of him. Christian was no saint, certainly a criminal, but he, unlike the judge and Rylie, had drawn a line in the sand when it came to harming innocent people. That meant something.
Chapter Twenty-two
The rest of the afternoon seemed to drag for everyone. Piper and Michael paced around Betty’s house waiting for a call from Bobby. Betty and Jules felt the tension flood the house, so they decided to seek higher ground, retreating to their respective rooms upstairs. Bobby, at least, was keeping busy. He spent the afternoon hours tailing Christian who made multiple stops to different properties he owned. He was moving with purpose and incredible focus, not stopping to make small talk or exchange niceties with anyone.
When Christian finally seemed to settle into his house around four o’clock, Bobby picked up his phone to call Piper.
“It seems like he might be staying put for a little bit. This would be a good time to go set up the cameras at the mill and park somewhere to test all the equipment. I’ll give you a heads-up once he’s on the move again.” He hated the idea of Piper going to the mill on her own in the middle of the afternoon when she could easily be spotted. He had, however, realized that there was little she thought she couldn’t do, and trying to be the voice of reason or the knight in shining armor wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“I’ll head over there now.” Piper grabbed the bag full of supplies that she had packed, double checked, and then repacked while waiting for the go ahead from Bobby. As she made her way to the door she heard footsteps tapping down the stairs behind her. Piper turned to see Jules standing there with a look of sadness on her face, her eyes red-rimmed and wet from tears.
“This is it, isn’t it?” Jules mumbled in a quiet and concerned voice. “I could tell when Bobby ran out this morning, and now the look on your face says it all. I know you guys don’t want me to be involved in this, and I can respect that. I want you to know that whoever killed my father robbed me and my mother of so many things, and in my eyes they deserve all the pain and punishment in the world. They don’t deserve to live. I’m afraid if it comes down to it Bobby won’t be able to face that, and might end up getting himself killed instead.”
The tears started to roll again down Jules’s cheeks, and Piper found herself, as usual, completely unprepared to cater to someone else’s emotional needs. She assumed a hug was required, some kind of reassuring gesture that would stop the tears and ease her mind, but as she wracked her brain to find one she felt the pressure of wasted time bearing down on her. Piper had grown so much since meeting these wonderful people, but she still wasn’t confident in her ability to comfort someone.
She looked past Jules with a flicker of panic in her eye. “Um, Michael… Jules needs you,” she called out, and she turned away, heading again for the door. She knew that in the eyes of normal people she seemed cold-hearted and vacant. If they only understood that empathy and social skills were taught, not innately known, then perhaps they could forgive her ignorance.
As she tossed the bag into her car and put the key in the ignition she felt a slight weight lift from her chest at the sight of Jules wrapped safely in Michael’s arms in the doorway of the house. At least if she couldn’t give Jules what she needed she could get out of the way and let someone else do it.
The ride to the mill seemed to take an eternity. She knew she had a lot to do, all while trying not to be noticed. She pulled her car up two blocks from the entrance to the mill and walked casually toward the building, checking frequently to make sure no one was coming or going from its entrance. She quickly made her way to the back of the building where the barrel she had used to force her way in last time stood. She sighed with relief at the sight of the barrel, exactly as she had left it, below the window that she had needlessly broken. She pulled herself up and through the window and dropped, catlike, onto the ground below. Something about this felt easier