by Emily James
But, then again, maybe if I had, I never would have ended up in Fair Haven, and while my life wasn’t perfect here, I was happier than I’d ever been in DC.
I smiled into the phone even though he couldn’t see it. “Since you have a broken wrist and a totaled truck, I can give you a pass this time.”
Though technically I’d have to borrow Russ’ truck to do that. With all that’d been happening with Tony, Quantum Mechanics had a backlog on repairs.
“We could go to A Salt & Battery for your favorite fish and chips dinner,” Mark said.
My mouth watered. The fish and chips at A Salt & Battery rivaled any DC restaurant in my opinion, but the last time we’d been to A Salt & Battery together, I’d learned the meaning of if looks could kill.
“Unless you’d rather wait until I’m back to pink in color and less like a Benzite.”
I laughed so hard a little snort slipped out. The fact that Mark could reference the blue- and green-skinned race from Star Trek in normal conversation only made him that much more attractive to me. “I wouldn’t mind being seen with you in public even if you were bald like a Benzite, but the waitress at A Salt & Battery seems to hate me, probably because she’s heard the same rumors as Elise.”
“Then we’ll have to be so enamored with each other that she’ll know the rumors aren’t true.”
I couldn’t come up with a good argument for that, especially given the warmth it sent through my body.
I wished that I had when we entered A Salt & Battery and we had to pass Stacey Rathmell to reach an open table. Her face had a puffy look to it, and she sat hunched over her coffee cup, her arms encircling it almost like she was protecting it from the rest of the world.
That she was able to hold herself together at all spoke to an inner strength. She’d lost her fiancé and her father in the span of a month. Not only that, but everyone would believe her father was the one who’d taken her fiancé from her.
Stacey looked up as we passed and met my gaze. Her eyes were red-rimmed and hollow and very, very angry.
We should have gotten take-out.
We weaved our way to the back of the restaurant where the booths were. I’d always liked a booth better than a table. Mandy from The Sunburnt Arms and her niece (I recognized her from the photos Mandy had proudly shown me during my stay) waved at us as we passed. Coming from a big city, I still fought to find the balance between loving the fact that I was recognized and known and feeling like I was living in a Fair Haven-sized fish bowl. Right now it was a bit of both. It would have been nice to go out with Mark without being recognized by everyone, and seeing Stacey brought my mind back to something I’d been considering if we couldn’t break Tony’s confession or find the real attacker in time.
Mark stepped aside and let me pick which side of the booth I wanted. I expected him to sit on the other side of the table, but he slid in next to me.
“I’ll be your shield against grumpy waitresses,” he said.
He did look a bit like a fierce warrior with his bruised face. The edges of his bruises were more a yellow-green now than a purple-blue. If only he could be a human shield between me and the growing list of people who seemed to want to harm me. With Tony in custody, the police weren’t looking for Noah’s attacker anymore, so whoever had really done it was still roaming around free and without the fear of scrutiny.
I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, very gently.
His mouth quirked up at one corner like he was still afraid a full smile would hurt. “What was that for?”
“Wanting to be my hero.” I picked at the tablecloth. I should probably keep the conversation light, but now that I had Mark back, I coveted his advice. He’d already heard about the Tony–Stacey interrogation through Elise, so I didn’t need to fill him in. “I was thinking about offering to represent Tony as his defense council.”
“Does that mean you think he’s innocent or that you think he’s—”
A shadow fell over our table. I looked up, expecting the waitress, but instead Oliver’s wide eyes peered back at me. All of Fair Haven seemed to be in A Salt & Battery tonight.
“I won’t interrupt you long.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Since I saw you here, I thought you both might want to know they’re taking Noah off life support tomorrow. You know, in case you wanted to go say goodbye.”
My tongue seemed to melt into the bottom of my mouth. There was only one reason they’d be removing him from life support when he hadn’t shown any improvement. He was brain dead. I’m sorry seemed insufficient.
“Thank you,” I said instead.
The waitress came and swapped places with Oliver. I texted Russ and Elise with the news about Noah in case they wanted to stop by the hospital to see him one last time. Elise hadn’t seemed close with Noah, but I didn’t want to take the chance and violate our newly formed friendship by assuming.
When the waitress delivered our food, she glared at me a little less than usual. It might have been the way we were openly holding hands on top of the table, or it might have been the fact that I was here, with Mark, when he looked his worst. Either way, the ice daggers she usually shot at me from her eyes had blunted edges by the time Mark paid the bill.
Mandy and her niece were gone, but Oliver still sat at one of the tables, and so did Stacey. I nodded to Oliver and tucked in closer to Mark.
He could have easily ended up like Noah thanks to the crash. I could very well be the one sitting at a table alone tonight, wondering how I’d move on from it. Wondering if there was any way to move beyond so big a loss.
Had someone told Stacey about Noah being removed from life support? More than me or Russ or anyone else, she deserved to know what was about to happen tomorrow and to go by the hospital if she wanted to. That’s something I would have wanted if I were in her place.
When we came alongside her table, I stopped, pulling Mark to a halt with me.
Stacey’s gaze jumped from our intertwined hands up to my face. The malice shown by the waitress before seemed like a kindergarten spat compared to the way Stacey looked at me now.
“Don’t,” she said, the word coming out in a hiss. “Whatever you’ve come to say to ease your conscience, I don’t want to hear it.”
Had Mark not been at my side, preventing me from stepping back, I might have retreated.
He caught my gaze and then tilted his head toward Stacey in a silent You want me to handle this?
I gave my head a tiny shake. I’d happily let Mark protect me from waitresses and intruders, but this battle was mine. Stacey’s problem was with me, presumably because she’d figured out how I’d been involved in the search of Quantum Mechanics. Mark defending me wouldn’t resolve her issues toward me. “I wanted to be sure you’d heard. They’re removing Noah from life support tomorrow. If you’d like to see him again, you’ll want to go tonight.”
I’d have to text Erik as soon as we left to ensure Stacey had been placed on the list. It’d feel like a cruel trick if I told her to go and they wouldn’t let her in.
She sucked her bottom lip in and her skin-toned took on a yellow tinge, like the beginning of jaundice. She swiped a hand across her stomach, then stood and planted her fists on the table top. “So many people were better off before you came to this town. Do you have any idea how many lives you’ve ruined? Why couldn’t you have stayed wherever you came from?”
My stomach felt like it caved in from a hard blow. I hadn’t expected gratitude, but I also hadn’t expected a direct attack. Whether it was her upbringing or her natural reserve, at least she kept her voice down. The only ones close enough to hear us were Oliver and our waitress. It spared a little bit of my pride at least.
Stacey dropped a $5 bill on the table and strode out before I could come up with an appropriate reply.
All I could think to do in response was something practical. I called Elise and left a message when I didn’t get her, asking her to check that Stacey was on the list of people allowed to visit Noah.
I sent Erik a text of the same just in case.
Then I stood by the window, staring at my phone.
Mark slid an arm around my waist and shepherded me out the door. The snap of the wind outside and the warmth of his touch brought me back into focus, but I still had no idea how to respond to Stacey’s attack.
Because her accusations felt right. I’d tried to do good and to help people, but the lines weren’t always clear.
We climbed into Russ’ truck, and Mark laid a hand on my arm. “I know you’re going to have a hard time believing this right now, but you’ve made a lot of lives better, too.”
By the time I got home after visiting Noah for the final time, I’d almost convinced myself that Mark was right and Stacey was wrong.
Right up until I found the blue box of chocolate-covered raisins on my porch with a note: A treat for your dogs.
Erik stood next to me on my steps, staring down at the blue box of candy with the graphic of a smiling chocolate-covered raisin. Leaving a chocolate bar would have been threat enough, but to leave something with both chocolate and raisins sent a clear message.
They knew what could hurt my dogs, and it wasn’t an if but a when that they’d do it.
“You didn’t need to come yourself,” I said. “I know you’re busy. Quincey or Elise could have handled it.”
Erik pulled out an evidence bag. “It’s not my call anymore. They’ve hired the new chief, and I was sent on this call as a regular officer.”
He’d been making decisions about calling in warrants and interrogating suspects only a day or two ago. The change in leadership must be fresh. “Should I offer congratulations or condolences?”
“Maybe a little of both.” He stooped and slid the chocolate box into the bag. “I’ll see if we can get any prints, but given how careful this guy’s been so far, it’s not likely.”
I should simply let him go, but a noose of fear choked me.
You’re being a baby, the accusing voice in my head said. But I couldn’t shake it. “Could you take a quick look through the house? Just to be sure.”
He nodded. “I was going to suggest it.”
He dropped the evidence bag in his car while I unlocked the door. I let him go in alone. The dogs’ barking signaled when he reached the laundry room.
He was back out in five minutes. “It’s all clear. I even checked the closets.”
I thanked him for coming out anyway and didn’t offer him a cup of coffee the way I would have before. The new chief might not look kindly on him lingering, and I didn’t want to risk being the cause of him receiving a reprimand on the first day.
Even with Erik’s assurance that the house was free of intruders, I couldn’t settle down enough to sleep in my own bed. By 11:00, I gave up and dragged my comforter downstairs to the couch. I let the dogs out on my way. If there was a night when I wanted them both where I could see them, it was tonight.
I’d just drifted off when my phone rang. I fished around between my couch cushions and managed to grab it on the final ring.
“Sorry to wake you,” Erik said. His voice sounded a bit distant, like he was on Bluetooth. He must be driving home from work.
I didn’t see the point in denying that he’d woken me up, but it must be late if he were apologizing. I scrubbed at my bleary eyes. Both dogs still laid on their beds next to the couch. Velma had her head resting on Toby’s back leg. “Is something wrong?”
Erik cleared his throat, which was an indicator that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next. “I’m still trying to work a way around it, but the new chief thought fingerprinting the candy box would be a waste of time and departmental resources. He said we don’t have enough proof that this was malicious or connected to any of the other crimes. It could have been someone trying to be nice who didn’t realize that chocolate and raisins are poisonous for dogs.”
Right, and I was going to wake up in the morning a five-foot-eight model who could walk in stilettos without breaking an ankle. But it wasn’t Erik’s fault, so I couldn’t take my frustration out on him. “Has he been updated on everything that’s been happening?”
“Yeah. Updated and in favor of closing the case. He’s not interested in questioning Tony’s confession.”
Double great. If the saboteur kept going as it looked like he or she planned to, it’d eventually become clear that Tony was innocent, but by then someone else might be dead.
“And Nicole?” Erik said. “You need to stay clear of the police station for a while. The new chief was sent here to make sure no one bends even part of a rule.”
21
My doorbell rang the next morning as I was getting ready to walk to the sugar shack, and the dogs leaped up from their spots on the floor, the hair on the backs of their necks up, their barking nearly deafening. Even though Velma was a girl and still growing, her bark was already nearly as deep as Toby’s.
I headed for the door, the muscles in my back clenched so tightly that it felt like painful spasms sending tendrils out under my skin. Normally I would have put the dogs into the laundry room when someone came to the door, but I’d felt exposed ever since finding out the new chief of police wasn’t looking for whoever left the chocolate-covered raisins on my steps. Neither of my dogs had an aggressive bone in their bodies, but I was pretty sure they’d find a protective one if someone tried to hurt me.
I checked the peephole and got an eyeful of Oliver’s owl-like gaze. The tension in my back released, and I opened the door.
The dogs tried to push past me. I stuffed my feet into my shoes and stepped outside, closing the door on them. “Sorry about the noise. They don’t know how to tell friends from intruders yet.”
Oliver took off his glasses and cleaned one lens on the corner of his shirt. His rapid blinks were faster than usual. He put his glasses back on a little crooked. “Noah’s gone.”
Before I could process what he’d said, he pulled me into a tight hug, squishing my nose up against his bony chest. A headache bloomed above my eyes, the scent of gasoline overwhelming my senses.
“The doctor called me a few minutes ago, and I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said, his breath poofing the top of my hair.
Tears pressed against my eyes, and I blinked them back. Noah was gone. Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d almost convinced myself that Noah would be one of those miracle cases—the ones where the doctors take them off life support and they start breathing on their own.
But he wasn’t.
Oliver squeezed me tighter. My gut instinct said pull away—his hug made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t quantify—but Oliver hadn’t had anyone to come to in his grief but me. I only knew pieces about their childhood and abusive family, but no one should be alone in their time of grief. I understood loneliness. It wasn’t just the lack of support that made it so hard. It was the feeling like no one would miss you if you vanished, and the feeling like there must be something wrong with you to make you so isolated. Having to grieve alone only made those emotions more intense.
I wriggled my arms free and patted Oliver awkwardly on the back. A car drove by on the laneway, heading in the direction of the sugar shack and setting my dogs barking again, buying me a little time to figure out what to say.
Even then, the only thing I could come up with was, “I’m so sorry.”
I gave the backward lean that should have signaled to him the hug was done. He didn’t let go right away. In fact it was a full five count before he released me.
I stepped back and untwisted my torqued sweater. Then took another step in case he tried to hug me again. It was probably awful of me, but I didn’t want to be held by him.
“Would you come with me?” he asked. “To see him. I don’t want to go alone.”
Shouldn’t there have been someone else? I’d only talked to him a few times. Oliver had to have work friends or something. Maybe he didn’t realize how many people would be there for him if he needed them—I hadn’t—but surely he had more
people who’d rally around him now.
He took off his glasses and polished that same lens again. “I thought, since he worked for you, you might like to see him too. For closure, you know.”
The rumors had clearly made me paranoid, and I was imagining things in others’ thoughtfulness. I’d be a jerk to say no. “Sure. Let me put the dogs away and grab my purse and coat.”
I ducked in, settled the dogs in their crates, and sent a quick text to Mark and Russ to call me when they could. I didn’t want to give them the news about Noah via text.
I joined Oliver back outside and locked my door.
We headed down the walkway, and he grabbed my hand.
Okay, so I hadn’t imagined that he was getting a little too personal before.
I yanked my hand free. Had the rumors about me given him the wrong idea about me, about me and Noah, or about my availability? He’d seen me with Mark yesterday. Surely he wasn’t sleazy enough to use his cousin’s death to come on to me. I wasn’t that pretty or that great.
“Look, Oliver—”
“Sorry about that.” He shook his head in a let’s drop it way and opened the passenger-side door of his truck for me. Unlike Mark’s truck, Oliver’s only had a single bench seat, no back seat.
“I’m a little unsteady,” he said.
I climbed in and he closed the door for me. I’d let it drop. Grief could make people do silly things. After Noah’s funeral, though, I needed to make a point to avoid Oliver. Mark meant too much to me to jeopardize our relationship by being around a man who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. When Mark responded to my text, to be on the safe side, I’d even tell him about what Oliver had done.
