Текст книги "Crowned and Moldering"

Автор книги: Kate Carlisle

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“If he did,” Mac said, “then it’s reasonable to suspect she ran away.”

Eric wrote it all down, then looked at me. “Do you know the father’s name?”

“Hugh Brogan. He was awful. A mean, violent man.” I frowned, recalling some of the stories Chloe used to tell me. “One day Amy came to school with a black eye and a swollen jaw and told everyone she’d fallen down the stairs. Their homeroom teacher reported her injuries to the police, who must’ve gone to the house to question her parents. After that, Amy was out of school for almost a week, and when she came back she had a broken arm and was limping badly.”

“Sounds like Hugh needed to be kicked in the teeth,” Mac muttered.

I scowled. “Unfortunately, he’s dead, or I’d be happy to see you go over there and bash his face in.”

“Didn’t the police ever arrest him?” Eric wondered.

“Oh yeah. He’d spend some nights in jail, and then Sean’s mother would show up crying and whining that she needed him at home. And I heard that she called Amy a liar.”

Mac’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Did the cops ever question Amy?”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t say a word. It would just mean a worse beating. So, what could the police do?”

Seething, Mac pounded his fist into his palm. “They could believe what they saw with their own eyes and lock the creep up for good.”

Eric nodded and said, “You have no idea how many times we would like to do just that. But we have to follow the law, whether we agree with it or not.”

I told them how Sean eventually grew to be taller and stronger than his old man and was able to give him a taste of his own medicine once or twice. After that, Sean became the buffer between his father and his sisters.

“But then Sean’s mother would yell at him whenever he threatened his dad. She’d call him insolent and vicious and stuff like that. He told me she used to slap him for daring to disobey his father’s orders.”

“A classic enabler,” Mac said, shaking. “Sometimes I wonder which is worse.”

“The father was worse,” I said flatly. “For a while, Sean was in and out of trouble himself. He spent some time in juvenile hall in his teens, but then he straightened himself out. And, believe me, there’s nobody more easygoing and helpful in the whole world. He talked me into giving him a job when I took over the company, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. He’s the perfect employee, a great worker, and a real sweet guy. And a dear friend.”

I looked out at the silhouette of my friend sitting on the rocks. The sun had all but disappeared and a phalanx of dark clouds formed the background. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

Mac nodded and followed my gaze. “Poor guy.”

“There’s something else you probably should know,” I said uncertainly.

Eric glanced up from his notes. “Let’s hear it.”

“It’s just that, at the time, the local police didn’t give Lily’s disappearance much attention.”

“Because they thought she ran away.”

“Right. But still, they could’ve searched harder. I remember my father talking about it. He told me the cops sent a few inquiries to other police departments in the area and they questioned a few people around town. But that was about it.”

“Do you remember who was questioned?”

“Her mom and dad, of course, and Sean and Amy. And her boyfriend at the time. I remember the cops showing up at school to question Lily’s guidance counselor and a few of her girlfriends. I can’t think of anyone else, but my dad would probably know. And I’ll bet Sean would know, too.”

Eric was jotting down the names. “I’ll talk to all of them.”

“Apparently nobody knew much and the police chief quickly gave up the search. He made a point of brushing off Lily’s disappearance as just another teenage runaway.”

Eric looked at the big man in the distance, sitting alone and broken. “Sean couldn’t stop looking, though.”

“No. I think it was partly because he felt so guilty. He always wondered if he could’ve done more to protect her from their father’s brutal temper.”

“Is his mother still around?”

“No, she died years ago.”

“What about the sister, Amy?”

I smiled. “She’s happily married to a doctor and lives up in Eureka. They have a couple of kids.”

Mac gave a brief nod. “Good for her.”

“She probably still has a few emotional scars,” Eric mused.

“I know she does.” I sighed. “I just wish the police had devoted a little more time to Lily’s case. Someone had to have known that the mansion was being used as a crash pad. Stuff like that didn’t just fall through the cracks. People drive out here all the time to go to the lighthouse, and the gift shop is nearby, too. Somebody must’ve seen something. But as far as I know, nobody came forward.”

“I’m sorry,” Eric said.

“Me, too,” I said, knowing he was apologizing for the police in general. “I hate to say it, but Chief Ray wasn’t very good at protecting and serving. He probably would’ve been fired years earlier, but he had his cronies on the town council and they kept him in the job a lot longer than they should have.”

“I’ve heard about that guy,” Mac said. “Nobody seems to have had much respect for him.”

“Sadly, there are plenty of lazy cops who are more than willing to let things slide than do the legwork.” Eric’s jaw tightened, though he managed to bank his anger. “But there’s a new chief in town, and I’m determined to get to the bottom of this case.”

“Good,” I said, smiling at his tough words. “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

He pointed toward Sean, still sitting on the rocks. “But to do it, I’m going to need to talk to your guy.”

I gazed in that direction and shivered. What had been a blustery-cold but beautiful day had turned grim and menacing. Those dark clouds were closing in, threatening to open up and dump icy rain on us at any minute.

I knew I would have to be the one to convince Sean to talk to the police and I’d have to do it soon. I’d already persuaded Eric to wait for the better part of an hour. If Sean continued to resist, Eric might go ahead and arrest him just to get him down to police headquarters and question him. I didn’t want that to happen. Sean was already traumatized enough.

I glanced from Mac to Eric, then nodded. “I’ll go get him.”

Chapter Three

“For God’s sake, Shannon,” Sean shouted. “If you think I had anything to do with the death of my sister, you’re not the person I thought you were.”

I winced from the anger in his tone. “Of course I don’t think that. I know you would never hurt Lily. Or Amy either. You three were always close.”

“Then what are you doing out here?”

“I want you to go talk to Chief Jensen.”

“Why? The police won’t do anything. They don’t give a hoot.”

I couldn’t blame him for having that attitude ingrained into his DNA, but in this case he was wrong.

“Come on, Sean,” I said, grabbing his arms and forcing him to look at me. Believe in me. “Eric is nothing like Chief Ray and you know it.”

He huffed out a breath and narrowed his eyes into a squint. “What if he arrests me?”

“He’s not going to arrest you—I swear it.” I prayed I was right. And if Eric did arrest Sean, he was going to get an earful from me. “He just wants to find answers. That’s what you want, too, isn’t it?”

He pressed his lips together like a stubborn six-year-old but finally relented. “Yeah.”

“He needs your help.” I wove my arm through his and nudged him away from the breakwater. “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here and it’s going to start pouring rain any minute.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do,” I countered. “If you get a cold and miss a day of work, I’ll hunt you down and kick your butt.”

He couldn’t help but smile, but then shook his head soberly. “For Pete’s sake, Shannon. It feels like I’ve been looking for Lily my whole life. And now to find out she was here all along? It hurts.” He rubbed his chest absently.

“I know, honey.” I grabbed his hand and held it tightly for a long moment. Finally, we linked arms again and he allowed me to lead the way, stepping off the rocks and onto the sandy path at the edge of Mac’s property. “It hurts me, too, Sean. Lily and I were friends, remember? You’ll laugh, but when she left, I thought it was because she didn’t like me anymore. I was such a baby back then.”

“Aw, come here,” he said gruffly, and wrapped his muscular arms around me.

I couldn’t help the tears as the memory of losing my friend took over. But as Sean’s warm hands rubbed up and down my back and he murmured words of sympathy, I realized that even in his misery, he was more interested in soothing my pain than in wallowing in his own.

Finally I broke away and stared up at him. “Let’s go talk to Eric. He’ll help—I promise. And we’ll both feel better if we talk it through and take some action.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said. Biting back a smile, he added, “You’re the boss.”

I slugged his arm and heard a deep chuckle echo inside that burly chest of his. It was the best sound in the world.

*   *   *

I watched Sean carefully as he glanced around at the pale green walls of the police department’s interrogation room. He took in the thin brown carpet and the utilitarian conference table and chairs before turning to glare at Chief Jensen. “I want Shannon to sit in with us.”

I already knew what Eric would say, but I waited patiently for him to tell me to get lost. I felt bad, though, because poor Sean sounded like a little kid begging for his mom to stay with him. I knew he would be fine without me, but it hurt to realize that he’d never had anyone be there for him. Except Lily. And with that realization, I prepared myself to fight Eric’s decision.

“Sure, she can stay,” Eric said.

My eyes widened in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He pointed to the seat at the far end of the small conference table. “Just sit over there and don’t say anything.”

“Okay, okay,” I said, holding up both hands. “Don’t worry. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”

Seriously, you could’ve knocked me down with a feather. I’d been involved in several murder cases since Eric had moved to Lighthouse Cove, and whenever I’d tried to fill him in on some background info or share my opinion or suspicions of something or someone around town, he’d given me a hard time. I couldn’t blame him, since he was adamant that civilians shouldn’t be involved in police activities. But still, if you had information to give to the police, shouldn’t they welcome it? I had a sneaking feeling he was trying to protect me, so I suppose I could appreciate that. Sort of.

Meanwhile, this was a real switcheroo. A good one. Especially for Sean. He seemed even happier than I was that I was being allowed to stay in the room with him.

It made me think that Eric really meant it when he said he only wanted to have a conversation with Sean, not an interrogation. So that was a relief. I mean, I understood why Sean would be the first person Eric wanted to question, but I had to admit I was also concerned. Was Eric suspicious that Lily’s sweet-natured brother might’ve been the one who hurt her?

I was pretty sure that this would simply be a fact-finding mission and that Sean would be able to go home in a little while, where he would have to deal with his own personal new world order: namely, his sister Lily was dead and he could no longer go through life hoping that she would return someday.

And wasn’t that depressing?

I made a mental note to get in touch with Wade and see if he and the guys would take Sean out to dinner or a beer tonight and for the next few nights. If they weren’t available, then I would take him out myself. And was it too soon to call Lizzie to see about lining up a few dates for him? Probably. Besides, how could I endorse anyone going out on a blind date when I was so adamantly opposed to it myself?

Eric sat down at the table and placed a manila file folder in front of him. “I called ahead and asked a clerk to pull all the records on your sister’s disappearance. I haven’t had time to read through them, but I will.”

“That’s good,” Sean said, staring uneasily at the thin folder. “Doesn’t look like you’ll learn much from the cops who investigated Lily. They didn’t go beyond the basics, but maybe they wrote up some background info that’ll help.”

Eric’s lips pursed in thought for a moment. “I want to apologize to you for my predecessor’s sloppy work.”

Sean blinked a few times, clearly as surprised as I was. “Oh. Well, uh, that’s okay. Not your fault.”

“No, it’s not. But it pisses me off when I hear about cops doing shoddy work. It makes us all look bad.”

“Well, thanks for that.” Sean nodded, discomfited by the chief’s clear admission. “I appreciate it.”

“I do, too,” I said, even though I’d promised to keep my mouth shut. I couldn’t help it, though. I was so pleased by Eric’s words.

“So, let’s talk about Lily,” Eric said, and flipped open the folder.

Within minutes of skimming the pages, Eric found the date Lily was reported missing. “It says that your sister Amy called the police to report her missing. Where were you?”

Sean had that stubborn look on his face again. “I wasn’t home.”

“Away at camp? Visiting relatives? Where were you?”

I gave Eric a dark look. He was starting to sound like an interrogator. He ignored me.

“Do you remember where you were, Sean?” Eric continued. “This was a pretty memorable moment in your life. Can you remember what you were doing when you heard the news that your sister had disappeared?”

“I remember.” But Sean clenched his teeth together and I was afraid he would refuse to answer. Within a few seconds, though, his shoulders sagged minutely and he relented. “I was in the county juvenile detention facility over in Ukiah. I was there for ten days. I didn’t know Lily was gone until I got home and Amy told me.”

Eric might have had the most professional poker face ever, but I caught a fleeting look of relief in his eyes. Nanoseconds later it was gone, replaced by the stoic gaze I was used to seeing whenever he was holding his cards close to his vest.

I had no such poker face. I almost jumped up and cheered at the news that Sean had an alibi. Not that I ever doubted his innocence, but it helped to know that official county records would corroborate his story.

While Eric and I might’ve been happy at the news, Sean looked completely mortified. Was it because he’d been forced to confess the news of his incarceration to the chief of police? Or was it the fact that his boss—me—was sitting in the room with him? I hated that he might be worried about what I was thinking.

“I remember you used to get into trouble,” I said, trying to sound casual. “But after Lily left, it seemed you straightened up pretty quickly.”

“I had to,” he said. “I realized that if I hadn’t been such a screwup and had been around more, Lily might not have left. So I needed to clean up my act in case she came back someday. And I also needed to protect Amy.”

I reached over and squeezed his hand. “I know you’ve blamed yourself all these years, but I hope you know that it wasn’t your fault. You’re a good brother, Sean, and a good friend. I’m really proud of you.”

He brushed away tears. “You should probably stop talking, boss. Otherwise I’m going to start blubbering like a baby and we’ll never get through this.”

My own tears were threatening, but I was smiling. “Okay, okay.” I made a zipping motion across my lips. “Quiet as a mouse.”

As the two men talked, I wondered whether the coroner had arrived at the lighthouse mansion yet. Tommy and a uniformed officer had volunteered to wait while Eric drove back to the station to interview Sean. Would the coroner immediately recognize that the skeleton was that of a seventeen-year-old female? I’d heard that the size and shape of the pelvic bone was the clearest way to detect gender. Were there other ways?

Would he be able to determine that the MedicAlert bracelet had been worn by the victim? What if Lily’s bracelet had fallen off somehow and the victim was clutching it when he or she died? Maybe Lily was alive and the bracelet had slipped down the dumbwaiter shaft to land in the pile of bones. Anything was possible, right?

But despite all my internal questions, I wouldn’t voice any of them to Sean. I couldn’t give him any more false hope when I truly believed it was Lily Brogan who’d died in the dumbwaiter of Mac’s new home. The thought was realistic but depressing enough that I forced myself to brush it away and tuned back in to Eric and Sean’s conversation.

“Until we hear from the medical examiner,” Eric was saying, “we won’t know for sure how the victim died.”

“Or if it’s even my sister?” Sean asked.

“Frankly, we won’t know that for certain until we check dental records and run DNA tests.”

“I’ll be happy to submit my own DNA if you need a comparison.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” Sean said. “I want answers even more than you do, Chief.”

“I know that.” Eric paused in his official tone and manner long enough to give Sean a small sympathetic smile. “And I promise we’ll do everything we can to get them for you. And for your sister.”

“Thanks.”

Eric stood. “Let me get a swab of your DNA and then you’re free to go. I’ll be in touch as soon as we know anything.”

The two men shook hands and the interview was over. But I couldn’t have been more pleased that they had formed an alliance to find justice for Lily.

*   *   *

It was pouring rain by the time we left the police station. I dropped Sean off at his small Craftsman-style house on the east side of town, after extracting a promise that he’d meet me and some of the guys at the pub later for dinner. I was relieved that he seemed grateful for the invitation and I didn’t have to strong-arm him into accepting our company. Not that I could actually strong-arm him myself. Sean could swat me away like a fly. But I was willing to send Wade or one of the other guys over to do the job for me.

Before he jumped out of the truck, Sean turned to me, wearing a sheepish look. “I guess you were right.”

“How so?”

He shrugged. “Eric seems like a good guy, so I’ll call him if I think of anything that might help with the case.”

I grabbed him and gave him a hug. It warmed my heart to hear him say it. I hoped it meant that he wouldn’t turn into a gloomy hermit anytime soon.

As I drove home, my thoughts were consumed by Sean and Lily. The closer I got to my house, the more the weight of the discovery of Lily’s bones hit me. I began to tear up again and knew I needed to pull myself together or I wouldn’t be able to continue driving. It was bad enough that there were bucketfuls of rain hampering my visibility. Tears would not help matters at all.

Lily Brogan had been a beautiful girl with dark red hair and perfect skin. She was two grades ahead of me, so it was a shock the first time she ever spoke to me back in grade school. She’d said, “Sorry to hear about your mom, Shannon.”

My mother had died a slow death from complications brought on by diabetes. It wasn’t easy watching her fade away. A week after her funeral, I finally went back to school.

“Thanks, Lily,” I’d said, feeling tears form in my eyes. How was it possible to cry this much? “I really miss her.”

Lily must have heard the catch in my voice, because she’d put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed a little. “It’s a blessing to have good memories of your mother. You should cherish those, because not everyone is that lucky.”

At the time, I was too wrapped up in my own grief to realize what she was really saying or to recognize how mature her words were for someone so young. But years later, in high school, I found myself alone with her again while we waited for the library to open.

“Hey, Shannon,” she’d said.

“Hi, Lily. You look so pretty. I love that blouse you’re wearing.”

“You sure? You don’t think pink clashes with red hair?”

“Not at all,” I’d said, wondering if she was fishing for a compliment. “I’d wear it anytime. It looks perfect with your complexion. Who told you it clashed?”

She had made a face. “My mother. She said I looked like a whore.”

I was stunned to know that any mother could talk that way to her own daughter. “Well, don’t tell her I said so, but she’s totally wrong.”

Lily had brightened. “I won’t say a word—promise. We redheads have got to stick together.”

I’d loved the thought that we could be in some exclusive club together. “You know it.”

“Does your mother ever say stupid stuff like that? Oh, wait.” She’d given herself a sharp smack in the head. “I’m so sorry, Shannon. Boy, am I an idiot.”

“That’s okay. I’m just sorry your mom hurt your feelings.”

I had been surprised to see her eyes get watery, but she’d quickly sniffed away the tears and gritted her teeth. “I don’t care. I won’t have to live at home much longer.”

“Are you going away to college?”

“One way or another. I’ve applied for a bunch of scholarships, so I’m hoping to get one of them.”

“You will,” I had said with enthusiasm. “You’re really smart and talented. Everyone’s going to send you offers.”

“You’re sweet, Shannon.”

Memories faded as I stopped at another red light at the edge of the town square and watched the rain pour down on the windshield. Everyone in town had been shaken when Lily disappeared only a few days before the opening of the annual high school spring play. Especially since Lily had been chosen to play Sandy, the lead in the musical Grease. I thought she was even prettier than Olivia Newton-John, and she had a beautiful singing voice. I used to hear her sing every night at rehearsal, because I was head of the carpentry crew, even though I was only a sophomore. And that happened because our drama coach and everyone in town knew that I’d been working in construction most of my life, ever since my mom died and my dad had starting taking my sister and me along to his job sites. Who better to teach a crew of tough senior boys how to hammer nails and saw wood than someone who’d been doing it since she was a little kid?

I braked at a stop sign. Thinking about those conversations with Lily was stirring up memories of my mother’s death. Somehow our brief chats had always revolved around our mothers. Because of that we had shared an oddly special bond, despite our two-year age difference. Now I wondered if Lily had wished her own mother were dead. Or if, after seeing my pain, she might have tried to bridge that gap and make an effort to be closer to her mom.

Sadly, that would’ve been a lost cause. Mrs. Brogan, in her own way, had been as awful a parent as their father had been. And now I could see maybe Mac had been right earlier when he said that it was sometimes hard to tell which was worse, the abuser or the enabler.

Lily’s mother’s words had been terribly hurtful. And those were just the words Lily had told me. There had to have been so many more instances that were even worse. So yes, Lily had been physically beaten by her father, but I wondered if the kind of emotional thrashings she’d had to endure from her mother might’ve been just as devastating and probably longer lasting.

Wow. It really made me appreciate my parents and the relatively easy childhood they’d given me.

A few blocks from home, I remembered that I needed to pick up a pound of coffee and a quart of half-and-half for the morning. I pulled into the supermarket parking lot, found a place, and turned off the engine. I had to sit there for a minute, as all the confusion and heartache of those days came rushing back. It was painful to find out that Lily had never really disappeared; she’d been in town all this time. But nobody had ever thought to search for her inside the deserted lighthouse mansion. Could she have been saved? We would never know.

A dreadful thought occurred to me. Even if someone had thought to search for her in the mansion, would they have found her curled up inside the dumbwaiter? As soon as I pictured it, I had to shake off the image of Lily inside that cramped space. I jumped out of the car and ran through the rain into the market.

As I reached the dairy section, I heard a man say my name. “Well, well. Shannon Hammer.”

It wasn’t a friendly greeting. My stomach clenched as I turned to see Cliff Hogarth standing near the orange-juice display. He was impeccably dressed in a well-tailored black suit with a white shirt and a gold silk tie. He looked wealthy and dangerous and not at all at home in the dairy section of the local supermarket.

Cliff had grown up in Lighthouse Cove, but moved away after high school. Rumor had it that he’d made a killing in the real estate business in Chicago. Then a few months ago he’d returned to town to open a construction company. Ever since then, he’d been making life miserable for me and the other contractors around town. He had tried to poach our crews and thought nothing of drastically underbidding our jobs. It was infuriating and a little scary. The man had no integrity at all when it came to his professional dealings, not to mention his personal interactions. But why would I expect him to? He’d hounded me and a lot of other girls all through high school.

And staring at him now, I remembered that Cliff had dated Lily Brogan during her senior year in high school. How was that for a coincidence? Seeing him on the same day that Lily’s remains were discovered made me question his real motive for moving back to Lighthouse Cove.

Ordinarily I might not be so suspicious of someone, but Cliff was a jerk of the highest order. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’d been involved in Lily’s death. Maybe that was unfair of me, but I couldn’t help it. The man was purposely aggressive and intimidating.

Paying no attention to him, I opened up the dairy case and took a quart container of half-and-half off the shelf. As I started to walk away, Cliff took hold of my arm.

“Hands off, pal,” I said in my toughest voice.

“You’re still a snob, aren’t you?”

I wrenched my arm back. “And you’re still a clueless oaf.”

He moved closer. I backed up a step. He was big and loathsome, a real bully, yet his breath was minty fresh. It was unexpected and creepy. Without warning, he grabbed my arm again and squeezed.

I struggled to pull away. “I told you to get your hands off me.”

“When are you going to learn that it pays to be nice to me?” he said through clenched teeth.

“You’re wrong. Now let me go.”

“Maybe once I’ve put you out of business you’ll realize you should’ve paid better attention to me.”

“Fat chance of that.” I tried to push him, but he was as solid as stone. “I’m going to scream if you don’t leave me alone.”

“Of course you’ll scream, because you’re nothing but a weak little girl.” He laughed, but his eyes were hard. “By the time I’m through destroying your little company, you’ll be begging me for a job.”

“You’re crazy.” I finally managed to break loose. “Stay away from me, or you’ll be sorry.”

His upper lip curled as he snorted. “Now I’m scared.”

I walked away as fast as I could, but I could hear his evil laugh all the way up to the cash-register line.

Minutes later, I was home and dashing to the kitchen door. I let myself inside and quickly locked the door, concerned that Cliff might’ve followed me home. I tried to shake him from my mind as I stomped on the rug to dry my shoes.

I took a careful peek out the window and didn’t see anyone loitering outside. The lights were on in the garage apartment, and I wondered if Mac might want to join me and my crew for dinner. I always enjoyed Mac’s company, but tonight I had to admit I’d feel a lot safer going with him to the pub rather than going alone.

I hung up my coat on the hat rack by the back door and rubbed my arms to brush away the chill. The encounter in the dairy section wasn’t the first time Cliff had tried to frighten me, but he was growing more aggressive. A few weeks ago I’d gone to the pub to pick up dinner and was sipping a beer while I waited. Cliff had walked over and sat down next to me. I’d tried to ignore him, but he moved in close—he always liked to get too close for comfort—and told me I should be careful about drinking too much because I was asking to be taken advantage of.

It was such a stupid, sexist thing to say, I’d almost laughed. But he’d had the weirdest, coldest look on his face, so I just turned my back on him. He then yanked me around and said, “Don’t think you can treat me the same way you did in high school. I’ve got power now and I can make life miserable for you.”

The bartender had brought my food just then, and I left without saying a word to Cliff. But he had followed me outside and told me it could be dangerous to walk home alone at night. I’d dashed back inside and called my girlfriend Jane to come pick me up. I hadn’t seen Cliff since, until a few minutes ago at the market.

The phone began to ring and I rushed to pick up the kitchen extension, careful to stand on the rag rug to avoid tracking water onto the tile floor. I was surprised to hear Eric’s voice on the other line.

“Mind if I stop by for a few minutes?”

“Not at all,” I said, relief flooding through me. Not that I’d thought Cliff Hogarth would call me, but hearing Eric’s deep voice helped me breathe easier. “What’s up?”

“I hope I won’t regret asking, but I need some background info on this situation.”

“Situation? You mean Lily?”

“Yeah, sorry. Lily.”

“Okay.” I decided to ignore his line about regret for now. “I’m going out later, but I’ll be around for the next few hours.”

“Thanks. See you in ten minutes.” He hung up, and I stared at the phone for a long moment. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. Oh, I was definitely thrilled that Eric trusted me enough to want to talk. But I was annoyed that he felt he might regret it. I was also worried that Sean would think I was talking behind his back. Thrilled? Annoyed? Worried? There were plenty of each buzzing through me, but I decided to feel cautiously thrilled for the time being. At least it meant that Eric was no longer looking at me as a prime suspect in anything that went wrong in town.

I raced upstairs to change out of my rain-soaked blue jeans and into a pair of comfy yoga pants and a warm tunic sweater. In the bathroom, I grabbed my hair dryer and blasted it to get rid of my wet-puppy-dog look.

Speaking of puppy dogs, I glanced over at the bathroom doorway and saw Robbie—short for Rob Roy, since my little white-haired darling was a West Highland terrier—waiting patiently for my attention.