By the time he got back to Kelly’s Point Lane, he was sweating under the collar of his shirt, which he started to unbutton as soon as he hit the front door. He waved at Garland and continued on to his office.
“You have a visitor in the conference room,” Garland told Beck as he passed.
“Don’t you want to know who it is?” Garland called after him.
“Not particularly.”
Beck thought he’d just ignore the unannounced visitor, whomever it might be, for as long as possible. He was in no mood for company.
He passed the conference room without looking through the open door, going straight to his office and removing his jacket. From there he went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He wet a paper towel and cooled off his face. Feeling almost human again, he headed for the conference room, the bottle still in his hand.
He walked into the room half expecting another member of the press or another one of the Forbes family lawyers. There’d been several who’d called over the past few days wanting to discuss some proposed legal action against him and the town for the false arrest of Mickey Forbes.
The last person he expected to see when he stepped into the room was Mia.
She was sitting in the same place she’d been when he first saw her, that first day she’d come to St. Dennis to investigate the body that had been left in his Jeep.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” He walked toward her, smiling broadly. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“Good, good.” He nodded. “I was wondering. I wasn’t sure how to get in touch with you. I guess I could have called the FBI…”
“Depending on when you made the call, they may or may not have had a listing for me.” She rested her arms on the table. “I’ve resigned from the Bureau.”
“Whoa.” His eyes widened. “I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“It just got to be too much.” She sat back as if studying his reaction. “I love law enforcement, it’s been my whole life. I don’t know anything else. But I can’t take the constant parade of psychopaths and serial killers and baby killers and…well, you get the idea. It’s time I made a change.”
“What will you do?” He leaned on the back of the nearest chair unable to take his eyes off her.
“Before I do anything, I have to get my head together. Deal with some issues I had tried to ignore for a while. There are some things I can’t handle on my own. I tried, but…” She shrugged.
“The situation with your brother…”
“That’s at the heart of it all.” She nodded. “I haven’t had to drink myself to sleep in over a week, but that doesn’t mean the problem is resolved. Obviously I have some dependency issues. So I’m going to be seeing someone who can help me to sort things out.”
“Do you think you’ll go back to the Bureau?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Won’t you miss it?”
“Honestly, no.” A half-smile touched her lips. “Like I said, I love law enforcement, but I’ve had my fill of the intensity. For the past nine years, I’ve seen misery and suffering and evil that most people could not even believe exists. I’m ready to move on.”
“You ever think about being a small town cop?”
“Actually, I have.”
“I’m going to have to replace Lisa and Duncan.” His eyes darkened to speak of it aloud. “Not immediately, but soon. For a while, Hal is going to work full time, and his brother, Phil, came back to pitch in. By the end of the summer, I’ll be looking for at least one new cop. If you’re interested…”
“How many serial killers do you normally see in a year?”
“Not counting this one? None.”
“Homicides?”
“Two that I remember.”
“Rapes? Kidnappings?”
“Again, except for this year…maybe one or two rapes in a calendar year.”
“What’s the most common crime in St. Dennis?”
“Shoplifting.”
“Child abductions?”
“We had a few kids get separated from their parents at the Fourth of July fireworks. Does that count?”
“I’ll keep your offer in mind. I’ll be around for a while.”
“You will?”
“I have a room at Sinclair’s Cove for the next few weeks. In the main house, this time.”
She smiled and added, “Dan Sinclair mentioned that the last time I stayed there, your cruiser was in the parking lot when he went to bed around one in the morning and it was still there when he woke up at five.” Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t sleep in your car all night, watching out for me, did you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Actually, I slept in the chair.”
“What chair? The lawn chair?”
He nodded.
“Well, that would explain the crabby mood you were in on Tuesday morning.”
“Was I crabby?”
“Very.” She was smiling. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“And thank you for saving my life.”
“That, too.” He nodded.
“What do you think was the trigger?” She asked.
“What set Todd off?” He thought it over. “You and Annie both mentioned something in his life that changed. The only thing I know of is that Lisa was spending a lot more time on the job, a lot less at home, and becoming a lot more assertive. A lot more confident, more sure of herself. Did that carry over at home, too? Maybe. I don’t know. Todd’s the only one who can answer that, and his lawyers aren’t letting him talk.”
“Sooner or later, he will. They all do. They can’t help themselves. Smart of Hal, shooting to wound, not to kill. Shooting would have been too easy a way for Todd to die.”
“Agreed.” He nodded. “So, you think you’ll be around for a while.”
“Connor’s back and isn’t sure how long before his next assignment. He needs his space. It’s his house. Besides, he said something to me about finding a place where I feel at peace. In spite of everything that happened here, I like St. Dennis. I like the people I met here…Vanessa, Hal…you. I feel at home. I’d like to see if there’s something more for me here.”
“Besides a job?”
“A job is a good place to start.”
“How about ice cream?” He stood up.
“I love ice cream.” She pushed out of her chair.
“Soft-shelled crabs?”
“One of my favorites.”
“Which would you like first?”
“Oh, ice cream, definitely.” She reached out her hand and he took it. “Life’s short, Beck. I’m thinking dessert first…”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARIAH STEWART is the bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas. She is a RITA finalist for romantic suspense and is the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO (Reviewers International Organization) Award honoring excellence in women’s fiction, and a Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine. A native of Highstown, New Jersey, she is a three-time recipient of the Golden Leaf Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Romance Writers, of whose Hall of Fame she is an honoree. Stewart is a member of the Valley Forge Romance Writers, the New Jersey Romance Writers, and the Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and two rambunctious golden retrievers amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
