The Girl and the Unlucky 13 (Emma Griffin™ FBI Mystery) A.J. Rivers (historical books to read TXT) 📖

this happened to me, and my grandmother had a heart attack because of it. That should be a decent payout. I’ll probably put some of it away, but I’m booking a high roller trip. We’ll just hope I have better luck there than I did with Wiseacre.”

She laughs slightly and I look over at Misty.

“Where are John and Leona?” I ask.

“John went to get me coffee and Leona is with her grandmother. They have her in the next hallway so we can be with both of them,” she says.

I nod. “I need to call the rest of the team and let them know what’s going on. If you’ll excuse me.”

I step out of the room and call Dean to give him a brief overview of what’s happening. As I’m getting off the phone, I get to the room where Ashley’s grandmother is under care. Even from outside the partially open door, I can hear sobbing. I step inside and find Leona sitting beside the bed, her head buried in the bedding beside her grandmother. She’s holding the woman’s hand and crying so hard her body shakes.

“I don’t know what’s happening, Grandma,” she whispers. “I don’t understand why she’s here. She can’t be. I saw her standing there bleeding and I just…”

She dissolves into sobs again.

“Leona?” I say, getting closer.

She gasps as she lifts her head. “You could have knocked.”

“I’m sorry. I heard you crying and wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

“No, I’m not alright. Do you see my grandmother?” she asks.

“I do. I heard and I am so sorry. But they have her under really good care,” I say.

“Spare me,” she mutters.

She stands and starts for the door of the room, brushing past me. Something catches my eye on the bedside table and I go to look at it. The gold bracelet has a plaque in the middle, embedded with small colored stones.

“Don’t touch that,” Leona snaps.

I look over at her, surprised she’s still in the room. “Is this your grandmother’s?”

“Yes. She’s worn it as long as I can remember. It has our birthstones in it.”

“It’s beautiful.”

I take another look at the bracelet, then walk out into the hallway to go back to Ashley’s room. Leona goes in the opposite direction, but my attention isn’t on her anymore. As I approach Ashley’s room, I see John coming down the hallway.

“Hi, John,” I say.

“Agent Griffin,” he says. “Good to see you. I know having you here will reassure Misty. She was very agitated this morning.”

“I can imagine,” I say. “Can I speak to you for just a second? About Ashley?”

He nods. “Absolutely. How can I help?”

“I’ve just noticed something and I wanted to know if it means anything to you.”

“Alright.”

“A couple of times now, Ashley has mentioned things like playing lotto or going to a dog track. She was just talking about how she wants to sue the police and use the money to go to Vegas. Every time she talks about it, Misty seems to get really uncomfortable. I know it’s an unusual thing for her to be focused on right now, but the mind works in strange ways sometimes. It might be an escape method for Ashley to think about exerting her adulthood through activities like that. But Misty seems really distressed by the idea. Is that just her protectiveness worrying about Ashley, or does it mean something else to you?”

John lets out a breath, his shoulders dropping as he looks down into the coffee cup in his hand.

“Misty always worried it would pass down to the girls. Leona seems to have escaped it, but maybe Ashley isn’t so lucky,” he says.

“I don’t understand.”

His eyes meet mine and I see a wisp of sadness and something like longing in them. It’s like looking at the aftermath of memories.

“Misty has a gambling addiction. She’s been in recovery for a long time, but it got very bad for a while. We actually met in a rehab center that treated addiction.”

Fifty-One

“It looks like a nice facility,” I say, biting the end off a carrot stick. “Not one of those get-back-to-nature retreats or anything, but for what it is, it seems good. A lot of the staff is made up of volunteers from the medical community who want to help people battling their addictions.”

“Is it only for gambling addiction?” Dean asks, taking a bite of his sandwich.

This might not be the topic of conversation I’d usually like to have during a summer picnic, but it will have to do. I spent most of the day at the police station and at Ashley’s house, trying to piece everything about this morning’s attack together. I didn’t realize I hadn’t stopped all day until Dean, Xavier, and Ava showed up with a picnic for dinner.

We’re taking advantage of the long summer day to eat outside, but I’m feeling far from leisurely. The whole time we’ve been sitting here, I’ve been researching the rehab center John told me about. It’s hard to imagine Misty there. But knowing about that time in her life helps give me more insight into some of her reactions.

“No. The center treats a variety of addictions and compulsive behaviors. They use a lot of social engagement and group therapy settings to encourage accountability. The thought is that the patients will learn to rely on friendships, enjoyable activities, and common interests, and not want to let their friends down, which will help to create strong support systems. Because they don’t all share the same addiction, they are supporting each other in the same even playing field of overcoming the basic idea of addiction rather than the objects of their addictions. That’s how Misty and John met. They were in social groups together,” I say.

“I’m surprised to hear a facility like this would condone romantic relationships between patients,” Ava comments.

“They don’t,” I say. “John mentioned that. They actively discourage any kind of romantic or sexual relationship. But the two of them were able to get away with more because Misty was pregnant, so people