Read Online In the Blood by Sara Hantz - Free Book Online Page B

to stay with me forever. But it can’t, because I’m the son of a pedophile and she deserves better than to be with someone like that.
    “Will do.”

Chapter Twenty
    I glance out the window and see Detective Spalding striding along the sidewalk and turning into our driveway. Mom has to go with me to the prison because I’m not eighteen. She wasn’t happy about it, saying that someone had to look after Amy, but Summer offered to have her while she was babysitting Dawson.
    “Hi, Jed,” Spalding says as I open the door for him. “Are you ready?”
    That’s debatable, seeing as I’ve wavered between going and not going at least twenty times in the last thirty minutes.
    “I am, and Mom won’t be long. Do you want to come inside?”
    I’m numb with fear at the thought of what’s gonna happen. Not because I’m scared of seeing Dad. But I am scared of hearing stuff about what he’s done to other children. I don’t know how it’s gonna affect me. Which I know is pathetic. It’s not like I’m directly affected by it. Not like the families of his victims.
    “Sure, thanks. I want to go through the procedure with both of you before we leave.”
    After sitting in silence for five minutes, Mom finally walks into the living room. At least she’s not wearing her usual track pants and tee. She’s sort of made an effort, though her skirt has a black mark on the front. Old Mom would’ve rather walked across hot coals than go out with a stain on her clothes.
    “Hello, Mrs. Franklin,” Spalding says, standing up. “We just need to go through a couple of things and then we can go.”
    “Fine,” Mom says.
    Could she be any more blasé about it? You’d think he was giving her a shopping list.
    “Firstly, Jed, you’ll be on your own with your father, but don’t worry because your mom and I will be watching and listening from outside.”
    “Like a two-way mirror?” I ask, trying to sound calm and in control.
    I look at Mom, but her face is giving nothing away. How’s it gonna be for her, I wonder, seeing Dad for the first time since it all happened? Surely she must think something about it.
    “Yes, that’s right. Secondly, if you’re comfortable doing so, there are a couple of questions I’d like you to ask him.”
    In case Dad recants and won’t keep his side of the bargain, I suppose, then at least they could use my visit as evidence.
    “I guess. It depends on the questions.”
    No way am I going to start asking for explicit details. The postmortems on the boys should have told them everything they need to know. Science is so advanced now, there’s nothing that will go unchecked.
    “We’d like you to ask him outright why he did what he did.”
    Yeah, well that’s something we all want to know. Though he’ll probably say that he doesn’t know, or something inside made him do it. In my pedophile research, I read a lot of case studies and, when interviewed, the pedophiles all said things similar to that.
    “So you can use it as an admission of guilt?” I ask, thinking that they must have an ulterior motive for me asking.
    “It will make the case more solid if we have a record of him admitting it to you,” Spalding replies nodding.
    “Okay. I can do that.” I think. “What else?”
    Spalding hesitates. “He’s likely to be more open with you than us, so if you could ask how many more victims there are and get any details of their whereabouts, that would be a great help.”
    A great help. This isn’t school and I’m handing out books for the teacher. This is fucking serious. I don’t know what Spalding’s game is. Is he trying to play it down so I don’t worry? Or is this just another case for him and he’s grateful for a bit of help ?
    “What makes you think he’ll tell me?”
    “He asked to see you, which is a good start.”
    Whatever. I feel like a pawn in a giant chess game being controlled by some force on high. What they’re asking me to do isn’t right. It’s not. Someone should