Darkness Descends (The Silver Legacy Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

lot, aren’t we?”
    Denny leaned forward. “Why am I here, Q? What’s got you so fired up to see me when you basically told me to forget you ever lived?”
    Quick stared down at his folded hands for a full minute before leaning forward and whispering, “I know this may come as a shock, Goldy, but...I’m innocent. You know in your heart I could never kill anyone.”
    Denny frowned. “It’s a little late for that, Q. You walked to the gallows like a man who didn’t care.”
    “Maybe because I didn’t care. Jesus Christ, Goldy, who could hate me so much they’d kill Lisa’s family and pin it on me?”
    Denny raised an eyebrow. “Umm...any number of people could have wanted them dead. It’s not like her father was town mayor, and it’s not like you didn’t steal quite a few girls away from other guys. I can imagine any number of people you’ve pissed off over the years.”
    “Enough to send me here?”
    Denny shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “I didn’t do it. For a while there, I thought maybe I did. You know, I thought that I’d partied too hard and lost control, but that didn’t happen. I know it didn’t go down that way.” He paused before waving the words away. “Anyway, that’s not even why I called you here.”
    “So, why am I here?”
    “First, just tell me you believe me.”
    Denny inhaled deeply and nodded. “I’ve always thought you were innocent, Q, but that evidence...” she shook her head, “and your unwillingness to fight it...I don’t know. You looked so guilty. The evidence was...damning.”
    Quick nodded slowly. “I understand.”
    “Do you? We all got dragged through your muck for over a year and now you tell me you didn’t do it. Why now , Quick? Why not when you were sitting in the defendant’s chair?”
    Quick stood up and blinked back tears. “When you have nothing but time to think, you see things more clearly, and now that I’m not wrapped up in courtroom proceedings, I know exactly why I’m in here and what it means to our family. I didn’t know before, but I do now, and it’s vital you know as well.”
    “You mean aside from the pain of losing you and suffering through the embarrassment and humiliation?” Denny’s anger surprised even her. “Not to mention what that poor family went through? We all lost something, Q. Every single one of us.”
    “Yeah, I get that, Goldy. Besides all that, there’s so much more to the picture you need to see.” Quick wiped his eyes and nodded to the beefy guard that he was done. “Listen to me carefully, Goldy. I think you guys might be in danger from whoever did this to Lisa’s family, and though I can’t prove it from in here, I’m pretty sure whoever ran Mom and Dad off the road is the same person. I’m worried for Pure. For you. I needed you to know.”
    Denny opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
    Quick nodded. “I know this is a lot to take in right now. Talk to Mom, Goldy. She’s in there. She knows the truth. You’d never believe me anyway, but talk to Mom. There’s always a way to get to her.”
    “Talk...but that’s impossible.”
    Shaking his head, he stopped when he was almost to the door. “That’s where you’re wrong, Goldy. Nothing is impossible. And pretty soon, you’re going to see just how true that is.”
    With that, Quick walked back through the large metal door, leaving Denny in stunned silence.
    ***
    S isters of Mercy Convent looked like any other convent in the city. It had brown and gray stone walls, a church, and dormitories for the nuns. Denny’s sister taught ninth grade at St. Vincent’s Academy for Girls–– a very swanky Catholic school for Southern divas according to Quick. He’d never been in favor of her taking the veil.
    School let out as Denny pulled up in her Prius. It had been Lauren’s parents’ car, but they’d sold it to Denny for a thousand bucks. They didn’t need the money, and she needed a reliable car.
    “Golden. What a pleasant surprise.”