CHAPTER 12

John made every effort to get in touch with Henry, but to no avail. His office manager claimed he hadn't been expected to arrive all week. He did some checking, since Ms. Lily's family seemed to be curiously absent.

Charlene Lily did work for the governor as one of his assistants. And she did get married on Sunday afternoon in her Austin home surrounded by friends and family. She was currently sailing in Alaska with her new husband. In John's opinion, Henry was the worst kind of lawyer—a defence lawyer. He'd seen too many clever ones get hardened criminals off or procure light sentences.

Ms. Ross hadn't lied about any of that. But he questioned why her family had abandoned her. What had she done?

Arthur left the jail and entered.

"Has Tosin settled down?" John queried.

"He continues to murmur about being struck."

John reclined. "Maybe Ms. Lily has cured him of the need to find a woman."

"Yeah. We wouldn't have had as many issues this morning if a woman had slapped him sooner." Arthur grimaced. "What are we going to do with the guy?"

"Asha Oglo will be here for the hearing on Wednesday, according to our conversation this morning. I also had a conversation with the district attorney. This time, we don't have a lot of options. Tosin will probably be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Mrs. Oglo concurs."

"We gave him a lot of leeway. Arthur yawned and sat in the chair next to John. "We ought to have taken action years ago."

"We thought he was harmless."

Arthur yawned once more.

"Get some rest at home. I can handle the office, and i'll contact Bubba if I need to leave."

"Nah. I'm good. Have you heard from Sadiq?"

"He is receiving examinations at Scott & White in Temple. By the end of the week, he might return. It's just you and me right now. And as i said, Bubba is always willing to assist."

Arthur folded his hands behind his head. "What are you going to do about Charlotte Lily?"

"I hope her brother shows up, but I'm starting to have my doubts."

Arthur yawned so wide Wyatt could almost see his tonsils.

"Go lie down on the cot and rest. When I have to return home, I will wake you."

Arthur walked to the back room without saying another word of protest. In a few minutes Wyatt heard snoring. He quietly closed the door and stretched.

Damn! He was dog-tired.

And the day had just begun for him.

Charlotte awoke abruptly. The sheriff's kid was kneeling on the floor in jeans and a T-shirt, staring at her.

"You snore."

"I don't." Charlotte rose to a sitting position. She had never heard that before. She was confident it wasn't true.

"You make noises like Doolittle makes. I call it snoring."

"Go away, kid."

"Nope. You're my guest, therefore I have to treat you nicely."

"By telling me I snore."

"Even your hair is a mess."

Charlotte grimaced. "Are you trying to make me angry?" She instinctively reached for her hair. The strands were twisted and still damp. A mess, as the kid described it.

"Nope. I'm being cordial."

"Yeah, right." Charlotte pulled up her phone to see if Henry had called. He hadn't. Desperation clutched her heart. What was she going to do? She couldn't stay here one more minute.

"Grandma's waiting for you to do the dishes."

'Grandma could take a freakin' leap.'

She looked at the child with the enormous, mischievous brown eyes. Her hair was cut short and curled into a pixie cut that clung to her head. She didn't favor her father, except for the eyes and maybe that stubbornness. Charlotte had never been around kids and found them a little unnerving. She typically avoided the little critters because she didn't know what to say to them. But this one was in her face.

How challenging might managing a child possibly be? This should be like stuffing her face with ice cream because Henry had constantly assured her that she was still a child.

"What is your name?" Charlotte had heard it at the jail but had forgotten.

"Alice. Do not refer to me as a girl or a brat."

The kid had said something like that yesterday. What was her problem? It would be best, in Charlotte 's opinion, to not press the point. She was already dealing with enough issues.

She stood up and headed to the kitchen to retrieve her bag. At the table with Haetel was another older woman with grey hair.

"Is that her?" the woman asked.

"Yes, Sharon, that's our houseguest."

Sharon strained her eyes behind her large-rimmed glasses. "Too good to do the dishes, huh?"

Charlotte picked up her bag and returned to living room and Alice. Unzipping her bag, she searched for her hairbrush, found it and then attacked the tangles.

"Why do you put that on your toes?" Alice questioned as she studied Charlotte 's French pedicure.

Her hand stopped in midair. "It's polish for nails. I like it."

"Why?"

Charlotte thought for a minute. "It makes me feel pretty, like a woman."

"Yuck!"

"I enjoy feeling like a woman."

"Why?"

"Because--"

They were cut off by a door banging. "Daddy's back?" Jumping up, Alice dashed for the kitchen.

Charlotte remained motionless as she considered her options. She could have called other relatives, but the humiliation would be intolerable. She simply didn't have time to spend explaining her behaviour to people who would judge her.

She could call a few of her brother's lawyer friends. They knew the drill and dealt with criminals every day. But she wasn't prepared to deal with the embarrassment that would come with it

No. She would have to find a way out of the disaster she had created for herself. At the moment, she was clueless. She would have to take her chances in this strange place.

She looked up and the sheriff was standing there with a gloomy expression.