Then I picked up my coat.
“I need this job,” I said quietly. “More than you could possibly understand.”
His eyes met mine.
“But if that necklace came from my brother, I will find out how.”
I walked out.
Mrs. Alvarez followed me downstairs.
“Rachel.”
I kept walking.
“Please.”
I stopped near the front door.
She lowered her voice.
“You should go home tonight.”
“Was Ryan here?”
She hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
My eyes filled.
“When?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Cannot or will not?”
“Both.”
I laughed bitterly.
“My son is sick. My daughter is hungry. I came here because I had nothing left. And now I find the one object that belonged to my dead brother hanging around your employer’s neck.”
Mrs. Alvarez looked genuinely shaken.
“I am sorry.”
