So Dark the Night

by Margaret Daley

  “Darling, I was getting so worried about you.”

  Her mother pulled her into a hug, kissing her on both cheeks. Then her father practically wrestled her away from Marlena and embraced her awkwardly, which came as no surprise since Emma could count on one hand how many times her father had done so in the past. If Derek hadn’t been William St. James’s son, she could see him behind her brother’s murder, especially since Derek had walked away last year from working for their father. William St. James didn’t like being crossed—ever. Was that why she had blocked everything about that day at the cabin from her mind? The thought her father could be behind Derek’s murder chilled her heart. Surely his ruthlessness didn’t go that far?

  Emma shoved away, bringing herself up against Colin, who steadied her. “I would have to be in a coma not to come to Derek’s funeral. Now if you two would excuse me…” She started past her parents, hoping Colin followed because she didn’t know where to go.

  Her father grabbed her arm and halted her escape. “You may not like what has happened in the past between us, but I expect you to act civil in front of all our family and friends.”

  Do I make myself clear? was the unstated question. Although Emma couldn’t see his hand, she peered in the direction of his grip on her arm. “I’m quite good at not airing our dirty laundry in public. Have I ever said anything about—” Suddenly she remembered that Colin was beside her and that he wasn’t a member of the family. She snatched back the last of her sentence and pulled her arm from her father’s grasp. “I’ll be the dutiful daughter for all the world to see. Don’t worry. Your reputation won’t be tarnished by me.”

  “Good. Then allow me.”

  Her father took her hand and placed it on his arm to guide her toward the grave site. Her mother took up her position next to her on the other side. The sudden separation from Colin left Emma shivering.

  “Colin?”

  From behind her he said, “I’m right here.”

  The unspoken message in his words comforted her. He wouldn’t let her father intimidate him into leaving her alone with them. In the darkness that surrounded her, he was her light. For some reason she felt a ray of hope, as though the sun had burst through the clouds to warm her chilled body.

  Her father sat her between him and her mother in the front row under the tent at the grave site. The scent of flowers—she couldn’t tell what kind—sweetened the air. Murmurs around her spoke of the large crowd and one woman sobbing nearby caused her to turn toward the sound. She wondered who it was but refused to ask either of her parents to be her eyes.

  The somber service ticked by slowly. Each word said confirmed in Emma’s mind that it hadn’t been a nightmare she would awaken from soon. Her brother was dead—murdered by people who could possibly be after her, too.

  At the end of the service, Colin, who sat behind her, placed his hand on her shoulder. That she knew it was him surprised her, but he didn’t have to say a word. His touch had become familiar over the past few days, as though what had happened on the highway had formed a connection between them that strengthened each day.

  When the guests began to file past her and her parents, the woman who was still crying, softer now, paused and took her hand within hers.

  “I feel like I know you, Emma. I’m Alicia Harris. Derek and—” Tears took over and the woman released her grasp.

  “Alicia? I know you and Derek were dating.”

  Between the sobs the woman murmured, “Over three months.”

  Emma reached for the woman, wanting to comfort another who had been special to her brother. Derek had talked lately about Alicia and how he had thought she might be the one. Emma’s hand clasped empty air for a few seconds until Colin guided her arm in the right direction.

  Squeezing Alicia’s hand, Emma rose and drew her into her embrace. “I’m so sorry. I know Derek thought a lot of you.”

  Alicia pulled back, sniffling. “I—I—loved him. We had…talked of getting married.”

  Married? That took Emma by surprise. Yes, her brother had talked about Alicia, but Derek would never rush into marriage because of their parents’ lousy one. “I didn’t realize.”

  “I don’t know how someone could have kill—Oh, dear, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. You were almost killed, too. Hopefully you’ll be able to help the police catch the person who—” Alicia choked on the last of her sentence and began to sob again.

  Unknowingly, Alicia’s words sliced deeply into an unhealed wound. Emma struggled to keep her composure. Her mother put an arm around Emma as though protecting her from the woman. “Thank you for coming,” Marlena said in a formal, stilted voice that conveyed her displeasure at the scene Alicia Harris was causing.

  Emma sank down onto the chair, her hands quivering at the coldness her mother displayed toward someone her brother had been very interested in. But then, her mother always wanted to be center stage.

  “I’m so sorry, Emma.” Brandon McDonel took her hand within his and leaned down to kiss her cheek, the brush of his lips lingering a second longer than casual. “I can’t believe he’s gone. We’d planned to meet in Chicago at the end of the month.”

  Her eyes closed at the sound of Brandon’s thick voice, his emotions barely controlled. She had dated him for nearly half a year and at one time thought they might marry. Then six months ago he had backed off, immersing himself in his work at the bank, wrapped up in his climb to the top. Coming from a poor background, Brandon valued the prestigious bank he worked for.

  Her throat constricted with her own feelings so near the surface. Slipping her hand from his, she dropped her head for a moment, trying to compose herself. “I appreciate you being here with me,” she finally managed to say, lifting her chin.

  He must have knelt in front of her, because suddenly she felt as though he was on the same level as her. He bent close. “Emma, if you need anything, please call. I know things have been strained lately, but I haven’t forgotten how close we were once. I’m here for you if you want to talk about Derek or anything that happened. It must have been horrible. I want to help.”

  His breath fanned her cheek, his whispered words full of promise and support. Six months ago she would have clung to them. Today, they left her empty. He had been her brother’s roommate in college and friend for years, but there was something missing—something she couldn’t put her finger on. “I appreciate the concern.”

  He rose. “When are you coming home?”

  “To New York?” she asked, beginning to wonder where her home really was anymore.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s good to see you again, Brandon,” Marlena said, drawing him away.

  For once Emma appreciated her mother’s interference. She ushered the people through the line quickly. Exhausted, Emma wanted to escape before she heard another “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  By the time Marcus Peterson closed his hands around hers, she could barely lift her arm. She needed to leave.

  “Emma, Derek was not only my business partner, but a good friend. I’ll miss him. If you need anything, let me know.”

  She murmured her thanks to Marcus, relieved that her mother took over again. Emma turned her head toward where she hoped Colin still sat. He settled his hand on her uninjured shoulder and leaned close, his male fragrance engulfing her.

  “I need to go.”

  He helped her rise. “I’ll come around and we can leave.”

  She blew a breath out between pursed lips. “Good.”

  Half a minute later, Colin reached Emma’s side. She shifted so she could slip her arm through his.

  “You’re leaving?” Marlena asked, a frown in her voice.

  “I just got out of the hospital yesterday. I’m exhausted.”

  “But all these people expect—”

  Being careful to protect her bandaged shoulder, Emma hugged her mother loosely and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sure they’ll understand.” Her nerv
es screamed for escape. Her heart beat slowly and painfully. Her limbs ached with every movement, the cuts on the bottom of her foot throbbing from being on her feet so much.

  “Fine. Then I guess this is goodbye.” Her mother pulled away and started talking to another.

  Used to Marlena’s dismissal if something didn’t go her way, Emma turned toward her father to tell him she was going. But his loud voice whisked her words from her mind.

  “I can’t believe you showed up. You have some nerve, Lunsford.”

  “I had to see your pain for myself.”

  Emma gasped.

  Colin tightened his arm about her as Emma’s father and another man squared off.

  “Get out before I have security throw you out.” William St. James’s face reddened, his hands fisted at his sides. He took a step toward Lunsford, a tall, thin man with a black beard.

  Lunsford smiled, his teeth showing, bowed his head and disappeared into the crowd. Emma’s father started after Lunsford. Someone on his other side, a petite woman, put a hand on his arm to stop him. He glared at her for a few seconds before he managed to veil his anger behind a polite facade.

  “Get me out of here,” whispered, her face pale.

  Colin didn’t need further motivation to leave. He threaded his way through the mourners, all murmuring to one another about the little scene a few moments ago. At his SUV, he opened the door and helped Emma inside. She collapsed back against the seat, her arms limp at her sides, her head lolling on the headrest.

  When he slipped behind the steering wheel, she turned toward him and said, “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Who is Lunsford?”

  “One of my brother’s victims.”

  He started the engine, almost as tired as Emma after the emotional intensity of the past hour. “Victims?”

  “My brother used to work for my father doing his dirty work. He would buy up companies in trouble. The takeover of Lunsford’s company was ugly. It left the man bitter and with little in the bank when all was said and done. I think that last takeover was the reason Derek finally had to walk away from the family business. His heart wasn’t in ruining others’ lives. My father is much better at it.”

  Lord, what in the world has Emma had to live through? The more I’m with her, the more I realize she desperately needs You. Guide me in the right way to teach her the Word. There is so much more to life than what she’s used to.

  Emma’s hand shook as she handed Colin the key to Derek’s apartment. A tight band about her chest made breathing difficult. The last time she had visited she had celebrated her brother’s freedom from their father a year ago. She’d helped him move from Chicago, their father’s town, to Central City, where the family had originally lived years ago, before Marlena got her big break in a blockbuster movie. Now she wished she’d seen him more in the past year, the only other time being six months ago when he’d come to New York for a few days and stayed with her.

  Stepping inside, she thought of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river. The view was beautiful, a beauty she wouldn’t be able to see ever again. The realization she would never return to her brother’s apartment nor possibly ever see anything struck her speechless as she grappled with her careening emotions.

  Tears threatened. She swallowed the knot in her throat, but it immediately returned. Although tired and still in pain, a restlessness compelled her to come here a day after Derek’s funeral for what purpose she didn’t know. What did she think she would find here? Derek’s murderer hiding under the bed?

  “You don’t have to do this today.”

  Colin’s deep, gentle voice pulled her from her thoughts. “I know. His things need to be boxed up. I’ve got to start sometime now that the police have turned it over to the family.” And maybe in all his belongings she could discover a hint of who had wanted her brother dead.

  “The first thing I want to get is his laptop, then put all his papers from his desk in a box. He often worked from home because his company’s office was in Chicago.”

  “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

  “Yes, a piece of paper telling me who killed Derek. It wasn’t random. They planned to kill him.”

  “How do you know? J.T. hasn’t ruled out robbery. The cabin was trashed.”

  As so often in the past week, she reached deep into her mind for answers, but none surfaced. “I guess you could say it’s my intuition.”

  “Let me get the boxes we brought, then we can start.”

  While Colin went back into the hallway where he’d left the flattened boxes he’d bought at the supercenter, Emma stood in the middle of what was her brother’s spacious living room, trying to remember its layout. The leather couch should only be a few feet to the right. She groped forward and stumbled into a low table.

  “Ouch!” Her legs must be black and blue from her attempts at independence the past few days. If her blindness lasted much longer, she would have to get a cane and have mobility training.

  “Emma, wait. I’ll help you,” Colin said as he walked back into the apartment.

  Frustration and anger welled up. She didn’t want to have to wait for someone to escort her. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, willing herself to see. “I should be able to see! What’s wrong with me?”

  Colin took her hands. “It’ll happen when you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready. I want to know who killed my brother, now. I want to help the police.” The tears returned to clog her throat.

  “You can’t force it.”

  She felt the wet tracks of her sorrow running down her cheeks. She was tired of holding them inside when others were around. Colin drew her against him, and she clung to him while the sobs flowed unchecked, dampening his shirt. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings—the slightly rough texture of his shirt, his hand rubbing up and down her back, his clean, fresh scent that fit him so well, the thudding of his heart. She pulled away, wiping at her cheeks to erase all evidence of her moment of weakness. This wouldn’t solve her brother’s murder.

  “Derek’s desk should be in the first room to the right. He uses—I mean, used it for his office, or at least he did when I was here.”

  “We can do this another day.”

  “No! I have to do something productive. I feel so useless.”

  “Up until a few days ago you were in the hospital.”

  She held out her hand to him. “Please. I can’t do this without you.” Having to admit that out loud surprisingly didn’t bother her as much as she would have thought.

  Colin took her hand and led her to the room. She sat at the desk, counting the drawers, then feeling its top until she encountered her brother’s laptop, running her finger around its circumference.

  “We can go through this when we get back to your aunt’s. But to tell you the truth, I don’t know how much Derek would have put on the computer. He didn’t trust them for the really important things. He certainly wasn’t—” Talking and thinking about her brother brought the tears close to the surface again. She gulped and continued. “He wasn’t a techie geek. I used to kid him about—” Her hand slid off the computer, her fingernails digging into her palm. The ache in her heart made it difficult to continue.

  “I’ll put the computer in the box.”

  His fingers brushed against her fist as he reached for the laptop. For a second all she wanted to do was grasp his hand and draw strength from him. She was scared. So much was happening to her, and she didn’t know how to deal with it. She slipped her hands into her lap and entwined her fingers. Except for Derek, she’d always felt alone in this world, apart from everyone else. She wished she had Colin’s faith.

  “What’s next?”

  “Let’s empty the drawers and sort the papers out later. Then I’d like to go through the apartment and put anything in the boxes that might give me a clue as to who would kill Derek.”

  “Emma, don’t you think we should leave this to the police if they decide it�
�s more than a robbery attempt?”

  We? For a brief moment she didn’t feel so alone. She sensed him staring at her, waiting for an answer. “It was. And I’m going to prove it. I know my brother better than anyone. We may not have seen each other a lot in the past year, but we kept in contact every week. The police might overlook something of importance. Believe me, I won’t act on anything I discover. I’ll turn it over to the police.” She twisted about to face him next to her. “But I have to do something. I owe it to Derek.”

  The intensity in Emma’s expression underscored her determination to find her brother’s murderer. Colin could understand the need. The alternative would be having to deal with what was going on with her. Facing possible blindness, especially for a woman who lived by her sight, wouldn’t be easy. “Then I’ll help in any way I can. I’ll be your eyes.” He pulled up a chair to sit beside her.

  “Thank you. I don’t think I could have asked anyone else and, frankly, that surprises me. You’re practically a stranger and yet it seems so right.”

  Her voice was low, almost as though she was thinking aloud, not aware that he was next to her. She felt the connection he did. Colin opened the drawer closest to him. “Do you want just the papers?”

  “Take Derek’s address book, and anything you feel might help. I trust your judgment.”

  Her belief in him pleased him, prompting him to grin. He delved into his task with enthusiasm, finishing the first drawer quickly and moving on to the next one while Emma felt around the long skinny drawer in front of her which held mostly pens, paper clips and other office supplies.

  When he came to the third one, he found a thick manila folder. “This might be interesting.”

  “What is it?” Emma straightened and leaned toward him.

  “Newspaper clippings.”

  “Any particular subject?”

  “There’s one here about Alexander Sims. There’s another one about a suicide attempt by Marcella Lunsford. An old article concerning a car wreck and another detailing a house fire that happened fifteen years ago. A couple about your father and some concerning your mother. There’s even a few with your name in them. Here’s one with a picture of you and Brandon McDonel at a charity function. Also one about Brandon and his promotion to vice president at Premier Bank a few weeks ago.”