Chapter Eleven
The Docks
Hembree Drive
The restaurant wasn’t particularly swanky, but it was on the water, and the food was good. The atmosphere was casual with lots of wood and metal decor that spoke of relaxing and spending time on the water, whether fishing or just boating. Or, in this case, dining.
“Can I help you, folks?” the cashier behind the counter asked. “You’re welcome to sit wherever you please.”
“Thank you. We’re here to meet a friend.” Not exactly a lie, Rory told herself.
Louis Larson sat at the booth that Pete had once told her was the company’s booth.
The owner of The Docks had actually placed a small brass plaque on the window trim above the table dubbing it the “Harris Corp” table.
Of course, the table was open to anyone, but whenever someone from the company was here, this was where they were seated.
Maybe in part because they had generously donated to the owner’s startup back in the day.
Pete had loved this place. He and a couple of his closest colleagues dropped in for lunch regularly.
“That’s him.” Rory nodded to the blond man seated alone in the farthest corner of the dining room in that designated booth.
“Louis is thirty-five. He’s been with the company since he graduated with his master’s in finance.
Pete always said he was the best financial whiz on the team—maybe in the state. ”
“Let’s join him.” Chance looked to her to make the next move.
Rory led the way to the booth and paused. “Hello, Louis.”
He looked up from his meal. Surprise flared in his eyes.
“Rory.” He scrambled to get out of the booth and stood for a moment just staring at her.
“You are here.” He made a sound of wonder as if he still couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I read that you were back, but I…” He shook his head and then awkwardly hugged her.
Rory was so startled that he would even touch her that she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands.
When he drew back, Rory said, “It’s good to see you.” Louis glanced at the man standing next to her. “This is Chance Rader,” she explained. “He’s working with my new attorney to sort out this mess.”
Chance extended his hand. “Good to meet you, Mr. Larson.”
The two shook hands, Louis still appearing a little befuddled.
“Please.” He gestured to the booth. “Join me.”
Rory slipped into the bench seat, making room for Chance to sit next to her. Louis slid into his seat and stared at her for another moment. Then he exhaled a big breath and shook his head yet again. “This is…a very nice surprise.”
His words were code for a shockingly awkward situation in which he didn’t know what to do or say. The part of him that had liked Pete wanted to be kind, but that same part wanted to lash out at her. All those emotions were easy to read on his face.
“I apologize for showing up uninvited like this,” she offered. “I’m sure this must be awkward for you, but I need your help.”
He held up his hands. “Rory, let me stop you right there.” He searched her face before he spoke. “I don’t know what happened that night. But I do know that Pete loved you with everything he had. You were his world. And I know that he wouldn’t want me to be unkind to you. Ever.”
Tears sprang on her lashes so quickly she barely held them back. “I loved him exactly the same way. I would never in a million years have hurt him.”
Louis nodded as if he understood. “Tell me how I can help.”
A waitress appeared. “Can I get you folks anything?”
“Maybe later,” Chance said, and she drifted away.
Rory reset her attention on Louis. “Was there anything going on with work—a client maybe—who might have had an issue with Pete?” She shrugged. “It’s a stretch, I realize, but I’m desperate to find anything that might explain how this happened. I want to find the people responsible for his death.”
He nodded slowly, considering her question.
“Detective Fowler came to me maybe a week after it happened. He asked me to think long and hard on that same question. But I’ll tell you exactly what I told him.
The company was running as smooth as glass.
There were no issues. No schedules or contracts were behind.
No trouble with clients. Nothing. Believe me when I say, if there had been anything at all that suggested even a hint of concern, I would have been the first one to speak up. ”
Rory couldn’t help feeling deflated. She had felt confident there were no issues with work, but she’d dared to hope. And, honestly, the fact that Fowler had bothered to look into the possibility surprised her. “Thank you, Louis. I really appreciate you confirming what I already believed.”
“If I may,” Chance said, “what about Mr. Harris, Pete’s father?”
“Oh.” Louis made a face of confusion. “He was devastated, of course. In my opinion, he still hasn’t gotten over losing his son.”
“I’m certain he hasn’t,” Chance agreed. “My query is related to where he stood on the marriage. There were some issues in the family when Pete decided to marry Rory. Did any of that come up around that same time? Were Pete and his father on good terms given the circumstances?”
Rory saw the shift in Louis’s eyes immediately. He had been a dear friend to Pete, but he was also loyal to the Harris family as well as the company. He would not want to speak unkindly about Anthony or Eudora.
“They had a difficult time for a while when Pete announced his intentions.” Louis directed a smile at Rory.
“But I think that was more about fear than anything else. Pete was a good son. Eudora and Anthony only wanted the best for him. Sometimes even great parents make mistakes.” He shifted his attention to Chance.
“To answer your question, I did not note any unusual tension—or tension at all for that matter—between Pete and his parents.”
“Thank you, Mr. Larson.” Chance turned to Rory for the next move.
“We should let you finish your lunch,” she offered.
“Please,” he argued, “join me. My treat.”
It was lunchtime. Rory looked to Chance, who gave her a nod of agreement. “Thank you,” she said to Louis. “That would be very nice.”
Just maybe, they would learn something else.
Except she feared there was nothing to learn. Pete had no enemies. It was quite possibly time she admitted that his murder was not about him or his family. It was about her.
Jackson County Park
County Park Road
Scottsboro, 2:00 p.m.
Chance stood with her on the dock where she and Pete had held their ceremony.
His parents had been disappointed. They had wanted the ceremony in their backyard and, granted, it would have been beautiful, but Rory and Pete had known that if Eudora had control of the wedding on her home turf, it would have turned into something huge and complicated.
They hadn’t wanted a big wedding or anything complicated.
No fanfare. Just the opportunity to share the first step into their future with those closest to them.
The dress had been the most complex part of the wedding. It had been the perfect fairy-tale dress. The one she had always wanted. Handmade by her dear Aunt Lulu. Honestly, it had been too much for their small lakeside ceremony, but it had felt perfect. Rory would never forget that day.
It wasn’t until after dark that it turned into a nightmare.
“It’s peaceful here,” Chance said.
She nodded. “It is. My aunt used to bring my brother and me here all the time as kids. It was free, and there were all sorts of interesting places to explore.” She laughed. “Free always fit the budget.”
For a long while, they said nothing, just stared out over the calm water.
Several emotions whirled inside Rory, but she didn’t want to think about any of that right now.
She needed to clear her head. To put some distance between her and what she felt sure was the truth she so desperately wanted to deny.
“Did Eudora and Anthony seem at all happy during the ceremony?” Chance turned to her. “Or was the animosity obvious?”
“I’d just found out that week about the offer she’d made to try and dissuade Pete from marrying me. I could barely look at her.” She rolled her eyes. “What kind of mother does that?”
“You would be surprised.” Chance tucked his hands into his pockets. “From what you’ve told me, Pete was an easy-going guy. His mother had probably been in charge for most of his life—even his adult life, since he worked in the family business. Lived in the same town.”
“You know, I never considered how that must have stifled him. I can’t even imagine living under someone’s thumb like that.
” Rory laughed. The abrupt sound just burst out of her when she considered the irony in what she’d related without thinking.
“What am I saying? I just spent nearly two years in prison. I am very well aware of what it feels like to be stifled.”
Chance smiled. He had the nicest smile. Rory banished the thought that popped into her head every single time the man’s lips turned up.
She had to stop looking at him that way.
This was a business relationship. Her future depended on how this turned out.
As desperately as she needed a hero like him, he wasn’t here to comfort her…
only to help her find the truth and to support her efforts to prove her innocence.
“Any inkling that Anthony felt the same way as his wife?” Chance closed his eyes and turned his face up to the sun.
Rory started to do the same, but she got caught up in watching him relish the sunlight.
“I never noticed anything.” She thought about the man that was her father-in-law for only a few hours.
“He kept quiet as far as I know. I’m sure he was on her side.
I mean, she was his wife. My impression was that Anthony wanted his wife to be happy.
He didn’t do things to hinder that end.”
Chance looked at her then. “Makes his life more bearable, wouldn’t you think?”