“Hi! My goodness, what is this?” Kay stepped outside and helped her with the box. “Come in. It’s freezing.”
“Are you sure? I was just going to leave it on the doorstep. I don’t want to bother you.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re no bother at all. You want some coffee?”
Jill came inside, her cheeks bright red from the cold. “That sounds perfect.” She slipped off her gloves and coat and followed Kay into the kitchen.
“Cream? Sugar?”
“Yes, and lots of it.” Jill smiled.
“So, how are you doing?” Kay asked, grabbing a mug from the cabinet.
Jill was quiet for a moment, her gaze moving along the lines of the kitchen. “Mike confessed.”
“What?”
“They came in this morning with some deal. I guess they have a lot of evidence proving Mike did it, so they came up with some deal that will keep them from seeking…” She pressed her lips together as if it was something she shouldn’t mention.
Kay put the coffee mug down and came around the kitchen island, wrapping her hands around Jill’s shoulders. “I don’t even know what to say.”
She nodded and shook her head all at once. Tears pushed onto the rims of her eyes. “He told them that he had gone to the apartment to confront this woman, Angela. Not to kill her. That he’d taken the gun to scare her. He thought she wasn’t answering the door, so he used his key to get in. He wasn’t in there long when he was startled by the police officer and shot him. Accidentally. But I don’t believe him.”
“What do you think happened?” Kay poured the cream and sugar in, sliding the mug to her.
“I think he went there to kill that woman. And I don’t think he accidentally killed anyone.” Jill took the coffee and sipped through the hotness. “But the prosecutors say that the fact that he killed a police officer will assure that he’s in jail for the rest of his life.”
Kay sipped her own coffee and watched Jill, still unsure what to say.
“I have to be okay. For Natalie’s sake.”
“How is she doing?”
“All right, I guess. We had a good talk last night about accepting what’s happening and dealing with it in a raw and real way, instead of pretending that it’s not there or that there’s anything we can do to change it. Sometimes you just have to accept the reality of your life, you know? A couple of weeks ago we were worried about things like tryouts and the new uniform colors. Now…” She turned suddenly and stepped into the entryway, fetching the box she’d carried in. “I wanted to give this to you.”
“What for?”
“For helping me through this. You didn’t have to get involved in this mess. But I’m so thankful you did.”
Kay pulled off the top of the box. Inside was a tall lavender candle encased within a hurricane lamp. Engraved at the bottom was the word friendship.
Jill said, “I hope I’m not being presumptuous. But I do consider you a friend.”
Kay pondered a moment how drastically her impressions of Jill had changed. And how much she’d judged this woman, even unintentionally at times. “This is beautiful, and yes, I believe with all we’ve gone through, we are now officially friends.”
Jill laughed and held up her mug. “Cheers.”
“To a coming year filled with fewer complications and more blessings.”
Jill nodded and they touched mugs. “Well, it doesn’t look like things are going to get less complicated anytime soon with this town.”
“Oh?”
“Haven’t you heard? There was a new post this morning on that Web site. I haven’t read it. I’m trying to cut back.”
“You’re late,” Edgar said before Damien even reached his desk. “Busy morning?”
Damien cast a forlorn look at him and kept walking. He reached his desk and threw his coat over the back of his chair. Edgar was still on his heels.
“I wasn’t even sure if I should come in today.” Damien glared at his desk to keep from glaring at Edgar.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
“So you’re convicting me before I’m tried; is that it? Besides the fact that you’ve known me since I was twenty years old and know that I’m not capable of doing something so damaging. Why aren’t you at least giving me the benefit of the doubt?”
“I did. I gave it an honest shot. I went home to Luanne, and we talked through it. I think I was more upset that you’d hidden the note from me than anything. But none of it made sense. I mean cerebrally, yes, I could see where your overzealous nature could lend itself to something like this. You’re a passionate man, especially when it comes to our fine town. You’re a person who loves words of all sorts. So connecting those dots was not difficult. But you have to take it a step further. You have to look at the man, his character, and I did that. I had to consider your ineptness at the computer. I even considered you were telling the truth about the missing note.”
“But?”
“But then you go and do something stupid. Something unbelievably stupid. It’s so stupid that I honestly can’t imagine what you were thinking. You must think we’re a bunch of morons around here.”
Damien grabbed the back of his neck, rubbing it fiercely as he tried to ward off a headache crawling up the back of his skull. “Okay, yeah, maybe it wasn’t that smart, but I couldn’t let it rest.”
“So you’re saying you did it?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t trying to hide or sneak around. But I had something to say. And I don’t believe in hiding out and keeping my mouth shut, at least in most instances. So I went and confronted the jerk.”
Edgar blinked. “What are you talking about?”
Damien sighed heavily. “You’re not going to make me repeat myself, are you? I’m talking about that maggot Gavin Jenkins. He’s the one who started that whole nonsense about Frank being involved in the Web site.” Even at the mention of his name, Damien felt his blood pressure rise. He shook off thoughts of Gavin and looked at Edgar, whose face had frozen in an odd expression. “What?”
“You went and confronted Frank’s rookie this morning?”
“That’s what I just said and what you just said. What are we talking about here?”
“The Web site. There’s a new post this morning.”
“What?”
Edgar’s eyes narrowed. “Now you’re going to act surprised?”
“Yes, I’m surprised!” Damien’s patience was growing thinner by the second. “Why wouldn’t I be surprised?”
“Because it’s about you.”
“What are you talking about?” Damien sat down at his computer, hurriedly typing in his password. An error came up and he retyped, trying to slow down. Another error message.
“Stop.” Edgar’s voice was sharp.
Damien turned back around in his chair, feeling like a small child who had just been scolded.
“Get your things and get out of here.”
“Edgar-”
“I mean it. You’re on administrative leave until this has been resolved. And if you’re involved in this, you can kiss this job good-bye.”
“Wait-”
“I think you got your wish. Frank’s name is about to be cleared.”
31
Damien stood in the doorway to Frank’s house with the key firmly gripped between his pointer finger and thumb. Except the door did not need to be unlocked. It was already wide open. A high-pitched, hollow-sounding whistle passed through the gaping hole.
Damien took a step in and saw a man walking through the back door.
The man looked up and noticed Damien. “May I help you?” he asked, wiping his feet on the small mat before walking to the front door.
“I’m Damien Underwood, Frank’s friend.”
“Damien, yes. We spoke on the phone. Duane Morley, Frank’s landlord.” He shook Damien’s hand. “Listen, I’ve got to get this house ready for rental again. And nobody has called to claim this stuff. Any idea what he’d want done with all of this? I’m going to have to do something with it.”