But I held her tighter.
“You are home.”
She pulled back.
“What?”
“Wherever you are, I’m there.”
I wiped her tears.
“That’s home now.”
For the first time that morning, she smiled.
Barely.
But it was enough.
—
Two detectives arrived forty minutes later.
Howard and Denise were separated.
Their attorneys followed them into different conference rooms.
The courtroom slowly emptied until only Daniel, Vicky, and I remained.
I watched the door close behind Denise.
“Are they being arrested?”
“Not yet,” Daniel said.
“Why not? They practically confessed.”
“Because suspicion isn’t the same thing as proof.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Apparently nothing is ever enough proof.”
Daniel gathered his papers.
“That’s why we keep looking.”
The judge returned shortly after noon.
The guardianship hearing resumed with Denise and Howard absent.
Their attorney requested a delay.
The judge denied it.
Then she looked directly at me.
“Michael, how old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
