Chapter 64
64
SUMMER
“So, tell me everything,” I said to Grace, who was perched on the side of my bed back home. The overhead light illuminated the room, casting out the shadows. The sun had set within the last hour, and I was grateful she’d dropped by to visit. I didn’t feel like being alone in the dark.
Grace tucked her brunette hair behind her ear. “Nate interviewed Robert Warner’s family and friends. According to them, he wasn’t himself after he was released from the hospital. He became obsessed with Asher because he blamed him for his wife’s death.”
“But why Asher?” I asked. That had been bothering me, but I hadn’t wanted to raise it with him. He was already struggling to move past it without me chasing him around with unanswered questions. “Maia was there too.”
Grace shrugged. “I think Asher was the first to approach the Warners’ vehicle and speak to Robert, so in his mind, everything that happened after that was Asher’s responsibility.”
I shook my head. It was nonsensical, but then, everything Robert had done after getting out of the hospital was illogical, so perhaps that just spoke to the frame of mind he’d been in—either that, or an underlying brain trauma.
“He followed Asher around, just to distract himself at first, but then it became more than that.”
I nodded, recalling the movement in the shadows I’d thought I’d seen outside Drunken Destiny what felt like a lifetime ago. Perhaps that had been Robert, watching Asher even then.
“So, Robert poisoned Cookie?” I asked.
“Yes. Apparently, that was just a crime of opportunity. He saw the house was empty and he happened to have rat bait in his garden shed. He found the spare key and slipped some of it into her food.”
“Who would hurt a sweet animal?” I was disgusted. I’d suspected foul play, but to have it confirmed made me nauseous.
Grace made a sound of disdain. “It doesn’t end there. He followed you when the two of you went mountain biking and laid a branch over the track. When he heard you coming, he fired a shot to surprise you, so you wouldn’t see the branch until it was too late. Of course, he intended Asher to be the one who hit it, not you.”
“Not that that stopped him from coming after me again,” I muttered.
Grace grimaced. “Apparently, that’s actually what gave him the idea.”
I frowned. “How do you mean?”
She shifted position, and I winced as the mattress moved beneath me.
She stopped instantly. “Sorry.”
I waved my hand, not wanting her to stop telling her story. “I’m fine.”
Her mouth turned downward. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I want to hear it all.”
“Fair enough.” She drew in a deep breath. “Robert saw how worried Asher was about you, and started thinking how it would be proper justice if he had to suffer through a loss like Robert himself had, rather than just being hurt directly.”
“But breaking Asher’s window was pretty targeted at him,” I argued.
She arched an eyebrow. “That seems like a petty scare tactic to me. I don’t know, but I’d say it was a spur of the moment thing. The fire was more purposeful, and he set that when Asher wasn’t home.”
“He was at brunch at Mum and Dad’s place,” I murmured, suddenly recalling the vehicle that had shot away as we’d left their house that morning.
“They did confirm the fingerprint on the rock was his,” Grace said, “and he confessed to setting the fire.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait. He’s admitted to all of this?”
“Apparently, he’s quite a talker once he gets started. Nate thinks he wants to brag, but I believe, deep down, the guilt weighs on him and he sees sharing his story with the police as a way to lessen the load.”
“Perhaps.” Robert certainly hadn’t seemed like a man with much of a conscience when he’d held a gun to my temple, but he had let Marcy go unharmed, so maybe Grace was onto something. Perhaps he simply wasn’t mentally healthy when he’d done those awful things, and now, reality was beginning to catch up with him.
“That evening you went to dinner at the resort, he meant to run you down, not Frannie, but there were too many people in the way, and she was the one closest to the road, so she was the easiest target.”
“Poor Frannie.” She’d been by to visit this morning, and she’d clearly still been shaken. She’d clung to Marcy the entire time they were here.
“I can’t even imagine how scared she must have been.” Grace’s tone was strained. “If someone kidnapped Finn, I’d lose my mind.”
“Speaking of, where is he?” I asked, only now realizing she hadn’t arrived with him.
“With Heather. I’ll pick him up when I leave here.”
“You’ll have to bring him by later this week so I can have baby cuddles with my nephew.” There was something about holding babies that just made the world seem okay.
“I will.” She smiled. “Is there anything else you want to know?”
“No, thanks.” I’d pieced together most of it. Robert had taken Marcy to the cabin, where he hadn’t thought anyone would look for them, but he’d had regrets and dropped her off where he knew she’d be found. “I’m tired of depressing stuff. What’s been going on with you?”
Grace laughed. “Nothing that can rival getting trapped in a cabin and shot.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve been stabbed, Grace. You have plenty of your own exciting stories.”
She inclined her head in acknowledgement. “I’ve been talking with Jewel and Rocky’s descendant, Corie. She’s confirmed a few things for me, corrected a mistake I made, and she even shared a family legend. Want to know what it was?”
A smile slowly spread across my face. This sounded like more fun than dwelling on Robert Warner. “Uh…of course!”
Grace leaned closer. “The family believes that Pearl was left an inheritance by her father.”
I scrunched my nose. “But I thought he practically disowned her after she ran away with Rocky?”
“The legend says he came to regret the estrangement, and he tried to make contact but never found her, so he left her a sizable inheritance in his will. But—and here’s the intriguing part—she never claimed the inheritance. Her family believes it’s hidden somewhere in Destiny Falls.”
“That’s fascinating.” I struggled to sit upright, and Grace helped me. “Do you think it’s true?” Could there be a secret treasure right here in our little town?
“I doubt it.” She fluffed my pillows. “It’s an interesting story, though.”
The latch on the front door clicked, and I flinched instinctively, my heart leaping. I inhaled slowly and released my breath as I mentally counted to six. I’d been jumpy since I’d woken in the hospital, but hopefully, I’d stop jumping at every noise soon.
“Summer?” Asher called.
“In the bedroom!” I didn’t know why he’d expect me to be anywhere else. He’d asked me not to leave the bed while he delivered a box of “thank you” baked goods to the fire and police stations, and I’d promised I wouldn’t.
He strode in, wearing a peculiar expression.
“What is it?” I asked.
His eyebrows knitted together. “I just had the strangest conversation with Lionel Lowry.”
My gut tightened. “Oh?”
If that grumpy old man had been harassing Asher at a time like this, I’d—
“He apologized.”
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
He looked as bewildered as I felt. “He asked after you. Told me you were a good girl and that what happened to you wasn’t right. He said it had forced him to re-evaluate a few things. He’s still angry about what happened but he’s going to try to stop taking it out on me.”
“Huh.” I’d never expected the old farmer to have it in him to see the error of his ways. “Well, that’s good, right?”
“It is.” But Asher seemed uncertain.
“You delivered the treats without any problems?” I prompted, in case he needed something to take his mind off Lionel Lowry.
He nodded distractedly. “I also saw Ashley having a coffee with one of the schoolteachers. They looked pretty cozy.”
“Hopefully, she won’t bother you anymore.” If she did, we’d have to have serious words. I understood being hung up on Asher, but that didn’t excuse poor behavior.
“Yeah.” He visibly pulled himself together and sent Grace a strained smile. “Thanks so much for visiting. Sorry, my head is a bit of a mess at the moment.”
“No problem at all.” She stood and straightened her designer sweater. “It was lovely to see you both. I’d better go pick up Finn.”
She bent to hug me, then touched Asher’s arm on the way out of the bedroom. He took her place on the bed, and for a long moment, he and I just looked at each other.
For some reason, I giggled. He barked out a laugh, then covered his mouth. I giggled again. A stream of laughter burst from him, and he curled over, his shoulders shaking.
“Why are we laughing?” I gasped, unable to stop.
“I have no idea.” Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. “Maybe all the craziness has finally gotten to us.”
I pressed my lips together and tried to gather myself. Asher did the same, but his forced seriousness only made me start again.
When we finally caught our breath, Asher took my hand and kissed the back of it.
“I love you,” he said. “And I’d really, really like to date you. Without any fires, or gunshots, or poisoning, or excitement. Just you, me, and a nice dinner. What do you think?”
Warmth settled deep within me. “I’d love nothing more.”