Abby scanned the walls as if searching for something that wasn’t there—a safe place, a way back, a moment before it all unraveled? She looked impossibly small, like a child lost in a world too cruel to understand.
“Come here,” Burke said softly.
She didn’t hesitate but collapsed against him again, her surrender telling him more than words could ever convey.
He held her tighter than necessary, as if his arms alone could protect her. If he had any say in it, nothing like this would ever touch her again.
And for as long as she let him, he’d be there—at her side.
Abby enjoyed every moment of being held by Burke. It helped keep thoughts of Estelle and her cruel behavior at bay. It also helped to see the medics carry Estelle toward the stairway. She fired a deadly look at Abby, but Abby didn’t flinch. No way she would show that woman how much she’d scared her.
“I’ll wait for you two upstairs.” Gabe strode to the steps behind the medics.
Remaining comfortably in Burke’s arms, Abby relayed everything Estelle had said about the past and the current theft of the crown.
“So it’s Vincent’s remains we recovered.” He shook his head. “If we’d shown Victor the belt buckle, he would’ve told us that.”
“Probably. At least we don’t have to do it now.” At the thought, she tried to swallow, but her mouth was as dry as burnt toast. “Unfortunately we do have to tell him his brother is dead. Worse yet, Estelle killed him. I hope he’s strong enough to handle it all.”
“If he’s smart, he’ll continue his search for faith to help him get through it.”
Abby nodded and closed her eyes to pray for Victor. If anything positive existed in this whole situation, it was that Victor might have come to faith.
Burke’s phone rang, and Abby opened her eyes.
“It’s Kelsey.” He sat forward, taking her with him. “Maybe she has Vincent’s cause of death.”
Abby’s heart jumped.
He tapped the phone screen. “I put you on speaker so Abby can hear too.”
“I’m glad you’re both there.” Kelsey’s voice held her usual enthusiasm for her work. “I’ve identified a cause of death. I found depressed fractures in the back of the skull. Indicates he suffered a blunt force trauma.”
“That makes sense.” Abby described the story Estelle had told her of how she’d pushed Vincent.
“Seems like we have an ID, but we’ll have to confirm it with DNA. I’ll extract it from the teeth and send it to Emory Jenkins—our DNA expert—to process. If you can’t provide anything of Vincent’s with his DNA for comparison, we can match it to his brother’s.”
“We’ll meet with Victor or his son tomorrow to ask if they have anything belonging to Vincent.” Burke looked at Abby as if asking for confirmation.
She nodded. “Once we have it, we’ll get it right over to you.”
“Excellent.” Kelsey ended the call.
Abby sighed. “I don’t look forward to telling Victor about all of this.”
“We’ll get through it with God by our side.” He squeezed her shoulders.
“And at least the cause of death indicates Estelle’s telling the truth. A bonus we can’t downplay.”
Burke rested back against the wall and stroked her hair.
She would love to stay snuggled in his arms. Forget everything bad in the world. Enjoy the warmth and caring radiating from him. But life wasn’t always a smooth road. There were bumps and ruts too, and it was time to ditch her makeshift prison.
“Time for us to get out of here.” She pushed free and stood on wobbly legs, then headed for the stairs, taking them slowly until she reached the main floor. There she stopped to take in the room she’d moved quickly through before.
Gabe paced in long strides near the exit, and Burke strode past her to join him. They both stopped to look at her as if she were made of fragile crystal.
“You don’t want to stay in here,” Burke said. “Let’s head outside and get some fresh air.”
