down Karl’s home address, and when I arrived at his house a single porch light glowed above his door, casting a pale circle across the concrete walkway.From what little I could see at this time of night, his place was a modest, well-kept two-story townhome.
I grabbed a bag of food from the passenger seat and stepped out, the cool night air brushing against my skin as I made my way to the front door.
I knocked once and waited.
A few seconds passed, and then the door opened.
Karl was now wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a worn T-shirt.He held a carton of ice cream in one hand.
“First my office and now my home,” he said.“This feels like harassment.What are you doing here?”
I held up the bag, hoping he’d accept my peace offering.“You left before your food came.I thought you might still be hungry.”
His gaze dropped to the bag, then back to me, and he hesitated before reaching out and taking it.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I wanted to apologize for taking you to the diner tonight.I thought we’d be able to chat in the back room while enjoying a good meal.I had no idea my mother would get involved like she did.”
“Is she always so?—”
“Overzealous?Most of the time?Yes.I know it’s hard to believe, but she means well.”
He looked down at the ice cream in his hand, as if remembering it was there, and then stepped back, shifting his weight.
“Well,” I said, gesturing toward the bag.“Enjoy your dinner.I won’t keep you.”
I turned and began walking back toward my car, thinking that sometimes the best way to get someone to talk was to stop asking and give them some space.I hoped since I was in his safe space, he might agree to talk to me and perhaps even be more forthcoming than he had been at the diner.
I reached the driver’s-side door, opened it, and slid inside.
Karl raised a hand and then stepped back inside the house, closing the door behind him.
It seemed my plan hadn’t worked.
I started the car, and just as I was about to back out of the driveway, I saw Karl walking toward me.
He tapped on my window, and I lowered it.
“Did you mean what you said earlier at the diner?”he asked.
“I’m going to need you to be a little more specific.”
“You said you thought someone killed Wren by mistake.If you’re right, it would mean Mia’s life could still be in danger.”
I detected something different in his demeanor now.He sounded less frantic and more focused.
“Her lifeisin danger,” I said.
