47. A Kind of War
FORTY-SEVEN
A Kind of War
Lillian
H arry and I were stretched out on the couch, Harry on his back, me down his side tucked between him and the couch.
He was sharing about all the big stuff that had gone down that day.
“Two down, one to go,” he finished, after telling me what happened with Michelle Dietrich.
I smiled at him. “I knew you’d do it.”
His handsome face got soft. “There’s still one to go. And he’s the big one.”
I leaned in and touched my lips to his, before pulling back and saying, “I have faith in you.”
His beautiful mouth quirked. “It isn’t actually me investigating.”
“I have faith in the team you lead,” I amended.
He chuckled.
Enough of this.
Michelle Dietrich might be in a cell for a couple of days, she might be facing years in one.
Oddly, knowing she was lying on what was probably a very uncomfortable cot in a jail thinking about this did wonders for me.
There were all kinds of penance.
I met her when Dad worked for her, even if I didn’t really know her. I’d also seen her around town, even though, after it all started, she took pains to avoid me.
Before Mom and Dad disappeared, she thought she was queen.
After they did, she still thought she was queen, she was just quieter about it.
She could no longer convince herself she was queen.
She’d had sixteen years of constant reminders of what she’d been involved in and the tragic consequences of that, and she’d have a lifetime of all of this following her wherever she went so she’d never be queen again.
I knew her son, I went to school with him. He thought he was a little prince. And definitely her husband thought he was king.
They’d never really held those thrones, they’d just convinced themselves they did.
They couldn’t do that anymore.
Was that justice?
I didn’t know.
In that moment, though, it worked for me.
That moment might fade.
But I was going to ride it while I had it and move the eff on.
“So, I’m going to BBs because they have full-size Snickers and Twix on sale. We’re giving those out for Halloween,” I announced.
BBs was what everyone called the Box and Save, the big box store, because BBs was easier to say.
“We are?” Harry asked.
“We are,” I confirmed, enjoying watching his eyes dancing, especially after the day he’d had. “We’re also giving out hot cocoa and hot cider. Two kinds of cider, one for kids, one for adults.”
“Ah,” Harry replied.
“You will note that there’s a kind of war happening on the street.”
“I did note that,” Harry said.
But of course he would, he didn’t miss anything.
“Molly texted today and said everyone is talking about hitting our street with their kids, or even if they don’t have kids, because the decorations have gone insane.”
It wasn’t only me and Harry, Ronetta and George, and Susan and Allen who’d pulled out the stops. Nearly everyone on the block got in on the action.
Kimmy was probably in fits of glee.
But Harry frowned.
“What?” I asked.
“If that’s the case, maybe I should station cruisers at each end to close down the street so pedestrians will be safe.”
Okay.
I loved this man.
I knew that already, down deep in my heart.
But damn.
I loved this man.
“There may be a lot of kids, and they can get excited, and you never know what kids are going to do, especially when they’re excited, so I think that’d be awesome if you could do it,” I replied.
“I’ll put it out on the bulletin, and we’ll get some fliers made up so your neighbors know they’ll be blocked in or out, so they need to plan accordingly,” he muttered.
Yep.
I seriously loved this man .
“Can you rig some speakers so we can play some Halloween noises?” I requested.
“I’ll figure it out.”
Of course he would.
I gave him another kiss.
It was meant to be a swift one, but Harry leaned into it, rolling me so my back was to the couch, and he was on top.
And Michelle Dietrich, her husband, son, Snickers, Twix, cider and a Halloween décor war slipped my mind.
All I had room for was Harry.
And all he had room for was me.