by Sandra Owens
My identical twin died that night in my arms. I’d made her a deathbed promise, one I had to keep because she’d promised in return that I’d feel her with me in all those places we were supposed to go together.
Vincennes was busy. Many of the tourists who’d come for the festival had stayed on for a few days. Naomi Reeves and Gloria Davenport were seated at the bar, having a glass of wine while waiting for a table. Naomi owned The Valley News, our town’s little weekly newspaper. Mostly it was a gossip rag—who had dinner at the country club, who was getting married or divorced, who died. Gloria was Naomi’s only reporter at-large. No bigger gossips existed east of the Mississippi River than those two.
“I hear you and the new police chief are an item,” Gloria said when I refilled her wineglass.
Twenty years from now, Dylan would still be the new police chief. “We’ve gone out a few times.” That was common knowledge, so no use denying it. I wasn’t about to admit we were an item, or she’d have our wedding announcement in next week’s paper. Gloria nor Naomi worried too much about whether the gossip they reported was true.
Gloria nudged Naomi’s arm. “I got a good picture of them on Sunday. He had his arm around her, and she’s looking up at him like a woman in love. It can be the lead-in to the festival recap.”
Oh God. Just shoot me now. If I tried to talk them out of doing that, it would only make it worse. Leaving them to their plotting, I turned to greet the man sitting next to them.
“What… what can I get for you?” I hoped the man I’d seen staring at Dylan at the festival hadn’t noticed my stutter. He leaned back on the stool and studied me. It made me feel like I was a bug under a microscope. There was something very off about him.
“Whatever you have on draft,” he finally said.
“Sure, coming right up.” The man was handsome—blond hair, blue eyes, built similar to Dylan—but I didn’t like him. His eyes were cold, soulless, and they stayed on me as I filled his mug. He was seriously creeping me out. I put the beer in front of him, hoping he wasn’t staying for dinner.
“What’s your name?”
“Jenn.” The last thing I wanted to do was tell him my name, but he hadn’t actually done anything wrong.
“So, Jenn, you and Dylan Conrad? Are you his girlfriend?” He took a swallow of his beer, his eyes on me over the rim of the mug.
“What’s it to you?” I took a step back, not liking this man at all.
Gloria leaned toward him. “They’re an item. I have the pictures to prove it.”
I shot her a death glare, but she was oblivious, lapping up the chance to dish out the latest gossip. I darted a glance around the bar and wanted to groan. Gloria didn’t have a quiet voice, and our conversation had caught everyone’s interest.
Naomi leaned her head around Gloria. “Do you know our new police chief?”
The man nodded, but his gaze stayed trained on me. I knew down to my bones that he was about to say something I didn’t want to hear. And whatever it was, I especially didn’t want Gloria and Naomi to hear it.
“He killed his wife, Jenn,” he said before I could slap my hand over his mouth. “I’d advise you to be very, very careful where Dylan Conrad’s concerned. I’d hate to see your pretty picture in the obits.” With that, he put a ten on the counter, nodded to Gloria and Naomi, and then walked out.
Naomi and Gloria let out simultaneous gasps. “Biggest news story ever,” Naomi gushed, almost falling off her stool as she twisted around to watch him leave. Then her gaze landed on me. “Who was that man?”
“A crazy person, that’s who.”
“Did he say our new police chief killed his wife?” someone farther down the bar said.
Naomi grabbed Gloria’s arm. “This calls for a special edition.”
“It’s not true,” I yelled as they raced away. Everyone at the bar was staring at me. “It’s not true,” I said again, as much for myself as for them.
I pushed away the whispering voice in my head that asked me how well I knew Dylan. There was no way the man I’d seen fall apart when he’d told me about his wife had killed her.
Dylan needed to know what had happened here tonight. Like right now, before any more damage was done to his reputation. I went looking for Brandy.
“Tell Angelo I have the flu,” I said when I found her, tossing the key to the liquor closet at her. I left without knowing or caring who’d cover the bar for me. I’d never walked out like this before, but I had to get to Dylan. If I got fired for leaving, so be it.
30
~ Dylan ~
“Is it me or the water you like?” I asked Daisy when she followed me into the shower. It was probably a little of both. The silly dog seemed to have fun catching the water, snapping at the drops as they fell on her face, but she also didn’t like letting me out of her sight.
I’d hoped to see the mayor by now, but he’d gone out of town with his wife and Stephanie. They’d left Monday morning before I could talk to him to let him know we were going to arrest his daughter. Since he’d taken her with him, we were going to have to wait for them to come back to pick her up. He’d finally answered my text late this afternoon, letting me know they were returning sometime tonight and scheduling the meeting I’d requested for tomorrow morning. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
My doorbell rang as I was drying off Daisy. “You expecting company, girl?” She gave an excited bark, running to the door, anticipating Jenny since she was the only one who ever came here. I slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, wondering who was showing up this time of night.
Jenny would still be at work, so I wasn’t expecting her yet. But there she was, on the other side of my door when I opened it.
“Oh God, Dylan. Something awful happened.”
My smile at seeing her died as she rushed by me. “Daisy, down.” The dog loved Jenny almost as much as she did me.
“It’s okay.” She knelt. “Hey, girl. I’m happy to see you, too, but I have to talk to your daddy.” After giving Daisy a good scratch behind her ears, she stood.
I tracked her movements as she paced my living room. “What’s going on?” She stopped, facing me. When she started chewing on her bottom lip, I frowned. “Jenny?”
“You remember when I asked if you knew some man when we were at the festival?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. See, there was this guy, and he was watching you. I thought it was weird because I got the impression he didn’t like you. But then he disappeared and I decided I was imagining things.”
“But you weren’t?” I had no idea where she was going with this, but whatever it was, it had her upset.
“No, but I sure wish I had been.” She twisted her fingers around each other.
“Come sit and tell me what this is all about.” I took her hand, leading her to the sofa.
She sat, leaned forward, and put her hands over her face. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled as my gut said this was something to do with me. Even so, I was at a loss as to what could have her so upset. “Jenny, just say it.”
When she lifted her head, tears shimmered in her eyes. “The man I saw, he came into Vincennes tonight.”
“What did he look like?” I feared I already knew the answer.
“Blond. Good-looking, but his blue eyes were like glaciers. Oh, and he had a small scar at the side of his right eye.”
“Jack.” Fucking Jack. The scar was from a gang member who’d taken exception at being arrested.
“He said… he said that you’d killed your wife. I know that’s not true, but unfortunately Naomi and Gloria from The Valley News heard him, along with the people at the bar tonight. They’re going to publish a special edition about you. I’m so sorry, Dylan.”
Ice-cold arms wrapped around me. My heart stopped beating. I couldn’t breathe.
“Dylan?”
The pity in Jenny’s eyes was unbearable. I somehow managed to get m
y legs to work, walking out without a backward glance. Daisy managed to slip out before I could close the door on her. Whatever. I didn’t have my car keys on me, so I just kept walking, Daisy trotting loyally by my side.
Why hadn’t I anticipated Jack would show up to cause trouble? Daisy ran over to sniff around a tree at the edge of the complex’s parking lot, and I stopped, absently watching her. Although Jack damn well knew I hadn’t killed Christine, he blamed me for driving her to take her own life. The tension between us had grown to the point where I knew we could no longer work together. Needing a fresh start—not to mention getting away from my former best friend before I crossed an unforgivable line—I’d put feelers out and learned about the opening for a police chief in Blue Ridge Valley. I hadn’t expected to like it as much here as I did, and now he was going to take that away from me, too.
“Dylan?”
I closed my eyes at hearing Jenny’s voice. She was just another thing I was going to lose. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be happy. “You should probably go home, Red. I’m not good company right now.”
“You have to fight this. You can’t stand by and do nothing while he spreads lies about you,” she said, ignoring me. “Why would he say such a horrible thing?”
Stubborn girl. I’d finally put Christine’s ghost to rest, and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about her to the woman I was falling for. That Jenny put such trust in me, refusing to believe Jack without even knowing the truth, put a lump in my throat the size of a baseball. She deserved an explanation whether I wanted to talk about it or not.
Daisy rushed to the next tree, and I followed her with Jenny close to my side. One thing Jenny apparently had was patience. She didn’t say another word, simply waited me out. I slid my hands into my front pockets and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, much like the one when Jenny had taken me to the top of that mountain to stargaze.
I let out a weary sigh, tired of all the shit in my life. There was enough money in my bank account to last a few years without touching Christine’s money. Maybe I should become a beach bum. Find a run-down bar on a lonely beach somewhere to buy where I could listen to people with sadder stories than mine. And now I was feeling sorry for my pathetic self, and I hated that I’d let things come to this. I should have settled this thing with Jack long before now.
I glanced at Jenny, still waiting for me to talk. She had her arms wrapped around herself. “You’re cold.” We’d both walked out without our jackets. “Let’s go in, and I’ll tell you my sad story.”
Back inside, Jenny wanted to shower and change before we talked. “I smell like pizza,” she said. She lifted onto her toes, brushing her lips over mine. “Why don’t you pour us a glass of wine, or something stronger if you prefer.”
If I started on something stronger, I might not stop, so wine it was. While I waited for her, I called my—and Jack’s—old boss. “It’s Dylan,” I said when Garrett answered.
“You shithead. Took you long enough to check in. How’s Nowhere, USA?”
Garrett Caulder rode his cops hard, demanding they give their best to the job. There wasn’t a man on the force who didn’t both despise and love him at the same time. He could make you feel like dirt on the bottom of his shoes if you screwed up, but you never doubted he had your back. I’d become a damn good cop under his tutelage.
“You just gonna breathe in my ear all night, Conrad? It’s kind of hot, but since you don’t dance to my tune, I’m thinking you’re not trying to turn me on.”
I sputtered a laugh. “It’s great here, or it was until Jack showed up.”
“Fuck me.”
“No thanks, but yeah, the situation isn’t good.” I told him what had happened.
“Jack put in for vacation, said he was going to Montana to visit his family.”
“This isn’t Montana, yet here he is.” I pulled the stopper out of an already opened bottle of wine.
“He’s been obsessed with you since…well, since everything went down. He’ll talk smack about you to anyone who’ll listen, but we all know the truth.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever be at peace again, but I was finding it in my little corner of the world—”
“Dylan, you gotta take the bull by the horns on this one, you understand?”
“Not really, unless you mean I should put him out of his misery.” Rumors had a way of taking on a life of their own, and considering everyone sitting at the bar had heard Jack’s accusation, talk of me killing my wife would spread through these mountains like wildfire.
Garrett gave that booming laugh of his. “Tempting I’m sure, but no. Okay, my brilliant mind has been at work while you were talking, and here’s what we’re gonna do. First thing tomorrow, sit down with that mayor you introduced me to when he was here and tell him what happened. Get him to agree to hold a town hall, where you’re going to tell your story to the good people of Blue Ridge Valley.”
“You know I don’t like talking about Christine.”
“Then you’d better start looking for another job.”
“Fine. I don’t see that I have a choice.”
“That’s right. Besides I’m flying down to stand by your side and back up everything you say.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Even when I didn’t work for him any longer, he had my back. “You don’t have to do that.”
“When have you known me to do anything I didn’t want to do?”
Never. “Thanks. I’ll owe you big.”
“Shut up, Dylan, before you make me cry.”
I laughed, something I hadn’t expected to do tonight. “That’ll be the day. One other thing. Is Jack still driving the same car?” I doubted he would have flown down, not wanting to go through all the red tape to carry his gun aboard a plane. And I knew he wouldn’t come here unarmed.
“Yeah. I’ll e-mail you the license number and my flight info when I have it.”
“Thanks. For everything.”
“I got your back, Dylan. Always have.”
“Never doubted it.” I hung up as Jenny walked into the kitchen, her wet hair curling around her face and flowing down her back. Christ, she was beautiful. Instead of cutting myself open for her, spilling my guts, I should be in bed, holding her in my arms, lost in her sweet body.
She scooted onto the stool at the kitchen counter, pulling the glass of wine I’d poured toward her. I’d drunk one glass while I was on the phone with Garrett and was on my second. Maybe I should have gone for the hard stuff.
“What happened with your wife, Dylan?”
I drained the rest of my wine, then set the glass on the counter. “Long story short, I came home from a business trip a day early and found Christine in bed with my partner, Jack.” I’d expected to see shock on her face, but all I got was a nod.
“I thought it might be something like that. I can’t imagine how you must have felt to be betrayed by both your wife and your partner.”
I’d felt like my heart had been carved out of my chest with a dull razor blade, that was how.
“Were you and Jack close before that happened?”
“Like brothers.” I’d lost my wife and my best friend that day.
“I assume he was in love with her, otherwise he wouldn’t be here trying to make your life miserable.”
“He says he was. I told her I wanted a divorce, but she begged me to stay with her, said she loved me and couldn’t live without me. I just didn’t realize she meant that literally.”
“Did he know she didn’t want a divorce?”
Telling Jenny all this wasn’t turning out to be as difficult as I’d thought it would be. It was because of her, though, the way she understood and saw things, along with how she didn’t dramatize what she was hearing. I moved to the counter, pulling a stool around so that I was facing her.
“I don’t know what Christine told him, but I’m guessing not. I tried to tell him after… you know, after she did what she did, but he called me a liar. After that I didn’t bot
her trying to repair the damage to our relationship. It eventually became clear that one of us was going to have to leave, and I decided a change would be good for me. So here I am.”
I didn’t tell her about the childish games Jack had played afterward. The flat tires, not telling me about meetings, having my utilities cut off, or telling our cop brothers that I’d killed Christine and then made it look like she’d taken her own life. After all, he’d told anyone who would listen, it was my gun they found next to her. Garett had put a stop to the crap Jack was pulling at work, but I never told my boss about the other stuff because even after everything had gone down, I still felt sorry for Jack. He’d loved Christine, too. We’d both lost her.
Jenny smiled as she reached across the counter and put her hand over mine. “I’m glad you picked here.”
“It was good while it lasted, but the people of Blue Ridge Valley aren’t going to want a murderer for their police chief.” Her hand was warm where it rested on mine, and I just wanted to take her to bed, curl up with her, and pull the covers over our heads.
“You’re not a murderer. I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. You have to fight this, Dylan. It’s not right that he can keep taking everything you love away from you. We need a plan.” She squeezed my hand. “I’ll be right there with you, and together we’ll make sure everyone knows the truth.”
Damn burning eyes. She smiled, and there was something about the way that smile seemed special, as if it was meant just for me, that made my heart beat faster. Sitting in my kitchen talking about both the woman and the best friend I’d once loved, it hit me like a ton of bricks dropped on my head. I was well on the way to being in love with Jenny Girl. That wasn’t supposed to happen.
“There’s a plan in the works, but I can’t talk about all this anymore tonight.” I stood and walked behind her, putting my arms around her. “Help me forget for a few hours. Give me some of that TLC you excel at, and tomorrow morning I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.”