Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“ H ow goes it?”
“I put the red hat on again last night.”
“And?” Cherilyn posed the question as she and Carly both leaned in toward Maisey.
Maisey shook her head as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I recognize the voice. I just can’t figure out whose it is.”
Condensation dripped from beneath her fingers as Carly lifted her tea glass. “Maybe you’ll figure it out.”
“Someone from around here?” Cherilyn asked before taking another bite of her panino.
“I don’t know. I really can’t put a finger on it. All I can do is pay attention when I’m out and maybe―”
“That’s what you always say! ‘It’s not my fault!’ Well, it is your fault!” a female voice barked from the booth behind them, totally interrupting Maisey’s train of thought. There was a low, mumbled response from a voice that Maisey assumed was male before the woman said, “Why can’t you just be a decent human being? Why do you always have to be up to something? How illegal is it this time, hmmm?”
“Oh, holy shit,” Carly leaned in and whispered to Maisey and Cherilyn. “I really don’t want to arrest anybody at lunch. Can’t I just eat in peace, just this once?”
There was more low mumbling, and then the woman shouted, “I just can’t take it anymore! Carry on with your cheating and swindling and hideous bullshit by yourself! I want a divorce!” There was rustling around, and then a well-dressed lady stormed by their table and took off out the door.
Carly tipped her head back and rolled her eyes. “I should’ve guessed,” she murmured.
Maisey was confused. “Should’ve guessed what?”
“I’ve gotten called out there half a dozen times in the last two weeks, and it’s getting―”
“Hello, ladies,” a man’s voice purred, and Maisey’s heart froze. She’d heard that voice before.
“Good afternoon, MayorCurtis,” Carly answered. Maisey was finding it hard to breathe. She knew where she’d heard that voice, and the knowledge paralyzed her with fear.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your two friends here?” JeffCurtis asked in a tone like honey dripping from his lips.
“Oh, sure. This is CherilynHarrison. Her husband is ShawHarrison, one of the state conservation officers. And this is MaiseyFriedman, Deputy AaronFriedman’s wife.”
“It’s very nice to meet you ladies. You’re keeping dubious company. This one here,” he said, pointing at Carly, “likes to arrest people for absolutely no reason.”
“If I make an arrest, Mr.Mayor, I assure you it’s for good reason,” Carly answered, her tone sweet but her words biting.
“I suppose we’ll let the court figure that one out.” He stopped and smiled. “Friedman… Aren’t you the woman who put on the coat and…”
“Yes, sir,” Maisey mumbled, barely able to speak.
“Ah-ha. What’s next? Slippers? Scarves?” He hesitated just a moment before he added, “A hat, perhaps?” The smile he directed at Maisey made her stomach churn. “Pleasure meeting you, ladies. SheriffMcEvers,” he said, dipping his head, and he walked away without ever looking back.
It wasn’t until the door closed behind him on his way out that Maisey took a breath. Her heart was pounding out of control, and she knew her hands were shaking. “Boy, he’s an arrogant sumbitch,” Cherilyn whispered.
“An arrogant, eavesdropping sumbitch.” That was the moment that Carly got a good look at Maisey. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“That’s him,” Maisey whispered.
“Yeah. Mayor Asshole. He’s arrogant and crooked as the day is long. I wish I could―”
“That’s him,” Maisey whispered again.
Carly tipped her head and her brow furrowed. “Yeah?”
“He’s the one I saw. His voice… That’s the voice I heard while I was wearing the hat.”
“Him?” Carly almost shrieked, and Maisey threw up a finger to shush her. “Sorry. Him? He’s the one?” Maisey nodded. “Holy shit. How am I ever going to prove that?”
“He’s not the crispiest chip in the bag,” Cherilyn answered. “He’s arrogant enough that he’ll offer you the rope to hang him with if you’re patient.”
“I’m not that patient. If he threw a woman off a bridge, what else is he capable of?” Carly asked. “I’ll sic Aaron on him and see what we can find out.”
Something about that made Maisey shudder. She didn’t want Aaron anywhere near the murderer. “Please, Carly, can’t you let somebody else do it? Can’t one of the other deputies…”
“Aaron’s in line for a promotion to detective because he’s good at it. This might be the case that lets me go ahead and move him up. Now don’t you worry. Your husband can take care of himself. He’s proven it dozens of times, and he’s got the smarts and know-how to get the job done. He’ll be fine, I promise.”
Maisey wasn’t convinced. Somehow, that turd in a mayor’s suit had managed to kill a woman and get away with it. And she didn’t want her husband to be his next victim.
“Finally got a court order for the phone data,” Aaron announced at dinner that evening after Maisey had told him what happened during lunch.
“And?”
“It has big gaps in it, so I think he has it turned off most of the time. But when it’s on, it’s out near the airport somewhere.”
“What’s out there?” Maisey asked. It wasn’t like their airport was much of anything, and being in a rural area, there wasn’t a lot around it either.
“I’m not sure. But it’s in the vicinity of the old cement plant, according to some of the guys.”
“I know where that is. It’s on the old road, the portion from before they made the four-lane.”
“If you say so. I don’t know where that is, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“It’s not.” Maisey spent a minute describing the area to Aaron. There were only a couple of houses in the general vicinity, and they’d been abandoned for years. “I have to believe if he’s hiding out, it would be in one of those houses.”
“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Oh, wait―I’ve got court tomorrow.”
“Court?”
“Yeah. A guy I arrested a while back has his trial tomorrow. Caught him red-handed trying to load an engine block on a flatbed trailer, and he claims he didn’t know it wasn’t his. I still can’t believe the court will hear the case, but he’s been screaming and yelling about his innocence since the very beginning.”
“People are fools,” Maisey mumbled, stirring her fork around in her mashed potatoes.
“I meet a lot of them in this job. I miss the FBI sometimes. At least the ones I dealt with when I was with the feds were typically pretty smart. These people… Bunch of idiots.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Same in my job. It’s like, ‘No, how could you ever think locking your eight-year-old in a dog crate and feeding her nothing but wet bread is okay?’ But some of them seem to be completely dumbfounded by the idea that kids aren’t pets. Makes me sick.” She placed her fork on her plate. Then she remembered something. “By the way, I could’ve sworn somebody was following me this afternoon.”
“Why?”
“Why were they following me?”
Aaron shook his head. “No. Why did you think someone was following you?”
“There was a car behind me in traffic. I mean, like three cars behind. But every time I turned, it turned.”
“Could’ve just been going to the same place. Where were you going?”
“To the grocery for this stuff,” she said, gesturing to the table. “And then when I left the store too. And I thought I saw it across the street just a little while ago.”
“Is it there now?” Aaron asked, so Maisey got up and headed to the window. She pulled the curtains back and peered out, but it was dark and hard to see. “Well?”
“If it’s out there, I don’t see it.” As she made her way back to the table, she asked, “Am I putting on the hat tonight?”
“That’s totally up to you, babe.”
“I want to. I want to see if I can get a look at his face, know for certain it’s him.”
“Okay. As soon as Murielle gets home from Richard and Jackie’s and we get her down, we’ll do it.” Maisey wanted to scream, What’s this we business? but she didn’t. He was being supportive, and that was more than most people in her situation could hope for.
It was a little past the usual time when Murielle got home―Richard had stopped for gas―and it took another thirty minutes to get her into bed. When she was finally tucked in, Maisey and Aaron sat and talked for almost an hour, giving her plenty of time to get soundly to sleep. While they sat, Aaron told Maisey to drink a glass of wine. “That might loosen you up a bit.” She had to admit that it wasn’t a bad idea.
She was getting a little drowsy when Aaron came back from checking on Murielle. “Okay. She’s sawing logs. I think we’re in the clear.”
“Good. I’ll get the hat and meet you on the deck.”
It made her smile to see that, instead of the usual vintage string lights, Aaron had lit a couple of candles. “You ready?”
“Yep. Let’s get this done.” Maisey plopped down on the ottoman, took a deep breath, and pulled on the hat.
Unlike before, the darkness wasn’t quite as threatening, and the man’s voice was just as clear as it had been the previous night. “I’m the laughingstock of the entire place! Did I deserve that? No, I did not!”
Hazel’s voice came next. “I had nothing to do with that!”
“Yeah, but you knew about it!”
“Not really. He did all of that himself. I didn’t help him at all.”
The man’s voice was pure fury. “You helped him spend it. My wife’s bugging the hell out of me for a new car and he took all my money and left me with nothing !”
“I’d give it back to you if I had it, but I don’t! And I don’t have access to his accounts!” Hazel announced loudly.
And there it was―his face. Illuminated by the low light, she could still make out his features as he growled, “Yeah, well, I think it’s time you tell me where he is!”
The metal bars were cold against her back, and Maisey knew what came next. “Oh! Oh, no! Please! What do you want from me?”
“I want to know where he is! Tell me now or I swear I’ll―”
Hazel’s panicked voice shrieked, “Oh, god, please, no! I don’t know where he is! I swear, I don’t!”
“You have to know where he is! You can’t make me believe that you haven’t talked to him!”
“I swear, if I knew, I’d tell you!”
“Maybe he’ll care if he finds out you’re missing.”
“It won’t make a difference.” Hazel was sobbing. “He doesn’t love me anymore, so if you think this will get him here, you’re wrong! Please! Please don’t! I…”
There it was again, the feeling of falling, but as she looked up, she could see that face peering down at her over the bridge railing. Then it stopped, just like always, and Aaron’s familiar voice whispered, “Babe, you okay?”
It took a few seconds for Maisey’s heartbeat to calm. When it did, all she had energy for was a breathless, “It was him.”
“Okay. Now I’ve got to catch him somehow at something. I don’t know what. But something. I’ll think on that. Maybe day after tomorrow I will have come up with something concrete.”
Two days. She’d have to wait for two days to possibly get an answer on where Alan Vanderboegh was.
Or maybe not.
They left at the same time the next morning. The only thing Aaron had mentioned during breakfast was his court appearance, so Maisey wasn’t too worried. He’d be busy, and she’d be able to carry out her plan without him ever knowing, unless she found Alan. Then she’d have something to crow about―the social worker who beat out the deputy sheriff to find the missing person and flush out the person of interest.
But first, she had two appointments to go to, and she wasn’t looking forward to either of them. The first one went exactly as she expected, with the mom swearing that she prepared three meals a day and the child looking like he hadn’t had anything to eat in weeks. While Maisey was there, he tried to climb onto the cabinet to reach a box of cereal, and when he hit it with his little fingers, a roach ran out from under it. She offered the mom additional counseling, but she knew she’d be talking to her supervisor about the situation later.
But the second was a surprise. The lady opened the door, and Maisey could smell cinnamon. When she stepped inside, it was like being in a completely different apartment than the one she’d visited two weeks earlier. Instead of the mess she’d seen on her earlier visit, the apartment was neat and straightened up, and every surface was clean. The woman was beaming as she showed Maisey around, pointing out the clean bathroom, then took her to the child’s bedroom. In the middle of the floor, the little girl was playing with plastic blocks and dolls, and she was clean. Even though her clothes didn’t match, they were clean too, and her unmade bed had clean sheets on it. It was a far cry from the shape it had been in two weeks earlier. When Maisey questioned the mom, the woman said, “I was just so depressed, but I cleaned up the living room and I couldn’t believe how much better I felt, so I kept going. Now I’m excited to get up in the mornings, it only takes about an hour to maintain, and I feel healthier. And I feel like a better mother.”
Maisey told the mom that she’d be back in a few weeks to see if there were any services she could offer them, and asked the woman to make a list of things she could use to make her life and parenting easier. When they parted, Maisey slipped behind the wheel of her car, drove two blocks, parked, and sobbed. Most days, her job was harder than anyone could imagine, dealing with people in poverty and filth. This woman had taken the initiative to make her life, and the life of her child, better. That was rare. Most just blamed everything on someone or something else, but she’d shouldered the responsibility, and for the first time in a long time, Maisey felt like she’d actually made a difference in someone’s life.
When she’d finished with her crying jag, she pulled out onto the street, stopped at the fast food restaurant down the block, and got herself a milkshake. Then she headed for the area she’d been hoping to get to all morning.
The roads out near the airport were quiet, and there was no traffic, so she had no trouble slowing down to look around. Based on the location Aaron had explained to her, she looked at the two little houses. Neither of them looked like anyone had been around them in ages. She’d learned a lot from Aaron, and she scrutinized. There was no grass pushed down anywhere as though someone had walked or driven on it, and there didn’t seem to be a back way in, so no one had come in that way. She was about to pull away when her phone rang, and she smiled just before she hit DECLINE . Why was he calling her? He was supposed to be in court. Had he forgotten something? If she declined his call, he’d just assume she was with a client, so when it rang a second time, she did the same. He’d be furious if he found out where she was and what she was doing.
Maisey kept driving, but there was very little else out there. The old cement plant loomed up ahead, and she drove straight toward it. There was a parking spot across the road, so she stopped there and took a good look around.
Weeds were everywhere, and there were no signs of life. As she surveyed her surroundings, she noticed that there were no other structures anywhere… except about a hundred yards from the cement plant. There, almost invisible, was a shed of some kind, and something about it made her want to go and take a look inside. Before she could stop herself, she was out of the car and headed toward it on foot, looking around as best she could as she walked.
The door to the shack wasn’t on the front, so Maisey quietly skirted it, then stepped up to the door on the back. A broken padlock lay a few feet away, and the door was scratched and scarred from where someone had worked to cut the lock. It only took a few seconds for her to make her decision, and she grabbed the handle on the door and peered inside.
Instantly, a hand grabbed her hair, fingers winding tightly into it, and dragged her inside. She heard the door slam behind her, and a male voice hissed, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Wait! Wait! It’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you!” Maisey cried out, and he let go of her hair. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Who are you?” the man demanded. It was dark, and Maisey was having trouble seeing his face.
“My name is Maisey. I’m trying to find AlanVanderboegh.”
“What do you want with m… him?”
“I just want to talk to him. Just for a minute. Do you know where he is?” she asked, knowing full well it was him. Even with the scraggly beard, the unkempt clothes, and the dim light, it was obviously him. Maisey willed her heartbeat to calm. “I just want to talk. That’s all. I have news of his girlfriend.”
“Hazel? Is Hazel okay?” he whispered, and she could tell he was afraid of the answer just by his tone.
“No. Hazel’s not okay. Hazel’s dead.”
“What? How? When?”
Maisey was feeling bolder. “The mayor killed her.”
“What? Are you serious? Why Hazel?” Alan whined.
I’m not sugar-coating this bullshit , Maisey told herself. He needs to understand the ramifications of his actions. “Because he was looking for you and she couldn’t tell him where you were.”
“Oh, god. No. No, I never meant for that to happen. I knew he was angry, but not that angry.”
Play stupid , she thought. “Why would he be angry?”
“Because I took all that money. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I really did intend to open the data mining operation! Really, I did! But it kept getting more and more expensive to do, and cryptocurrency rates were growing more volatile, and I finally just decided to cut my losses and run with the money. Hazel was supposed to join me, and I wondered what happened to her.”
“How in the world are you living out here?” Maisey asked.
“I wait until it gets really dark and I go to the convenience store about twelve miles away. Plus I gave a guy my car in exchange for his old beater, so nobody knows what I’m driving. I was waiting for Hazel, hoping she’d be here any day… Now what do I do?”
“I think you should turn yourself in to the police, because the mayor is looking for you, and he already killed Hazel. If he―”
Bright light flooded the little building and a menacing voice said, “Uh-huh. Thought I’d find you here.”
Maisey wheeled toward the voice, but before she could say anything, she heard Alan ask, “How did you find me?”
“Followed this psychic wannabe. I knew she’d lead me straight to you. Before you say anything, stupid,” he said, pointing toward Maisey, “let me tell you that I checked and your husband is in court today, so there’s no way out of this. And now, Alan, you’re going to tell me where my money is.”
“I don’t have it!” Alan yelled.
“Of course you don’t. Where’d you put it?”
“It’s in a safe deposit box.”
The gun the mayor was holding rose as he pointed it toward Alan. “Where?”
“At First National Depository in Corbin.”
Mayor Curtis stared at him for a few seconds before he exploded. “And where’s the fucking key, Alan? Give me the key!”
“It’s in the console of the car out there.” Alan’s hand went to his pocket.
“You’d better be careful, Alan,” Jeff murmured.
“I’m just getting my car keys! Here.” Alan pulled the keys from his pocket and tossed them toward Jeff. “It’s on a Linley Motors keyring. Box twelve eighty-one.”
“I didn’t see a car.”
“It’s out past the weeds by the airport fence.”
“Okay. And you’re coming with me,” Jeff told Maisey as he pointed the gun at her. “Try anything funny and I’ll shoot you. And if you try anything funny,” he told Alan, “I’ll shoot her and it’ll be on your conscience. Come on.” He opened the door and waved the gun between Maisey and the opening. “Let’s go get this key.”
When they got to the car, Jeff handed Maisey the car keys and made her retrieve the safety deposit box key. As soon as they got back to the shack, he grinned. “Here. Put these on, but through that pipe there,” he said as he tossed a pair of handcuffs to Alan. Maisey watched as Alan handcuffed himself to the pipe. “Now we’re going on a little adventure, Mrs.Friedman. Let’s go.” Maisey didn’t see a car anywhere, so it didn’t surprise her when he marched straight up to hers. “You got a cell phone?”
“Yeah. In the car.”
“Get in and turn it off.” Maisey did as he said. No one would be able to find her without the phone’s signal. She felt doomed. “Now, you’re going to drive to that bank and you’re going to open that safe deposit box. What did he say the number was?”
“Twelve eighty-one,” Maisey answered. She knew once they had the money, he’d bring her back out to the shack and kill her and Alan. There was no doubt in her mind.
They drove into town, and Maisey cursed the fact that Aaron was in Williamsburg, but if he’d known what she was up to, he would’ve been furious. As they drove along, she tried to think of ways to get away. Maybe she could tip off the people at the bank somehow. Problem was, she didn’t bank there, and no one knew her. If she knew someone who worked there, she couldn’t think of who it could be.
They pulled up to the bank and parked in the side parking lot and climbed out of the car. “Remember, I’ll be right behind you,” MayorCurtis said. “Everybody knows me, so if I tell them you’re with me, they won’t think anything about it. But I’ll still have this pistol trained at your back, so don’t buck me, Mrs.Friedman. I fully intend to get my money back today.” With that, they stepped inside the front doors.
“Hello, Mr.Mayor! Can we help you with something today?” an older gentleman asked.
“Yes. I need to get into my safe deposit box, and I require a witness, so Mrs.Friedman agreed to be my witness. She’s a family friend.” Maisey gave the man a weak smile.
“Certainly! Come right this way. Let’s just step into the vault. What’s the number?”
MayorCurtis looked at Maisey. “Twelve eighty-one.”
“Yes, yes. Right here. Your key?” Maisey handed the gentleman her key, and he pushed it in with his own, turned them, and pulled out the box, then placed it on the marble-topped table in the middle of the room. “Here we go. I’ll give you all some privacy. Let me know if you need any help.”
“Yes, sir, we sure will.” As soon as he was out of sight and the privacy door was closed, Jeff opened the box. “Oh, my. Look at all the thousand-dollar bills. I’ve never seen so many! Put these in your bag, and don’t try anything funny.” Maisey picked up the money with shaking hands and started stuffing it into her bag, with Jeff holding the gun, pointed toward her, the whole time. When it was all in there, she closed the box. “Uh, I’ve never done this before,” he mumbled. “Do we call him back in to put it back? Or do we put it back? Or what?”
Maisey shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Uh, sir,” Jeff said, cracking the door open. “We’re finished.”
“Good, good! I’ll put the box back. You have a pleasant afternoon, and if we can help you with anything else, just let us know.” He breezed past Maisey and Jeff, so the mayor gave her a little shove to send her out toward the entrance. As soon as they reached the car, he turned toward her. “If you do anything stupid, I’ll start shooting and innocent people will get hurt.”
“I’m not well-known for doing stupid shit,” Maisey grumbled. Except for this. This was stupid , she griped internally. Why had she gone looking for Alan alone? Because she was stubborn and headstrong, and she knew it. But those were things Aaron loved about her, right? Except that if Jeff didn’t finish her off, Aaron would. She was pretty sure of that.
She kept trying to figure out a way to signal someone, but she couldn’t think of anything. When they reached the little shack, Jeff got out with the gun still pointed at her. “Get out and get inside. Now.” Maisey grabbed her bag and headed for the building with Jeff right behind her.
They stepped inside and the mayor closed the door. “This is where we part company. I have my money―”
“You have more than your money. You have everybody else’s too. Are you going to return their money to them?” Alan asked forcefully.
“Are you kidding? For all they know, you took it all and ran off. I’m not giving anybody anything except a bullet to the two of you. It’ll be over, and I’ll be done with―”
“Ooooo, this looks like the perfect spot! Come on, baby!” a female voice rang out from somewhere outside.
“Did you bring the weed, babe?” a male voice asked.
“Uh, yeah. You think I’m totally useless? Of course I brought the weed!”
“Who the fuck is that?” Jeff whispered.
“How should we know? It’s obviously not us,” Alan answered with a grimace.
“This tree over here looks perfect. Let’s do a little smokin’ and a lotta lovin’,” the female voice said, laughing. For some reason, it sounded familiar, but Maisey wasn’t sure why. “Come on! We’re burnin’ daylight!”
“I guess I’ll have to get rid of them too,” Jeff said, tucking the gun into the back of his waistband.
“No! Just wait them out,” Maisey said, hoping he’d leave the two young people alone. They hadn’t done anything wrong except to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“You think I’m hanging around with the two of you? Not a chance.” The mayor opened the door, and Maisey held her breath.
She could hear laughing and squealing, and then JeffCurtis’ voice. “Hey! Hey, you two, can you get the hell outta here? This is my place where I come to think and meditate, and you’re screwing everything up. Too loud. Get your pot and your booze and get the hell outta here.”
“No! We have as much right to be here as you do,” the woman shouted, and Maisey cringed as she crept to the door to peer out.
“Oh, is that so? Well, I don’t think―”
“This is Deputy Aaron Friedman. Put your weapon down and you won’t be hurt,” a voice boomed from somewhere extremely near the shed, and Maisey couldn’t believe it. From the crack of the door’s opening, she could see a woman and a man standing under the tree―DeputiesBeverly Yeager and RodneyVickers were standing there, guns drawn. Before she could blink, Aaron appeared, jogging past the corner of the building straight to the mayor and forcing his hands behind his back. “JeffCurtis, you’re under arrest for the murder of HazelPuckett and the abduction of MaiseyFriedman. You have the right to an attorney. If you―”
Maisey didn’t hear the rest. She crumpled to the shed’s dirt floor in tears. Before Aaron could finish reading the mayor his rights, Beverly was opening the shack’s door. “Maisey! You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just shook up. And Alan over here… I found him in the process.”
Beverly grinned as Alan whined, “Could you please take these cuffs off me? They’re cutting off my circulation.”
“Oh, I’ll take them off all right, and I’ll put my own right back on you. There’s a host of charges waiting for you back at the department.” Beverly reached down a hand and helped Maisey to her feet.
“How did y’all find me?” Maisey asked. “My phone was turned off.”
“Aaron has one of those programs installed on his phone that tells him where you are. The last place was here, so that’s where we started looking. Good thing too. And what are you doing out here by yourself?”
“That’s a really good question. I’d love to hear the answer to it,” a deep male voice said, and Maisey turned to find Aaron glaring at her.
“I, um, I knew you couldn’t come out until tomorrow, and I had some time, so―”
“We’ll talk about this at home. Right now, get in the car and go there. Take a shower and try to relax.”
“I’ll pick up Murielle on the way and―”
“No. I called Cherilyn. She’s taking Murielle home with them. And Carly told me to take the rest of the day off. So go. You’ve done enough for one day.” With that, he turned back to his cruiser and took Jeff with him. An embarrassed Beverly led Alan out to her cruiser, and Vickers left with her. Maisey stood there in the middle of what minutes earlier had surely been her last stand, thankful to be alive but a little afraid of what lay ahead for her that evening.
She was sure it wouldn’t be pretty.
The drive home had been miserable. All the way there, she could see Aaron’s face in her mind, the hurt and anger and fear there, and it cut her to the core. Why had she done that, gone out there by herself?
Then it hit her―she’d very nearly been killed. She cried all through her shower and as she dried her hair. Wrapped in her big fluffy bathrobe, she sat on the sofa with a sense of dread. She’d almost gotten herself calmed down when the front door opened, and a fresh torrent started. Instead of sitting down beside her and wrapping his arms around her, Aaron walked right past her, poured himself a glass of bourbon, then sat down in an adjacent chair. When she worked up the courage to look at him, he was frowning. “Maisey, what the fuck did you think you were doing?”
“I wanted to find Alan! I wanted to do what I’m supposed to, find the person who killed Hazel!”
“By very nearly getting yourself killed? What would that have accomplished? Even though she drove me crazy and she was my ex, it was hard enough losing Bailey. What if I’d lost you? Where would that leave me? And Murielle? And your parents? I swear, Maisey, don’t you think of anybody but yourself?”
It would’ve been more merciful if he’d taken a knife and stabbed her in the heart. Hearing him say those words hurt unlike anything else she’d ever experienced. “No! I was thinking of Hazel!”
“Hazel’s dead, Maisey! And you’d leave all of the living behind to avenge her death? What kind of trade-off is that? It tells us that you don’t value our relationships at all. Not at all. And that really, really hurts.”
“That’s not true!” Maisey couldn’t get to him fast enough, and she fell to her knees in front of him, her hands on his knees. “Please! Don’t say that! You and Murielle are the dearest things in the world to me! Don’t you see? Having a murderer out there, someone who could potentially hurt other people, who could hurt the two of you? I couldn’t stand the thought!” She was blubbering, and she didn’t care. Aaron had never been as angry with her as he was in that moment, and she was scared.
“He wasn’t going to hurt us, Maisey. You can’t justify it that way. I love you and I want a life with you, but I can’t go through this again. You need to decide what’s really important to you.”
“But I have! There’s no decision!”
“From where I sit, that’s not true.” Aaron stood and looked down at her. “Think about it. We’ll talk in the morning.” Before she could say anything, he set his glass on the table and walked out the front door.
Maisey was horrified. She’d ruined her marriage chasing after a killer for a dead woman. The man was being brought to justice, but what about her? How would she pick up the pieces of her life? And where was Aaron going? Was he coming back?
Day turned to evening, and then to night, but Maisey didn’t turn on a light. She didn’t move. She sat on the floor, arms hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there when the front door opened and his voice questioned, “Maisey?”
“I’m right here.”
The light nearest the door snapped on, and she could hear him moving into the room, then the sound of his jeans on the sofa as he sat down. “Babe, come up here.”
It was hard to get up from sitting on the floor for so long, so it took her a minute, but she managed. When she reached the sofa, she stood there, unsure if she should sit down, until he patted the cushion beside him. Maisey sat, afraid to reach out to touch him, just waiting, eyes down. She’d made a grave mistake, and she understood that.
“First, I told you I’d get to it tomorrow. And I would’ve. I had every intention―”
“I know! I’m sorry!” she cried out.
“Don’t interrupt me. Let me say what I need to say. I had every intention of following up on it tomorrow, and I could’ve taken care of it in no time without endangering anybody else. Second, I tried to call you and you rejected my calls. Two of them.” Maisey wanted to explain, but she knew better. “That’s a trust-buster if ever there was one. Third, you drove straight into harm’s way with no thought for anybody else, just you and a dead woman. Fourth, you made me miss court, which could’ve gotten the whole case thrown out. Thank god JudgeBeacon was on the bench today and he was understanding. Next time I doubt he will be. And speaking of next time, that’s fifth―there can’t be a next time.”
“There won’t be a next time. I promise. I absolutely, positively promise.”
“There’d better not be. That’s going to be a deal-breaker for me. If there’s a next time, it’ll be the last time. Period. I can’t do this again. The thought of losing you…” To Maisey’s shock, a tear rolled down Aaron’s cheek. “I love Murielle, but without you, I’m worthless. You’re my whole world. Murielle will grow up and go her own way, but you’ll still be here with me, and I don’t want that to disappear on me, not because you’re stubborn and bullheaded.”
“It won’t. I’ll never do anything like that again. And I made a decision.”
He perked a little. “What’s that?”
“I will never, never, never buy another piece of used clothing. Won’t try any on. Won’t take any from a friend. If it looks like it was bought and returned because the original tags aren’t on it, I’ll pass. I’ll check the bottoms of shoes before I try them on. I won’t wear anything I haven’t bought brand new from a store. And I won’t put down anything that’s mine and walk away in case it gets swapped out like the hat. I’ll be careful. I promise.”
Aaron let out a heavy sigh. “Good. That’s a good step.”
Maisey trembled with fear as she asked, “Are we good?”
“Yeah. We’re good. I love you, Maise. You’re the only woman I want to spend my days with, but you drive me crazy sometimes.”
Something flashed across her mind. “I’ve just got one favor to ask.”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “From where I sit, you’re not due any favors!”
“It’s not bad. I’d just like to be the one to tell Hazel’s family that we got the guy.” Aaron frowned. “That you got the guy.” He smiled. “I feel like I owe them that.”
“Okay. I think I can make that happen. But I take you, okay?”
“Okay. That’s fine. Can we go tomorrow?”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “Yes. We’ll go tomorrow and it’ll be over.”
As far as Maisey was concerned, that was the end.