Secrets in the Attic (Secrets 1)

"Still a coincidence?'

"What makes it even more remarkable is that the pay phone we traced back to is maybe a minute from the hotel you were at."

My father just stared at him for a moment and then looked at me. "Did Karen call you at the hotel, Zipporah?"

"No," I said.

"Did she come to the hotel?"

"Did you in any way know she was in New York at the time?"

"No."

My father sat back.

"Thanks," Lieutenant Cooper told him "I'll send you part of my paycheck."

"When you get my bill, it might be a bigger part than you anticipated," my father responded, not waiting a beat.

Chief Keiser laughed.

"So, all you're telling us here about Mr. Pearson, you heard from Karen Stoker herself? You never witnessed anything, nor were you present when Karen spoke to her mother about it or tried to speak to her about it?"

"That's true," I said. "Correct," I added, trying to sound more like my father now. I caught a slight smile on his lips.

"Okay," Lieutenant Cooper said after a deep sigh. "More than likely, we'll be talking to you again, Zipporah. You'll probably be a major witness at a trial. For now, we would rather you don't discuss this interview or any of this information with anyone else besides your father."

"Anything new on Karen's whereabouts?" my father asked.

"We're working on it," Lieutenant Cooper replied. He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing, and added, "She can't hide forever."

After a pause, he added, "No matter who helps her."

17 Protecting Jesse

This time, after my interview with the police, Daddy was silent most of the ride home. If he were angry at me, I'd much rather he would show it, and if he were afraid of something, I wished he would tell me what it was. My brother and I knew that whenever Daddy was so pensive as to make you feel you weren't even there, he was worried about something very serious. We would tiptoe around him, stealing glances but avoiding his eyes, as if he were on the verge of some explosion and merely looking at him the wrong way would set it off.

Finally, just before we arrived at the house, he turned to me.

"The stuff about the pay phone is troubling, Zipporah. It's too much of a coincidence for Karen to be making that call so close to where we were, where you were. If you knew for sure she had gone to New York City, you should have told us, told me. That is technically holding back pertinent information."

I started to cry.

"Well, what's done is done, but if it comes up again, I want you to tell the absolute truth," he said. "Okay?"

I nodded, and we drove on.

Jesse was waiting for us in front of the house, where he was whitewashing the porch railing. He turned as soon as we pulled into the driveway. I got out before Daddy pulled into the garage and held my breath in anticipation. Had Jesse discovered anything?

"How did it go with the police?" he asked.

"They weren't too nice. They were angry I hadn't told them all this before."

"Not too nice? They should have been happy you came forward with the information. Most people never tell what they know, because they don't want to be involved."

"They didn't act grateful. That's for sure," I said. "I felt like I was the one going on trial, not Karen."

"Why? Didn't they believe you?" he asked me.