Forgotten Truths (The Forgotten Truths Series) by Justine E. Domke Page B

you to meet someone.” He motioned for me to come toward him, and when I did he stepped aside. I felt his hand on my back this time as he followed me into the room. This room was just as big as the study, but the walls didn’t have any shelves on them. In fact, besides a couple paintings and the windows, the walls were bare. There was the same large window in the front as in the study, but this one had a deep-red cushion on the bench. The floor had the same dark-red coloring in the carpet as in the cushion, but the two couches in the middle of the room were white. It felt cold, empty and rarely used. So this was a sitting room. After taking another quick look around, I understood it must have been referred to as a sitting room since there wasn’t anything to do in it but sit.
    On one of the couches sat an older man who was holding a paper. He folded it and put it down next to him before standing up and straightening his suit. He hadn’t seen me yet, so I got a chance to study him first. He was my height, which surprised me for some unexplainable reason. His hair was grey, and he was clearly aging. He was a little on the heavier side, but not exactly plump either. He was dressed in a fancy suit, very prim and proper even though James had told me he was retired. When he turned toward me, I saw how tired he looked. His ocean-blue eyes didn’t seem as bright as they may have been at one time. Maybe it was the way his expression seemed fixed into a constant frown, as if he was the saddest man in the world, and when he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes.
    “Captain, this is Andrea.” James said as he looked at me again.
    The captain nodded and opened his mouth to speak but stopped. Then he took a closer look at me and his smile disappeared.
    I glanced at James, and he was just confused as I was. He took a step toward him so that he was in front of me. “Captain?”
    He kept staring at me, so I stepped behind James. James peered over his shoulder at me and reached his hand around behind him. I wasn’t sure what he meant to do with it, but he then turned back to the captain, who was still standing there, his mouth hanging open. I started to step back further when James suddenly leaned back and grabbed my hand. He didn’t pull me up next to him, but made sure that I didn’t run, which I very much felt like doing. I didn’t start tugging though, my attention still focused on the older man.
    “Captain, are you all right?”
    Captain Brown looked at him, and then turned back at me. James squeezed my hand as he looked back at me as well. I could tell by the expression on his face that he didn’t know what was wrong. He turned back to Captain Brown again, but this time took a step back. After another step, he was right next to me. He leaned over and whispered, “Let’s go.”
    I immediately stepped back again, but he didn’t move. I was really uncomfortable and looked toward the door. It was only a few feet away . I took another step toward it and tugged James’ hand. He hesitated, his attention still on the captain, but then he quickly turned around, and I found myself being pulled out into the other room. He dragged me up the steps and down the hall. I saw that there were three doors on each side of the hallway, which ended with a window on the far wall. He took me down to the last room on the left and opened the door. As soon as we were inside, he let go of my hand. He went over to a glass door on the opposite wall and stood with his hands behind his head.
    I took a quick look around the room. To my right was a big bed with a canopy above it. The bedding was a light, mossy green to match the chair in the corner. There was a bureau with a mirror attached along the wall that was behind me to my left. Along the left wall was a huge armoire with a long, narrow table next to it. Along the wall across from me where James stood was a bay window with a bench, just like the ones downstairs, and the cushion was again the same