My So Called Life (Love Not Included Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

evening before I find myself standing on the steps of the Ashford Police Station. I was instructed to come here first. A few people come and go, staring at me strangely. It’s probably because I’m in five-inch heels and a peacock-feathered trench coat that cost more than their yearly clothing budget.
    “Oh my, what is that smell?” An older woman covers her nose and looks to her husband as they pass me going down the steps.
    Shit.
    “It’s a dead skunk somewhere, dear.” He holds his wife closer while they descend.
    Oh, double shit.
    I nonchalantly bend my chin to take a whiff of my jacket. And totally gag back.
    Shit trifecta!
    “Oh, that’s it,” I mutter to myself. I turn to strut back to my car. Screw shallow. I think I passed a resort of some kind on my way in. I make it two steps down before the gentle voice of a stranger stops me, asking if I need assistance.
    With a deep sigh, I turn around and smile politely. I oblige, letting him know I was, I mean I am here to see Officer Belmont. He looks at me as if he knows me, his smile kind as he guides me inside and through the general office to a quiet room, letting me know Officer Belmont will be with me shortly.
    I sit rigidly on the metal seat, wondering how people sit in these things, when the door opens and an older gentleman, a little heavy on the stomach, enters the room, holding a file in his thick hands.
    “Ms. Daniels, thank you for making your way up here. I know this must be a shock for you. It’s a shock to us all.” He sits down, adjusting his tie and fixing the file of papers he has in front of him.
    “Officer Belmont, I assume?”
    “Oh, yes, my apologies. I remember you left right before I was transferred over to Ashford.” He sticks out his hand to shake mine. His grip is hard but friendly.
    I release his hold and fold my hands back in my lap. “So, you said over the phone that I would need to identify my sister’s body?” I shudder at the thought.
    “Her husband’s cousin actually took care of that. He arranged for the bodies to be released to the funeral home. We assumed that would make things easier for you.”
    That’s a relief at least. “And my sister’s daughter . . . my niece? Is she here?”
    “At the station? No, she’s at home. Sweet little peach, she is. My heart breaks for her. I’m not sure she quite understands what’s happening.”
    Gee, way to give it to me gently.
    “Officer Belmont, may I ask how old she is?”
    “Oh, please, do call me Henry.”
    “Sure, Henry,” I repeat, waiting.
    “She just turned four. Little spunk, that one. Insisted she have a princess party and invite the whole town for her birthday. Your sister, of course, threw one for her. My Patti—my wife—helped with the decorations and cupcakes. It was a memorable day.”
    I smile at the story. It must run in the family. I mean everyone is a princess at heart. “Are her grandparents with her now?”
    “Great-grandparents, actually. John’s parents are deceased. His grandparents live over at Riverside. They’ve been there for the past couple of years now.”
    “How lovely. So I assume they’ve made arrangements to take in their great-granddaughter and watch after her?” I ask.
    Henry looks at me, confused. “Ms. Daniels, Riverside is a retirement home. Both John’s grandparents are well into their eighties. His grandfather is long gone mentally and suffering from dementia, and his grandmother, well, she’s a feisty thing, but in no condition to be on her own, let alone look after a child.”
    His little breakdown of my plan, which is apparently not a plan anymore, stuns me speechless.
    “We were under the impression you knew this,” Officer Belmont continues. “We thought you would be taking the little girl.”
    “Take her where?” I want to stop staring at him, because I’m probably starting to creep him out, but I’m also having a hard time registering this recent turn of events.
    “To live with you, of course.”
    Huh?