As I gazed into his eyes, I realized it was no time to make jokes. The moment of truth was upon us, whether I was ready for it or not. David’s stare was intense. So much so that I grew concerned the longer we held eye contact.
I abandoned my sarcasm and approached the topic gingerly. “What is it?”
Any number of words could have rolled off of his tongue. So imagine my surprise when he said the exact ones that I wanted to hear.
“That was some fine detective work,” he replied.
Phew.
Talk about a relief. So much for my fretting. It turned out he didn’t hold a grudge about me investigating his case, after all. I had never been happier to be wrong in my entire life. In addition, not only had I avoided being scolded, but David had even paid me a compliment.
I felt free to get playful with him again. “For a coffee shop manager, you mean?”
David was quick to correct me. “No.” He looked determined to make his stance on the topic perfectly clear. “That was some fine detective work—for anyone. Myself included. After all, you were able to do what I couldn’t—find Andrew’s killer. I owe you a debt of gratitude.”
Wow.
Not only had I been wrong again, but he was effusive with his praise. Refreshingly, I didn’t see even the slightest hint of resentment in his eyes about me being the one to crack this case. I had to admit, I definitely didn’t expect him to be so gracious. Especially after the awkward buildup to this conversation. Either way, I was happy to have his gratitude.
“Thank you,” I said.
He turned the spotlight back on me. “No. Thank you. I truly couldn’t have done this without you.”
Make no mistake, it was great to hear the kind words. Suffice it to say, it was infinitely better than being chewed out. But after having spent almost an entire week thinking about Andrew’s death almost nonstop, even more than the praise, it was the relief that mattered most to me.
I exhaled. “I’m just happy this is over.”
He concurred. “That makes two of us. I can suddenly breathe a little easier.”
Despite my sarcastic attitude and my attempts to make light of situations, the confrontation with Patrick lingered with me like a ghost that had decided to hang around and give me a spook every now and then.
Suddenly, I found myself a little shaken. After all, I had never confronted a killer before. Like an emotional earthquake, I had survived the initial shaking but was now staring down some unexpected aftershocks.
“The breathing is still a little heavy over here,” I said.
David saw how deeply this case had affected me. He leaned in and gave me a hug. When he was content that he had calmed me down, he turned to lighter conversation fare. “You look like you could use a donut.”
I couldn’t help but flash him a smile. “Is that your way of welcoming me into the investigative fold?”
He kept up the playful banter. “There’s no higher compliment I can give you as a police detective than being willing to share a donut with you.”
I chuckled. “In that case, I won’t turn you down.”
He offered me more words of encouragement. “Besides, it’s hard to feel anything but happy after eating a donut.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Just as my attitude was improving, I was rocked by another emotional aftershock. This one really shook me. I became lost in thought, to the point where David became concerned about me.
He couldn’t reconcile the sudden dip in my mood. “Sabrina, what’s on your mind?”
I took a deep breath before revealing what was on my mind. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that we were able to get justice for Andrew, but by that same token, I can’t help but wonder when we’ll be able to do the same for my sister.”
“I know it’s hard, but you just have to hang in there. It’ll happen,” David said.
I knew what David was trying to do, and I appreciated his attempts to keep hope alive, but after all this time, I wanted answers.
“It has been ten years,” I replied. “Time has brought me no closer to finding out what happened to my sister. I’m tired of being patient.”
He looked at me with sympathetic eyes. “I know you are. I wish I had an answer for you.”
I groaned. “But you don’t, I know.”
He tried to instill some confidence in me. “What I know is that there’s an answer out there somewhere. We just haven’t found it yet.”
That was of little consolation to me. “That’s the problem. It has been so long that I can’t help but wonder if we’ll ever figure out the truth.”
He offered me words of encouragement. “Sabrina, you have to keep searching. You never know what might happen.”
David was doing his best, but I remained unconvinced.
I took a deep breath. “I guess.”
With each uninspired response that he heard from me, David became more desperate to keep me strong. “Look at this case, for example. All hope seemed to be lost. It looked like Andrew’s killer might not be found. Then you cracked the case.”
There was no way I could take complete credit for solving Andrew’s murder. There was another factor that had played a big role in apprehending his killer. “I can’t pretend like I didn’t get a little lucky.”
All of the usual means weren’t succeeding in cheering me up. David tried to appeal to my senses another way.
“I wish I could tell you that we have some big lead about your sister’s whereabouts. What I can tell you is this—losing faith will do no good. Hope is the most powerful thing we have. You have to keep believing that one day we’ll find her.”
I couldn’t dispute that, mostly because I knew he was spot-on. If I was ever going to find out what happened to my sister, I would need to keep faith. Hope wasn’t just the best tool I had at my disposal, it was the only one.
As David’s words sank in, I found myself instinctively clutching the heart-shaped locket around my neck.
“You’re right,” I said. “I will keep praying for answers—no matter how long it takes.”
The End.
What happened to Sabrina’s sister? Why was the light on at the Watterson estate? What were the men in the suits meeting about? And why were they so secretive about it? Is hypnotherapy really fixing people in town, or is it just one big hoax?
Pick up book two in the series Caramels With A Side Of Murder right here to find out more:
https://www.amazon.com/Meredith-Potts/e/B01GH44H6A/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1492030618&sr=8-2-ent
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Books in The Daley Buzz Series
Book 1 – Chocolate With A Side Of Murder
Book 2 – Caramels With A Side Of Murder
Book 3 – Apple Pie With A Side Of Murder
Book 4 – Lemon Bars With A Side Of Murder
Book 5 – Cookies With A Side Of Murder
Books in The Hope Hadley Series
1. Fame Is A Killer
2. Fishing For A Murderer
3. Murder Of A Yoga Instructor
4. Drowning In Deceit
5. A Not So Merry Christmas Murder
6. Killer Injustice
7. Murder Of A Restaurant Critic
8. Murder Of A Movie Producer
9. The Killer Holiday Office Party
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Chocolate With A Side Of Murder Page 18
