He Thought I Had Nowhere to Go Until I Disappeared novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: What Alana Signs

The woman in the green coat sat down on the edge of the story rug and stayed there.

The director brought her a paper cup of tea she did not drink.

"Eleven of us," she said, finally. "At least eleven. He had a list. He said it would make him feel better to be honest with the ones who cared."

"Give me your phone," I said.

I typed in Grandma's lawyer's number, the one from the fridge, and handed it back.

"Call him. Tell him I sent you. Tell him to write down every dollar and every date."

"Will I get it back?"

"I don't know," I said. "But you'll be the first person in six years that he didn't get to lie to."

She looked at me with wet, furious eyes and nodded.

Then she took out her phone, and her thumbs began to move.

The next morning, Alana sat across from me in a glass conference room on the ninth floor of a Dayton law office, with a cup of coffee going cold in her lap.

She had come in on the bus.

Her eyes were swollen, and she had her hair pulled back so tight it hurt to look at.

"They let me go," she said.

"What?"

"Fifteen minutes ago. A text, from the owner of the insurance agency." She turned the phone so I could read it. "He plays golf with Corbin. It says my position has been eliminated, and to leave my badge with the security desk."

"Alana."

"It's fine. I told you I'd lose it."

"I didn't think you'd lose it before you'd said anything."

"I didn't either," she said, and a laugh came out of her that was mostly breath.

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