Chapter 7
"OK, it's done," Charlie said abruptly, printing something off his computer. Agent Carson walked over to him. "This should give you a few ideas of where he might be," Charlie continued.
"Thanks Professor," Carson replied, grabbing the maps and turning to leave.
"Hey," Charlie stopped her. She turned to look at him. He paused a second, debating what to say. "Be careful," he told her. Carson looked confused and curious.
"Thanks," she said hesitantly, unsure of what had come over him.
After she left, Charlie sat down in his chair. I wonder if she knows, he thought. Charlie exhaled in frustration, and went back to scribbling unhelpful numbers on his blackboard.
Amita came in and found him like this. She had a concerned look on her face.
"You wanna talk about it?" she asked him. Charlie turned around and looked at her. "You found out why your dad was acting strange, I presume," she observed. Charlie nodded and sighed. Amita gave him a look that told him to tell her.
"Do you remember Agent Carson?" he asked.
"Yeah, the agent working with Don on this case," she confirmed. Charlie nodded.
"My dad did a background check on her."
"Why?" Amita was confused.
"To see if she was who he thought she was," Charlie answered, trying to stall telling her the real reason.
"Well, judging by the way you're acting, she is. So who is she?" Amita pressed. Charlie took a deep breath.
"Mine and Don's younger sister," he told her reluctantly. Amita's jaw dropped.
"How?" she asked. She looked at Charlie and saw something on his face. "Alan didn't..."
"No, no he didn't have an affair," Charlie replied, shaking his head. Amita seemed confused. "Apparently, our parents and the Carsons used to be close friends, but the Carsons couldn't have kids. Mom and dad already had me and Don when mom found out she was pregnant again. They gave her to the Carsons to adopt," Charlie explained.
"Well, that was very generous of your parents," Amita tried comforting him.
"I guess," Charlie reluctantly agreed. Turning serious, he continued, "Except they died when she was ten. And why wouldn't our parents tell us?"
"I don't know Charlie," Amita sighed. "Does she even know?"
"I doubt it."
"Then, you and Don weren't the only ones who were lied to," Amita tried reasoning.
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to act around her now that we know?" Charlie asked exasperatedly. "Are we just supposed to pretend nothing has changed?"
"That's up to you guys," she said, walking over and giving him a hug.