by B. Groves
“Are we still on for lunch?” Claire asked.
“We sure are,” Shirley said.
Claire heard Mac grunt into the last of his sandwich, but he kept his eyes averted.
Claire’s narrowed her eyes, but not enough for Shirley to catch her facial expressions.
“Shirley. Shirley!”
Claire cringed when she heard the old man’s voice beside her. She turned her head to see Jack standing near their table.
He looked pissed off. She could only hope she wasn’t the target of his foul mood again.
“Yes, Jack?” Shirley asked.
Claire turned back towards Shirley. She straightened beside Claire. Her eyes were steady, almost challenging as they settled on the old man. Her body stiffened and her hands clenched.
It was an awkward moment and one Claire hoped wouldn’t become directed at her.
She sank into her chair and found Mac’s attention came back to the present. He’d been quiet their whole conversation now it looked like he was trying to stifle a laugh.
“I asked one of your girls for those leftover dinner rolls, and no one checked. Do you have them or not?” Jack asked.
Shirley inhaled a deep breath. Claire could tell she was trying to keep her patience with the old man. She kept her smile, but her eyes were a different story.
“I do, Jack. Half price as always,” she said. “I’ll get them for ya.”
Shirley gave Claire a small eye roll and said, “I better go, but we’re on for Tuesday, right?”
“We sure are.”
“I have things to do,” Jack said.
“I’m getting them!”
Shirley storm off and Jack walked up to the table. He shook Mac’s hand. Claire noticed Mac relax and talk to the old man about department issues.
“Joe wants us all to get on better schedules, and make the scheduling per performance instead of seniority,” Mac said in a conversation with Jack.
“That’s nonsense. He’s trying to fix a system that ain’t broken,” Jack sniffed.
The old man finally turned his cloudy blue eyes to Claire. She lifted her chin defiantly waiting for a rude comment. She was never one to back down from a fight.
She hadn’t forgotten what Jack said to her, but she didn’t dare mention it in front of Mac. It was as if a little voice inside her head was telling her that moment was for her and Jack only and not for others to hear.
What did he know? How did she get him alone to confront him about what he said to her the other day?
“Miss Westcott. How are you today? “Jack asked.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Claire answered with a nod.
Jack nodded and said, “You have a good man sitting in front you.”
Claire managed a smile and aimed it at Mac who shook his head. “I do.”
Jack nodded again, his eyes steady and his mouth set in a thin line.
“Mac, we’ll talk later. I have housework to do,” Jack said.
Mac stood and shook the old man’s hand again to say goodbye.
One waitress came out and handed Jack a big bag with day-old rolls in them. Jack handed the girl some money and told her to keep the change. He then said goodbye one more time and walked out of the door.
As he did that, Claire tried formulating a plan to get the old man alone to talk to him.
He knew what happened to her brother. Claire could feel down to the deepest part of her tired bones.
If the rumors were true and he was once involved with Rose, then there was a high probability he knew her mysterious Aunt Sue.
Mac sat back down and shot Claire a smile. “That wasn’t so bad.”
Claire scoffed thinking she wouldn’t tell Mac her suspicions yet because she didn’t know how true all this was anyway.
“He said hello,” Claire said with a shrug.
Mac chuckled. “This was normal for him.”
Claire took a sip of her coffee. She needed a moment, a moment where she could meet with Jack in private and ask what he meant the other day. She wouldn’t tell Mac about her suspicions because she didn’t want to accuse the old man of anything without concrete proof. That’s why she needed to squeeze it out of him alone.
“Are you ready to go?” Mac asked bringing Claire out of her thoughts.
“Yes.”
26.
A s Mac drove Claire home, his instincts were on fire about Shirley Dempsey.
The expressions on her face, the tone of her voice, and the eyes. Her eyes were as blue as Claire’s, the cheekbones similar, and the lips the same heart shape.
It was uncanny. It had to be impossible, but was it? The nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach wouldn’t let go. His gut feelings were in overdrive.
It couldn’t be, Mac thought, as he tried to convince himself it was an illusion. Lots of people had a doppelgänger of sorts. When he was in college, one of his professors used to tell him that he looked like her nephew in Iraq. They say everyone has a twin or something like that.
He snuck a glance over at Claire as she stared out the window lost in thought. He wondered if Jack said more to her the other day than what she told him.
“Jack didn’t intimidate you, did he?” Mac asked. He had to try.
Claire turned her head and shook it. “I don’t get intimidated easily. It was just odd about what you told me.” Claire turned around in her seat to face Mac. “Knowing now that my grandmother gave up her own happiness for the sake of her family’s reputation and her future.”
Claire turned around in her seat to face Mac. “She did have a daughter with him, which produced you,” Mac said with a smile.
“Of all the men you could have pointed out that little tidbit of information about, it had to be Jack,” Claire said.
“It’s weird I know, but sometimes you can’t help who you fall in love with,” Mac said.
Claire turned her head. She gave him a soft, knowing smile making the rest of the ride to Kinsey House much more relaxed.
These feelings were not new, but he never thought he’d ever have them for another woman beside Julie. He needed to see where time and fate took them. He hoped Claire felt the same way because neither of them admitted that on inside they suffered from broken hearts over family tragedies and eventually it would have to be brought into the open on how they handled it with each other.
Mac had work to do. He had someone’s past to search for when he went home. He would keep a close eye on Shirley from now on for Claire’s sake. He knew she wouldn’t see what he was seeing, and that was fine with him for now because he wanted to concrete his suspicions first.
He hoped he was wrong.
Mac couldn’t help but shiver every time he pulled up to Kinsey House. He thought he would be over his apprehension by now, but after last night and the tiny figure he spotted on the balcony, the eerie feelings within him would never go away.
Claire and Mac exited the car. They held hands as they walked up the steps.
Mac’s eyes searched the property. It was hard to tell if Claire had been digging in the dirt to try to find her brother.
He hoped not.
Once they reached the front door, Mac turned Claire around and kissed her. He couldn’t get enough of her sweet and feminine taste.
She responded and when they were through, each one was out of breath.
“I want to continue that, but…”
Claire laughed, but he could see the stress returning to her facial features. He figured she planned on doing more digging, literally and figuratively. No matter how much he protested, she would do it anyway. Could he blame her, though?
“Hopefully, we can continue this very soon,” Claire said, her voice taking on a husky tone as she ran her hand across the front of his pants.
It took every ounce of self-control not to kick in the door and let her lead the way to her bedroom.
Mac kept her close to him. “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”
Claire frowned. “Didn’t you say y
ou were working and then going to your brother’s house?”
“That was before this woman decided to cast a spell on me and have me wrapped around her little finger.”
Claire made a disgusted face but tried to hide a laugh. “Ugh! That woman must practice an evil magic. How could she do that to you?”
“Nah,” Mac said, his lips curving into a smile. “I would never call her the Wicked Witch of the West, I’d say she cast a good spell on me like the Wicked Witch of the North. Beautiful and enchanting.”
“Oh,” Claire said, her face lighting up with a grin. “Well, that changes everything.”
Claire thought for a moment and said, “Only if the officer lets her cook Thanksgiving dinner because she already bought a turkey breast.”
“If she doesn’t mind eating later in the day,” Mac answered.
“Not at all,” Claire said. “What about your brother?”
“They’ll understand,” Mac said with a smile.
It was true. His brother wouldn’t mind. He’d probably bug Mac about bringing Claire to visit, but he didn’t want to take that next step until they were both ready.
“It’s a date,” Claire said.
Her lips found him and they kissed for a few more moments before saying goodbye.
Mac let her go. He wanted to spend more time with Claire but they both had things that needed to get done.
Speaking of his brother. Today was the day he talked to his family. That was another reason he didn’t like leaving Claire alone. She had only distant family left and said she rarely spoke to them. She had no one here in Lingate and was left to deal with her family’s tragic past alone.
No. She wasn’t alone. She had Mac if she needed him.
Also, the image of Shirley flashed through his mind and that’s why he was going home to research Shirley Dempsey.
Mac waited for Claire to close and lock the door. She waved to him one last time before walking away.
Mac turned and walked down to his car, started it and pulled away. His thoughts turned to Jacob. He fought an inner battle of guilt over trying to move on from the son he lost. It was as if he was searching for Jacob’s approval to go on with his life.
He had a new focus, and it scared him, but he felt elated. He hadn’t felt this good in ages. He hadn’t thought he could move on again, but he was ready to give it a shot.
Now, if only he could solve the mystery of why Shirley Dempsey resembled Claire so much.
Could it be a coincidence? That was the main question.
Mac called his parents on the way home and talked to them until he pulled into his driveway.
He didn’t tell them about Claire and would remind his siblings to keep it quiet until he was ready.
He called his brother and told him about his plans with Claire.
“That’s great, Mac. Glad to hear it,” Kenny said. “You better not keep her from us for too long.”
“You remember Rose Kinsey?”
“The rich old lady you found? Yeah, I remember her,” Kenny answered.
“They found her granddaughter and…” Boy, that sounded so weird to Mac’s ears.
“Jess was telling me about her granddaughter coming back and—” Kenny stopped and all Mac could hear was silence over the phone. “Wait… are you telling me it’s her?”
Mac heard a low “wow” through the receiver. He rubbed his eyes knowing he would get this reaction.
“How did that happen?” Kenny asked.
“It’s a long story, and I’ll tell you more about it later,” Mac said wanting to end the conversation.
“Is she a nice person?” Kenny asked. He was glad his brother got the hint to not press the issue more for now.
“She is,” Mac answered.
“Who cares who she is,” Kenny said.
Mac knew his brother would understand. He and Kenny always had a close bond and close friendship.
“You’re bringing her over for Christmas,” Kenny ordered.
Mac laughed. “I knew that was coming, and I will talk to her about it.”
Mac put down his cell phone after saying goodbye to his brother, grabbed his laptop and plopped onto his couch, keeping the TV but on silent.
Mac accessed the criminal database on the DMV website and took a deep breath before he entered Shirley’s name.
It was tough to search by name only, but that’s all he had for Shirley Dempsey.
He guessed Shirley’s age to be around her late fifties.
Mac cursed his stupidity. He didn’t get her license plate number, which would have made his search so much easier.
He’d have to go by her name, and if she had any possible aliases it might be hard to figure out if the names were hers.
He remembered Shirley telling him she was born here, left, and lived in West Virginia for part of her childhood. She came back to Lingate when her husband passed away.
Mac typed in her name and hit search.
He waited as the names appeared in front of him. He needed to filter out age and race.
It didn’t take long for Mac to find a match while searching the county, state, and federal sources.
Shirley Susan Dempsey
Born in 1957
Lingate, North Carolina
Known addresses were several cities around West Virginia. Mac looked for possible aliases but found nothing in the federal database.
Mac hit a dead end based on the records that appeared on his screen. The only issue he came up with was two previous bankruptcies and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct about twenty years ago.
Shirley was clean. At least from what little information Mac had. He didn’t have fingerprints or any other information that could help him.
Mac closed the laptop. Shirley’s body language, the changes in her tone, and her demeanor were bothering him.
So, what did he do? Did he call Claire and tell her not to have lunch with Shirley until he finished his research on the woman?
He didn’t know. Why was he even doing this? He wished he never opened the David Westcott case after he had met Claire, but she was searching for answers and it made him want to help her find those answers.
He didn’t believe the final investigation after reading Kevin’s notes. Rose had something to do with losing that boy.
He couldn’t prove it. He had no new evidence to justify another investigation because Claire’s memory hadn’t lifted its fog yet.
Mac hated the possibility of stepping back and waiting to see what happens.
He was already hyper-vigilant whenever he left his house because being a cop did that to you, but now his senses would be on even higher alert when he went to the coffee shop.
Mac closed his eyes. His home was his only sanctuary. When he was on his date with Claire last night, there wasn’t a minute that went by that he didn’t assess every possible scenario around them. It was part of his job, his lifestyle, and became a part of his soul.
Mac opened his eyes and turned his head to stare at the memorial on the mantle hoping his son would give him a signal, help him out to find the answers he sought.
He questioned his motives as he thought over why he would want to help Claire find her brother.
For one, he found Rose. The way she was lying on the floor never sat well with him. Her features were frozen in fear. It was an unnatural state of death. He’d seen that look before on murder victims, but never on people who died of natural causes.
That day he felt ill and thought someone was watching him.
Kevin’s investigation into the drowning of David Westcott was the catalyst for all this.
The most important of all was meeting Claire and getting to know her.
He lifted his laptop and brought up her books on a retail website. He smiled at the book covers she said she hated.
He kind of thought they were cool, although romance didn’t interest him.
He was shocked by what Claire told him about the publishing industry and how cutthroat
it was.
Little pay, saturated market, scam contracts, jealous peers, no rewards, no breaks, lots of coffee and fighting your competition for that one fleeting moment on the best seller list.
“Why do you still do it?” Mac asked.
Claire didn’t even blink. “Because losing myself in someone else’s world brings me solace. It takes me away from reality for a few hours a day. When you get that one rave review it makes it all worth it. When you get that comment on your Facebook page where they tell you they can’t wait for your new release it’s almost orgasmic.”
Claire blushed when Mac laughed at her comparison. “I’m creating a world that a person can enjoy. It not only takes me away from my problems for a few hours, it does the same with them. If had a hard day at work, home to their kids fighting, or whatever, and look forward to burying themselves in one of the books, then I did my job.”
Mac understood what Claire was saying. He was never a reader until Jacob died and found leaving the real world for a few hours a day was one way to deal with his grief after Julie confronted him about not being around for her.
He could tell Claire was uncomfortable with her new status in life. The huge house, and with the money she inherited. She was struggling to adjust and Mac said it would take time.
“It’s not I don’t appreciate everything that was left to me, but it feels so dirty,” Claire said.
“Why?” Mac asked. “You don’t think you deserve it?”
“Not only that but look at all the darkness that hovers over my inheritance.”
Claire had a point. Her grandfather, her parents, and her brother all died in tragic accidents.
If curses existed, then the Kinsey family would be the definition of one.
Mac was at a loss for now. Shirley was a dead end from a criminal standpoint, but her resemblance to Claire was not anything Mac would put aside as pure coincidence.
He hoped that Claire would recognize it for herself and they could go from there.
Mac sat up knowing that he should go grocery shopping or hit the gym, but he was tired from staying out late last night.
He smiled thinking of when he was in his early twenties he could work a twelve-hour shift and still head to the bar afterward.
