Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

wished her petition had remained her biggest problem. It
wasn’t.
The boat pitched. The woman next to Josie gasped and put
her hand to her heart. Josie gave her a quick smile that she
hoped was reassuring, rolled her head against the wall, and
looked at the other unhappy passengers. Deciding the quarters
were too close, Josie minced her way out to the deck and fell
onto one of the benches just in time for a rollercoaster drop.
She breathed deeply and turned her face into the needles of
spray instead of away from it. Molokai rose from the sea, its
lush mountains veiled in the mist. Alone on the deck, she
couldn’t keep her thoughts from going back to the fly in the
ointment: her father.
Upstanding, trustworthy, the brave warrior and selfless
father was also a liar if Archer was right about his discharge.
And if he lied about his service, logic dictated that he lied
about Emily. Even if it was by omission, that was a vile thing
to do. She understood why he wouldn’t want to visit some
horror on a child but Josie was a grown woman and a lawyer
when he passed. She would not have been devastated by a
deathbed revelation.
It was the knowledge of her father’s deception that made
Josie reconsider the situation she found herself in. She no
longer wanted to give up and go home because now there were
amends to be made. Maybe not on behalf of her father, but
because she had spent so many years placing blame at her
mother’s feet. For that, Josie was truly sorry and she would
make it up to Emily. Toward that end, she braved the
unfriendly sea to keep her visitation appointment. She was
determined not to give Judge Mohr or Bernard Reynolds any
reason to question her commitment to her mother.
Suddenly, the boat lurched. A wave slammed against the
side and every plank shuddered. Josie grabbed onto the cabinet
next to her. When the boat started rolling again, she put the
hood of her windbreaker up and pulled the drawstrings to
close the neck. A few minutes later, the boat entered the
harbor. Josie was first off the ferry and inside the Keoloko car