Chapter 115

Dakota took the things up to the house and placed them in his room. The undisturbed pseudo-suicide note was quickly ripped up before being hidden in a tissue, which he tossed in the kitchen trash. As an afterthought, he cleaned out the coffeemaker and dumped the used grounds on top of it. He didn’t want to risk any chance that Hope or Dillon might fish it out and attempt to read it. And anyhow, he always wanted to be helpful.

Later that night, he gave Kenna an extra-long hug. She didn’t ask why, so he didn’t tell her. And perhaps he never would.38

He was straightening his tie in a decorative mirror when he heard Hope call his name. His attire was hand-selected for the second—and hopefully final—in-person interview for a receptionist position at a lovely office building forty minutes to the south, near the border with Virginia. They loved him last time, and he felt really good about it. Still, with more than three hours until the meeting time, Dakota was already incredibly nervous.