FATHER ALWAYS SMILING

Chapter 50 ~~~~~

"Why did you ask about the radio host?" Josh's father asked.

Kira eyed the man, he looked to be a military man given his dog tags were in clear view and clean shaven. She then looked back to the boy, if she told he'd be in a world of trouble, but she needed to, and what he did to Amalie was something not even Kira could stand. "He came by your home to drop off your son's belongings."

The father's frown deepened. "Why?"

Josh was now white as a sheet as his gaze fell to his lap not wanting to answer so Kira did in his stead. "Because your son was in Mr. Hilmarsson's with Emma Terach who was supposed to be babysitting his daughter but... didn't."

Josh's father's hands balled into fists in his lap. "What did you do?" He demanded from his son, who just shifted further back in his bed like he was trying to become smaller with his rather large frame. "Answer me, Josh."

He flinched. "I... I didn't steal nothin'!"

"Correction," Kira clarified. "Couldn't steal anything because a friend of the family happened to come by, and help Amalie, whom your son and Emma Terach had locked the little girl out on the porch so that they could do the Devil's Tango."

"He did what!?" the mother gasped before looking at her son with shock. "Joshua!"

Kira then walked over to the parents and showed them her phone of the video in question. Of their son putting Amalie outside and locking the door. Both parents were horrified.

"Oh my god... Josh..." the mother looked to be in disbelief but looked at her son as if she was now afraid, but not for herself. "This girl is the same age as your sister! Would you do this to Susie too?"

"No!" Josh was quick to answer shaking his head. "I would never do that to her! I love Susie!"

"So then what about her?" the father asked calmly as the video replayed on a loop. Too calmly. "What went through your head to even think doing something like this was a good idea?"

"Emma said to—"

"Stop," his father told him. "Don't you dare blame someone else when you are in full control of your actions!"

Josh fell silent, his head hung low.

The father then looked to both detectives, arms folded across his broad chest. "Ask what you need, don't hold back on our account. We can handle it, but when you're done I'd like for us to have a private word with our son."

Freddie kept his note book at the ready to make notes as Josh just hung his head in defeat.

"We..." he began. "We just thought no one would notice, just small things here and there, like jewelry and video games. I mean stuff goes missing all the time? Emma's not the only one who'll fleece stuff off from rich folks. Ninety percent of the things we see we could never afford, she's done it with others too, not just me. But..."

"Keep going Josh," said his father.

"Just answer the detectives truthfully." His mother added.

After a moment he continued speaking. "Some guy burst in and dragged us out, I think he was a friend of the family? But the next day Mr. Hilmarsson showed up with the things we left in his house."

"So then how did you end up in the forest?" Kira couldn't figure out how that made him and Emma in the woods so injured.

"Because of the note," Josh said. "He left a note in my bag telling me to go to that place."