Never Tell Them, N.L. Hinkens [unputdownable books txt] 📗

The officer jotted down a few notes and then turned to Ann. ”Thank you for your vigilance, ma’am. It would appear that everything’s in order.”

Far from appeased, Ann narrowed her eyes. ”Henry’s been saying strange things to my daughter, Ivy, at preschool too.”

“What kinds of things?” the officer asked.

“He told her he was locked in his house without any food.”

Ray flattened his lips, barely able to curb his frustration as he glared at Ann. “Like I told you, he has an overly vivid imagination, and he’s been through a lot lately. I guess I was hoping for some sympathy when I shared that with you, not a criminal investigation.”

“All right, sir,” the officer cut in. “Let’s take a quick drive to your place of residence and talk to your neighbor just to put Mrs. Whitmore’s mind at ease.”

Ann held a defiant gaze as Ray ushered Henry toward the squad car. There was nothing else to do but to go along with the officer’s request. Anything else would look suspicious. And the last thing he needed right now was for the officer to obtain a warrant to search his house and discover Katie Lambert’s driver’s license.

When they pulled up outside Sonia’s house, Ray took a quick calming breath. He’d been trying to rehearse what to say during the short trip, but the minute Sonia opened the front door, the officer took charge. ”Sorry to bother you, ma’am. We wanted to verify that this gentleman here is your neighbor. His son told a woman at the park that he wasn’t his dad, and we got a call to follow up. Can you confirm his identity?”

A look of alarm flashed across Sonia’s face. She glanced at Ray, before turning her attention back to the officer. “Yes, his name’s Ray Jenkins. He moved here with his son, Henry, a couple of weeks ago. His mother lived in the house before him. We were neighbors for close to ten years.”

The officer jotted something down in his notebook before continuing. “I understand Mr. Jenkins was involved in an accident recently?”

“That’s right,” Sonia confirmed. “I looked after Henry for a couple of days while he was in the hospital.”

The officer slipped his notebook back into his shirt pocket and tipped his hat to her. ”Thank you for clearing that up, ma’am.” He turned to Ray. ”Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. We appreciate your cooperation. I’m sure you can understand that we’re obligated to follow up on these types of calls from concerned citizens.”

Ray gave a distracted nod, his heart clattering in his chest like a rollercoaster. “If that’s all, I’d like to get back to spending the rest of the day with my son. This is the first chance we’ve had to be together since my accident.”

“Absolutely. You have a good day,” the officer said, before turning on his heel and retreating to the curb where the female officer was waiting in the squad car.

“Do you want to come in?” Sonia asked, one hand on the door as if to indicate she’d rather he didn’t.

Before Ray could respond, Henry shot past him and darted down the hall in search of Jessica.

Ray gave a resigned shrug. ”I guess I’m coming in now, if only to retrieve my son.”

“So, what exactly happened at the park?” Sonia asked, leading the way to the kitchen. She sat down at the table and pushed aside a pile of carpet samples.

Ray pulled out the chair opposite her. ”Thanks for smoothing things over out there.” He let out a dejected sigh. “This woman at the park, Ann Whitmore, called the cops on me because Henry told her I wasn’t his father.”

Sonia forwarded him a sympathetic look. “Actually, he told Jessica the same thing.” She hesitated, lowering her voice, “Ray, is it possible Henry’s adopted?”

He frowned, then shook his head slowly. “I don’t … think so. Not that I can remember. Apparently, Ann’s daughter is in Henry’s preschool class, and he’s been saying unsettling things there too—that he was deprived of food and locked in his room.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “It sounds bad, I know, but it’s not uncommon for a young child who’s lost a parent to make stuff up for attention.”

“Or embellish something that happened. Kids often do that,” Sonia said, picking at a strand of wool on one of the carpet samples. ”Did you or your wife ever discipline Henry by sending him to his room without dinner?”

Ray flinched. “I can’t imagine doing that. He’s only four-years-old. But of course, I can’t remember, can I?”

“You need to be patient with yourself. Have you remembered anything else since we last spoke?”

Ray knit his brows together in concentration. ”Bits and pieces. It’s too fragmented to make any sense of it. It’s almost as frustrating as fishing. You know how you can see a fish just below the surface of the water, but you can’t get it to bite. That’s how I feel when I’m trying to remember something. I keep getting flashes of a fight scene. I’m not sure who I was fighting with—probably my father. My brother might have been there too.” He paused for a moment. “I think I punched someone. I keep seeing a man fall backward, but his face is blurred. There was blood everywhere. I don’t know … I really hope I didn’t kill my father.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.

“You didn’t. Celia told us her husband died of a heart attack,” Sonia assured him. ”Granted the fight scene’s not the happiest of memories, but at least it shows that your brain’s beginning to heal. Did you try looking through the photos again?”

“Yeah, it didn’t help.” He hesitated, wondering if he should enlist Sonia to help him with an idea he’d been toying with ever since he’d discovered the license in his backpack. He wouldn’t be able to tell her