Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
When I looked at the contents, I gasped. It was from Margie. I had no idea how she’d managed to get access to the internet because she was currently in custody. Then again, my friend was criminally minded in a way I’d never known about, so she surely had her ways.
Hey Shannon,
Sorry for the strange email, but I had to do this fast since I’m not supposed to have computer access. Things are not going so great for me. I should’ve known my past would come back to bite me at some stage. Maybe I was overconfident since I’d gotten away with it for so long, but anyway, you might have heard by now about what I did at my old job. Like a lot of things I’ve done, I’m not proud of it, but I was desperate at the time and had run out of money. Perhaps facing the consequences will be good for me …
Either way, you were one of the only people who was ever genuinely kind to me for no other reason than wanting to be my friend. That’s why I’m sending you the names and email addresses of everyone Samuel scammed using Jace’s identity, along with estimated sums he managed to steal from them. I’m sure he’s done a disappearing act by now, and if he’s fled, I honestly have no idea where he’s gone. There is one way you might be able to track him. It’s unorthodox, but not technically illegal, as far as I know, so if you really want to get the arsehole, this is how I’d do it …
22.
Jace
Zara ran ahead of me into the apartment, and I set her bag in her room before heading into the living area. Shannon sat crossed legged on the couch with her computer on her lap, and I paused a moment to take her in. The sunlight streaming through the window cast her features in a breathtaking glow, the shine of her dark, glossy hair captivating to my eyes.
I’d spent several hours today with my sponsor, Bren. We’d spent most of those hours working on a bass guitar he was repairing for one of his clients, but when he’d asked me how everything was going with Shannon, it had been like a dam had burst. I’d gotten everything out, about Dixon and Margie, all the shit that had gone down yesterday. Bren had listened quietly, and when I was done speaking he’d simply said, “I’m proud of you.”
“Proud of me for what?” I’d responded. “Having my identity stolen or for not realising Cai’s mother had been masquerading as Shannon’s friend right under our noses?”
“I’m proud of you because you’re handling all this so well. You just told me one hell of a crazy story, and yet you seem solid. I’ve sponsored a lot of ex-addicts in my time, and many of them lost track of their sobriety for much less than what you just told me. Yet you’re sitting here in front of me, a little tired maybe, but still solid as a rock. What’s not to be proud of? It’s also nice to see that none of it’s driven you and Shannon apart. Relationships that can withstand a bit of pressure are the ones that will last.”
“We didn’t last before,” I’d said.
A kind smile shaped the deep wrinkles in his face. “It’s different this time, don’t you think?”
A lightness had filled me, and I’d thought about where Shannon and I had been a few weeks ago and how far we’d come, the closeness we now shared. I almost couldn’t believe it was real. Before coming off my tour, I’d never imagined a reality where Shannon would consider taking me back. The fact that she was willing to try again made me feel like the luckiest son of a bitch in the world, despite all the other bullshit going on in my life.
It was only when my attention went to the taut line of her lips pressing together that I realised she was staring at her computer screen with a perturbed expression.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I neared her, and her eyes flicked up, face pale.
“Margie emailed me,” she said and my eyebrows lifted.
“How?”
“I have no idea, but she managed to get access to a computer. She’s … she’s sent me the details of all of Samuel’s victims. We’ll be able to get in touch with them.”
The pressure that had been living inside me ever since Alison had showed up to Roan’s art show suddenly dissolved. I rounded the couch and lowered to sit next to her. She was still staring at the email, and as I read it over her shoulder, I realised why she looked so troubled.
“No way. I’m not letting you do that.”
“But we could catch him this way, get him sent to prison where he belongs.”