Chapter 25 #2
“Maybe,” she conceded. “When I think about the empty lives she and Brian have led when they should’ve been raising their daughter together, and then add to it everything Sam and the others were denied, that’s when I really get mad.
Whoever this monster is, the list of things he’s taken from us and so many others just gets longer and longer.
I blame him for the fact I don’t know my granddaughter. It’s his fault.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“You have to find him, Michael. You have to stop him.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to get him, babe, or die trying. I promise you that.”
“Don’t you dare die trying, because when you get him, you’re going to retire.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Startled, she looked up at him. “That was far too easy.”
“If you want me to retire, I’ll retire. Whatever you want.”
Her laughter touched his heart. “You’re so full of it. You’d already decided.”
“I haven’t given it a thought.”
“Yeah, right. This case is kicking your butt, and you’ve had enough.”
He could fool a lot of people but not his wife of thirty-five years. “If you say so.”
“I don’t care how it happens, as long as you mean it.”
“I do. You might’ve heard my son is moving back to Rhode Island and marrying a girl we both love. He’s promised me some grandkids before much longer, so it seems like a good time to hang up my hat.”
“It’s the perfect time. Besides, Matt’s ready for his shot at being chief.”
“Yes, he is, but I’ve got one loose end I need to sew up before I put in my papers.”
“Just hurry up, will you?”
“I’m going as fast as I can, believe me.”
“Michael?”
He was so tired. He couldn’t remember ever being more tired. “Hmm?”
“Don’t let him take you from me, too. Do you hear me?”
“I won’t.”
“Do you promise?”
Where the burst of energy came from he couldn’t have said, but he rolled her under him and kissed her as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did. “I promise,” he whispered and then went back for more.
Carly and Brian had just returned from Cape Cod and were unloading the Jeep in front of Carson’s two days later when Luke McInnis pulled up behind them in his company truck. He got out and walked over to them. Carly squeezed Brian’s arm to tell him to turn around.
“Hey, you guys,” Luke said.
Brian stepped in front of Carly. “What do you want, Luke?”
“What are you doing?” Luke cried when he noticed Brian’s protective gesture. “Do you think I’d hurt her? I’ve known her all my life! Why would I want to hurt her?”
Carly moved from behind Brian. “I don’t think it’s you, Luke. I told Chief Westbury and the others that. I said you were my friend, that you stuck up for me with that rude guy at Miss Molly’s.”
With his eyes still trained on Brian, Luke said, “Thank you.”
“What were you doing in the cemetery the other night?” Brian asked him.
“The same thing as you! Visiting a dead relative. I was very close to my grandfather, and I go all the time.”
“Interesting that we were there at the same time.”
Luke snorted with disbelief. “So that coincidence was enough for you to go running to daddy and turn my whole life upside down? I always knew you could be an arrogant prick, Westbury, but I never thought you were malicious.”
“Think whatever you want about me. All I care about is keeping Carly safe.”
“And that makes you different from anyone else in this town? Who do you think was keeping an eye out for her while you were off becoming a fancy lawyer?”
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this, Luke.” Carly rested her hand on Luke’s arm. “I never suspected for a minute that you’d be capable of the kind of things this man has done.”
Luke looked at Brian. “He did, though, and so did his father. What I don’t get is how could you, Brian? We were in freaking Cub Scouts together, for Christ sakes. You know me.”
“No, I don’t,” Brian said. “I haven’t seen you in fifteen years. And even before, I didn’t know you that well.”
Luke shook his head, his expression full of disdain. “I appreciate your support, Carly. I hope they catch this guy soon, so you can breathe easier—so we all can. I guess I’ll see you at the concert.”
“What concert?” she asked.
“A bunch of Rhode Island bands are doing a free concert on the town common tomorrow night. A show of support for the people of Granville.”
“That’s nice of them,” Carly said. “We’ll definitely be there.”
“Be careful, Carly. Just like your fiancé,” he said with a pointed look at Brian, “I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. Not after everything you’ve already been through.”
“Thanks, Luke.”
With a final glare for Brian, Luke turned and walked away. They watched him until he ducked into Miss Molly’s.
Carly’s eyes were focused on Miss Molly’s. “It’s not him. I’d know if I had anything to fear from him.”
Brian tilted his head to study her. “And how would you know that?”
“When you lose something, like the ability to speak, it sharpens your senses, and you have to rely on your gut much more than the average person. I get these feelings about people. It’s hard to explain. It’s not him. I just know it isn’t.”
Brian put his arms around her. “I appreciate what you’re saying, hon, but a gut feeling isn’t forensic evidence.”
“In the absence of evidence, it may be all we have.”
He pulled back to look down at her, his face twisted into an amused expression. “Well, listen to you. You already sound like a prosecutor’s wife.”
She smiled. “A prosecutor’s wife. I like the sound of that.”
“Good, because in nine days, that’s what you’ll be.”
“I just want to be Brian Westbury’s wife. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
He kissed her, right there in the middle of Main Street, without a care in the world as to who might be watching. “You’ll be that, too.”