My Sister's Keeper Read Online Free PDF Page B

about? I know that I didn’t tell you everything and I’m sorry, okay?”
    “Walk me through it.”
    “I’m not allowed to be with Evan unless someone else is there. I did something crazy after work one day. I picked him up and don’t remember anything after that. I have no idea why I left him alone in a park. I blanked out.”
    “Dad already told me that. Did you blank out again today?”
    She raised her head and looked at me. “No. I knew where I was.”
    “Tell me exactly what you did.”
    “I picked up my car from the garage. They’d fixed the brakes and the damage to the hood and bumper, you know, because of the accident. Then I drove over to Evan’s school. I waited outside until he came out. I watched him play during recess. I knew I should just leave but I followed his bus home. I got out and called to him. He ran into my arms and I hugged him. Bonnie came out and yelled at me. Then I let him go and drove back here.” Cheri started crying. “I miss him so much.”
    “Are you telling me you didn’t drive to your house in Manotick?”
    “Why would I go there?” Cheri wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. She looked confused.
    I stared at her for a bit. She either: (a) didn’t have anything to do with Hannah’s hit and run accident, (b) had lost her mind, or (c) was a great actress.
    “What’s Hannah Jones like?” I asked.
    “Hannah? She’s smart and ambitious. She’s the new breed of young lawyer—wants to get to the top right away. They don’t put much stock in experience. She and Roger Little are a lot alike in that way.”
    “Did Jimmy know Hannah very well?”
    “No. They met at a few of my work parties, but that was it. Why?”
    “Hannah was killed outside your house in Manotick today, Cheri. She was hit by a car. The driver fled the scene.”
    “No!” Cheri looked around the kitchen. Her eyes were round blue pools of fear. “Jimmy must have mistaken her for me.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I should have been the one to die. Oh my God. Hannah Jones died instead of me!”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    I banged on Bonnie Wilson’s door at eight the next morning. After a minute, I leaned on the doorbell. My nephew Evan opened the door still dressed in his pyjamas. He carried a plastic water pistol.
    “I’m here to see your dad,” I said. “My name is Aunt Anna.”
    Evan studied me with Cheri’s blue eyes. “Dad’s sleeping. Are you my aunt?”
    “I am. Can you go wake your dad up for me? Maybe give him a big blast of water from that gun you’re carrying.”
    “Okay.”
    Evan scooted down the hall and up the stairs. I smiled when I heard Jimmy shriek. Bonnie’s angry voice travelled downstairs.
    Ten minutes later, Jimmy joined me where I was sitting on the front steps. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans. His eyes were red and tired. His blackcurls could have used a good brushing. “I worked late,” he said. “I need coffee.”
    “We could walk to the Baker Street Café.”
    “Sure.”
    He trudged along beside me. Neither of us said much. Mornings had always been our worst time. I needed coffee as badly as he did.
    The café was busy, as it usually was Sunday mornings. We got a table near the back and both ordered bacon and eggs. We were on our second cup of coffee when I started asking questions.
    “So what’s going on between you and Cheri?”
    Jimmy sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Cheri and I started fighting last year. She was working all the time. When she wasn’t working, it was all she talked about. I thought if I moved out, she’d rethink things. As it turned out, she started acting out, wanting my attention. Do you know she even took drugs and left Evan alone in the park? I wanted to strangle her.”
    “You might want to watch how you phrase things.”
    “She refuses to talk to me.”
    “Could it be because you took Evan away?”
    “She was acting crazy. I had to make sure he was safe.”
    “What about Cheri? Do you care if she’s safe