But then, she remembered. She’d gone to Verna’s house and gone inside, only to find out that the person there before her wasn’t William, but Banner. Then, Banner had threatened to kill her. And he would have succeeded, if it hadn’t been for Wilbur Smith and his excellent marksmanship with the gun he had previously denied to the police that he owned.
Glancing toward the arm chair at the end of the couch, she saw Amy’s curled-up form huddled under a blanket, snoring softly. Thank God for friends, she thought. For friends who would come over, make you a drink, talk, and then stay the night with you.
That should have been enough to comfort her. And she felt guilty that it wasn’t.
Because the one person she really wanted to be with her was not the person who slept squashed into a too-small armchair. Instead, it was the one person who wasn’t there at all. Who hadn’t even called.
Ryan.
***
Nor did he call, or come by, or even text her in the next three weeks, while the investigation into Banner’s death concluded and was sent to the DA, and he took it to the Grand Jury, and the Grand Jury returned a no-bill.
Not one attempt to contact her and say, “Hey, glad you’re okay.”
It was his utter silence toward her that, more than anything, convinced her their relationship was over.
On the day of the no-bill, Eva showed up at Donut Delights with a small box. Heather noticed it when she refilled Eva’s coffee. It looked like a box jewelry might come in. But why would Eva have jewelry with her?
“Do you have time to sit down?” Eva asked.
Heather slid into the seat across from her. “I always have time for you, Eva.”
Eva pushed the box toward her. “This is for you.”
Heather reached for the box as she gave Eva a questioning look. “Just open it,” Eva said. “Then I’ll explain.”
Carefully, she lifted the lid off the box to reveal a silver necklace, to which was attached a single pearl in a silver setting. “This is beautiful, Eva,” she said, holding the necklace in both hands. “But why?”
“It was Verna’s,” Eva said softly. “After all you did for her in making sure her killer was caught, and even in facing him yourself, I asked William if I could select something of his mother’s for you.”
“But I can’t—this looks valuable,” she protested.
“William wants you to have it,” Eva said. “He would have given it to you himself, but he’s not able to make a trip back here right now. He asked me if I would present it to you with deepest thanks.”
Heather unhooked the delicate clasp and refastened the pendant around her neck. “Thank you,” she said. “Both you and William.”
Because Heather was looking down at the way the pearl lay delicately against her blouse, she didn’t see the person who came in the door. “Heather?” Eva said, and Heather looked up at her friend. “I think you need to see who just came in.”
Heather swiveled in her seat to see…Ryan, who stood silently as she met his gaze.
Slowly, she stood, pushed back her chair, and walked the few yards across the floor to face him. “Something I can help you with?” she asked, surprised that her voice sounded calm.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She hesitated. “Okay,” she said finally. “We can use my office.”
“No, not here,” he said. “Can you get away for a few minutes? My car’s parked right out front.”
“I suppose so,” she said, taking a step backwards toward the kitchen. “Let me just tell Maricela I’m going.”
***
“Where are we going?” she asked two minutes later as Ryan pulled his car away from the curb.
“The park,” he said.
Neither one of them said another word as he drove across town and found an empty parking space by the playground, which was, for the moment, deserted. “Shall we sit on the bench?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. They got out of the car, and Heather took a seat at one end of the green wooden bench. Ryan sat at the other end.
A light breeze stirred the air as Heather met his gaze. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in the last three and a half weeks,” he said. “And I’ve realized some things.”
“Before you tell me what you realized, why don’t you tell me why you didn’t call me when you heard about Banner, and what almost happened?” she asked. “I know we weren’t dating anymore, but it would have been nice if you had at least called and said ‘glad you’re okay.’”
“I couldn’t call you,” he said.
“Really? Your cell phone was on the fritz for three weeks? You forgot my number and didn’t know how to look it up?”
“I was told not to call you.”
“You were—what? Who would tell you something like that?” she asked.
“May I explain?”
“I’m listening.”
“The evening that Banner almost killed you,” he began, “I was sitting at home watching TV. March Madness. The phone rang, and it was the chief. He told me what had happened out there. Told me you were okay. And told me it would be best if I stayed away from you until the Grand Jury made its decision. That way, no one could ever come back and say I influenced your testimony, or you influenced my investigation.”
She paused a moment, considering this. “Would you have called me, if your chief hadn’t told you not to?”
“Heather, I would have been out there on the scene so I could talk to you in person. So I could make sure for myself that you were okay.”
“I thought you weren’t ready for a relationship with me,” she said.
“I wasn’t,” he said. “There were some things I needed to figure out first. I needed to be okay with the idea of loving another woman.”
Love? Did he say ‘love’?
“In the few days between the time I left your house the last time and the time of the incident at Verna’s house, I did a lot of thinking,” he continued. “I realized that loving another woman doesn’t take anything away from the love Liz and I shared, or from her memory. I realized I can still remember her and miss her, and that loving another woman doesn’t take anything away from that.”
“So…what are you saying?” she asked, as the butterflies in her chest did hopeful flutters.
Ryan held her gaze. “I’m saying that I hope you’ll forgive me for hurting you. I’m asking if you would be willing to give me another chance. To give us another chance. I don’t know where things will go from here, but I’d like to find out. I’d like to spend more time with you and get to know you even better.”
He slid closer to her on the bench, and when she didn’t protest, he offered her a tentative smile. “What do you think?” he asked simply.
“I think,” she said, smiling, “that I’d like the same thing.”
A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!
I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff) Join my Book club.
Stay Curious,
Susan Gillard
Cadbury Creme Murder Page 7
