“But now that we’re pursuing this theory, it makes the records of Dale visiting your sister, Jill, of the utmost concern.”
The topic I had been dreading finally came up. I clenched my fists. The question had been swimming around in my head ever since I learned this.
I was dying with curiosity. Why would Dale meet with Jill? What was their connection? I couldn’t think of one. Yet, Dale had visited her every day.
What was the meaning of it? That was the most difficult thing to figure out.
It was hard to believe they had a hidden connection. If Jill had ever spoken with Dale in the past, she definitely would have told me about it. Her past behavior told me as much. She had kept quiet about her secret trysts with Berklein, of course, but at her core, Jill was an open book.
When it came to boy talk, she was unstoppable. She would repeat the story ten times until I begged her to stop. That’s the kind of girl she was.
And that’s why I was pretty darn certain that she and Dale had had no prior contact.
“Guess we gotta question Leia’s sister next, oh yes.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say, Lingsha,” Eric said. “Funny, I thought you’d suggest we blast her away.”
“Eric, you meanie! You’re making it sound like blasting people away is all I ever talk about!”
Honestly, I was also a little surprised.
But it was undeniable. We had hit a wall, and questioning Jill directly would be the fastest way of breaking through. I doubted Dale would do anything without reason, so I had to face the music and visit my sister.
“I’ll speak with Jill,” I said.
I decided I would be the one to get her story. I had only visited her once since she’d been thrown in jail. She cried the whole time, so it wasn’t much of a conversation.
If I went to visit her now, it might be no different. But if I didn’t talk to her, I would be throwing away a chance of finding the missing piece to the puzzle. I wasn’t getting my hopes up, but I would be patient this time and really try to talk to her.
“Thanks, that will really help me out. If I went to see her, she’d probably blab a bunch of nonsense. I’ll send word to the dungeon warden. Can you go visit her alone?”
“Yes, that’s the idea. I’m not sure whether or not I can get Jill to talk, but I will do my best.”
And so it was decided that I would go to the dungeon to visit Jill. I had put up a strong front for Eric, but the truth was, my anxiety was killing me.
Would I be able to even talk to Jill? We’d never had proper conversations before, and now she was in a dungeon, bedraggled and depressed.
But that’s still no excuse to give up. I’ll make you talk if it’s the last thing I do, Jill.
As images of her melodramatic tears haunted my mind, I pressed on.