Aftershocks Read Online Free Page A

one. Rhomney has obtained employment in Delaware County, north of Columbus, Ohio, while Thomashunis is in a halfway house in Marion.”
    Zoe nodded. She unfortunately knew that area well, despite having moved away so many years ago.
    “They are far away from Boston,” he assured her, “and the terms of their parole require them to remain in Ohio and check in with their respective parole officers once a week, in person.”
    “Yet here you are, notifying me of what is no doubt already in this letter.” Zoe held the envelope a few inches off the desk and dropped it. But she couldn’t look away from it. Henricksen remained still and silent while she fought a rush of rage and despair, forced herself to remain in the present, that off-white rectangle a bizarre center point holding her in place.
    She wasn’t as divorced from her past as she’d believed. It wasn’t going to stay where it belonged.
    And she’d been getting phone calls from Ohio.
    She straightened and looked at Henricksen. “So why are you here? What’s happened? The FBI doesn’t do courtesy calls and hand-holding.”
    “No. Nothing has happened that anyone is concerned about.” For the first time, he shifted in his chair and looked uncomfortable. “I was a junior agent at the time of your abduction. You haven’t left my mind since.”
    She noticed that he referred to her, not her case. That warmed her, but she didn’t understand. “The bad guys were caught. I was fine. It’s not like the unsolved case that haunts a career. So why…”
    “You were brave and fierce, and your escape gave me hope that I could actually make a difference in this job. But that’s rare. Most cases do the opposite.” He cleared his throat and tugged his suit jacket forward. “I’ve kept tabs on Rhomney and Thomashunis and knew you’d be getting a notification letter.” He eyed the envelope. “It’s a pretty cold way to learn something like this.”
    Zoe didn’t tell him that might be a good thing. Acting like something was a big deal sometimes made it one. “Is there reason to believe I’m in any danger?” She was pleased with the steadiness of her voice, but swiveled her engagement ring into her palm and clenched her fist around it. A reminder that she was an adult, not a powerless child.
    Henricksen didn’t sigh, but he might as well have. “Not officially, no. Reports indicate your abductors had no apparent contact during their incarceration, and those who followed them but escaped prosecution have dispersed.”
    Zoe felt her mouth twist and consciously relaxed it. It wasn’t Henricksen’s fault that prosecutors had let so many of Pat and Freddie’s people go for lack of evidence. Most of them hadn’t done anything bad to Zoe. Some had even been kind. But they knew she didn’t belong there, and they did nothing.
    Pat and Freddie had both pled out on Zoe’s abduction to avoid a trial, which was what enabled their parole now. Zoe’s fury that the DA had been unable to prosecute for Jordie’s murder had compromised her recovery for a long time. No body, no weapons, no evidence, no eyewitness testimony except the word of two young teenagers who had never actually seen anything—the prosecutors had just gone with what they had, assuring Zoe’s and Grant’s families that it would be enough.
    It wasn’t.
    But that was out of her control, and she’d finally accepted that. Or at least some part of her had.
    Dragging herself back to the topic at hand, she said, “So the FBI didn’t send you here.”
    “No. I’m here on my own. I have a bad feeling about their intentions, but bad feelings aren’t actionable.” He smiled a little. “Not in real life.” He spread a hand toward her. “You should have someone you can come to if it becomes necessary. Someone you know and can trust.”
    Zoe nodded. “I understand. And I appreciate it.” She told him about the phone calls she’d gotten but hadn’t answered. “Is that actionable?”
    He slipped a