Transparency by Charles Royce (children's books read aloud txt) 📕

the officer. “Mr. Harrison is tired, I’m sorry.”

“A temp. Of course.” Josh puckers his lips.

“Mr. Harrison, are you all right?” West turns back to him. “If there’s something going on here, I want to get to the bottom of it just as much as you.”

Josh nods, steps out of the group, walks down the hallway.

“Mr. Harrison!” West yells.

Without another word, Josh turns the corner at the end of the hallway. He walks toward the South Tower elevator, his pace quickening as he goes.

C h a p t e r   3 3

“JOSH! SLOW DOWN, man, slow down, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Shawn reaches across his desk, pats him on the shoulder. He glances at the oval SSD in a pool of six black flash drives.

With his head on top of folded arms, Josh breathes heavily. “I can’t do this anymore. I didn’t ask for it, I don’t want it.”

“Hey, man, listen, I just called Detective Penance. He’s been transferred. He’s in charge of the Walter Gordon investigation now. All we have to do is tell him who you saw, what he did. There’s evidence now—on the SSD, the flash drives you got from Phish, plus both you and Tracy can ID the man. We can get this solved if we all work together, maybe put him away for a long, long time.”

“I don’t care.”

“Of course you care. Jenna’s counting on you. You’re so close, you got this. You’re safe. You’re not in any danger anymore.”

“Right. I just told you what they did to me. I’m not safe. Now that West has tried to kill me, I’m gonna have to ask my super to change my locks, maybe get an alarm system … or hire a bodyguard.” Josh looks up, his right arm extending the length of Shawn’s desk, his left supporting his head. “These people. This company is fucked up.”

“I see that.”

“You believe me, right?” Josh’s eyes are halfway closed.

“Absolutely. I’ve seen what this company is capable of. And even though I one hundred percent believe Jenna played a part in Lenny’s death, I know she didn’t do it alone.” Shawn picks up the six black flash drives, shuffles them like cards, drops them back on the table. “These are the entire contents of the 4JFK file, right?”

“Yes.”

“You wanna leave these with me? I can have my flock of paralegals go through this in no time.”

“Thanks, but no.” Josh collects them, places them in his bag. “I’m keeping them.”

“That’s quite a bit to go through.”

“I know. I’ll get to it.”

“With the event coming up?”

“God!” Josh slams a fist on Shawn’s desk. “I said I’ll get to it.”

C h a p t e r   3 4

“SO THIS IS it,” Shawn says.

Shawn stands curbside in front of the Garfield Building, Micah and Lennox’s high-rise. Micah has two suitcases next to him. Haylee is standing beside them, a tissue in her hand. The spring weather has finally broken through, and everyone is dressed in short-sleeved garb. Micah is dressed for travel, in Bermuda shorts and a Mayor Pete T-shirt. He sees Shawn’s sincerity, his semi-poignant expression. He pulls off his sunglasses, places them over his head, mimics Shawn’s face.

“Yep, this is it. For now.” Micah hugs him. “Thank you, kind sir, for everything. You saved me.”

“It’s what we do.”

Haylee is crying. She hugs Micah, whispers in his ear. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me these past few weeks.”

“I think I’ll miss you most of all,” he whispers back. He pats her belly. “Bye, little man. See you soon.”

Shawn looks at Haylee with curious eyes. “Excuse me?”

“Shh, he thinks it’s a boy,” she whispers. “We’ll talk.”

Micah flings one of the suitcases into the waiting Uber. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“It’s a good time to leave the city.” Shawn flings the second one. “Things are getting crazy again with that former employer of yours.”

“Don’t remind me. Please give my love to Jenna. I hope she finds what she’s looking for.” Micah walks back around to the curb. “Tell her I’m sorry I didn’t come see her. I just couldn’t, well—”

“She knows. I’m sure Josh will take good care of her.”

“I’m gonna miss you guys.”

“You’re coming back.” Shawn walks to his side. “You may think you want to travel the world, but home? Home is where your family is.”

“Family?” Micah smiles.

“Yes,” they say in unison.

“I’m leaving it open,” Micah says. “No major decisions, right, Haylee?”

“Right.” Haylee throws his backpack in the back seat. “Do you have everything? Passport? Toothbrush?”

“I’m good.” Micah laughs, ducks into the car. “Really good. I’m excited. This will be good for me.”

“Freedom,” Shawn adds. “We’ll keep an eye on the house until it clears.”

“Furniture comes with the place, don’t forget,” Micah says. “Sorry. The broker has all the information. I can handle everything else from overseas. You have my number if you need it. I really appreciate it.”

“We got this,” Shawn replies. “Stay sober!”

“Please keep in touch,” Haylee says.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep tabs on you.” Micah smiles. “All three of you.”

“We’ll FaceTime. I’ll tell him all about his Uncle Micah.”

“Him?” Shawn asks.

“That’s my cue.” Micah shuts the door.

He waves goodbye as the car pulls around the corner.

C h a p t e r   3 5

A YOUNG WOMAN jogs along the Hudson River Greenway between 83rd and 84th street. She runs around the corner onto the waterfront strip that extends down to Battery Park. The sun hasn’t yet crept above the Manhattan skyline, so the boardwalk gratings and posts are still speckled with morning dew.

Her broad shoulders are glistening, her brow and upper lip dotted in sweat. Out of breath, she takes a break on a nearby bench. She leans her head back. Directly above her to her left, she sees a small crane move a giant hook into position next to the 79th street river basin. Seagulls circle the crane, breaking through the peace of a city not yet fully awake.

She exhales, takes in the view. The sun begins to filter through the skyscrapers,