“There were a few boyfriends over the years. I never allowed myself to get too deeply involved. I realized how important it was that I get my education and start a career.” She laughed softly. “There’s nothing like being poor to keep you motivated.”
“No dramatic relationships during the high school or college years?”
“None at all. Lulu kept telling me I was pushing myself too hard. I was too serious. I needed to have fun. Get into a little trouble.” Rory smiled. “I never got into trouble. Never cheated on a test. Never stole so much as a piece of gum. Lulu always looked at me as if she worried I wasn’t even related to her.”
“You were a nice girl.”
“Losing our parents the way we did, I think it changes you.”
He watched her closely as she spoke. She should have been nervous, but somehow she wasn’t. Talking to Chance felt easy…good. She needed good and certainly would take a little easy after the past couple of years.
“Some people change in a bad way,” she went on. “They become depressed or maybe indifferent after a tragedy. They lash out. Stop caring about anything. Others go the route Austin and I did. We hunkered down and worked diligently to make the best out of an unhappy situation. I think we were too hurt, too scared to do anything else.”
It wasn’t until she said the words that she realized how they sounded. “Not because Lulu was mean to us or didn’t take care of us,” she explained, “but just because it felt like the world had changed, and we had to be careful or something else bad would happen.” She turned to Chance. “I remember praying so hard. Promising to be extra good if God would just please, please take care of my brother. I was terrified of losing him. He had the same fears about me. It was so sad for a very long time.”
“Eventually,” Chance nudged, “you got stronger and had a serious relationship.”
Good grief. She’d gotten completely off track. “Yes, but just one. About a year before I met Pete, there was a very nice fellow teacher from the high school, Kevin Warren. We dated for nearly a year.” She thought of the night he’d proposed. “I felt so bad when it ended abruptly, but I’d met Pete and it was, I swear, love at first sight. I mean really, very intense. There was no going back.”
“You broke off the relationship with Kevin and started dating Pete.”
“I did. It was the only time I felt like I really let someone down. He called for a while. Came by the house a few times, but he was never angry or unreasonable. He was hurt. But when he realized I wasn’t changing my mind, he stopped. I was sad about how it ended for a while. I understood I had hurt him. Thankfully, later, we were able to see each other at school functions and not walk the other way. We didn’t become friends, but we weren’tenemies either. He got married, and the last I heard, there was a baby on the way. He got his happily-ever-after.”
“I guess we can rule out Kevin,” Chance commented.
“I think so.” She smiled. “Really, my life was quite boring until that night.” Her face scrunched with other bad memories. “Well, other than the fire.”
“What do you remember about the fire?”
She was certain that fire and the death of her parents had nothing to do with Pete’s murder, but for some reason she didn’t mind sharing that part of her history with Chance. He’d probably read all the headlines and internet stories about it anyway.
“Saturday nights were movie night. We’d have popcorn and watch a movie, all while lying on the living room floor on blankets and quilts like we were camping.” She drew in a deep breath. “It was cold, so my father had started a fire in the fireplace. I remember hours later my mother waking me up and guiding me to my room. Austin slept in the same room with me; Dad had carried him to his bed. It was really like any other Saturday night.”
Chance watched her so closely, as if he were hanging on every word.
“I vaguely remember kisses on our cheeks. The wind blowing a limb against the window next to my bed. There was a big moon shining through the glass. I was so sleepy.” She smiled. “My eyes kept closing. The next thing I knew, we were outside on the ground. It was so cold. I remember hearing my father scream my mother’s name.
“Fire trucks were suddenly there…an ambulance. Police cars. There were all these lights flashing in the darkness. Mom and Dad were gone. Dead. It was just us, me and Austin. A policeman called Lulu. Things get a little foggy after that. I think I blockedas much as possible. Austin blocked even more because he was so young.”
“I’m sorry, Rory,” Chance said quietly. “I know that must have been really hard for you and Austin.”
She nodded. “It was a nightmare that didn’t end for years. Even when it did, we still missed our parents. But living with it got easier as the years passed.” She turned to him. “You know, we were very close to where we lived back then when we visited Tay Banks. Another house was built in the spot. A long time ago.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me.”
They sat in silence for a while. Rory felt sure he was digesting all that she had told him. Eventually, he said, “I think our next step should be paying a visit to Leonard’s house. Make sure he’s really on vacation.”
Rory hadn’t considered that Patterson might lie about where he was, but it was obvious she couldn’t trust the man. “You think Patterson lied to us?”
“It happens,” he warned. “Some people—even lawyers—don’t do well when backed into a corner.”
“Okay, let’s do it.” She stood, then took a long look around the lake and the dock. Images from her wedding day flickered through her mind. It had been a beautiful day…at least until night came.
That night stole all the happiness from her life…took her heart and ripped it in two. Whoever had done this awful thing had gotten away with his evil deeds for far too long. She desperately wanted to find something that would point her in the right direction for uncovering the truth. For finding the real monster who destroyed her and Pete’s lives.
She reminded herself that she and Chance had just begun and already were making progress. Patience was required no matter that it was difficult. But it was happening. Finally.
As they walked toward the car, a truck slowly rolled along the road that cut through the park. Rory reached her door, and Chance had already opened it. They both watched the truck roll closer. It looked vaguely familiar, had slowed considerably as if the driver intended to stop. Then it was right in front of them, and the driver threw up his hand in a wave.
