Todos os capítulos de Too Late, Mr. Hale : Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 27

Callie's POVI didn't hear my phone ring. It was in the bottom of my work bag, under the new sketchbook, on silent. Jules and I had been working late at the Whitmore Grand, choosing fabric for the chairs, and by the time I saw the missed call, it was almost nine o'clock at night.There was one voicemail. From Diane.I almost didn't play it. Then I pressed the button and held the phone to my ear."Callie, it's me." Her voice was shaking so hard I barely knew it. "Please listen. Don't go home tonight. Don't go to that guest house. I heard her on the phone. Kendra. She told a man called Rafe to come tonight after Theo goes to bed. She said to make it look like an accident." There was a long breath, like she was crying. "I'm so sorry, my girl. I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. Please call me back."I sat down on one of the old restaurant chairs because my legs wouldn't hold me.Jules took the phone out of my hand and listened. When she was done, she put it down on the table very slowly a

Callie's POVI sat on the edge of the bed in the guest house with the silver box on my knees and the receipt in my hand until the sun went down.Office of the President.I thought about every strange thing from the last few weeks. Margaret Shaw, who never lost a case, taking mine for a favor. Dr. Price fixing Danny's heart in two days. Marco and his garden table. The detective calling Theo, sir. The men in dark suits nodding at him like he was their boss.And now a card that paid two hundred and eighty thousand dollars in one second.When Theo's kitchen light came on across the garden, I picked up my crutches and went over.He was standing at the stove in an old gray sweater, stirring a pot of soup. He smiled when he saw me in the doorway. Then he saw the receipt in my hand, and the smile slowly went away."I bought a dress today," I said."Jules told me," he said. "She sent me a video of Kendra's face. I've watched it nine times.""It cost two hundred and eighty thousand dollars, The

Callie's POVI read Mason's message four times. Then I showed it to Jules.She stopped laughing at once. "Absolutely not," she said. "He wants to walk into that ballroom with you on his arm so the whole city thinks he's a good husband. He wants to use you one more time.""I know," I said."So you'll say no."I looked at the message again. I'll sign the divorce papers. Five weeks ago, I would have done anything just to hear those words from him. Now they were the only thing standing between me and the rest of my life."I'm going to call Margaret," I said.Margaret listened without saying a word. When I finished, she was quiet for a moment, and I could almost hear her thinking."It's not a bad trade," she said finally. "One evening of smiling for cameras, and you're free months before any judge would free you. But we do it my way. Everything in writing. He signs the papers before the gala, and I hold them. The moment the night is over, I file them. If he breaks one rule, I file anyway a