"Yes! Jessie got a hard slap across the face! She left with her mom, all red and swollen!"

She went on, "Jessie's dad's really sick, so no one's handling the business. Marcus mentioned her dad's not great with that stuff. Mr. Watson, Jessie's in over her head with all this."

Albert's heart twinged at her words.

In a low tone, he said, "Got it.”

Melissa couldn't gauge Albert's thoughts.