Chapter 30 #2
Something clanged softly, then the sound of liquid pouring came over the line. “Proof of anything you’d say about the senator,” Stella replied. “He presents well as being both charming and calm. Could you handle a slander case?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s not slander if it’s true. But if he sued you, you’d have to prove it’s true.”
Rain intensified for a moment, drumming harder against the roof.
“Did he ever hit you?” Stella asked bluntly. “And is there proof?”
“He never hit me. There’s no proof he grabbed me or pushed me. But he did.” May thought she’d left that time behind her for good. “So you’re saying that if I went public with that, I could get sued for everything I have?”
Stella sipped on a drink. “Yes. Now, don’t get me wrong. Plenty of people would believe you no matter what you said. There’d be an uproar. It could go one of two ways. Either he wins or you win. And I can’t tell you which way that would fall.”
May couldn’t just sit here. “I know.”
“Public opinion can be powerful,” Stella continue calmly. “But you’d have people defending him too, especially since you don’t have concrete proof of anything. And there’s always the narrative that your current love interest has been arrested for murdering two women.”
“There is that,” May said dryly, her hand wrapped around her mug. The ceramic had cooled, but she held it anyway. “It all seems circumstantial.”
“Oh, it is,” Stella replied almost cheerfully.
May took another long drink of the huckleberry-ginger brew. The sweetness had dulled, leaving mostly spice. “You sound like you have important knowledge.”
“Of course I do. The minute I found out what was happening in town, I did some investigating. Have you seen the autopsy reports yet?”
May straightened in her chair. “No. Have you?”
“Of course I have.”
May stared at the rain again. “Just who are you, Stella?”
A soft breath came through the line, almost amused. “Does it matter?”
Not right now. “Was there anything interesting in the autopsy reports?” May tried to think clinically and not see Ivy or Laura’s faces.
“There was no obvious trace evidence at either scene,” Stella said. “No DNA left behind. Both women died by manual strangulation resulting in laryngeal fracture and airway collapse.”
The room felt colder despite the small heater humming in the corner. “So what’s your advice?” May asked.
A spoon clinked lightly against porcelain on Stella’s end. “My advice is to step back and let things unfold for the moment.”
Rain streaked down the window in uneven lines. May didn’t like waiting. Waiting seemed passive and made her feel helpless.
“I looked into the two troopers,” Stella continued. “They’re good. There’s also Dutch. He’s working things from afar, and never underestimate the Osprey brothers. The four of them can move mountains.”
May needed to believe that Ace would be okay. “But what if—”
“Nope,” Stella cut in gently. “I learned a long time ago you can’t operate on what-ifs. You know that. You’re a doctor.”
May lifted her shoulder to keep the phone against her ear. Normally she would’ve switched to speaker, but she didn’t want to risk waking Ace. Even across the house, he seemed to register everything. “All right. I appreciate your help.”
“I’ll dig deeper into the ADA,” Stella said. “Everyone has pressure points. I just need to find hers. Also, I have a friend in Washington state who’s the best profiler I’ve ever met. She’s at least as smart as Damian, and that’s saying something.”
Hope flickered through May. “Do you think she’ll help?”
“Yes. Laurel will at least give me a profile on the killer of these blondes. If I ask, I think she and her man, Huck, will head up to Alaska. But let’s see what we can find out first, okay?”
That sounded good. “I’m glad you’re on my side, Stella.” It was still difficult not to think of her as Nixi.
“I’ll always be on your side.” Stella paused. “Have you seen Damian lately?”
“Yeah. I saw him earlier. He came barreling into the clinic asking where you were. He’s got scouts out in town, and one of them saw you come in,” May replied.
A soft exhale came through the line. “Yeah. I saw the scout when I left your clinic and barely slipped him.”
May perked up. “How did you do that?”
“That’s a story for another day. Did Damian look good?” Stella asked after a beat. “Is he healthy? Is he sleeping?”
May lifted an eyebrow even though Stella couldn’t see it. “Was that concern?”
“It might’ve been.”
May leaned back in her chair and considered it. “Damian always looks good. But he was definitely frustrated and angry.”
“Damn. Damian angry is never a good thing.”
“Why don’t you talk to him?” Curiosity pushed through May’s fatigue.
Stella laughed under her breath. “Are you kidding? I’m trying to save his ass right now. He’ll just get in the way.”
May straightened. “What in the world does that mean?”
“Sorry. Can’t tell you.” Stella’s tone shifted back to controlled and light. “For now, I’ll investigate Ace’s case. You relax. And you should probably tell Ace you love him. Don’t you think?”
“It’s not a bad idea,” May admitted. But was it?
They’d known each other for months, but only recently had they stepped into something real.
Saying it now felt enormous. Final. Would it scare him?
Would he pull back? She wouldn’t blame him.
It was fast. Everything about this had been fast. And yet there wasn’t a single doubt in her mind about what she felt. “I’ll think about it.”
“You do that,” Stella replied. “Call me if you need me.”
The line went dead.
May set her phone beside the keyboard and stared out the window again. Rain blurred the world beyond the glass. The trees swayed in slow arcs, steady and unaware.
She pressed her lips together and folded her hands on the desk. Should she tell him she loved him? Time felt thin, stretched too tight. Trouble was building beneath the surface, steady and inevitable. Every instinct she had told her that whatever was coming would hit hard.
And soon.