A fog clouded my mind as I pushed the half-full shopping cart through the produce aisle beside Junior and my mother. Officer Delaney lingered not too far behind. Junior, meanwhile, helped my mother toss things into the cart. Some of which he snuck in for himself. He was insistent on riding alongside the cart as I pushed, jumping off and on to point out groceries.
"Keep still, Junior. You're going to tilt the cart," I groaned.
"But I'm helping, mommy," Junior huffed.
"Okay, but if you fall, I can't promise I won't run you over or anything."
His head whipped around, a glare settling in his eyes. "Hey! You're so mean."
"Boys, don't make me come over there." My mother's comment shut us up. Even then, Junior's glare was ever-lasting. I plucked his ear and stuck out my tongue, mockingly. Then, played innocent, knowing he was about to tattle on me. Surely enough, he whined until my mother glared over at us. I whistled and lowered my gaze, flicking my fingernails.
"Oh for Pete's sake." My mother marched back over with the vegetables she'd picked out in hand. "Both of you keep yourself busy and go find the bread. Leave the cart here."
"Yes, mom." Junior and I sighed in unison. We shoved each other and walked; our irritation soon molding into laughter, as he high-tailed out of the aisle with me chasing behind him.
"Stop running through the supermarket! This isn't a playground!" my mother yelled.
We tensed and slowed into a speed walk. But as soon as we were out of my mother's sight, Junior sped up into the next aisle—he vanished. I swore under my breath and sped up after him.
"Junior!" I called. He was nowhere to be found. Oh, definitely not good. Definitely not good at all. My mother was going to kill me if I lost him.
I cuffed my mouth and yelled again, "Junior!"
Nothing. I fled into the next aisle over.
"Excuse me, mister. Can you grab that loaf of bread for me?"
"Oh." A blonde male stationed in the middle of the bread aisle, looked around, as if Junior without a guardian was the most baffling thing he'd seen today. "Um, sure. This one?"
"Yeah!" Junior nodded.
The guy stretched on his toes, grabbing the loaf Junior pointed to. I studied the male, trying to pinpoint exactly where I'd seen his face. Then, it hit me. Mr. Jefferson's diner. Adam left in a Honda with a blonde-haired man, and that very same man found his way back to me. Bumping into him in a supermarket was one of the last places I thought I would.
I imagined Yasmine and Nina's faces when I looked into his eyes. Just two days ago, I'd left the station thinking about them. Everything Christian and I talked about then flooded my mind.
"Did you run that background check on Loretta Hanson?" I'd asked him on a video call later that night as I lay tucked safely in my bed, and he ate from a Chinese food carton at home.
"Yep. Turns out, she worked as a counselor in multiple group homes, including Lake Bellinor's. If Yasmine and Nina know her, I think we just found two more suspects."
I shot up straight, my blanket falling. "Loretta's our ticket to everyone else then!"
"Mhm. We need to find out everyone who's been invited to that funeral ASAP."
"How will you do that?"
"Logan and I will have to track down Loretta's family and find out who's hosting that funeral. If our victims were meant to attend and they're dead now, that's enough to get a warrant."
YOU ARE READING
What Rose Above
Mystery / Thriller[Book 2 to the Lake Bellinor Duology] [UNEDITED] After finally learning to accept his ability for what it is, Tyler returns to question the origins of it, starting with the mysterious curly-haired woman in his dreams. However, his plans are soured w...
