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“I’m sure you’re upset, too.”
“I am—”
Jenny broke off, a flood of tears suddenly streaming down her face. Lucy gently guided Jenny into the small room that housed the vending machines.
She didn’t press Jenny to do or say anything, simply letting the distraught woman have a momentary breakdown. Her husband had been shot, and she’d been through it and then some. Lucy didn’t know how this story was going to end. There might not be a happy ending, and already Jenny was feeling the pressure of being strong for her mother and father-in-law.
Digging a few tissues out of her purse, Lucy pressed them into Jenny’s hand.
“You’re being amazingly brave. You’re doing great. Ethan would be proud of you.”
Lucy wasn’t all that wonderful in stressful situations. She was sort of okay, but she never quite knew what to say. It all seemed to come out in platitudes, but they surprisingly seemed to help Jenny who gave her a watery smile as she scrubbed at her wet cheeks.
“I hope so. He’s good in a crisis, you know? He’s like a rock. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
There were more tears, and Jenny sagged against the wall.
“I’m not sure how we got here,” she said. “My friend is watching the kids for us. Thank god they’re not here for this. Blake said that Ethan was shot. I’ve never heard of anyone being shot in this town. Can you?”
“I can’t remember a time when anyone was shot,” Lucy replied. “This is a pretty safe little town.”
“It was supposed to be a fun, relaxing summer, and it’s turned into a nightmare. It’s been this way since Sarah’s body was discovered, to be honest. Ethan has been acting strangely, not himself. He’s normally so laidback and fun, but he’s been in a terrible mood.”
“I saw Ethan earlier today,” Lucy said. “He seemed to be nervous about something.”
“Yes,” Jenny agreed. “I noticed it, too. He’s been nervous and jumpy and just generally tense. I asked him if he was upset about Sarah. If he was still in love with her. He swore to me that he wasn’t. He said they weren’t even all that serious back then, but that he feels guilty about what happened to her. That she got into some things because of his influence. He said he could never forgive himself.”
That was one hell of a confession.
“Was it drugs?”
“He wouldn’t say. I pressed him about it, but he said he couldn’t talk about it. He just said that he was sorry, and he wished he could go back and change it all. He was crying when he told me. He said that he didn’t treat Sarah right when they dated.”
What had Ethan done back in high school? And what had he influenced Sarah to do?
Those were questions that only Ethan could answer.
If he survived.
19
The elevator doors opened again, and this time Finn stepped out. Zack hung back as the sheriff spoke with Bill and Margaret, not wanting to be in the way. After Lucy and Jenny had gone for coffee, it had been awkward between all three of them. Bill was angry and Margaret was emotional, still crying and staring at a blank wall.
“I need to get your statement,” Finn said when he was finished with the couple. “Blake said that you found Ethan.”
“I did,” Zack confirmed. “Lucy and I did. I wwnt there to talk to him, and he was in the backyard unconscious and bleeding.”
“Did you see anyone in the area? Another car or maybe someone on foot?”
Zack replayed the images in his mind, trying to remember even one detail that might help the investigation.
“I didn’t,” he finally said. “I didn’t see anybody except a neighbor about three houses down repainting their mailbox. That’s it. We’ll need to talk to Lucy, too, as she may have seen something I didn’t. I was driving so I was concentrating on the road.”
“I want to speak to her also,” Finn assured him. “The forensic team arrived at the crime scene and they’re going over it with a fine-tooth comb. If there’s anything there, they’ll find it. Although, the emergency personnel were there as well.”
“Lucy saw Ethan earlier today at one of the campus bars. He was coming out of the alleyway. She spoke to him, and she said he was acting strangely, constantly looking over his shoulder. Paranoid, if you know what I mean. Maybe someone was following him?”
“I’m hoping he’ll survive to tell us,” Finn replied in a grim tone. “In the meantime, I’m thinking about reopening the case.”
