And I tried... to be strong... but then there... were all those... posters... all over the... place..." What posters?" Freddie asked. Then it hit him,...and it hit him as hard as it had hit his sister. Valentines Day. It was only a few days away, and it was their first Valentines Day without Jerry and Leah. They both lay on her bed, crying their hearts out, holding each other tightly until they cried themselves to sleep.Their mother tried to get them to come to dinner, but finally gave up, and. How was thatpossible?"I made you some breakfast," I told her as I poured her coffee. "Joan, I don't usually eat breakfast," she scolded."Well today, you're eating breakfast," I said with total determination. Iscraped her eggs onto her plate, got the toast out of the toaster and ranto grab the butter and jam. "Aren't you going to eat anything this morning?" she asked me. I lied andtold her that I'd already eaten. Her smile told me that she knew I wasn'ttelling the truth. "So, what are you going. Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to say something when the door to the store opened, interrupting her.The two men from outside came in. “Tree’s ready,” one of them said. Then he looked at me.I recognized him and thought, “Not again.” It was another friend and fellow bully of Riley’s, Nigel Kemp.Nigel stopped abruptly, recognition setting in. “You,” he said softly. “I should beat your ass,” he said with emphasis. He strode toward me, an aura of danger about him.I stepped away from the. " Suspects?" I asked."It's all in the file," she said tossing it on my desk. "I want it figured out by week's end."Figures, I thought. I half-wondered if she wanted me to succeed so it would make her look good or fail, so she could finally hold it over me. I don't fail."One more thing," she added, "bringing in a new hire, worked in that department for years at another store, just applied to work with us. I think she'll be valuable."I rolled my eyes. I worked best alone. The last thing I needed.