Existence Denied

CHAPTER 10

Lorraine peeked into the bedroom and watched Jared toss and turn in the big bed. After several moments he seemed to settle down and sleep, although he still moved frequently. She left the door halfway open in case he called, dressed in the guest bathroom, and walked into the kitchen.

It had been an adventurous Friday night. Coyo and Jared had sat at the kitchen table quietly arguing while she fought to get Mandy and Harry out of the house without killing them. When Lorraine had slammed the door and turned to the two men, both had closed down their conversation tighter than a stopper knot.

Instead of balking at the secrets the men were obviously keeping from her, Lorraine said nothing, only marshaled her troops into Coyo's car. She wanted her husband to see a doctor to ensure the crack against the head hadn't caused any lingering damage. Jared had sat in the back seat, his arms wrapped around her, grumbling about he felt fine, it was just a slight headache, and he just needed sleep.

But for once, Coyo and Lorraine were a united front.

Jared didn't complain much in the hospital waiting room. He stared in fascination at the people in the emergency room. The filaments were connected to everyone. He noticed several patterns. A few of the elderly and sickly had fibers so thin they were nearly invisible. Jared assumed this group was close to their death dates. The young and healthy had thicker ones, almost opaque. No one but Coyo understood what held his fascination.

When Jared had been taken away for a CT scan, Lorraine and Coyo sat in the small cubicle awaiting the big man's return. After twenty minutes of silence, except for the hustle and bustle of the healthcare workers, Lorraine could no longer contain her silence.

"Coyo? What Lillian said about Jared." She shuffled in the hard plastic chair, turning toward the man who sat next to her. "What did she mean about him becoming—"

He looked up and studied Lorraine for several seconds. "It was Jackie."

"What are ye blathering about, Coyo? What does Jared's mother have to do—"

"Jackie is the one that stole Jared's codes."

Lorraine gaped at him. "How do you know that? Or are ye just making something up to hide yer own bleeding guilt?"

"Don't you start going on with that crazy Irish jargon with me, girlie. And I found out on a whim. Jackie asked me over to see if I'd invest some money she inherited."

"That doesn't seem suspicious."

"A hairdresser wanting to invest half a million?" He raised an eyebrow. "So like you coppers do, I followed the money. The NP transferred two million dollars into her account a week before Jared was accused. Her death date changed. Someone got the witch an extra ten years of life. If you remember, two weeks before that, he spent the night at his mama's house cause she said somebody tried to break in. Don't know how she did it yet, but I'll find out."

"She picked a fight with me around that time. So I told him to go without me." The anger began to boil. "The fecking eejit played me!"

Coyo patted her leg. "Keep your voice down. You're right. She wouldn't have played that game with you around cause you and Jared can't seem to sleep without touching each other."

"You're full of shite, Coyo. And how would you know?" she challenged.

He ignored her words, watching the woman fume before he leaned toward her again. "I'm sorry, I thought you had done the boy in. Especially with you being knocked up, you'd want him to get fired."

"Jared thought the same thing," she replied, hiding the hurt. "So now that we're mates, would you tell me what Lillian—"

"I had an identical twin brother. His name was Sawyer. We had many similarities, from our fingerprints to our status as certified geniuses. Even a love for numbers. I outshone him because I had degrees in mathematics, computers, and genetics. Sawyer hated genetics. We had one major difference. I had one gene marker that Sawyer didn't have."