A cool breeze suddenly flapped the paper in his hand, and he almost dropped it.
“So I have here in my hand something that Kendra never had the chance to read, but it was written by someone that maybe knew her best. It was written by her father.” Brett started to read, once again wiping the tears from his eyes. “My daughter is only four years old, but she is a beautiful soul. I know that, as I know that there is air around me and a sun in the sky. She is kind, caring, and wise beyond her years. Everyone who meets her has the same opinion, they say that she will one day do good in this world, that she is a natural protector of others. She is only four, but she is already a very special person.”
Brett exhaled as he finished, skipping over the paragraphs that put a shiver up his spine even to this day.
We have not spoken, but I have heard about you. I have heard that you are particularly kind to children of broken homes. While our home is still intact, I fear that a break is imminent. I fear that there is something coming for our daughter, something evil. Something that we cannot protect her from.
And it will keep coming. I have tried to keep her safe, as this is my duty, but I fear that I am not capable.
If it were a man after her, I would physically stand in his way. If it were a woman, I would restrain her. But it is neither. It is something truly evil.
Please, Father Callahan. I don’t know what else to do. Please, keep my Ken-Ken safe.
Brett wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve and stared up into the bright sun, trying to compose himself.
His thoughts immediately turned to what Agent Grover had told him after Brett had spent nearly a week on leave trying to make some sense of what had happened.
It had been Martin’s DNA on the glass, of course, which didn’t really surprise him. But what had been a revelation was the fact that Kendra’s DNA was a match to both Martin’s and the samples of the missing girls that they had on file.
All of them.
Martin was her birth father, and the missing girls were her sisters.
Director Ames had left this out of the report, chalking it up to sample contamination. But Brett knew the truth.
The field had become eerily quiet, he realized as he continued to stare at the sun; the birds had stopped chirping, the tree frogs had stopped their songs, the crickets were silent.
It was only Brett and his words.
“Twenty-nine,” he continued with a sob. “Kendra will live on in the twenty-nine girls that she saved, and she will live on in any of those girls who go on to have children of their own.”
His body was racked with sobs now, but he continued anyway, forcing the words out.
“Thirty,” he croaked. “Kendra will live on in thirty people, because Kendra will live on in me.”
Brett Cherry wiped the tears from his eyes and folded the envelope before putting it back in his pocket.
We are going to miss you, Ken-Ken.
END
~
Author’s Note
…and breathe. It’s over, at least until Book 3 in the Family Values Trilogy, Daughter, comes out in Fall 2016. Lots more of this tale, about mater est, matrum omnium and the swamp that needs a-tellin’.
Father was one of my favorite books to write, partly because some of the material struck home to me as a father of three. No, I won’t be dropping any of my children off at a church anytime soon (I’m partial to all of them), but there is no denying the impact that I have on them. My impact is reflected in the things they say and do, how they act, and how they treat others. And if there is anything that this world needs today, I would argue that treating others just a little bit better is near the top of that list.
So smile at someone, hug someone, say something nice. And maybe leave a review, because those are nice, too .
In all honesty, I’m forever grateful for you, loyal reader, for supporting what I do. I hope that despite the dark material in my books, I put a smile on your face by taking you to a different world, if only for a few hours.
Take care,
Patrick
Montreal, 2016
Other Books by Patrick Logan
The Haunted Series
Book 1: Shallow Graves
Book 2: The Seventh Ward
Book 3: Seaforth Prison
Insatiable Series
Book 1: Skin
Book 2: Crackers
Book 3: Flesh
Book 4: Parasite
Book 5: Stitches (Winter 2016)
Family Values Trilogy
Witch
Mother
Father
Daughter (Winter 2016)
Short Stories
System Update
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Not all houses are made of brick and stone...
Robert Watts is having the worst day of his entire life: first he’s laid off, then he finds out that his wife is having an affair... with his boss no less. And that’s only the beginning.
Before the month is out, Robert finds himself alone to raise his daughter with no money, no job, and a house that is minutes from being repossessed. Just when he hits rock bottom, a strange visitor arrives at the doorstep of his soon to be foreclosed house with a letter from an Aunt he didn’t know existed.
The offer is simple: look after Aunt Ruth during her dying days, and in return Robert will be bequeathed the Harlop Estate in which she currently resides. It’s a no brainer and Robert jumps at the opportunity, equally motivated by the prospect of financial security as he is for a fresh start.
Problem is, it only takes a few nights in the Harlop Estate before he begins to question Aunt Ruth’s claims that they are the home’s only inhabitants...
It’s the scratching he hears during the night, the voices that he can barely make out over the constant rain, and then there’s the girl with the rat...
With their house foreclosed and their bank accounts liquidated, Robert and his daughter Amy desperately need a place to live. But the question Robert soon finds himself struggling with is whether living in the Harlop Estate is worth it... and if he can survive until Aunt Ruth passes to collect his inheritance.
Grab your copy today!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents in this book are either entirely imaginary or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or of places, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © Patrick Logan 2016
Cover design: Ebook Launch (www.ebooklaunch.com)
Interior design: © Patrick Logan 2016
Editing: Main Line Editing (www.mainlineediting.com)
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, cannot be reproduced, scanned, or disseminated in any print or electronic form.
Third Edition: November, 2016
MORE BY PATRICK LOGAN
DETECTIVE DAMIEN DRAKE
Butterfly Kisses: A Thrilling Serial Killer Novel
Cause of Death: A Gripping Medical Murder Thriller
Download Murder: A Terrifying Psychological Murder Mystery
CHASE ADAMS FBI THRILLERS
Frozen Stiff
Shadow Suspect
DR. BECKETT CAMPBELL, MEDICAL EXAMINER MYSTERIES
Organ Donor: A Medical Thriller
THE INSATIABLE SERIES
Skin (Insatiable Series Book 1)
Crackers (Insatiable Series Book 2)
Flesh (Insatiable Series Book 3)
Parasite (Insatiable Series Book 4)
Knuckles (Insatiable Series Book 4.5)
Stitches (Insatiable Series Book 5)
THE HAUNTED SERIES
Shallow Graves (The Haunted Book 1)
The Seventh Ward (The Haunted Book 2)
Seaforth Prison (The Haunted Book 3)
Scarsdale Crematorium (The Haunted Book 4)
Sacred Heart Orphanage (The Haunted Book 5)
FAMIL
Y VALUES TRILOGY
Witch (Family Values Trilogy Book 0)
Mother (Family Values Trilogy Book 1)
Father (Family Values Trilogy Book 2)
SEE MORE AT PATRICK LOGAN’S AUTHOR PAGE
Skeleton King Page 26