ending with Milton and Morrissey slamming the door in their faces.
“The only one left to interview is the guy Earl dated after he broke up with Jerry,” Ellie said. “Any idea who it might be?”
“None,” Jonah admitted. “Nothing I uncovered would want to make someone kill me. I’m not any closer to solving this case than when I started.”
“They might not know it.”
“How’d they get inside a GBI facility to steal the evidence?” Jonah asked.
“We can’t say for certain someone recently took the evidence, Jonah. There’s a vacant spot on the shelf where Ison’s evidence box could’ve been. Maybe it was a different investigation from the same year, which would have a similar case file number. We can’t possibly store the evidence from every investigation.”
“Maybe,” Jonah admitted. “Any luck on finding my attacker?”
“Nope,” Ellie said. “Locke and Key have talked to the owners of the surrounding warehouses and none of them have exterior security cameras. They haven’t been able to locate your friend Hank either.”
Jonah hoped to run into the homeless man again someday so he could thank him. He also wanted to find a way to get Hank off the street, if possible.
“My vice cops are asking around too,” Ellen continued. “So far, we’ve got zilch.” Jonah wasn’t surprised. “The official police report for your mugging is temporarily stuck in our internal reporting system. Modern technology is great when it functions properly.”
Jonah chuckled. “Is that the official excuse you’re going to give if anyone requests the incident report?”
“Yep,” Ellie replied. “I can’t tie it up forever. How do you want me to proceed?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if someone at GBI requests a copy of the incident report, they’ll see you were attacked at one of their storage facilities,” she said. “I’m sure many questions will follow.”
Jonah thought about it for a second. “I emailed the doctor’s orders to HR. It detailed the injuries I received from the mugging, the number of days I’d need to miss, and the limited activity I’d need to adhere to upon returning. That should be enough, and I can’t see why anyone would go beyond that to request the official police report. If they do, so be it. I’ll let the chips fall where they may. I won’t ask you or anyone else to lie and fudge a police report to protect my job.”
Ellen reached across the console and covered his hand. “Just be careful. You’re my favorite nephew, and I love you so much.”
“I’m your only nephew,” Jonah quipped.
She giggled. “And I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Aunt Ellie.”
By the time they reached Bonaventure Cemetery in Thunderbolt, Jonah’s head was starting to hurt from thinking too hard.
Ellie looped her arm around his as they strolled through the serene grounds. “We’ll make this right, Jonah. I promise.”
That was all he needed to hear at the moment. Ellen Rigby was a woman of her word. That too was built into their DNA.
Jonah was momentarily struck speechless when they arrived at the black marble gravestone marking the burial spots for Oscar and Maeve St. John. These two people had molded and shaped him, but with such different methods.
“How’d you forgive Oscar?” Jonah asked, breaking the silence after a long pause.
“I just did,” Ellie said. “I got tired of feeling like I’d never live up to his expectations no matter what I accomplished. I grew weary of never feeling like I was enough. No matter how many times Sherry or the kids expressed their love, I never felt worthy. How could I be if my own father didn’t love me?”
Jonah put his arm around Ellie’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I woke up one day and said enough is enough. By that time, Daddy was already gone, so I started writing in a journal about all the complexities of my relationship with him. I expected to just write about all the things I resented about Daddy, and I admit it started out that way. Then, I noticed a shift in tone. I started including all the little things Daddy did for Mama to make her happy, and the way he smiled when you graduated high school as the valedictorian.” She took a deep breath. “I realized he was imperfect and flawed, but I still loved him. Daddy did the best he could, considering he grew up in a generation where men weren’t allowed to be sensitive and considerate. I ultimately made the decision to forgive Daddy for my own good.” Ellie turned in Jonah’s embrace and