I took a deep breath. "Thank you so much, Detective. Please keep me updated on anything else you might get?"
"Absolutely, I will. Have a good day."
"You too, Detective. Bye."
I hung up and stood with my back to the diner for another minute. This was good news, so why couldn't I feel the happiness, the relief, that I should be feeling? I stood biting my thumb nail, trying to figure myself out. Finally, I took a deep breath and turned around. Victoria Hale and Travis Hale were sitting at the end of the counter, just to the right of where I was standing.
My eyes widened, and I took in Victoria's icy stare and then Travis's furrowed brow.
I spun on my feet and called, "Maggie! I'm taking a small break. I don't feel so good."
Maggie turned to me with a worried look. "Okay, honey," she called as I rushed to the back and stayed there until Travis and Tori left the diner.
A little while after they'd left, I was wiping down a table near the window when I caught sight of Archer on the other side of the street. My heart started racing. "Maggie!" I called, "I'll be right back!"
"Oh, okay," I heard Maggie call, confused, from the break table where she was sitting and reading a magazine. She had to be wondering what was going on with me today.
I went out the front door and called to Archer. He was stopped on the side of the street, watching the police cruisers go by, a tight expression on his face. Had he been thinking the same thing I had been thinking?
As I was about to step off the curb, a hand grabbed my arm and I halted and turned slightly to see Travis. I looked to the left of him and Victoria Hale was standing there, trying to pretend I didn't exist, her eyes focused solely on the parade in front of her, a phony smile on her face and her nose in the air.
I looked over my shoulder at Archer who was now starting to walk across the street toward us.
"I have to go, Travis," I said attempting to pull away.
"Whoa, wait," he said, not letting go. "I overheard your phone call. I'm concerned. I just wanted to–"
"Travis, let me go," I said, my heart beating faster. This was the very last thing Archer needed right now.
"Bree, I know I'm not your favorite person, but if there's something I can do to help–"
"Let me go, Travis!" I yelled, wrenching my arm away. The crowd around us suddenly seemed to quiet slightly, eyes moving away from the parade traveling slowly down the street in front of them, and toward us.
Before I could spin around, a fist was flying at Travis's face and he went down hard, a spray of blood seeming to move in slow motion through the air in front of me. I gasped and so did Tori Hale and several people standing close by.
I looked over my shoulder and Archer was standing there, breathing hard, eyes big in his face, opening and closing his fist by his side.
I gaped at him and then looked back at Travis who was just standing up. His eyes filled with rage as he took Archer in. "You motherfucker," Travis hissed, gritting his teeth.
"Travis!" Tori Hale exclaimed, her face not pulled quite tight enough to hide her alarm.
I brought my arms out between the two of them, but it was too late. Travis lurched around me and attacked Archer, and they both went down as people gasped and stumbled backwards, some tripping over the curb as others steadied them.
Archer got one more punch in before Travis flipped him harshly, Archer's back slamming onto the pavement with a loud thud. I watched as the air went out of him and he gritted his teeth. Travis swung at his face, connecting with his jaw.
I sobbed out, fear sweeping through my body like a quick-spreading forest fire.
"Stop!" I screamed! "Stop!" Travis lifted his hand and was just about to bring it down in Archer's face again. Oh God, he was going to pulverize him into the ground, right here in front of everyone, in front of me. Everything inside my body seemed to speed up, my heart beating loudly in my own ears, and my pulse rate skyrocketing. "Stop!" I yelled, my voice hitching on a sob. "You're brothers! Stop this!"
Time seemed to freeze as Travis's fist stopped in mid-air and Archer's eyes flew to me. I heard Tori inhale sharply. "You're brothers," I said again, tears running down my face now. "Please don't do this. Today is about your father. He wouldn't want this. Please. Please stop."
Travis pushed on Archer's chest, but got off of him and stood up. Archer stood up quickly too, rubbing his jaw and looking around him at all the people gawking. The expression on his face was a pure mixture of confusion, rage, and fear, all three taking turns flashing in his golden brown eyes.
Another pair of golden brown eyes found mine as Travis pushed Archer out of his way, but not very hard. "We're not brothers. We're cousins," he said, looking at me like I was crazy.
I shook my head, my eyes trained on Archer who wasn't looking at me. "I'm sorry, Archer," I said. "I didn't mean to blurt it out. I'm sorry," I whispered. "I wish I could take it back."
"What the fuck is this?" Travis asked.
"Let's go!" Tori Hale screeched to Travis. "He's an animal!" she spit out, pointing at Archer. "They're crazy, both of them. I won't listen to a second more of this nonsense." She attempted to pull on Travis's arm, but he shook her off easily.
He looked at her closely, something seeming to register in his eyes, some understanding seeming to occur.
"Well, that kind of thing is easily enough proven with a simple blood test," Travis said evenly, his eyes looking into his mother's. Tori blanched and turned her head. Travis watched her.
"Oh, Jesus," he said. "It's true. You knew."
"I don't know any such thing!" she said, but her voice sounded hysterical.
"I thought so," another voice came from the crowd and I swiveled my head to see Mandy Wright walking toward us. "The minute I saw your eyes looking up at me from your mama's arms, I thought so. Those are Connor Hale's eyes–your daddy's eyes," Mandy whispered, her gaze focused on Archer. I closed my eyes, more tears falling down my cheeks.
Oh God.
"That's it!" Tori shouted. "If you're not leaving, I am. That's my husband you're talking about! And of all days to tarnish his memory–you all should be ashamed of yourselves." She pointed a red polished, bony finger at each of us individually, that same icy glare on her face. And with that, she turned and pushed her way through the crowd.
I looked at Travis briefly, but then my eyes moved back to Archer. Archer looked at me once, then at Travis and Mandy and finally at the crowd, all eyes trained on us. Panic swept his expression and I realized that people were gaping at him, whispering. My heart lurched and I took a step toward him, but he took a step back, his eyes moving through the crowd again.
"Archer," I said, reaching for him. He turned and started pushing to get through the mostly still crowd of people. I stopped, dropping my hand to my side and hanging my head.
"Bree?" Travis said and I glared at him.
"Don't," I said through gritted teeth. Then I turned away from him and ran back to the diner. Maggie was standing at the door.
"Go after him, honey," she said gently, putting her hand on my shoulder. She'd obviously seen the whole thing. The whole town had.
I shook my head. "He needs time to himself," I said. I wasn't sure how I knew that. I just did.
"Okay," Maggie said, "well, go home at least. It's dead today anyway."
I nodded my head. "Thank you, Maggie."
"Of course, honey."
"I'm going to go out the back. My car's in the alley so I can get out without running into blocked-off streets."
Maggie nodded, sympathy shining from her kind eyes. "If you need anything at all, you call me," she said. I conjured up a small smile.
"I will."
I drove home like a homing pigeon, not even remembering the drive once I got there. I dragged myself into my cottage and collapsed on the couch and when Phoebe jumped up on my lap and started licking my face, the tears began to fall. How had everything gotten so messed up in the course of a couple days?