BURDEN OF AN ANCIENT OATH by Joshua Brown (early reader books TXT) 📕

“It gets so much better,” Aaron said.

The moment the mailman stepped out of the apartment and got back in the car, Aaron slowed the video down to a tenth of the speed. It moved slowly until a certain point, where Aaron started moving the video himself, only now, frame by frame.

I didn't see it at first, but the second the car pulled out of the parking spot, the number plate was visible for a brief few seconds.

“Holy shit, you got him,” I could feel the excitement ready to spill out.

“Yes… well, no. The car’s not registered to a man, it’s registered to a woman named Delores Carlisle. The car was reported missing a few weeks ago. Now, I don’t want to say this is anything, but it’s something,” Aaron replied.

“And this Delores Carlisle, have you been in touch with her about the car?” I asked.

“I’ve given her a call, but she didn’t pick up. I only found this a few hours ago, so I’m guessing she hasn’t gotten up, or she’s busy getting ready for work. That being said, she works just down the road from here, so maybe you can pay her a visit?”

“It’s a stolen car, right? What hopes are there that she’s going to know anything about it?” I questioned. Aaron wouldn’t have made mention of this without having a plan in his back pocket.

“Well, there are a few things, actually. Delores Carlisle is an older woman; she had three kids in her life, two died a couple of years back while the last is still alive. There’s little information about him online, but he’s not exactly a model citizen from what I could find. One of those strange loner types,” Aaron continued. “Delores put up the stolen car with the police, and then it seemingly vanished a day later. I’m guessing she found out who took it and decided not to investigate further. On top of all this, too, why would he take the plates off when going after Jane Dench, but have them on for you? I really don’t think it’s just a case of a stolen vehicle… there’s so much more to it than that.”

“The kid’s got a point,” Gwen said, shrugging her shoulders. “It all adds up too well to think that Delores is just letting this slide. No claims to an insurance company, no attempt to retrieve the vehicle… at least there’s an avenue to pursue with this one.”

“You’re right, it’s a lead and we should pursue it,” I said, shrugging. “I’ll take care of that. You carry on looking and see if you can dig anything else up on this case, alright?”

“Got it, boss,” Aaron said.

I finished the glass of orange juice, preparing to go out into the world once more. At least I hadn’t taken off my jacket or hat yet.

“Jack,” Gwen called after I set my glass down on the counter.

“Yes?”

“I wanted to ask you about something. Spencer wants to meet his sister and I’m not inclined to say no. They might find some kind of strength in each other, knowing that they have each other in these troubling times.”

I cocked a brow, shaking my head.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” I replied.

“Why not? They’re going through this together and they’re both suffering. Both Spencer and Jane know about the other but have no way of getting in touch with each other. They deserve it…” she sighed. “They deserve it because what if something happens to one of them and the other is left knowing they had a sibling, but they never got to meet them?”

“It’s not the right time, and you know it too,” I shook my head. “You’re putting two people, who are both in very volatile situations, in the same room. They might think it’s what they need right now, but they need to focus on survival. You don’t want to give either of them too much hope for the exact situation you just listed.”

“That’s cold-hearted—”

“No, it’s really not. It’s logical. By letting the two of them meet, you’re putting an external burden on both of them. Now, it’s not a fight to make it through this, it’s what about the other? Jane Dench is a strong woman, or at least she wants to be, but you’ll be twisting her hand. She doesn’t know Spencer Williamson, and she doesn’t need to. If those two families meet, we’re going to have much worse on our hands than just threats, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about that,” I replied.

“I have, and I don’t care,” Gwen shut me down. “Sometimes you have to do what’s wrong to make sure that things go right.”

“Like speaking to a shady drug dealer in a motel out in the middle of nowhere? How well did that go for you again?”

“That’s different and you know it,” Gwen replied. All eyes were on us now. I didn’t know if Lauren and Aaron knew about Gwen’s shadier side, but at this point, it didn’t really matter either.

“Please, enlighten me on how it’s different. Putting yourself in the firing line to a known cop-killer because you want answers on a case,” I paused, trying to cool down a bit. “Look, I’m not arguing this. It’s a terrible idea.”

Gwen sighed.

“Well, it’s too late. I’ve set the meeting up for tomorrow at noon, and I’d really appreciate it if you could make it. It’s just going to be a small lunch in the city. Both Jane and Spencer are very excited,” she said.

I burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Even in my head, I knew it was frantic sounding, but it’s how I felt. Like the world around me was closing in, and it was ready to implode at any given second. Lauren, Gwen, and Aaron just looked at me with confusion stretched across their faces.