by Sara L Foust
“I’m tired.”
“Geez, Zach. Is there anything not wrong with you right now?” She swallowed the bitter taste of her snarky words. “Sorry.”
“Dave call yet?”
How did he know exactly how to find the painful knot hiding underneath and dig it out like a rotten potato turned free from its soil? “No—”
Her phone rang with Dave’s special jingle. “Speak of the...never mind.”
Zach raised his eyebrow.
Annalise rolled her eyes and answered. “Hey, hon.”
“When are you going to be home?”
“Coupla hours. Everything okay?”
“No. Someone broke in last night.”
“Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t home.”
Her blood turned cold. “Where were you?” He should’ve been home from Gatlinburg yesterday, way before bedtime. “Dave, you still there?”
“Yeah. The place is a mess. Millie’s okay though. I had let her into the back yard for the day. I knew you’d be worried about her.”
He hadn’t answered her question. Was it on-purpose or distraction? She swallowed hard. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, I’ll have Captain Brooks come by and start the report.” And what did he mean by worried about her? Like he thought she’d only be worried about their pet.
“I can’t believe this. Is it tied to one of your cases this time too?”
A weight settled on her shoulders. An old one she recognized well by this time. “I...I don’t know. Possibly.”
“That’s just great, Annalise.” He huffed. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“I’m sorry, Dave. I really am.”
“Whatever.”
“We’ll talk when I get there, okay? I promise.”
“Righto.”
She hated when he said that. On the surface, righto sounded like a plan, an agreement, a positive. Underneath, she’d come to learn, it really meant something far less enthusiastic. Something along the lines of “I don’t want to talk about it because I’m so mad I may never forgive you. And I wouldn’t believe your apology, no matter what you say.”
She dropped the phone into the console cup holder and sighed.
“What’s up?”
“Break in at my house. Dave’s pretty mad.”
“What are you thinking?”
“That work is affecting private life again.”
“It happens sometimes in this business.”
She slapped her palm against the steering wheel. “It isn’t supposed to.”
“Look, what happened five years ago was not your fault.”
“Sure feels like it.”
“What were you supposed to do?”
Keep her mouth shut and her head down.
“You couldn’t have unseen what you saw. You did the right thing arresting that senator.”
“Yeah, worked really well for me and Dave.”
Zach put a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “He broke the law, Annalise. Just because he had a position of power shouldn’t mean he is immune. You saw him, firsthand, selling illegal prescription drugs.”
“He wasn’t just selling. He was running the ring.”
“Exactly. You had to arrest him.”
“His thugs didn’t have to burn down my house.” If she closed her eyes, she could still smell the smoke. Could still see the flames leaping from the windows as she and Dave watched helplessly from the curb. Their early years of marriage burning to mere ashes. Their first home, their photographs, their first pet never making it out alive.
And now, their home finally felt like a home again, and she wanted to ask Dave to move. What kinds of criminal masterminds would she encounter if she did work for the Smoky Mountain Investigative Force? Probably more than just a few drug dealers.
She chuckled. She hadn’t even taken the job yet, and she was already dealing with one. Or at least suspected she was. The break-in seemed far too coincidental to not be related to Jimmy Vern and Cody.
At the top of the mountain, where she had full bars of service, she dialed Captain Brooks. “I need you to go to my house.”
“What? Why?”
“Dave just called. There’s been a break-in.”
“I’ll head right over. I can teach Paul about crime scene investigation.”
“Is he doing okay?”
“Yeah. He’s perked up a lot the last day or so. Even got five words out of him yesterday evening.”
Annalise giggled. At least that was something going right. She hung up.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Did Dave mention me this time?”
Annalise shook her head.
“That’s a good sign, right? Maybe Dave’s coming back to his senses. He’s crazy to think anything would ever happen between us.”
“Oh, gee. Thanks. I’m so flattered.”
Zach’s face turned red. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
She slapped his shoulder. “I’m messing with you.”
He blew out a breath. “Good.”
“You’re like my brother.”
“Exactly.”
She couldn’t wait to get to the house and see the situation with her own eyes. If someone broke in looking for something or to steal things, that was totally different than if they simply trashed the place. If it was a robbery, it might not be related to Cody’s case.
“You know,” Zach paused and picked at a hangnail, “sometimes people make other people feel guilty to defer suspicion from themselves.”
“Yeah.” She’d already thought that ugly little thought about Dave too many times.
Chapter Twenty-Four
BY THE TIME SHE GOT home, the house was dark, save for one living room light. She stepped through the front door, holding her breath and expecting the worst. She wasn’t wrong. Pieces of glass from the front window littered the floor. Magazines from the coffee table were strewn among the shards. The overturned chair held a gash down its entire back surface. The DVD tower had been slammed into the wall and lay in splinters before a huge hole in the drywall.
This was no robbery.
It was a message.
She wandered into the dark kitchen and set her bag on the counter.
“You’re home late.”
Annalise clutched her chest and spun at the sound of Dave’s voice. “Hon, you scared me to death. What are you doing sitting in the dark?”
“We need to talk.”
Something about his voice sounded odd. “I agree.” About so many things. She closed her eyes and tried to still the racing of her heart. “I...I...” She didn’t know exactly where to start.
He coughed and something clinked against the table.
She flipped on the light over the sink and turned slowly to face him. His watery eyes and slacked lower lip yelled at her that something was seriously amiss. “Are you drunk?”
“Only way I could have the courage to say what I need to say.”
“When did you start drinking again?” It had been years since she’d seen him consume alcohol. He knew how much it bothered her. Her throat tightened painfully. “I can’t believe this, Dave. You promised.”
“You know what I can’t believe, Annalise?”
She opened her mouth, but he didn’t wait for her response.
“How your job has come between us again. You remember when we moved here? Your promise to me was that you wouldn’t get so caught up in work that our marriage took a back seat ever again.”
“I—”
He slammed his knobbly glass on the table. “Don’t. Just don’t. I know what you’re going to say. That you didn’t mean to. That you never mean to make me feel second fiddle. That you and Zach are still just friends. And that your heart belongs to me.”
It was exactly what she was going to say, minus the Zach part. Her last position had come between them. She could admit that. She sank into the chair opposite him. Words failed her
.
“I need a wife who lets me lead from time to time, you know?”
“I don’t let you lead?”
“You’re too independent. Too headstrong. Too self-sufficient.”
She had never thought of those qualities as detriments. “Dave, I—”
He stared into his glass of clear liquid. “You don’t need me.”
“Dave, look at me.”
He raised his gaze slowly to meet hers.
“You’re right. I don’t need you. But I want you. And I always thought that would mean more, you know. I can handle life on my own, but I choose not to.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Not for my job. Not to alcohol. Not to anything.”
“I don’t think I can do it anymore.”
Searing pain sliced her heart. “Don’t say that. Please. I was coming home and planning on telling you I think we should try marriage counseling with a Christian therapist.”
“You were?”
“I know I’m not perfect. But no one is. We can be perfectly imperfect together.”
“I don’t know.”
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Don’t give up on me. On us.”
He yanked his hand free and took another swallow, grimacing as it went down. “It’s too late. There’s...someone else.”
The breath flew from her lungs. She sat back into the chair. What could she say to that? “Gatlinburg?”
He nodded.
“Have you...?” she couldn’t finish the sentence.
The seconds that passed felt like hours.
Ever so slowly, Dave nodded.
And, like the glass littering the living room carpet, her world shattered.
ZACH STOPPED ON ANNALISE’S front porch and pulled his phone out, double checking the message.
“I need you.”
Not too many ways to interpret that, other than to do exactly as he had done and show up. At one a.m. After trying to call five times and getting no answer. If he walked in the front door and met Dave instead, what would happen?
It didn’t matter. His best friend needed him. He would walk through fire for her. He knocked but received no response. “Annalise?” he asked as he swung open the unlocked front door. Why on earth would she leave it open after a break-in the same day? She knew better.
Using his phone as a flashlight, he swung it round the room and stopped cold. She hadn’t cleaned up? His pulse sped. “Annalise?”
A moan met him from the direction of her bedroom.
Had someone broken in again already and attacked her? He drew his weapon and pressed his back to the hall wall, slowly proceeding toward her room. If she was hurt...He didn’t know what he would do.
He stopped at the corner and peeked in. A solitary lamp on the nightstand dimly lit the room. Annalise’s blond hair coated her pillow, but he couldn’t see her face. “Annalise?”
She dug a hand out from under the covers and waved.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Who hurt you?”
“I’m not injured.”
What was happening then? He stepped through the door. “I don’t understand. What happened in the living room?” Had she and Dave fought?
“Someone broke in.”
“I know, but you’ve been home for hours. Why didn’t you clean it up?” It would’ve driven her crazy to leave that mess.
“I couldn’t.”
“But you’re not hurt.”
“Right.”
“Then what happened?”
“Dave left.”
That was worse. Much, much worse. He sank onto the foot of her bed. “Oh.”
“He met someone else. Said I’m, basically, too much trouble.”
His stomach burned. The nerve of that man! “That’s ridiculous.”
“He’s right.”
“He is not right. Look at me.”
When she didn’t move, he got up, walked around the bed, and knelt in front of where he suspected her face was buried underneath the blankets. “Lise.” He peeled back the layers.
Her red eyes and puffy lids testified to how much she’d already cried.
“Dave is an idiot. If he walked away, it isn’t your fault. It’s his. You are the most amazing woman I know.”
“I don’t think I can survive this pain, Zach. I really don’t.”
“Yes, you can. You are the strongest person I know too.”
“You must not know very many people then.” She pulled the covers back over her head. Soft sobs emanated from the bed.
Zach climbed over her legs and lay behind her, on top of the covers, and wrapped his arm around her form. “We’ll get through this. Together. Just like we always have. Ever since that sandbox incident.”
She chuckled.
“There. See. You can still laugh, so you’ll be fine.”
“This is a far cry from a little boy slinging sand in my face, Zach.”
“I stood up for you then, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do the same now.”
“You’re a good friend, Zach.”
“I know.”
She jabbed him in the ribs. “Ouch. Hey, none of that now.” He hugged her. “Want me to call the captain and tell him you need some time off?”
Annalise flung the covers from her head so quickly his arm flew back. “No! Cody needs me. Don’t you dare.”
“There’s the girl I know and love.”
Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks.
“What is it?”
“Why can you love me for me, but my own husband thinks I’m not worth fighting for?”
“I wish I knew, Lise. I would fix it in a heartbeat for you if I could.”
“Thanks.” She curled under the covers again.
“Get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
His mind spun, reeling from thoughts of hurting Dave to wondering what he should say to help her. But, thankfully, long minutes later, Annalise’s sobs stopped, and her breathing slowed.
Tomorrow would bring a fresh wave of pain, he knew, but for now, at least, he would hold her in his arms and send all the good vibes her way he could. Lord, please help Annalise. Give me the words and the wisdom to be a good support system for her. Give her strength and courage. And please, please help us find Cody alive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
ANNALISE WAS GREETED by the morning sun warming her cheeks. “Oh, go away.” The joy the sun usually brought in mid-October was nothing but a lie today. Millie nudged her arm, and Annalise gave her the obligatory morning belly scratch. She had to face the day at some point, even if she didn’t want to.
“Come on, Millie.”
Annalise stopped mid-stretch. Hadn’t Zach been here? Was that a dream? No, her blankets smelled like him. She threw them back and sighed. Time to face the day, whether she wanted to or not. Life wouldn’t just stop for her heart breaking. Cody was still out there somewhere. Jimmy Vern too.
Expecting the living room to still be a mess, she squeezed her eyes shut as she neared the doorway. One quick peek, though, proved her wrong. Other than the duct tape covering the busted-out panel in the window and the hole in the wall, it looked exactly as it always had. Bland. No sign that her marriage even existed. It was as if her living room had known all along there was no point in decorating. No point in trying to find someone with copies of those burned wedding photographs.
Those had been the hardest thing to lose, other than their Chihuahua, Tiny. The smiles and the warmth. The sense of fulfillment and contentment she could elicit just by staring at the images of that day. She’d had no doubt Dave was the man God made for her. No reservations or even remotely chilled feet. Why, then, was she standing in her living room without him? Lord, I don’t understand. How can this be Your plan?
Cody’s mom was probably asking the same thing.
Annalise had n
o time for self-pity.
She followed the smell of coffee and found Zach busy at the stove. “Hey.”
He spun and smiled. “Morning. Sleep well?”
“No.”
“Right. Stupid question. I made breakfast.”
“Thanks. It smells delicious.”
“Want to go watch the interrogation this morning?”
That’s just what she needed to distract herself from the issues with Dave. “Absolutely. Let me go get dressed.”
“Yeah, you look horrible.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I’m joking. You’re beautiful, as always.”
“Now I know you’re lying. My eyes are puffy and red. I’m still in my clothes from yesterday.”
“Nonsense. Now, go.” He shooed her from the kitchen with a dish towel. “Orange French Toast and bacon will be ready when you get back.”
“You’re some house wife,” she teased as she scooted through the doorway.
“Ha ha. Very funny.”
Her smile lasted mere seconds. Too independent, huh? She certainly didn’t feel self-sufficient this morning. If Zach wasn’t here, she would forget to eat. If he wasn’t here to distract her, she’d still be a puddle in the bed.
In the shower, she melted into a sobbing mess once more. Her salty tears mixed with the hot water as she tried to suppress her gasps so that Zach wouldn’t hear. The man she loved had been with another woman. Had left their home in the darkest, loneliest hours of the morning and probably wouldn’t ever come back. Her wedding vows had been shredded, stomped on, and then burned. And the part of her heart where those hopes lived felt so hollow it hurt. What was she going to do?
The water streaming over her grew colder. She shut it off robotically and dressed in the chilly bathroom, barely noticing the gooseflesh dotting her body. Was being numb normal at a time like this?
She applied a heavier-than-normal coat of makeup and crossed her fingers anyone who saw her today would assume the bloodshot eyes were from allergies or lack of sleep rather than the emotional turmoil that had poured from them for the last eight hours. She opened the door, and Zach fell backward onto the tile.