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Francesca hadn’t read it, but she’d heard enough about it from her mother to know that the story revolved around a woman, married to a good man, who unexpectedly met a photographer traveling through the area while her family was away. The photographer was far more exciting than her plodding, dependable husband, and she fell in love with him. They had a torrid affair, but knowing her husband would soon be back, the woman chose to tell the photographer goodbye and stay with her family. Her brief relationship with this man was a secret she kept hidden until she died and the truth came out via a journal and some clippings found by her children.
Adriana identified with this character? She saw Jonah as the photographer and herself as the tragic figure who chose to sacrifice her true love to stay with her family?
Dropping her head in her hands, Francesca laughed bitterly. “Get out,” she said, and thankfully, when she looked up, Adriana was gone.
CHAPTER 25
Due to the fallout from his confrontation with Dean, Butch had changed his plans. Instead of driving to Chandler, he’d spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening at the Pour House. He’d had a shitload of soda water and only two beers, which wasn’t enough, but he didn’t dare drink more. As distasteful as it was, he had a job to do.
Sitting in his truck, he let the engine idle while searching, one more time, for a viable alternative. But he couldn’t see one. If Francesca took those panties, she hadn’t given them to the sheriff’s office or Hunsacker would’ve mentioned it when he called earlier. Instead, the investigator had said that Francesca Moretti had been kicked off the case and Jonah Young had been fired at the same time. That was good, overall. Butch was damn sick of them and their constant scrutiny. But it didn’t mean he could relax. What if Francesca went ahead and did some more digging? Found out who Julia was and that she’d gone missing? It wouldn’t be hard. She’d lived with them for several months. Been seen. And what if Francesca had those panties analyzed? If the lab managed to get a DNA sample and the police were able to match it, via relatives or whatever, to Julia, they’d have grounds to get a search warrant. Then they’d come into the salvage yard and discover her body in the freezer….
No matter how many ways he looked at the problem, he always came up with the same solution.
“Quit wasting time, you dumb bastard,” he grumbled to himself. Then he shifted into Reverse, backed out of the parking space and headed for the highway.
* * *
Francesca sat in her living room, staring at the TV. She’d just watched the news, which showed footage from the grave site at Dead Mule Canyon while a voice-over stated that seven bodies had been found “in this remote location near the ranching community of Skull Valley.” Next, a correspondent interviewed Dr. Price, “the forensic anthropologist who’s working day and night at a makeshift lab in the community center to gather as much information from the remains as possible.” The same reporter then spoke with Investigator Finch, who was on hand with a smarmy smile to assure the public that the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office was forming a task force to look into these murders and would do everything they could to keep the community safe.
“I feel better already.” Rolling her eyes, she turned off the TV and shut Investigator Finch out of her house. She needed to get some rest, but there was no way she could sleep. She kept wondering if she should’ve listened to Jonah when he tried to apologize all those years ago, if, with enough forgiveness, they could’ve made their relationship work in spite of his betrayal. What was his side of the story? What was the real reason behind what he’d done? He hadn’t blamed Adriana for his infidelity. She knew that much. He’d taken full responsibility. But maybe Francesca’s own lack of trust—of men, of love, of the happiness she felt whenever she was with Jonah—had tainted her willingness to understand, as well as her ability to overcome.
Both Adriana and Jonah were to blame. It took two to make love. And yet…certain nuances affected her understanding of the situation, the full impact of which she hadn’t realized until now. All the time they were growing up, Adriana had been such a good person, so kind and supportive, that Francesca had been far more willing to give her rather than Jonah the benefit of the doubt.
Or was she more generous with Adriana because she’d always felt guilty about the way her best friend was so often overlooked or pushed into the background when it came to men? Adriana had seemed content to let Francesca have the spotlight. It wasn’t as if Francesca had ever tried to upstage her. The response they got was the response they got. But what if Adriana secretly resented her? What if, deep inside, she’d wanted Jonah for herself all along?
She’d just admitted she’d been in love with him….
And what about Jonah? Had he been dealing with issues she should’ve been aware of but wasn’t? He’d never mentioned having been married or divorced. Had it been such a painful experience he didn’t want to look back? Was it an embarrassment to him? What had gone wrong? He didn’t love lightly, so she couldn’t imagine he’d jump into that kind of commitment without real depth of feeling. She also found it a little curious that Jonah had started acting up—drinking, becoming less reliable and picking fights for no reason—only after their relationship grew serious.
When he’d cheated, she’d assumed he was shallow and disloyal. She’d made herself believe it so she’d never get sucker-punched like that again. But maybe there was more to it….
I wish I’d married her, okay? Is that what you want to hear? God knows you won’t believe anything else, so there you have it. I was an asshole with no heart, out to hurt anyone I could, and I tried to destroy your life and hers just for the hell of it. I used you both, like I use all women.
He didn’t use women. She had to be honest enough to admit that. And it wasn’t as if he’d go to bed with just anyone. She’d seen him gently deflect unwanted female attention plenty of times. Heck, she’d even given him the chance to “use” her the other night, and he hadn’t taken it, although she could tell he wanted to. Why?
She glanced at her cell phone, lying on the couch beside her. A direct flight to California took less than two hours. Jonah would be home by now. Should she call him? If she did, would he believe she was calling to talk about what she’d just seen on TV? Finch hadn’t divulged any new information. As usual, the police had kept what they released purposely sketchy….
Why did she even need a reason? So what if he realized she wanted to talk to him? What was so bad about that? Did she really have to insulate her heart to such a degree? Or was it her pride she was protecting?
Probably both. But at this point, she had nothing to lose.
Except everything she’d guarded so fiercely for the past ten years…
She remembered their kiss at the motel and how quickly it had brought back all the desire she’d ever felt for him. “You scare me,” she said, but she picked up her phone, anyway, and punched in his number.
* * *
Jonah was just drifting off to sleep when his phone rang. He almost let it go to voice mail. He wasn’t feeling quite as sanguine about getting fired as he’d tried to convince himself before leaving Phoenix. The more he thought about that meeting in the conference room, the angrier he became that Hunsacker and Finch hadn’t stood by him or Francesca.
But in case the call was important, he checked to see who was trying to reach him. And when he recognized the number, he answered. It was Francesca. Had Butch tried to contact her again? Was she frightened? Hurt?
“Are you okay?” he asked without so much as a hello.
“I’m fine. Sort of.”
She didn’t sound fine. Something was wrong. “What’s the ‘sort of’ all about? You haven’t heard from Butch, have you?”
“No.”
