The Silence | ✔️

27. S

Emma took a deep breath. "He was in insurance. He took care of big clients. But I'm pretty sure he was crooked," she swallowed and averted her gaze. "He wasn't a good person at home either."

"He hurt you?"

She kept her glance on the floor. But it was obvious from the quiver in her lip and the way she turned into herself that she had a haunted past. I knew what shutting down looked like. I had done it time and time again. Involuntarily remembering horrific experiences was a trigger and while I was good at hiding how much it affected me, I still felt it. I knew what it looked like.

"What was his name?"

"Howard Kenners."

Aiden's expression didn't reveal a thing. I had no idea whether that name was familiar to him. He just nodded and tilted his head to the side, fixing Emma with a sympathetic gaze. "Are you in school at the moment?"

"Yeah. We're on summer vacation right now though. I might get one more year there. Depends if the fee was paid before Howard was shot or not. I have no idea."

"When does school go back?"

"A couple of weeks," she shrugged. "I'm not that concerned about school."

"Education is important," Aiden stood up. His hand was still holding mine. I couldn't get used to how much comfort and warmth such a small simple gesture brought me. "I'll make some phone calls and find out. In the mean time, how old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You're still a minor which means that I can't legally act as your guardian. Social services will want to step in. But I could have some pull down at the offices. If I phone up and apply for guardianship, would that be alright with you? You could come and stay with us for a while?"

Emma seemed to choke up as she stared up at both of us with awe and wonder in her gaze. Even I was a little shell shocked. He was so efficient. He was quick and made things happen so fast. He slipped his cellphone out of his pocket and started towards the door. "Arian, come with me for a minute?"

I told Emma that I wouldn't be long and followed Aiden out in to the corridor. He did a subtle sweep of the space before his attention fixed on me. "I didn't kill her step father."

That wasn't what I had been expecting. The pieces seemed to fit so well. It just didn't seem to make sense. "Are you sure?"

"I don't recognise the name," he looked thoughtful, his hand rubbed the bottom of his chin for a moment before he shrugged again. "I mean, there was a good chance that it was just a murder. Pissed off client? Who knows. What did she say about other friends and family when you spoke? She doesn't have anyone else?"

"It— it seemed like that?" I answered, still feeling miffed over the fact that it wasn't Aiden. "We should double check I suppose. What if she's— I dunno — what if she's using you?"

His brows furrowed with confusion before he softly smiled. "Ari—"

"Ugh," I ducked my head in embarrassment. "Stupid. Ignore me. She's fifteen. I just— it felt—"

"It's been a rough couple of days baby," his knuckles gently brushed down my cheek and I inhaled a deep breath as my heart picked up a speed that was dangerous. "I'll do some research. Make sure her story checks out if that helps?"

"This was my idea," I leaned into his chest and stared up at his strong features. "I don't know why I'm being paranoid."

"Like I said," he let his hands rest on my lower back. "It's been a rough couple of days."