DECEPTIONS OF THE DARK

nd worried, erupting into exclamations. Rowoon and his mother rushed to Jinmi,

his mind. These were the same clothes he had seen that morning. He wondered if she was as surprised to se

silence, holding her by the shoulders. “We wer

at Kevin, and then back to her

ut the crash. Mother wanted to wait a b

er as they talked. Her eyes seemed more focused than they had yesterday during

for hours, then that text messag

ed down at the floor, hiding the small glimmer of tears in her eyes. When she looked up again they were

regained his composure, already devising their next move. He had informed Damian about the unexpe

nion is, we still have to get he

him, as if they had forgott

t no one moved. Damian pointed at Jinmi. “You stay

no one

’t talking to myself. Now! Move! Let’s go!” He lea

himself still staring at Ji

Lawyers started packing up their papers and lapto

to the study down the hall.” He turned to Damian, his eyes steely. “Next t

amian escorted the lawyers and family out, leaving Kevin and Jinmi

Jinmi since their morning encounter. She still wore the clothes he bought, her hair hanging lifelessly, y

jok

your house to talk to you?” He watched the emotions

However, I didn’t know it was you. If I’d known you w

ruth. Kevin watched her, wondering where his partner was, and then decided Jinmi was telling

ash wasn’t an accident.” She pulled her face into a frown, her eyes

n that right now. We need mo

ng. She looked pale, and still a

g an empty page. They evaluated each other for a moment before

ed slowl

called ‘Bumpy’?” She sat for a

were called ‘Bumpy’. She promised it

not a shrill or artificial sound but one that suited her perfectly. He found himself wanting

ping into things, and it got worse over time. The tipping point was when I accidentally backed up into a display of salsa. Let me tell you, that crash was something else." She chuckled,

ere was one question that he couldn’t get out of his mind. "Why work at a grocery store when you don't need to?" Kevin, now Detective Kevin, teased. She question

excelling in school and being popular, she always wondered if people liked her for wh

is dad had wanted him to follow his footsteps into business school. It hadn’t been enough that his brothers had both gone into business; he’d needed all his sons to follow the family tradition. Kevin just couldn’t follow that path; he needed to help people, to protect them. He’d needed more in his life than studying and paperwork. He’d kept his e

e encourag

table with a perfectly manicured fingernail. “My success or failure has to be mine. It’s not success if I can’t do it

l woman sitting across from him. She could have been spo

thinking about yourself, and nothing about anyone else in the

sn’t decide what I do with it.” She paused, her bravado failing for a moment. “He got to have an opinion. An

wanted to ask, but that might be crossing too far into unprofessional territory. Instead he filed the information in the back of his mind, something that could be usefu

n the company. It was nev

own and was forced to flip through the notebook. “Previousn interviewees told

ed, I mean.” She shifted in her chair. “You’ve talked to my brother already, right?” When Kevin didn’t answer, she carried on talki

enly more interested in he