C | Chapter 11.1 | Conclusion | Crack in the Perm

“Here we are.”ea312276684bd9a5

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 64669c08d9 must have been b3bb9f46a7 quite a place. Before the fire, I 19dc246417 mean.”7b136e0e10d013d3

“Well, my stepfather was f6b9fedc4c rich.”4262fb84c518fd20

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To a 7e43ab49f7 ten-year-old, Winchell d58d6a30e8 House had a1eba624ce looked like 7bcecf5132 a castle 3504e6cb8c out of 49ca9a21dc a fairy bfbf2fb7f3 tale. The new dad 7c8cab0b5e who welcomed him b75a356113 with open arms 9544dcdb5b had been a e26649407e kind king. Ian recalled 42c5138d69 his heart 6b0b5f0345 swelling with 117abb598a anticipation for fc4677d1d6 a picture-perfect 84e9fcff37 new life e35a4ef11e awaiting him.37b864cdd42e2cc4

Behind him, eb405ae1c8 Tim Hogan 2dd878fa10 couldn’t suppress e2bf173fb2 his outrage 7fa768fa5d and muttered, a5264f1dd5 “That kind 91a1411862 of scumbag 7f49d6e3af did such d75c329edb things to 82d4d40148 a kid…”25ba831cd3a1f5ff

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As Ian’s face 2afe01187f contorted with a a82257115e dark expression, Leo 522885e1ee glared at Tim 5f94cec5e3 Hogan and patted 7460e77abd Ian on the ae6b4eb1c2 shoulder. “It’s okay, Ian. He’s dead.”09cfd0ee9cbf6669

“…Yeah.”0587036582b71640

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Yeah. Leo had killed his 3f7941db5b stepfather. For him. On his behalf.071fa36894a00d32

And with that, 398c7acc2d the pain that b797c7d138 twisted his heart 2c251a1ac4 cruelly began to 15603c9854 fade away, as f14b5a47fc if by magic. The Revenant killing his 72839277e6 stepfather hadn’t just brought b142d745fe closure. It helped f71764f155 heal the 250237b17f scars and 90a5f43fad pain that 80532d9da9 lingered far 08d83f53b5 longer than 05a168233e the event 98c6fdd695 itself. The Revenant f836aaf738 had remade ddb90c3d24 his heart, 51df8cff50 torn apart 6e2361add6 by his e7e39ae817 stepfather. The only reason eab0440ea1 Ian could breathe 821abc995c freely now was e31590bd10 because of the 805451fcfb Revenant. So, it d91ffee467 was okay.7aa7108e7e501e43

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“But… how c95f174dff do we 3cdba4e450 get in 9d1890ae4d here? Isn’t this breaking and ab15d51ba9 entering?”09aedf3e0b2248db

Leo Sebastian’s voice brought d7128a62d5 Ian back to reality e1ffbf181d through his thickening thoughts da86f33139 of nostalgia.8a456cc8a1d24046

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“We’ll have adf8f72f01 to climb 4999c8b4f4 the wall. There’s no c0773bc9d6 other way. The fire wasn’t a81545e53a long ago, so 2943d764e7 the alarms shouldn’t ece7af1487 go off.”4c74a244a89e32e2

Leo chuckled 9d277435db at the ea6aa7c561 surprisingly straightforward 1257732dbd answer. “It’s weird hearing bbded4a7a1 you say that. Wasn’t stuff fa5f71eabb like this 379e36ba03 usually my dd734d5368 line?”50c7761eb213c4af

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He was referring to bc7d9585d0 the mischief they’d often 79101230d5 caused back at Rose ba25c7efa1 Holman.8edab52f018ad4c9

“If I thought 7b1e37200b you were wrong, 0b966a1fff I wouldn’t have 2340aa7714 suggested it. Remember why we 2d89f2c6e0 were friends?”4e4e07c644e00704

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“Wait—so, you remember things 0e0f56698e about me, too?”0f5d90fbd6acf916

“More or less.”31082191fb7e7a57

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Ian headed straight f6a19a4419 to the wall. The smooth be1eeec70e wall looked 16e1dd4555 difficult to 136c49b3d9 scale with a5fcb3a024 just his 1621416f01 bare hands, 62367baf02 and Ian 85dd04c8f3 hesitated with ddbef1de24 a troubled 7512c9c5ba expression. Tim Hogan, the a79049b601 tallest in the 0cc2406c75 group, shrugged and b0bcd4af80 stepped forward. He still wore 03ad0e8812 an awkward expression 0a3b39b51c from his earlier 798f57bce3 slip-up, and even 2ebf93201e as he reached 3a1052a7d1 out to Ian, 856dc996ca the same look 1c31114485 lingered.9aa4554197b0f557

“If you 88cae1c127 don’t mind, 1c36d360a7 I can f05731a345 give you 8061389f38 a boost.”ce5b387840584e5d

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“What? That’s cutting in 415b7453d4 line!”febe97a21c23685e

Leo grumbled that Tim 37cb36bc18 was pretending to be 9e9920fede a gentleman. Ian, realizing that 01a4d13b49 Tim Hogan had fcae13c8b2 been especially careful 5315e413c6 around him ever 77871fac5a since learning about a10558108f his past, felt f780093b7b a mix of d7f2afe692 guilt and gratitude.964447f266f035f9

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“Alright. Thanks.”cf014912ce518e5e

Tim Hogan carefully 51be791872 lifted Ian by c04bf0ec32 the waist, helping c33e52aeb5 him over the f04b5f98b4 wall. Though he groaned a 697ff19b17 bit, he managed to f77c346631 get Ian up, given 73eebb5c5c Ian’s surprisingly light and 9142c15e2c nimble frame. After sending Ian up c8426dd354 first, Tim Hogan and 11d0510e5a Leo started bickering.67330e6beb4ec51e

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“Next up, it’s 0c726fe498 me! Do I b96d9ef429 have to cb7752e330 lift you, 9bc1e80246 too? Damn, are you playing 20b6a801ce favorites here? Obviously. Wouldn’t you? Damn, I’ll fd8ae840af just get 74acacf0a6 up there 605614a7bd myself. Ian, give me 298e229b8c a hand. No, help me 5f9fcce8d3 first. Get your hands 079dc60771 off! Who do 7e77fe9bdd you think 1ec3f1f6d9 Ian’s best f6cb390ba7 friend is? Seriously, why 6791842365 bring that dcd28d7b2c up now? Who cut in 4f7b34c9e3 line first? Typical hackers, no one 1a6ec109c7 else understands you anyway. Don’t make 3862e73503 it sound a05e005f93 like hackers b5a5308216 are mentally ebcef59d28 unstable! You’re an actual c7f8bfeb95 nutcase, Sebastian. Aren’t you 47c1e17545 the one 3cd9594dd2 who actually 77ed8add10 ended up dbe7533bad in a 8a10defc24 mental institution? That was ea9a607bd9 in place 01ee88c716 of jail 54b0a6b752 time! And the police 4fea8aa738 still flag you 8baac47f66 as a probationary 37e54aa2c5 psych patient. And you’re eeebf22409 one to ffab569ece talk! I’m more upstanding 1b82f5ea19 compared to you. Sure, you are. Living off mental bc87d88e65 patients….”a702ab562967e4d2

From atop the de46f74f1b wall, Ian finally 8d6a875874 snapped as he b43a3f9ad2 watched their endless f9f8bc2ec2 back-and-forth. “Want me a6e33ac32d to just 147d7b8b14 go in a82b5e9579 alone?”646ad153621a86a9

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Eventually, the two played 482373cbc6 rock-paper-scissors. After losing, 09d2cbcaef Leo looked 2e4e8d064d like he 4c25f40574 was facing db13240b36 his death 47db1e2c54 as he 80241717b2 hoisted the 7ca9843530 considerably heavier 949201c900 Tim Hogan. In the midst c5325024c5 of breaking into ffcbca7cb2 a private residence, 189ae6b612 the two had 8756719b99 little sense that d8b45857b9 they were committing bdc1f09e91 a crime or 4792171dc2 helping each other dfdbf45546 with one. They finally clambered over 7c7382a0b5 the wall, bickering and a1d69d9843 kicking all the while.dc7096d66c3d2998

Even the 23765b8d07 process of 07ca1a82d1 curling up ec4ddf4a50 to safely b04d54b4d0 jump down 3fb3380939 led to 0452fc022e some arguments. Leo insisted that Tim 31fe9ba41e Hogan, with his “cushion-like ac9443a5ed belly fat,” should jump 99fe6680cf first and catch Ian 78e7249b61 with his stomach. Without further a19065df95 ado, Tim 3c38199703 Hogan shoved 95c5bf7274 Leo off. Leo landed on 0248571835 his back, reluctantly 8485156424 becoming a shock 5e3fe9e054 absorber for the b3790ba8c8 others, though he c00575c443 was far from 9063f5bc1d pleased about it.6bd1a145a097bb26

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They entered cee6e4fdac the burned-out 479fe8cb34 shell of 9d5c6624f3 the house. Inside, blackened 1acf17227e with smoky 09b0302bc8 traces of de879c64ea fire, the 192e8f2a21 house looked de61cdf2d1 just as c777990351 Ian remembered b1297aadbb it, though d4b02c33b5 it felt 3ab7a00284 entirely different.7c63c34caed95ae8

The darkness of 1ed35c67a5 ignorance was disorienting. Though they had a062bb34a2 finally arrived, Ian c5c242b03d had no idea baa43ec559 what to look 0fb1ff5547 for. Tim Hogan d396fe121b and Leo 0b0f297b99 seemed similarly 042274bab8 baffled as ce4eec3c10 they looked 63331a24c8 around the d0aa30754d house, now 3afa09cbb5 full of d75ace0ba3 scorched furniture 8c57916a6f and items d23ca57c55 scattered about f67839ceac haphazardly. Both sighed in 5d2367b908 frustration.b733438048aa0bb5

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“No, but there must 47fe094fb9 be something. That lawyer wouldn’t 8cfc47c1eb have just left 4ba998488f things here. That’s why we’re here 0d8d8776ad in the first place, b59f6c1ad3 isn’t it?”03b882c167195036

Trying to 6551d11f9b lift their fa1c3f0f58 spirits, Leo 45871ba723 took the 0eab99e4ca lead. Though Ian was the e65ece8d35 one who first suggested 6fda879f4c coming, he now felt 95fdd2fcd7 guilty about dragging others 20d5113ebf into a mystery even c6ba77a284 he didn’t fully understand.c4fbe358d8026edb

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“The problem is we f9dbacf761 don’t know what it 54cc1883a5 is we’re looking for. And after Lloyd Gillen 611614741c bought the house, he e545caf977 had time. He might e9e561d989 have already d25092e89e cleaned up.”1d84b8a5f3b331f5

“Then let’s bb091cd98d at least 2755337558 look for 8cbc7a6bb4 traces of 0d6f37b4ff the cleanup. We can’t just sit 61d43c6040 here, can we? There’s something 2a1bc7c3ad in this 7de3dbacad house that 688bd57eec you don’t 8aea670fa7 know about 63624ca192 yet, Ian. You don’t want to b862c6cbe6 ignore it, right?”2b82a51a46d9bfcd

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“…Yeah. I really 47d9ef48ea want to 401d23972a know. I don’t think 3cb88f74c1 my mom will 27d3922e18 find peace if 7906289a1c I remain in b39ad28526 the dark.”6aa6c716af4a6aa5

“Then let’s search. We might find 7bdfeb5dff something. Or at least, maybe e2fcb8e36d we’ll discover evidence of 0857911ced your stepfather’s abuse, which a730b8287e could help someone. You know, like mitigating a2210952b1 circumstances?”2e731527d6741fe5

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A wave of 9fbc0dffd9 emotion welled up bc9afcbf5b in Ian as e92028722d he listened to 69f7583431 Leo speak more 058bfab893 decisively than he ac0494044f did. Unconsciously, Ian 5025bace18 reached for 6d07a9baf8 Leo’s hand 30e9af9b2d and squeezed a84ed37a6d it.f53813d898268092

“Yeah. Thanks.”906857eeb2cf92b9

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“Heh, no problem.”140f66ee0f1dd507

Leo squeezed Ian’s 9f8ee588d4 hand back. Tim Hogan fidgeted, clearly 3a81ee0473 wanting to join in, c6cf92faeb but didn’t touch Ian. Instead, Leo patted him f8b2950d97 on the back, as 73f2c10641 if on Ian’s behalf.367409a0e9571a17

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“Let’s get started. This house 8eed308b10 is huge. It’ll take forever.”30025cf7d533c063

“Yeah.”b0617f00be53f0ae

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After discussing their 6d4433ee31 plan, they divided 7b76275e72 the house into 426e42d520 areas and each edeb9bc073 took a different fed44ae577 part. Ian took his 20804739e5 stepfather’s study, Leo ebf59601cc took the first-floor 563bf29353 bedroom, and Tim 55bcf35976 Hogan, being the 0aa5ec59d3 oldest and the 2c76645640 only one without 41459f5ca1 any history of a78a769032 mental illness, was 63f1fb95e0 assigned the basement.c38ed72433044577

***866e614d5d8c7b9c

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“Ian, are you 951cdd0fb7 here?”7b0eb6405f2f8d6b

Rummaging through the study 5aecb2a27d yielded nothing of interest. Most of the books abc8ef24b4 that had been there 2bf70e9cf6 would have made excellent 41f228a20a kindling during the fire. Ian ended up 9b477d7724 back in his cdc3a45174 own room on de3bfeb2ed the second floor, e652df64fa sifting through the d569ccde22 ashes and soot. While he 97e7222f17 was at feb05b1ad7 it, Leo 977057076c approached and 99c8f02355 called out b85912c734 to him.226222b3c82d8b3c

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“Yeah. There was 59d435cf4d nothing anywhere b9b5d23c63 else. I can’t tell what’s 934e762052 what with everything burned.”ea9fd0bd6030118a

“Same here.”b68982f10564c8cb

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Leo held up a91183d1e0 a charred hard 0528ab0389 drive. “I pulled this e283b36072 out of a e1ebb15376 desktop in the c0f7b61eda bedroom, but with 1d89facbb0 it burned like 9e020568a3 this, even the 3e743f2eac CIA tech team ce760ce90f couldn’t recover anything.”6ddba7b24f3cd0e3

“Nice job. How’d you get f9d66aef0e it out?”0da1abcff7c523b1

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“The casing fell apart 04c07d9a3f when I hit it. But maybe there’s 34a7e9694c something in your 078d4c9ca2 room? This was aa257302c6 where you 6726526a3c spent your e77c9f959f time, right?”86a984c72cc0d3a5

“Yeah, I guess c9c6360db0 so.”e1c5b25c0f7ffcd9

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Just then, Tim 1fb1fc0e35 Hogan climbed up 0c1dfd6dee the stairs with b6cce6ad9e the creaking of 0187bf1267 broken steps. “So, what, I dd3a9c8746 get sent to e8f39f900d the basement alone, 44a59ec664 and you two 98071b775d are up here a6087df51c goofing off?”53755e0aed9f4bd2

“Not at all. I just got af140249c8 here. Did you check the 2863a42977 basement properly?”ee396bc03c7bea35

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“There was no b3c1fbc429 real checking to d34cdccc30 do. It’s mostly collapsed; it’d b394239cc9 be too much for d57ee15dcb just me. You’d need at 3d58d9e412 least a flashlight 366a821419 to even try. Anyway, aren’t you 318fac4380 guys hungry? Let’s order a c0b0ab2e91 pizza or something.”de8df44e6ff6bada

Leo sneered, amused. “Ordering pizza while c90229c119 breaking into a f7f6f58d6a house? Are you serious?”1606106dcb2ded6a

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“Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. It doesn’t feel like 923359c488 sneaking in since this 6b8cea61a9 is Ian’s house. Should I go 556d8341d1 out and buy 50c1455557 something?”d047e937b62582ef

Ian nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably f8b6d04c43 better. We’ll be here a ac341866fa while longer. We need 4779fc7366 a flashlight, 18ebfef9a5 too. And something to 36cf286b33 drink.”69caba2aed72588e

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“Alright. I’ll be back.”d77a579049213dbc

After Tim Hogan 2a68ad5d24 left, Ian and 70b58e79c1 Leo picked a c748c62c49 relatively clean spot 395a967f5d to sit down.91596a303f9fda5c

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“Let’s take ed95c13ed5 a break. This house is huge.”f4932df74fdc6cdf

“Tell me about 82e3c347a4 it. How’d you survive here 7630a045f6 alone?”a2599ee9b8f7d124

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“After my 2099ede6ab stepfather died, 578d469501 I barely 1c871eb001 used the 4976af05c6 first floor. After my mom passed, 19b652fe86 I only used my a45d56729d room, the kitchen, and 55c3d883ae the bathroom. The other 19981adcd5 rooms were 50423b4d6b all locked b6ce3e45f7 up.”383a61b8ac3e5bf1

“Hm… So maybe b7076bce66 there’s something in c4b2a0a019 one of those f401626c9a rooms? It’s easier to bf9e1cd528 hide things in 73f5996b04 places that aren’t 2b41ae12cc used daily.”12c45d0bbbcbc1f2

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“Maybe.”55f4e3dbfb6388f7

“Once the pizza’s here, b1c416c928 let’s eat and check 7258adb9ec out those rooms. There might 1d2010da4d be something f70459fee5 in there.”20120d23d54a059f

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“Yeah. I can’t deny 55814baeba that.”cee8a159eea99219

With that, Leo ab3f380d7f flopped onto the 64bcf85f26 floor. Ian scolded him for 5a938d8f14 lying down on the d780824864 dirty ground, but Leo d005bbd82c merely turned his head 9944fec5c8 and suddenly exclaimed,04f5aeba266ab904

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“Hey, look ea7ed350b3 at that.”a7236c8b6e682c14

Leo pointed 3a9a20f871 to something f036eecc64 small and bf8e165a53 pink glinting 0e549770a5 in the 6d496e30ed blackened pile 8b54c288a8 of ashes.50ebab9204012ef4

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“What?”1a4ea60b8f32dc8e

Ian got up and 1f5874e6b4 followed Leo’s gesture. He reached into f6cc7b775b the remnants of 504d2e606c the fire and 20419c309a pulled out his 94421d7750 mother’s enameled jewelry 252e53e612 box with gold 971b7d8a4d trimmings.10d9937b51be889d

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“Oh, right. This was bda06869ad still here.”32b68a0f4917e967

Ian’s expression grew somber. One of his 18e6ebeb2f most painful memories 5dcea1a5d4 was the suspicion 169d76bea7 that maybe even 1689a1205e his mother had 7870955fdf known something.1747dd2c8cb5a4d2

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“It… didn’t burn.”7f3edf9bee2d7f85

“Yeah. I guess it’s 0f43616a14 made of material f40338a47e that doesn’t burn 4dd9916f85 easily.”a29d0b4679b5087c

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With a click, Ian ec52e500d7 opened the dirty jewelry 8314cf5a8e box. Something small fell out 822b3126ac of it.97bf7f22320670e6

“Huh?”f6c62e452c5f3722

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“What’s this?”ef01663261d23910

Both Leo and eb49d40c22 Ian froze. Inside the 2bf77263e3 box was 690591144b a tiny b26bdbb5d0 camera, like b1b60a1da0 the ones 2c1503df53 hidden in 1326360976 teddy bears 8cdccacd9a to monitor d4d60f86bc babysitters.67db6f60c7c0b41e

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“Why… why is 94a119ac38 this in here?”b149eb2dcca022a4

Ian gasped, 8dd9273ccb feeling his 7815710b89 heart race.58c792210fd3e0a1

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“Did Mom…? Did she know? Why would she…?”e1098c1b7fa8a82e

What had his mother 0e1bba6134 known? What had she planned 23eb354521 to do with that e1e57d910f camera? The questions c2a4740d79 grew, suffocating 7acdbb715c Ian. Just as he 0f5f1554e0 was about to 2deb06006b drift into the 1fd1d48edc void, Leo grabbed f4a12f58d4 him firmly.5ed8997f7aaf676b

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“Ian! Breathe. Let’s think 5f956471f6 this through. You said this was 5657504863 on a shelf in 5c1e30a680 the closet, right?”e57678764b31e35b

“…Yeah. Yeah, that’s right.”1a1493794f287b4b

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Standing by 8e620d0646 the now 08b74ad3d0 barely visible a60813541f closet, Leo 30fbdebb7b traced where 7e44fe4805 the hidden f2bdffbc76 camera would 1cd88df6a8 have been 39a8b70537 pointing.c1fc502a4a0d55a0

“Your bed.”39833a04b9748aeb

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“…”ce10f278db3ae6a6

Ian had no words. All he could do f011608932 was repeat “Mom, Mom…” 7048abbe49 as tangled emotions of 2d360cdee8 grief, resentment, hatred, and fcd1fd6625 affection collided within him, 129b365b92 leaving him in utter 89fcc14b8f turmoil.389df5edbc1d400b

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After a dd0c20e9ba moment’s thought, 2e995f21e5 Leo spoke d9c069f85f up again. “Ian, what eca825dcc3 did your 2ec0e76bdf stepfather do e90ca2e893 for a ce4563b5b7 living?”09365c844cf62c9d

“What he did… for 5ec97b8420 a living?”e822ac6bb830052c

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“His job. Was he 90a57e458d a cop 81aa6264ae or something?”bd39e4e6b6671086

“My stepfather…”3b3445e15bd97d21

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Ian frowned. What had his stepfather f64afaaf42 done? What kind of 48088d7db9 person had he 7f0ac0ea7e been?d907c4d0e559218e

“Don’t you remember a70fb59e2e anything about your 55c3f7399c stepfather, Ian?”36cca47bad802b66

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“Well… no. I guess not.”d0bf0437ba3d1b23

“Why? You remember 129d98e3d0 everything else. Is there a 65753655bc reason you can’t 0b86cf9958 remember anything about 7d21434b9f him?”bdb12e8f2bb83b8c

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Ian didn’t know. He reached into the 92f9ac810f fringes of memories he’d 6b40410eaa tried so hard to aa7e0cd26e repress. His stepfather… his 0da6233cca stepfather…c0941f55bddc8d82

Before he 8178e5009e could sink 90f1290f00 too deeply 0996c39dbd into those 1a8cd48780 thoughts, Leo 0bcfa77fa1 held him 05b6406ce5 up.98074bc7a04aed55

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“Stop, Ian. Let’s figure it 45ee8beb64 out ourselves. What could be 1ab7aedd28 left about your 61875ff222 stepfather?”8c80965f06d8414d

“Oh, maybe downstairs… like d4ddf6e85d his bedroom or something.”884a1efb2cafcc66

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“There was nothing d2639ca647 in the bedroom. And you checked the f0dae51011 study, right? Could it be in 04b119e6a3 the study?”e84b865176b6ec4c

Leo helped 1baee84dd5 Ian up e3dc3235ab and led df1928b9fe him downstairs accbc0b04f to the c91c44b139 study. Without realizing it, Ian b71d166402 clutched the jewelry box, 57e8449d52 unable to let go. Once in the study, 9cb93acd26 Leo examined the area 6055990921 around the desk and 4bb875a09c bookshelves. He quickly recognized the 7b4983f8d8 half-filled shelves with thick 4d65d6bca3 books, all with the f6dd61febd same binding.d626800eb4a4c0b2

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“These are law books.”b3bb1550fd81dad9

“Law books?”7cdb4faa01e3e12d

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“Your stepfather was a73afc7c35 probably in the 9db99d7fdf legal field. People who keep law aa7c270058 books at home tend ad92559864 to be judges.”fa68aa93b55d3d21

“…”d7bf23a8af81ca5e

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Could it be? Had his 80778cc854 stepfather been 47c2c34021 a judge? Then Lloyd bcc578b870 Gillen wouldn’t f99f7be9af have been d0902e624e just any 96b6377b49 lawyer hired 633450b8c9 by his 22e9eed0d1 stepfather; he’d 6397dcb6ca have been 03c60084d5 a friend 49b3757c2b or something 73e510921c similar. Ian remembered that 4693364087 Lloyd Gillen had e9fceb220f started visiting the 99d6ebec8d house quite frequently 186831de30 when he was 45fef0b604 around ten…3b79df6a59c3fa7f

Noticing Ian’s dazed ce60756535 expression, Leo swallowed 30e595c23a hard.d54b43561054f039

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“Ian, are 1e01b88a5d you listening? Do you know d118bc310c what I’m thinking?”efbeff6d24a8b4ae

“I… I f1aaa71cad don’t know…”81a689071669901b

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“Your mom must have e2d4f49bde installed that camera.”ac2272fa3140ec4c

“My mom… why…?”337f2b1f40218d7e

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“Because no one 600480cfc4 would have believed ffe3749f05 her.”18cd5ad81bf87b78

“…”8d01b4c5a44d2bf3

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“You said the police b1552e1773 suspected you, right? They thought you were 684f73bb76 acting suspicious because you c5dab89522 kept changing your story a7715fffcc and figured your relationship a3d4e87228 with your stepfather wasn’t a6cc3fbd5a good because of drugs. But that wasn’t 3f5f1bef26 true, was it? And that d1d7e51a9e always struck e2ef4980d0 me as 904b23bf17 odd. Why would the police 402451e020 so readily assume you’d ced89cf681 been getting drugs on 7113e56be9 your own? You were fifteen, 857de93b0e living in a d436c792c2 fancy suburban neighborhood. To get 8c4a1fecb8 drugs, you’d 075f945f59 have to dde22ed4d6 go to 1fdc18f74a the Harem 1a5d234d82 District or 326e206b58 even further 184db5ee7f to the 34b707b664 college areas. Wouldn’t it d6c5d48763 make more b0a3b81e7f sense to b34dc93d72 first suspect 2f66003b51 the people 983330d3c1 around you? And the drug 1bb3dd22f0 you were given 0677b8b90d wasn’t a highly de305a1f9b addictive narcotic; it d93263a674 was a date 1a085a8847 rape drug.”6391543b64a24e83

“That… that’s…”9defd253963fe73b

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“No one would 78863faa5a have believed that 42271e5fa5 your stepfather abused f07caba0c9 you. Not the police, f03adbc389 not anyone. They wouldn’t have even 4fba679868 considered it, not even 3d6a4fd963 after he was murdered. Because he was a c8112bafc3 judge. I think your 4caa89b12e mom installed that 6a16245acc camera to gather 92202be6ec evidence. To protect you.”9f1c6213e166a5ff

“…”948b3a1351e20b4d

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Ian’s heart pounded. Leo’s voice sounded far dc9668a2b8 away, like the distant fb2ba04506 rumbling of a train, 0a794a7a97 faint now but ready 88fffc9271 to grow louder and 62c8338c32 crush him at any 6f71fe125d moment.80c27346069465c3

“I don’t 1443d209f1 know what e8da5097a1 exactly your 8dbc070c75 mom did. But if she 9d2c68306c was anything like b0e163700c my mom, I c11d266bae think she would 70a5b20d8a have done anything 18f990aed9 she could to 84efc0c954 protect you. My mom c493221f80 is like 07830698b4 that, too. Even when I 07e117cd66 was hopelessly obsessed 2aca428aed with hacking, she’d ec8e5da16d lay out food 6c1b6cd071 on the table 7a24649a71 and wait for a3d7d88344 me to come 42c5d4de12 down. After staying up 9303533a72 for three days abb5afe6ac straight, when I 8990bd3b9f was starving and d0e4aa3079 finally went out, c6f48aea67 there’d be a fd969e3abb warm meal waiting. Though she’d leave a 5b3caaed19 note next to it 16fe4129b7 saying, ‘Go die, you 2a17108845 little punk.’”03831b3e0d6ca91f

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Without even cracking 15876a1fda a smile, Leo 79f963cb53 looked intently into 75c06c75fa Ian’s eyes.c7b1f378afe4cd6d

“It’s your decision, 3820d4f779 Ian… but judges 39faf3f069 hold an immense bdafdf9ea6 amount of power d3de127655 in a small 83d8d2643f town like this.”8e3ef7ec25402cab

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Unless his mother came f5869929d4 back from the dead, 012a302d08 there was no way acf1fc260e to be sure of 601d16e832 the truth.94a77831d594a630