by J. J. Cagney
He turned on his heel and walked toward his wife. Arlen wondered idly if they’d work through their issues.
He turned back toward his car, moseying down the path.
Epilogue
Danielle
Garrett offered to come with Danielle, and she wondered if she should have said no. She touched his cheek, tenderly, as she spoke.
“This is my messed up family. I want you there because you’ve kept me going through all this, but I feel like I need to focus on us.”
He searched her eyes. “Do you know what us means yet? They’ve always been there—the ghost of Jonathan, your mother, hell, even your father, though we didn’t know the why.”
She took a shaky breath “I don’t. Not really. Except to say . . . this is over. Whatever comes next, Jonathan’s death, his justice is complete. Reid and Kevin are safe.”
Garrett’s eyes crinkled, though the darkness from Reid’s abduction remained. Danielle understood. They would all need time to process what had happened.
“They’re enjoying being spoiled by my folks,” Garrett said. “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you, Garrett. For . . . just thank you.”
He nodded before he leaned in and touched his lips to hers, gently. Garrett was almost always subtle, easy, loving.
They drove to the cemetery, Danielle too nervous to speak. Garrett drove the car through the gates tipped with white stone angels, the grounds were dotted with flowers and flags, zigzagged with granite monuments and low markers. All the while, she thought about Kevin and Reid.
Hardesty and Trevor stood by Jonathan’s grave. Danielle sat in the car, unsure if she should give them privacy.
Trevor turned onto the path and walked toward a beautiful brunette in casual linen slacks and a turquoise silk blouse. She stepped away from the car, and Trevor pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms tight around him as his shoulders shook.
A small smile fluttering across Danielle’s lips. “She’s pretty.”
“Not as pretty as you,” Garrett said, clasping her hand.
Even if AMEAC imploded, if it never moved past the black mark of its founder’s part in his own son’s abduction, Trevor would be okay. He’d found the justice he needed—and the ability to lay his friend to rest at last.
Hardesty wandered down another path and went to his sedan. He saluted Danielle and Garrett but didn’t come over, for which Danielle was thankful. She needed to do this with just Garrett.
She needed to tell her big brother goodbye.
Eventually, Danielle and Garrett exited the car. They walked hand-in-hand to the grave markers.
The soft breeze fluttered a strand of hair across Danielle’s cheek, reminding her that she was indeed alive. She took a deep breath of the spring air, lilies and roses, fresh cut grass. A little rain.
Renewal. Just maybe.
She could hear the traffic, the buzzing grind of a lawn tractor. She glanced back down at the two graves huddled together. A family, but not hers.
“My name is Danielle Foster Patterson.” She closed her eyes as she squeezed Garrett’s fingers. He returned the gesture. “No. I’m Danielle Patterson.”
The wind picked up, riffling the low grass at each of the graves, some of the headstones, like her brother’s, donned little plastic flags sprinkled among the plastic bouquets. She brought wildflowers to add to both her mother’s flat grave marker and her brother’s white marble stone. She tucked her hair back behind her ear.
“I didn’t know you, neither of you,” she whispered as she stood there, her mother on one side, her brother on the other. She laid the flowers first on Nancy’s marker, then on Jonathan’s headstone, not thinking, just acting on instinct. She placed her hands there for a moment before she stood.
“I’m so sorry this happened. I’m so glad we ended it.”
With the first truly deep, restorative breath she’d taken since she was a child, Danielle nodded to Garrett. Together, they turned and walked away.
The End
If you enjoyed this novel, please consider J. J. Cagney’s Reverend Cici Gurule Mystery series at J. J.’s website: www.jjcagney.com
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About the Author
J. J. Cagney is the mystery/thriller pen name of USA Today bestselling author Alexa Padgett. Her debut mystery, A Pilgrimage of Death, was named to Kirkus Reviews' 100 Best Books of 2018 and Goodreads Best Mysteries of 2010s.
Cagney holds a bachelor’s in international marketing and spent part of her twenties as the marketing director for an elite sports management firm. And, yes, she did her requisite stint with a dotcom back in the that early 2000s, first as a marketing coordinator and then as a content manager. She’s penned work for a variety of websites and magazines, and she worked as a literary agent for Irene Webb Literary.
She lives in northern New Mexico with her husband, children, about a million fish, and their Great Pyrenees, Ash. Kirkus Reviews called Cagney's latest mystery, An Artifact of Death, "An exhilarating entry in a thoroughly enjoyable series."
Acknowledgments
As always, thank you, Chris. Your unwavering support and love shine through in all you do for the kids and me. I couldn’t ask for a better man, and I’m thrilled to wake up with you each day. You’re also the best movie date a gal could ask for.
To Corrine Jones, who put up with my slew of questions—and even my follow-up questions!—with tons of knowledge. You made this book much stronger for sharing your expertise. Thank you.
To my family, thank you for your patience with my dream—and letting me hang out in my head way too often.
To Nicole Pomeroy, thank you for pushing me to see the big picture and how all the details fit within that framework.
To Emma Rider, this cover is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing so much of your beautiful self in it.
And to my readers and reviewers, I would not be where I am today without you. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your time with me.