Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

ERIKA

J ason texts me that the police are still searching the house, so I take the kids to McDonald's for lunch. I want to warn Liam about what's happening, but I'm not quite sure how to tell him.

Hannah agonizes over the menu at McDonald's, complaining about how it's going to ruin her diet. Then she goes ahead and orders a bacon double cheeseburger with large French fries. Liam says he's not hungry, but he reluctantly orders a Big Mac and Coke. I don't have much appetite either, but I pick something randomly from the menu. We've got to eat.

Hannah is the only one who manages to eat anything. She stuffs French fries into her mouth absently, almost automatically. Liam stares at his burger. His right cheek looks worse than it did in Mrs. McMillan's office. I can only imagine how bad it will look by tomorrow .

"Do you want me to get you some ice for your cheek?" I ask him.

"No."

"It's going to get more bruised if you don't ice it."

"I don't care." He regards his burger with a look of disgust. "Mom, I'm not hungry. Can I go sit in the car?"

Somehow I get the feeling I shouldn't let Liam out of my sight right now. "No. We're all going to stay right here."

"But, Mom—"

"You don't have to eat, but you have to stay here."

"Fine." Liam slumps down in his seat and pouts. Wow, the kid's acting like a real teenager now. Hannah has always been the expert at moping when we tell her what to do, but Liam always accepted everything without argument.

"Also," I add, "there's something you should know."

Liam lifts his eyes.

"The police are at our house right now. They're searching the house and my car."

Hannah puts down her burger, eyes flashing. " What ? Don't they need a warrant or something to do that?"

I nod. "They do. And they came with one." I look at Liam again. "They also want your phone. And just so you know, they'll be able to read anything you've deleted."

He's quiet for a moment, playing with the wrapper on his sandwich. "Fine."

"How bad is that, Liam?"

Before Liam can say a word, Hannah speaks up, "Liam didn't do anything. So they're not going to find anything incriminating."

I'm not so sure about that. But Liam doesn't give anything away with his expression. I get the feeling that my kids have been discussing this together. Sometimes I wonder what sorts of things Liam says to Hannah. He trusts her in a way that he doesn't trust me or Jason. If only I could be a fly on the wall.

"We'll go see the attorney Dad hired this afternoon," I say. "He'll tell us the next step."

I force myself to chomp down my salad. I don't have any appetite, but I need to eat if I'm going to get through what's going to happen next.