An Eternity in a Moment

by K Carothers

  “The student is ready, teacher, so show me another constellation.”

  Jenna looked thoughtfully up at the stars. “How about Ophiuchus? It’s also called the Serpent Bearer. It’s harder to see than some constellations, but it depicts a man holding a snake. In Greek mythology, it represents the god of medicine…”

  Chapter

  14

  Erin needed to go to the police station, and she needed to do it now. She felt it in her bones.

  Quickly stopping her car, she made a U-turn and hit the gas hard before she could second-guess herself.

  Jenna clutched the passenger door handle and eyed her in bemusement. “Did you forget something in town?”

  “Yes, I forgot to hunt down a detective. I need to find him, and I can’t wait any longer. It’s driving me crazy. Do you mind if we go to the police station and see if he’s there?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all,” Jenna said. “I’m glad you’re taking my advice about fighting for what you want.”

  Erin winced. “I just hope he’ll talk to me.” Since Luke had left her in the hotel parking lot two days ago she hadn’t heard a word from him.

  “Of course he’ll talk to you. It’s just that one of you needs to break the ice, and I’m sure he’s up to his ears in work because of this murder. He doesn’t take his job lightly. It’s another thing the two of you have in common.”

  Erin turned off the main street and headed to the police station down the block. When they arrived, there were numerous media vehicles parked in front, and a lot of people milling around.

  “Oh boy, it’s busy here,” Jenna said, grimacing.

  Erin found a parking spot across the street and nervously looked out her open window. “I think I see Luke’s car, so he must be here too.”

  A moment later there was no question that Luke was there. He walked out the front doors of the police station, not with any of his fellow officers, but with a fashionably dressed and very attractive woman.

  “Oh dear,” Jenna whispered, biting her lip.

  “Who is that?” Erin asked in confusion.

  Jenna paused, then hesitantly told her, “It’s Lexi Hightower. She’s the one Luke broke up with the day we left for Ireland.”

  Erin watched as the two of them continued their conversation in front of the building. Lexi was tall, with long jet-black hair, and there was a cool sophistication about her that was obvious even from across the street. “Does she work for the police department?”

  “No. Her father owns Hightower Industries, and Lexi runs the factory in town.”

  “Really?” Erin said in surprise. “I would never have guessed she works in a factory.”

  “She is smart, I’ll give her that,” Jenna grudgingly admitted. “She has a degree in engineering, and Luke said she’s pretty well known for designing screws.”

  “Screws?” Erin asked with a raised brow.

  “Yes, they manufacture screws and nails and other things like that. I guess she designed some special screws they make there, and even has patents on them. At one point Luke tried to explain what they’re for, but it all sounded too complicated. And it’s not really my thing. I mean, I can barely handle a normal screw.”

  As soon as the words left her mouth they both started laughing, despite themselves. “Okay, that didn’t come out right,” Jenna said.

  “So Luke’s ex-girlfriend is a screw expert,” Erin commented dryly, watching them through the window again. “That’s not very reassuring.”

  Jenna’s expression sobered. “Lexi can be pretty difficult, Erin. Why don’t we leave, and you can call Luke later?”

  “Really, Jen?” Erin asked, turning back to her. “You of all people are telling me not to fight now?”

  “I’m not saying that…exactly,” Jenna responded, wringing her hands in agitation. “But I know her. And I’m just afraid she’ll—”

  “Afraid?” Erin interrupted. “What about all those quotes I’m always hearing? Apparently you forgot that it was Thoreau who wrote, ‘Nothing is so much to be feared as fear.’ And how that inspired Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous words, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ Or that Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.’”

  Jenna stared at her in amazement. “I guess you’ve paid more attention to me over the years than I thought.”

  Erin smiled wryly. “I think everything’s been there in my mind all along. I just never took any of it to heart before.” A spark of determination lit her eyes. “But do you know what I think now? I’ve spent so many years running from demons, for once I’d like to have one run from me.” She got out of the car and leaned down to look at Jenna through the open window. “You can quote me on that.”

  “I will,” Jenna said with a laugh. “And now I think I might be a little afraid for Lexi. I never thought the day would come when I’d say that.”

  Erin stood up and took a calming breath, then headed over to Luke and Lexi, who were still deep in conversation. Luke had his back to her, and as she approached them she heard Lexi say, “We can discuss this a little more over dinner if you’re free tonight—”

  “No, he’s not free,” Erin told her. “Not tonight or any night.”

  Luke immediately turned around. “Erin,” he said, looking at her in shock. “What are you doing here?”

  The moment their eyes met everything melted inside Erin. She didn’t care if Lexi or anyone else heard what she had to say. “We need to talk, Luke. It was all a misunderstanding about Peter. When I said his name the other morning I was having a nightmare. You were with me in the dream, and then you disappeared, and he was there. It was awful—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Luke said, cutting her off. “I—”

  “Yes, it does matter,” Erin interrupted back. “It matters because we matter. And I’m not going to let you give up on us.”

  A slight smile pulled at the corners of Luke’s mouth. “Good, because that’s exactly what I was going to tell you later. And it really doesn’t matter that you said your ex’s name once when you were half-asleep. When I finally had a chance to go over everything that happened between us the other night, I could think of at least thirty-six times you said my name when you were awake. And I’ll take my chances with thirty-six to one odds any day.” His smile widened into a devilish grin. “And I figure I won’t stop until that ratio is a million to one.”

  “Just a million?” Erin asked softly. “Then I’m going to have to call you something else so we never reach a million.”

  “I’m kind of partial to Neal Armstrong,” Luke said, giving her another grin.

  Erin grinned back, and for a moment they just stood there, lost in each other’s eyes.

  “Who exactly are you?” Lexi asked in an annoyed tone.

  Erin reluctantly tore her gaze from Luke’s and met Lexi’s cold blue stare. “I’m Erin—um, Erin Harris.” She suppressed a smile after she said it. “I’m Jenna Godfrey’s friend. You probably remember her. She’s in the car over there.” Erin turned and waved to Jenna, who happily waved back.

  Lexi rolled her eyes at Luke. “Okay, I’ve seen enough of this show. If you change your mind, call me.” Then she brushed past Erin and walked away.

  “Don’t hold your breath on that,” Erin said to her back. “Then again, hold your breath as long as you want to.”

  Lexi made a faint sound of indignation and kept walking.

  “Jeez, Erin, I knew you had claws,” Luke said in amusement. “I have the marks on my back to prove it. But—”

  Before he could finish, Erin threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his neck. “I never loved Peter. I never even pretended to. I used him as an escape because I wanted to be someone else. But with you…with you, for the first time in my lif
e, I want to be me.”

  Luke held her tightly. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk Monday morning, but I thought you regretted what happened between us, and it tore me up inside. Since then I probably picked up the phone a hundred times to call you. But every time I did, I would hear your voice in my head saying it was over, and I couldn’t do it.”

  Erin leaned back and tenderly smiled up at him. “I never want it to be over. Not ever. And that night at the Shamrock Inn with you was the best night of my life.”

  Luke ran his fingers slowly, reverently, over her face. “God, Erin, I—”

  “Hey, Romeo, we have to get going,” Scott Ripley interrupted as he walked over to them. “You ready?”

  Luke groaned, leaning his forehead against Erin’s. “Can I stop by tonight so we can talk alone? It’s probably going to be another long day, but I should be able to get there around nine.”

  “Yes, and you’d better come,” Erin teased. “Otherwise I’ll have to hunt you down again.”

  “I will,” Luke promised with laughter in his voice. “I’ll see you later.” He pressed a kiss on top of her head and reluctantly turned to leave.

  He didn’t make it far, though. “Ah, to hell with it,” he said. And much to Erin’s surprise, he rushed back and pulled her into his arms, capturing her mouth with his in a long, sensuous kiss. Afterward, he cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “Your eyes turn a darker shade of green with passion. I want to see that color again tonight.” He punctuated his words with another kiss, then finally left with Scott.

  Erin headed back to her car in a happy daze, grinning at Jenna when she got inside. “We made up.”

  Jenna chuckled. “So I saw.”

  “Along with the rest of New Dublin, I suppose,” Erin said lightly.

  Jenna reached over and affectionately squeezed her arm. “I’m glad you’re okay with that.”

  “Well, I can’t exactly hide from demons if I want to keep chasing them away.” A gleam of satisfaction entered Erin’s eyes. “And I really did enjoy watching Lexi run.”

  “So did I,” Jenna said.

  They looked at each other and tried not to laugh. But Erin broke first, letting out a helpless giggle. And before long they were laughing themselves to tears.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon Luke sat in his office and read the preliminary autopsy report on Tina Murdock. As expected, the cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. Motile sperm had been found, indicating recent sexual activity, but there hadn’t been any evidence of rape, which was a little surprising given the way her body had been displayed on the bed. But it was another finding that completely threw him for a loop: Tina had been pregnant—almost four months pregnant. Far enough along that she’d probably known about it for a while.

  Luke set the report down and mentally went over all the interviews he’d done in the last several days. Not a single person had hinted that Tina was even trying to get pregnant—including her husband. A baby would be about the last thing they needed.

  Meredith had been right. The Murdock’s financial situation was a mess. The restaurant was losing a ton of money, and credit card records revealed that Tina had been spending even more, mostly by taking out large cash advances from ATMs at a couple of casinos in the area. It was highly unlikely that they’d planned to have a baby under those circumstances. But it could have been a stressor—a major stressor—and another possible motive for murder. The mayor was looking more and more like his prime suspect.

  DNA from the fetus would be processed by the State Crime Lab in Madison, which had all the other evidence collected from the crime scene. So far they hadn’t found any incriminating fingerprints, and the only blood was Tina’s—including the blood on the knife that had been buried in her chest post-mortem.

  Luke was still waiting for results on any other potential DNA evidence. Normally that could take weeks—it wasn’t like on TV, where tests came back instantaneously. But the lab was putting a rush on it, so he expected to have results within a week.

  He had gotten a report on Tina’s cell phone, and they’d struck out there as well—no suspicious texts, tweets, emails, photos, videos, calendar entries, map downloads, internet searches, Facebook info…It was unfortunate, because a cell phone could tell a person’s entire life story these days. But if she had been engaging in any nefarious activities by phone, she’d either covered her tracks well or had also been using a burner phone that she’d payed for in cash and then disposed of. Hopefully data from their home computers would turn up something.

  The barbed wire was also being processed, and Luke had spent a lot of time thinking about it. Barbed wire was an unusual murder weapon, to say the least. It was bulky and difficult to handle. The murderer had probably used it in some other capacity before, most likely on a farm, given their rural location. And if they could figure out where the barbed wire had come from, they’d almost certainly find the killer. The problem was, there were hundreds of farms in the area. It was going to be like literally trying to find a needle in a haystack.

  And there were other possibilities too. Barbed wire was used by security companies, the military, and of course, prisons. It was something the inmates had to look at every day—a harsh reminder of their imprisonment—and Luke imagined the sight of it stirred up a lot of anger. And he was sure about one thing: The barbed wire reflected the rage that had prompted this type of killing.

  Wayne Raabe had spent time in the county jail, not in the prison system, which left Seth Slater as their only person of interest with an actual prison record. And if no other solid leads developed soon, Luke had every intention of flying out to LA so that he could conduct face-to-face interviews with some of the people who’d known Slater there. No one in New Dublin seemed to know much about him, not even his coworkers, and he’d been just as closed off with Luke in the past. But a person doesn’t spend twenty years in prison without talking to somebody. And if Slater had ever voiced any thoughts about barbed wire being used on people instead of on prison walls, then they’d have the evidence they would need to haul him in for questioning and get a search warrant for his property, where Luke presumed the man was holed up. No one had seen him since the murder.

  But even if Slater had the means and opportunity, there was still the question of motive. And so far Frank Murdock was the man with the strongest motive, though his story about being at City Hall checked out. Security cameras had indeed recorded him coming and going as he’d said, and his car had been in the parking lot all night—his brand spanking new Cadillac.

  Luke had asked him about that in a follow-up interview yesterday, and Frank had said he purchased the car with money he kept hidden from Tina. But that was an awful lot of cash, especially for someone so deeply in debt. And Luke had seen their tax returns over the last several years. He doubted Frank could have saved that much money based on his salary alone. So the question was: Where else was he getting it from? Maybe unreported income from the restaurant? And had he used some of it to pay a killer like Seth Slater? Or could he have hired Wayne Raabe? Unfortunately Wayne, along with Jesse Torres, had disappeared without a trace.

  Luke stood up. He knew where Frank was, though. Despite the fact that his wife had been brutally murdered just two days ago, the mayor was back at work. It took his mind off things, he’d said.

  The police station was connected to City Hall, so Luke headed over there to talk to him about the autopsy report.

  The office door was open when he got there, and Frank was standing next to his desk talking to Stella Givens, the city treasurer. She was a petite woman in her mid-forties who’d worked there for as long as Luke could remember, and was well-liked by everyone.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” he told Stella. “But I need to have a word with the mayor.”

  “Of course,” she responded in the warm, friendly tone she always used. “I was just about to leave anywa
y.” She picked up some files from the desk, tucking a loose strand of her long, platinum blond hair behind an ear. And on the way out she squeezed Luke’s arm sympathetically. “Have a good afternoon, Detective Mathis. I know you’ve had a rough time of it these last few days.”

  “Thanks, Stella. You too,” he returned with a brief smile, and eased the door closed behind her.

  The mayor sat down at his desk. “I gather this isn’t a social call.”

  Luke took a chair across from him and didn’t mince words. “I got the preliminary autopsy report back on Tina. Did you know she was almost four months pregnant?”

  A look of utter shock crossed the mayor’s face, and he didn’t say anything in response.

  Luke thought if he was faking the reaction he ought to get an Academy Award for it. “Was she trying to get pregnant?” he asked.

  Frank’s expression remained stunned. Finally, stumbling over his words, he said, “No. I…She…” And then his voice trailed off.

  Luke was pretty sure he could fill in the rest of the sentence: She shouldn’t have been able to get pregnant. “Have you had a vasectomy?”

  The mayor remained silent for a moment, then weakly admitted, “Yes.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Thirteen years,” he answered with a grimace. “Meredith didn’t want any more kids.”

  “Did you know Tina was cheating on you?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Any idea who the father is?”

  “No.” Anger sparked in Frank’s eyes, turning them an icy blue. “And if you want to continue this conversation I think I should have my lawyer present.”

  “No need. I’m done for now.” Luke stood up. “I’ll let you know if I have any more questions.”

  Frank didn’t respond, staring straight ahead at nothing, and Luke thought better of saying anything else before he left. Something like Stella’s “Have a good afternoon” probably wasn’t in order.