“Bobby didn’t approach Hugh about the photo until after Hugh decided to run for senate. I guess at that point, Bobby rightfully realized that Hugh would pay to keep that particular skeleton in the closet. Not only had he been selling drugs to Colin, who was a minor at the time, but he’d been selling drugs to a lot of kids and continued to do so long after Austin died.”
“So is Colin going to jail?” Tom asked.
“I guess the fate of everyone involved is up to the DA and the justice system. I figure I’ve done my part and now it’s up to them.”
“And is it okay to run with the story?” I asked.
“Run away. But I’d do it soon if you want the exclusive now that the Denver PD has been looped in.”
“I’ll write it tonight. I’ll let Dex know to expect the story. He’ll want to run it on Monday. I guess my series won’t really work now, but I have a lot of background information, and the big reveal is going to be a doozy.”
Chapter 22
Saturday – Memorial Day Weekend
“I was hoping you’d be here.”
I turned around to find Hope with a man I was pretty sure I’d never met.
“This is Michael,” Hope introduced. “Michael, Callie.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I stuck out my hand.
“I’m heading to the bar. Ladies, can I bring you something?” Michael asked.
“Wine,” Hope answered. “White.”
He looked at me.
“Same. And thank you.”
After Michael walked away, Hope turned her attention back toward me. “So, where is Cass? I’m sure I saw him earlier.”
“He had to go outside to take a call. I can’t believe how crowded it is. And how loud.”
“The first barn dance of the season is always well attended,” Hope informed me. “As the season progresses, the attendance thins out a bit.”
“So, Michael…” I said, glancing at the bar. “Is he your…?” I let my sentence trail off.
“Friend,” Hope provided. “And I guess for tonight date. He’s an attorney in town who likes to read, so he comes into the library often. I heard Cass was able to close both the Bobby Brighton murder case and the Austin Brady missing persons case.”
I nodded. “Colin has been given community service for his part in Austin’s death. He might have gotten more, but he cooperated fully, and he was only thirteen when the drugging happened. Additionally, he was able to convince the judge that he really didn’t know what would happen. Hugh is currently in the county jail, awaiting sentencing. He was booted off the council and is no longer the acting mayor, but he eventually cooperated fully and confessed to the whole thing, which should earn him some leniency. And the man who actually killed Bobby, Xavier Vargas, is awaiting trial in Denver. At this point, I’d say that things are wrapped up nicely.”
“I would say so. I read your piece in the Foxtail News about Austin and the series of events that led to his death,” Hope said. “You did such a good job. You really have a way with words. I cried the entire time I was reading it, and I know others who had the same experience. It really was a tragedy.”
“It was,” I agreed. “When I agreed to take on the project, I really didn’t know how hard it would be to research and write about the death of a child.” I glanced up as Michael returned and handed me my wine. I smiled and accepted it. “I think I’m going to go and find Cass.” I looked at Hope. “Let’s get together next week. Maybe lunch or drinks after work.”
“I’ll call you,” she promised.
I said my goodbyes and headed toward the door leading outside. It had gotten really hot with so many people in the enclosed space. The fresh air felt good. Cass was just finishing his call when I spotted him in the distance. I walked in that direction. “Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Everything is fine. That was the DA in Denver, letting me know that Xavier’s trial has been moved up. I’ll need to go to Denver and be available during the trial, so he was just giving me a heads up.”
“I see. I’m surprised the guy didn’t just plead guilty and avoid the trial.”
“I think he’s hoping for a plea deal, and who knows, he may get one. At this point, it’s out of my hands. Do you want to go back inside?”
“Actually, I could use some fresh air. It’s pretty hot inside.” I tilted my head up toward the sky. “Besides, it’s simply gorgeous out here.”
“Seems like a good night for stargazing,” Cass said.
I smiled and looked in his direction. “It is the perfect night for stargazing.”
“I have a blanket in my trunk. Maybe we can head up to the point, and I can see how many of the constellations I can remember.”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to remind Cass about the curse and how he might die if we fell in love, but at this moment, I couldn’t seem to work up the courage to do that. Instead, I leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. I pulled back just a bit and looked him in the eyes as I cradled his cheek with my hand. “I’d love to hear about the constellations.”
Next From Kathi Daley Books
Preview Summerhouse Reunion
Sometimes life is about letting go. Letting go of the way things were supposed to have been. Letting go of unmet dreams and incomplete plans. Letting go of the anger that consumes you as you struggle to make sense of an unfinished life. I’d spent the last year denying the inevitable, negotiating for a different ending, screaming to the heavens that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way, and finally struggling to accept an ending that should never have been.
Letting go, I realized somewhere along the way, was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.
“It’s a beautiful day.” A woman with white hair walked up beside me as the spray from the rough sea misted my face.
“Yes.” I turned and smiled. The woman looked to be a few years older than my sixty-eight-year-old mother; unlike my mother, however, who simply could not or would not understand the grief that haunted my every waking moment, this woman looked at me with compassion and understanding. “It’s a little rougher than I like my ferry rides, but beautiful all the same. My name is Kelly. Kelly Green. I’m afraid I can’t immediately place you, but I feel like we’ve met.”
“We have met, although it has been a long time since we’ve seen each other. About twenty years, to be more specific.”
My brows shot upward. “Dottie Pemberton?”
The woman smiled and offered her hand.
“Wow.” I reached out and hugged the woman. “I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you. It’s just that…”
“It’s just that the fifty-two-year-old woman you remember looked a bit differently from the seventy-two-year-old woman standing before you today.”
“Yes.” I stepped back. “I mean, no. I mean, sure, your hair is different, and I guess we all have a few more laugh lines, but still …” I realized I was rambling, so I stopped and hugged the woman again. “How are you?”
“I’m as well as can be expected. I was sorry to hear about Kayla.”
My smile faded just a bit. The death of my twin sister and best friend still hurt almost more than I could bear. I’d tried to do as others seemed to want and hide my pain, but no matter how hard I tried, the simplest thing—a song, a scent, a memory—would remind me just how much I’d lost, and the grief would return in a wave that would envelop me and then cast me into a sea of darkness once again.
“I guess it must have been extrahard with her in a coma for so long not knowing how things would work out in the end,” Dottie added after a moment.