Chapter 191

“Okay!” Janeen says, clapping her hands and putting on a false little smile as she responds to the clear tension in the room. My dad stands at her side, awkward and sad, looking at Daniel like his heart breaks for him.

My own heart surges for my dad, who I told the whole plan to yesterday. But he, like Janeen, hasn’t decided what he’s going to do.

“Is there anything else, big, that Daniel needs to know, Ivan?” Janeen asks, coming to Ivan’s side and looking over at Daniel and Jerome, who are having a heated whispered discussion.

“No,” Ivan says. “Everything is…as expected. Kent will be transferred to the state penitentiary at noon tomorrow. It’s done.”

“All right then,” Janeen says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you and Fay…step outside then. I’ll bring you something cool to drink.”

I nod to Ivan, looking anxiously at Daniel, and together we walk past him and out onto the back deck, where the sun is halfway below the horizon.