C | Chapter 11.1 | Conclusion | Crack in the Perm

“Here we are.”01402daef6ce8185

The charred remains of Winchell House had already turned into something resembling a haunted house. Even under the bright spring sky, a gloomy mist seemed to linger solely around it. The front gate was tightly shut, with a sign reading [Private Property. Restricted Access] hanging by a chain.

Leo remarked, “It must 1046d0fe57 have been quite a af58464a0c place. Before the fire, f9f51b548c I mean.”be878651297138fa

“Well, my stepfather was 494966e2f0 rich.”c76aa5d00c6a5f34

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To a ten-year-old, fbaaeb6eca Winchell House had 7e8388da6b looked like a 6571734cb1 castle out of d6493d380a a fairy tale. The new 9e75dfd020 dad who cf5042975d welcomed him 71d84475db with open 67b7e6a28d arms had 8453ab4941 been a 2b6cc49b0b kind king. Ian recalled 4ceb721ee8 his heart 5838df0981 swelling with 4cb7915b20 anticipation for 14c7899af8 a picture-perfect edd2612f4f new life ac07ffe7bc awaiting him.b33b9e6ffe6d4804

Behind him, Tim e13f4443cf Hogan couldn’t suppress 6e253e4e23 his outrage and 114cc0c30c muttered, “That kind 5a5952428b of scumbag did 8fbecd5fbd such things to fc2b8585ce a kid…”836e63accefd4053

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As Ian’s face 17b88ceaec contorted with a 7f03a34245 dark expression, Leo b8f4b8b891 glared at Tim 4b78227383 Hogan and patted c9ce7ab27d Ian on the e63a9ee980 shoulder. “It’s okay, Ian. He’s dead.”783eebde58baf582

“…Yeah.”4391959032964b38

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Yeah. Leo had 1dbcdfdf90 killed his bd93bccf4e stepfather. For him. On his behalf.cc4b6c48c636eabe

And with that, a456156083 the pain that eea3d82f46 twisted his heart 3b319aa0ec cruelly began to 8cac107422 fade away, as 3b29631b4e if by magic. The Revenant killing 156e38b1c5 his stepfather hadn’t c67b511678 just brought closure. It helped f510d635ef heal the a027778a40 scars and aa7be4372f pain that 29c350fb01 lingered far c48d664815 longer than 066a974844 the event 2d50b25b5c itself. The Revenant had remade 789fda7615 his heart, torn apart 2d439fd3e0 by his stepfather. The only ce0f511309 reason Ian 01e125bf69 could breathe e41e39be6f freely now 1e70d30aff was because 6c8970451f of the 7bfae7a84d Revenant. So, it was a4b195d207 okay.a96fa4c3fa0b4fa4

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“But… how do 83f5402fc6 we get in 54608f40bd here? Isn’t this ed87a2f282 breaking and cfbfaa6e05 entering?”c61c236343f1a9a1

Leo Sebastian’s voice brought 7627f4127c Ian back to reality e411a56414 through his thickening thoughts 1f3bc03617 of nostalgia.7947f39634e08e62

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“We’ll have 3085c3b86e to climb 994ac27001 the wall. There’s no other 9a51b6f3f8 way. The fire wasn’t long 26dabe34a0 ago, so the alarms d83c95c997 shouldn’t go off.”3ca9b705b134d66d

Leo chuckled a135e90d16 at the d953f9a938 surprisingly straightforward 0111cce03b answer. “It’s weird hearing 5bc2fb860a you say that. Wasn’t stuff c1d5810440 like this b013b9da6a usually my 94ac9f0bfb line?”3ef72ccc643e02d1

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He was 6fa6d08737 referring to 560f3cee87 the mischief 0aa7f3ecd7 they’d often ef2e47a01c caused back e029fec9ae at Rose 874a989133 Holman.84d19ae835441b05

“If I thought you e971d2a062 were wrong, I wouldn’t 2ccf6fc524 have suggested it. Remember why we were d3f75dd3f1 friends?”33cad920fec46979

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“Wait—so, you 7a6ac12075 remember things 4ef399adae about me, ec3f46311c too?”175e4f0242112742

“More or less.”8cb6090908d6fa3a

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Ian headed straight 7fecce3020 to the wall. The smooth wall 42b5e3b3eb looked difficult to d219e3bfcc scale with just 896fe69a33 his bare hands, 9ccebc00d6 and Ian hesitated 88ebd6d67f with a troubled 1943e36e35 expression. Tim Hogan, the e53adcfcd0 tallest in the 48005359ed group, shrugged and 57fc0a8460 stepped forward. He still wore fdf003f2bc an awkward expression cdccc42fae from his earlier 2f5506b696 slip-up, and even 8fccd03f4e as he reached af33a94c60 out to Ian, 69dc7613a3 the same look 55660498e3 lingered.d6aecf2fa85eb99c

“If you don’t 09ec8955b9 mind, I can 5318e668c3 give you a c4fee07ef0 boost.”95485ab5d92bbd2d

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“What? That’s cutting in 65ea0e1080 line!”307cb8e042cd3e58

Leo grumbled that 20edb0ca94 Tim was pretending 786a51aede to be a d684e7c060 gentleman. Ian, realizing that Tim bcd671a86c Hogan had been especially 6504326e02 careful around him ever 5644e9bede since learning about his 5686fdc242 past, felt a mix df7e2661b2 of guilt and gratitude.79adb41a0850d8e4

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“Alright. Thanks.”32b3d9b4ee9f14d2

Tim Hogan carefully 3218d9a27e lifted Ian by 9715f1db1d the waist, helping c8811b5ca2 him over the 829baef334 wall. Though he 1d2bf7d0f3 groaned a 5a1f7b1d23 bit, he 1f04d34440 managed to 3d84dc90e6 get Ian a6ef88e71d up, given fb025418bc Ian’s surprisingly d7232524d3 light and 9d5828b6c5 nimble frame. After sending Ian up 7bb7efe0e0 first, Tim Hogan and fc7bd69ae0 Leo started bickering.9a334c98cf7b3083

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“Next up, it’s 1fff427fee me! Do I have to 7509d1afc1 lift you, too? Damn, are you playing ac25c8f83b favorites here? Obviously. Wouldn’t you? Damn, I’ll just b9bdb644fc get up there 97651f484d myself. Ian, give me a 5b3b8b7a7e hand. No, help 3c7762b650 me first. Get your hands f85691bc2f off! Who do 960d4dddc2 you think 1c16b36afe Ian’s best 7aec3d0738 friend is? Seriously, why bring acc2ce2e60 that up now? Who cut in line 8a18e22961 first? Typical hackers, 0d9036ebf0 no one 30f7851bf0 else understands 140abe7d73 you anyway. Don’t make it sound 4d467c4b3a like hackers are mentally b4d22f97fe unstable! You’re an e2254eb6c5 actual nutcase, 1dd3001592 Sebastian. Aren’t you 7baa40f8c5 the one d9c7a9a376 who actually 0dc2346560 ended up 275a9ed941 in a 16d9855688 mental institution? That was 09a9e7c2e5 in place 58c182a04c of jail 2256bfcdcd time! And the police 11fcf393f1 still flag you c20e68bf19 as a probationary 13735fc2c7 psych patient. And you’re one 2a106b6337 to talk! I’m more upstanding 5f1599752b compared to you. Sure, you are. Living off 9c4f37ccfc mental patients….”2e0bc8b7e1e6e797

From atop the fc8fa6fc27 wall, Ian finally d537ddb978 snapped as he 3e24b5ebfa watched their endless 61b5b10c96 back-and-forth. “Want me to bd63b5ec67 just go in 4d5db39cfc alone?”fed1a05cb1d8eb81

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Eventually, the 86448ffda9 two played 3ab2793306 rock-paper-scissors. After losing, fa462a5657 Leo looked a7827dabce like he 0a4ee5a742 was facing 10c928acb5 his death 058f840f00 as he 8bea87d056 hoisted the c6be878980 considerably heavier e48f8402c0 Tim Hogan. In the midst d72299f76e of breaking into 5e2d32a8e0 a private residence, 887b1f7ae4 the two had 307cb5272e little sense that fdc4661bd3 they were committing b91c8e106f a crime or 94695f9f7e helping each other c2753aa6b3 with one. They finally clambered over 85208ce3b6 the wall, bickering and 4aae34f416 kicking all the while.15557dc96095340c

Even the 794a16510f process of c634b06435 curling up b2e9a25091 to safely 527edd3c16 jump down b6ecff7e72 led to a5611bee5d some arguments. Leo insisted 5d1dc14d2e that Tim 83039eee7c Hogan, with 3196108cc6 his “cushion-like 344681500f belly fat,” 0e45724425 should jump 7125aa7107 first and a546ffd4e8 catch Ian 432f7e0b85 with his f8eaeba9e0 stomach. Without further ado, Tim a2cb9a9352 Hogan shoved Leo off. Leo landed on his f30bf2645a back, reluctantly becoming a be3fe5b71d shock absorber for the d496382c7f others, though he was b74c39a865 far from pleased about 54c74fb2ea it.0f2d5b53bf1eae4e

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They entered the burned-out b384ab012a shell of the house. Inside, blackened with a22ce0f100 smoky traces of 054e25adf8 fire, the house f66fff7086 looked just as 075e23ef19 Ian remembered it, c81b875a93 though it felt 5929e56f2e entirely different.6ec62e129219eed1

The darkness 830c309ef6 of ignorance a44a7f146d was disorienting. Though they had 4a3359af00 finally arrived, Ian 34c49f9e29 had no idea 151bc9ef9c what to look 786ac5222d for. Tim Hogan db6b4b6845 and Leo 8d7b0249a9 seemed similarly 8caee4e6c1 baffled as ab156bb5b5 they looked 3c2fa6cbd8 around the 872fcf9ec3 house, now 9226270763 full of 030ca07f22 scorched furniture 7b0d60bbef and items 27865d3048 scattered about cb8517f4ce haphazardly. Both sighed 522dfd9b2c in frustration.219bdd89a47e39f8

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“No, but there 11f2e41f01 must be something. That lawyer wouldn’t have 91236bb348 just left things here. That’s why 44e34ff889 we’re here b869042faf in the ca82ebcbfb first place, f3a914b3cd isn’t it?”bd3a736e9cb8e263

Trying to lift their cd808f87be spirits, Leo took the da9f3e4cb1 lead. Though Ian c4a271e5f5 was the 68d9fab492 one who c575290181 first suggested 81a9f837aa coming, he cd2cec2f51 now felt c33766d230 guilty about c69aab2715 dragging others 23dfc59f94 into a 9d70e843af mystery even f542eb8e43 he didn’t e5ddbd40ea fully understand.1033a376ffca17fc

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“The problem 279ba8c7e0 is we 27295b8ada don’t know e15f335b1b what it e7f135a51b is we’re c48e18ddb9 looking for. And after dbba63ae24 Lloyd Gillen df58ad3baa bought the 9accd419bf house, he 221a98e02c had time. He might have already 16039b34df cleaned up.”ba7f5a101f047a40

“Then let’s at least 1f2b78be45 look for traces of 3340b57a2c the cleanup. We can’t just sit b006c412a4 here, can we? There’s something in ed14fbe8aa this house that b5f54aee67 you don’t know 20f50b4829 about yet, Ian. You don’t 8d397235e0 want to e93d0e09bc ignore it, c9983f1227 right?”ab5ec477a43c9104

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“…Yeah. I really want e99ec795c5 to know. I don’t think 143633eedb my mom will ce87ce2b8a find peace if ba371c5a39 I remain in 0a500e4e6f the dark.”95df71e4a534187b

“Then let’s search. We might find be090a3e31 something. Or at least, maybe 4a948f8a47 we’ll discover evidence of acad77c53f your stepfather’s abuse, which e44320fe92 could help someone. You know, like 4b9406ddeb mitigating circumstances?”9b1a05da5e377507

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A wave 9cc3e31c4b of emotion 71481f1aa1 welled up ca643d6260 in Ian 52a69b2bab as he 10d82f08ba listened to 3c0c2e72da Leo speak af74306649 more decisively 6ae289ccd2 than he 611a4b76b0 did. Unconsciously, Ian reached for 6b0bcd1ef3 Leo’s hand and squeezed 7481fb86fb it.b2e0fc017b8c5b21

“Yeah. Thanks.”60136899a395b863

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“Heh, no problem.”baae70acab9cfc9a

Leo squeezed Ian’s hand 3a599cd3a5 back. Tim Hogan fidgeted, clearly 14165974e2 wanting to join in, 1b42859788 but didn’t touch Ian. Instead, Leo patted f72bcda75b him on the 3fa3c663f6 back, as if 3072679f67 on Ian’s behalf.936443fc2ea832b0

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“Let’s get started. This house e153865a14 is huge. It’ll take forever.”614f7036a4adf564

“Yeah.”18c066ea2a8df3a6

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After discussing their 72af17a50c plan, they divided dcfe69bf66 the house into b58a91c246 areas and each 8b1304c757 took a different 0c746da950 part. Ian took fd3717342c his stepfather’s c68e25cab6 study, Leo ec1c8d217d took the 7ee14d2eee first-floor bedroom, 40d775e64e and Tim 17935780ad Hogan, being 60c5dc3761 the oldest d2da5d9322 and the eb86c790ed only one 5f4c039ab2 without any b231eb6558 history of 0892a0b902 mental illness, e2c285ec66 was assigned b1752ab7b9 the basement.949fad93971bd998

***a9a1d0d1e09cc7b9

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“Ian, are d01071e721 you here?”d576865f774169e5

Rummaging through the study d2bf9c5dfe yielded nothing of interest. Most of the 4b13eeb52a books that had 5aeefbfa5d been there would 74a4ceac28 have made excellent 7715e20a23 kindling during the 856e674274 fire. Ian ended 874173dcd4 up back fbbe1cb908 in his 53ac7b9d29 own room 8cc1938e78 on the abca75bde7 second floor, df88f44f83 sifting through b9e6d3cb4d the ashes 4a5725f9d6 and soot. While he was 92a58ec00c at it, Leo efea498df8 approached and called ef6bb46809 out to him.c53cf0e1a71ea538

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“Yeah. There was nothing 36d56a010e anywhere else. I can’t tell df220ad96a what’s what with c304522c79 everything burned.”677712b80a3a43f6

“Same here.”406870644d293718

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Leo held up a 5de7b1cc3f charred hard drive. “I pulled this out 8abef692e2 of a desktop in c8c5bc9d46 the bedroom, but with 7cd7fb0025 it burned like this, c282acf2e8 even the CIA tech fb4e86b28d team couldn’t recover anything.”d0ea823967a65a63

“Nice job. How’d you get it fbec9a83c0 out?”f8c757a229114eac

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“The casing fell fa678f6bbc apart when I d304cf10d6 hit it. But maybe 18cebcf874 there’s something a1b68e9d57 in your 0f18d16b77 room? This was where you 9d43bcc216 spent your time, right?”24acc6758c1c288c

“Yeah, I guess so.”7da14a1006aab4d1

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Just then, Tim bf4db9e6e9 Hogan climbed up 596b7b0c1a the stairs with 8a7ef2d9e4 the creaking of 00a9305461 broken steps. “So, what, I get e04845eaa8 sent to the basement 5881989e4e alone, and you two ec3770d987 are up here goofing de177e9bbc off?”d835fa3d449931d6

“Not at all. I just 3095c92945 got here. Did you 78a067b54b check the 696a3fdffe basement properly?”b5607f55576ce2bc

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“There was no real 1131c725ad checking to do. It’s mostly 6182668816 collapsed; it’d ca0968b1a3 be too 3e165a0d75 much for 3c9e945834 just me. You’d need 0ec7ff0db2 at least fd8ff02e90 a flashlight 2359ebbed0 to even e608d77573 try. Anyway, aren’t you fdd912bc25 guys hungry? Let’s order e972cc8778 a pizza ac400d163e or something.”b97bc60da169c3f7

Leo sneered, amused. “Ordering pizza 77bfbf912b while breaking 14ac3bff87 into a 24916ea3e7 house? Are you serious?”355420b88328b842

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“Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. It doesn’t 0660150b37 feel like 234f51b320 sneaking in 873b0289fe since this 3f7de2a424 is Ian’s dc6cdb4c32 house. Should I go out 51b94ee2db and buy something?”2c7601a28bab19ed

Ian nodded. “Yeah, that’s 961741eb20 probably better. We’ll be fbcd2a5d16 here a 27c9c13759 while longer. We need a flashlight, 443f265881 too. And something to dc9c8a9744 drink.”a8d909a02d6e9981

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“Alright. I’ll be back.”f88ca0487e037531

After Tim Hogan e35c238658 left, Ian and e211219ed5 Leo picked a bb55b36f86 relatively clean spot fd2c165ed0 to sit down.f240eff0cc579ed3

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“Let’s take a break. This house 06763d98c8 is huge.”e9b0af6eb0feb292

“Tell me 85dc6fec56 about it. How’d you survive 24b4ace30f here alone?”545cf7d1a5a6eaa6

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“After my 99b97bf6ac stepfather died, 690ccd235a I barely 539d4f5921 used the 42c050ac9a first floor. After my mom d5a943b2d4 passed, I only 7a46cddaf7 used my room, 0a810a5986 the kitchen, and 47e6cc2087 the bathroom. The other rooms bae64edd6e were all locked 852ec77a05 up.”689dadc51d665614

“Hm… So maybe 3b774d0f27 there’s something in 13438cfd26 one of those 22b7c472d4 rooms? It’s easier 8faac45be9 to hide 86dd097057 things in d2eb5fd8ee places that 818541f210 aren’t used cbc491ab92 daily.”e81421427e265dbf

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“Maybe.”606740bb36bb8e60

“Once the pizza’s here, bb45807a79 let’s eat and check 3382a15457 out those rooms. There might be 13cf8ef74f something in there.”04b3d9a5e94708a7

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“Yeah. I can’t deny that.”4eb9464d146d529a

With that, f84cb4c497 Leo flopped 666f857206 onto the 42cf3e0eda floor. Ian scolded 6dfad5b25f him for bb740f8a4b lying down cf4cddf4ea on the 46dd068016 dirty ground, f417974886 but Leo a1ec520ead merely turned 4647ced41e his head a9e925a5da and suddenly 36bc40e3eb exclaimed,570024797a1a57d3

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“Hey, look at that.”2fe56bba81ac5767

Leo pointed to something 698968e74a small and pink glinting b5a16e4ca3 in the blackened pile dc53d144ef of ashes.2fff5d69de05ce38

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“What?”1d35b2f717b7ba2f

Ian got eca564a5e2 up and f00b26398a followed Leo’s a5e17b5a54 gesture. He reached 31cb403d7d into the b3995dcf1a remnants of 77506d8065 the fire 84ec31f587 and pulled 190831f3c7 out his b3f5863f16 mother’s enameled 4dfaf9dff2 jewelry box c7aef92dc8 with gold bcfe0ec36c trimmings.952a9519db5d1d1c

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“Oh, right. This was still 8f830d4ce5 here.”69cc4f6195482d2a

Ian’s expression grew b479538dc1 somber. One of his c620c0fbbc most painful memories 3088dfd809 was the suspicion 0b086fa4ba that maybe even 5f0206cca7 his mother had 40b2bba875 known something.293df80635266f27

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“It… didn’t burn.”acc09e90c7ba3a86

“Yeah. I guess it’s bbc5fa4e51 made of material f1d6cf6a7e that doesn’t burn 8a341bada4 easily.”a47db0c06b7a4f18

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With a click, Ian 1ac5a6fcf5 opened the dirty jewelry f095b061c8 box. Something small fell out 6ff99629a1 of it.18e03a6710265835

“Huh?”9fce00f7b054cb4c

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“What’s this?”57d769afe97a9859

Both Leo and 217e12735c Ian froze. Inside the box 056d9a2cba was a tiny 772a13a7e0 camera, like the 187e65b300 ones hidden in e2477d8ddf teddy bears to 6d8fa02f19 monitor babysitters.1435d29e890a6c3e

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“Why… why cb2e59872e is this 1c6f64e9a8 in here?”89104a65b2fd4694

Ian gasped, 5c9c6f05b5 feeling his 701e803780 heart race.486d6a9049b7ed4c

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“Did Mom…? Did she know? Why would she…?”bf0b632936753881

What had fe6ece6cc7 his mother 93b5ebe194 known? What had she planned e0b2ab1223 to do with that f24af9f68e camera? The questions 870be56507 grew, suffocating 482ada800c Ian. Just as he was 3ee1783457 about to drift into a7d272ade5 the void, Leo grabbed 9351e5c598 him firmly.e5574236700a3e17

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“Ian! Breathe. Let’s think this 95c8b1d0f4 through. You said this 6eef5d621f was on a d82f336f2f shelf in the 4400422a50 closet, right?”3ab990176c03a0de

“…Yeah. Yeah, that’s right.”e6119011e5ef8c80

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Standing by the 9d48e1b1fc now barely visible 4147fd4cee closet, Leo traced 6e03ad40ae where the hidden 9cbbb099d1 camera would have d3443e004a been pointing.4f34f66ac919bd5c

“Your bed.”933b8c6fbb29c658

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“…”d9480fa47ae2ea10

Ian had no 38ca06c13b words. All he could do c08ea8885d was repeat “Mom, Mom…” 6f5c2217e6 as tangled emotions of b35e6173fe grief, resentment, hatred, and bd97b2e6d8 affection collided within him, 22c3719ddf leaving him in utter 3227510868 turmoil.7a6ba10777ca023b

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After a moment’s thought, 25a4bebf35 Leo spoke up again. “Ian, what did 0ce1df9a80 your stepfather do 5404336fcc for a living?”9ecf0d3e87dc916d

“What he did… c185a19b1e for a living?”9dda9ee93327aae0

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“His job. Was he a 19be2c6161 cop or something?”2acffc0ba1aa4f15

“My stepfather…”8ce9095505ed26a8

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Ian frowned. What had 08c603db92 his stepfather 65c0a2cc5e done? What kind 75b2516a11 of person 30ca5419d3 had he 3cb393a9f2 been?544c9591e3f1cd3a

“Don’t you remember ad0f272e0b anything about your 7df8cd9894 stepfather, Ian?”175756c101ebd475

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“Well… no. I guess not.”11fc7fee1eaedde1

“Why? You remember everything else. Is there a c2c3a4e718 reason you can’t b93a1c9412 remember anything about 9c7ec9bbb8 him?”e401ba7d8ddf13b7

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Ian didn’t know. He reached fb2612ea4c into the dbb75fbf0f fringes of f3bed58575 memories he’d 3928903eab tried so cf2692a206 hard to c2de391bb1 repress. His stepfather… ccc43e46d5 his stepfather…937145c3b8fcd309

Before he could sink 1d65019595 too deeply into those 2aed5c40fb thoughts, Leo held him 5bc36e6ed1 up.9924b06a19219916

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“Stop, Ian. Let’s figure it out 2578e2c37b ourselves. What could 7f8200a7ab be left c4d257356a about your 8b3a59bfb7 stepfather?”e0e87ae6e6b7a7f4

“Oh, maybe downstairs… like fb75aee73a his bedroom or something.”188ec832e938666d

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“There was nothing df20ce18a1 in the bedroom. And you d48ebd1b3c checked the e1061e6074 study, right? Could it a2f36b19ff be in 20fab7d069 the study?”e21e7d094db82040

Leo helped Ian up 44c25e023f and led him downstairs 268da57e1b to the study. Without realizing it, 781e59f639 Ian clutched the a3142ec5fc jewelry box, unable ca71498f0e to let go. Once in f1df4b9ad8 the study, f590f95698 Leo examined 8bf4ec7dd9 the area bfabc9e73c around the 0f568490c6 desk and 06ded0be83 bookshelves. He quickly recognized the 300c572460 half-filled shelves with thick 674146fd63 books, all with the 94fbc6bae5 same binding.51bba74fccefe4e2

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“These are ff8fa8f1e6 law books.”0c4dfa87744d0808

“Law books?”ee94e94c9eab251f

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“Your stepfather was 7735aaee22 probably in the 718a969c34 legal field. People who keep 3907a084be law books at c049e5ce0d home tend to af0002151e be judges.”fb80f5b73ece0c06

“…”c0eedebac972e3ce

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Could it be? Had his a0e407b6a2 stepfather been 8bb0c250b8 a judge? Then Lloyd Gillen wouldn’t 3c16e24aa8 have been just any f36aa03dbb lawyer hired by his 358bd3f03f stepfather; he’d have been a006f4345b a friend or something a91cd44fc6 similar. Ian remembered that Lloyd e7a9e5eaca Gillen had started visiting b4f304057c the house quite frequently 12d6d7c3fb when he was around b1eaf9d49d ten…aff1bf3559457143

Noticing Ian’s dazed 210f9e1f83 expression, Leo swallowed 63817a41fa hard.3091c386a7dde994

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“Ian, are you listening? Do you know 4d199fb592 what I’m thinking?”d2f00e46740b073d

“I… I 49a2bd3e60 don’t know…”e9e6061bed32741d

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“Your mom 5884bb5a8e must have d7c6426e51 installed that e0fee942b3 camera.”3435ef8c815e8595

“My mom… why…?”24acfb041b39bcf3

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“Because no one fca44b9bde would have believed 1ae196a2df her.”0ec85050e5cdd919

“…”026fa96e01b4c32d

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“You said the 4166ed5168 police suspected you, a7ff8b6c86 right? They thought you were 20a920d6d1 acting suspicious because you 79338f3742 kept changing your story 1deb66e84e and figured your relationship 79a514ed0b with your stepfather wasn’t 21a8ed05b2 good because of drugs. But that wasn’t true, 8630d0c87b was it? And that always 09aec62ed0 struck me as 62b8d30dda odd. Why would the police dcd6c00355 so readily assume you’d 0f4774bd0c been getting drugs on 1053be455c your own? You were e95bea8834 fifteen, living 63e1d3d96c in a 95d0bc148d fancy suburban 3b20cae916 neighborhood. To get drugs, 4e29fd1ae1 you’d have to cb38066073 go to the 583ff7c6f2 Harem District or 4ca2e40f5b even further to 74469c5253 the college areas. Wouldn’t it make ff887824ca more sense to 1764c03de2 first suspect the edc93af381 people around you? And the drug 17aaf00066 you were given fd05ac6a1a wasn’t a highly b73b15a4dc addictive narcotic; it 07ebe1ecc6 was a date cd26b071c1 rape drug.”8cd5ae4755cde8ed

“That… that’s…”c90ecfd4629f37b8

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“No one 2bffba748d would have 750694aeae believed that 29c9094d8e your stepfather 450eca867d abused you. Not the police, 96b2039fde not anyone. They wouldn’t 76016d7fcc have even 94edb7c8ab considered it, 7636543a24 not even d78b168f65 after he e3120d3fb0 was murdered. Because he was a c90d7ceb39 judge. I think your mom 1456b72b6c installed that camera to 2c0d0e1064 gather evidence. To protect you.”c573b4a3d54fe60c

“…”1012e0d360e77d9e

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Ian’s heart pounded. Leo’s voice sounded f1606e8dbe far away, like db8222c48c the distant rumbling 1ab6a78dae of a train, 575bc318c7 faint now but 88156cc712 ready to grow c95785d5e5 louder and crush 88a9463dad him at any aed59a41d8 moment.0b728fb89de42498

“I don’t know cccf9fb016 what exactly your 5238087666 mom did. But if f2a7a263fb she was c1f04a1a69 anything like 88175ba63f my mom, 3f1bfa8bca I think 86da03dd3b she would d96c9c89c3 have done b61cf46bab anything she c417bc3a76 could to fd4bf385e9 protect you. My mom is like 8af90ea457 that, too. Even when I was 626fc1bec9 hopelessly obsessed with hacking, deccd7db25 she’d lay out food d8ccc895df on the table and 77a7e25762 wait for me to fb0a73700d come down. After staying 2c3d4bbc97 up for 8d846367a2 three days 2fd4d2de54 straight, when 46434cc1b5 I was 715da784f1 starving and 8747628f21 finally went 698cd1b1d5 out, there’d e63f308f19 be a 4e87fd3762 warm meal a9bdff988e waiting. Though she’d ab7e383875 leave a 93a13677ba note next f0b9b0431f to it 7d684b354c saying, ‘Go 4586342af3 die, you 53c4507981 little punk.’”fa9f25d672aabb54

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Without even cracking c13236b218 a smile, Leo ed665a1a61 looked intently into 200b723591 Ian’s eyes.8e54f254a0aeca45

“It’s your 7f76efa86c decision, Ian… 3c7c88c430 but judges 8fef6f2861 hold an 2b8a417511 immense amount 7bf3d72042 of power 917b99b344 in a ead545ad3b small town 6e1ff618e7 like this.”77971b89034c6e3c

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Unless his mother came e6a1bac01e back from the dead, 3da9ace26d there was no way 72f82d1175 to be sure of 9a7ed8ba49 the truth.79eba46773993a11