Page 30 of One Night Years Ago

“What do you want us to do, boss?” Rob asked. Susan nodded eagerly. Even Alma stopped her photocopying to look at them.

“I want you to come with me and stand near the back of the gym. Keep an eye on everyone who shows up to listen.”

Susan nodded. “What are we looking for?”

“Anyone who doesn’t fit in, who looks like he might enjoying his moment of fame.”

Rob nodded, his eyes steady. “We can do that, Sheriff.”

“I’ll see you there, then,” she said, turning away.

The gym was already packed when she got there. She’d expected a few retired townsfolk and some anxious parents to show up, but it seemed like most of the town had made time in their day to listen in. She felt her toes curl inside her sensible black pumps. She’d changed into them from her usual Oxford shoes to give herself that added height behind the podium.

She hated public speaking. She’d given plenty of safety talks. Her therapist had hooked her up for the first ones, thinking it would be good for her to turn her experience into something that could benefit others, and he’d been right. Speaking to young men and women about the importance of consent, of respect, of looking out for each other, was something that she did well. But she was a small-town sheriff. The thought of speaking to large crowds was daunting.

Then she saw James and Jill Jones standing in the front row, their expression stony. She felt her courage returning: it was her job to make sure no other parents ever had to suffer through something like that. Her dad was there as well. This might be hard for him to listen to.

She tapped the microphone head before starting. She only wanted to say this once.

“Good morning, everyone. Settle down, please. Thank you very much for coming, this won’t take long. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. You all know why we’re here today. A young woman from our community was raped and murdered.”

#

Hunter

He wasn’t planning on heading into town but somehow found himself in his mother’s pickup truck just before twelve, driving in the direction of the school.

There were already a lot of cars parked outside. If he knew Sharp’s Cove at all, and he didn’t think the town had changed that much in the time he’d been gone, the gym would be full of people waiting to listen to the sheriff. He told himself that was the reason he was here, to hear what the sheriff had to say. Not because he wanted to hear Natalie’s voice, not because he wanted to look at her, not because he needed to reassure himself that she was okay after the previous evening.

He sat in his truck for a couple extra minutes, waiting until he was sure the meeting would be underway. He didn’t want people seeing him if he could avoid it. He slammed the car door closed, wincing as he did so. He’d forgotten about his shoulder.

The gym was even fuller than he’d thought. He brought the hat down over his face, but nobody even looked in his direction. Everybody’s attention was on Sheriff Bowmann, who stood very straight behind the podium. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail as usual. Hunter remembered what her hair had looked like last night, when she’d come looking for him. It’d been loose then. It framed her heart-shaped face beautifully, giving her a softer look.

Today, she was all business. Her voice rang loud and clear, yet even with his ruptured eardrum he could hear the emotion ringing through it. It was clear she was speaking from the heart.

“One of our young women is dead. Attacked and killed under our watch. Under my watch. I’m here to share everything I can about this, so this doesn’t happen again. You all know this isn’t the first time such an attack happened.” Her voice faltered for a moment.

“Yes, and we know who did it!” A voice from the left side shouted. Hunter lowered the hat further. “If you just stay here, Sheriff, we’ll teach that convict a lesson and be right back!”

“Yes!” other voices agreed.

Natalie didn’t let the crowd get away from her. She knew they wanted to hear what she had to say. She raised her hands but didn’t start speaking until there was complete silence.

“You came here because you wanted to learn the truth. Because you want to be able to protect your families,” she began again, holding the eyes of individuals in the room. At one point, her eyes were drawn to the back of the room. He knew the moment she saw him because she started, her bright blue eyes growing wider. She recovered almost immediately and swept her eyes to a different part of the room.

She was good at working the crowd. They were hanging on her every word. “You know this wasn’t the first attack we’ve had. Thirteen years ago this summer, I was raped outside of the Mermaid Inn. We thought the person who did it went to prison, but I need to tell you we were wrong.”

“Why are you protecting him, Sheriff?” another voice shouted.

“Let her speak!” a woman’s voice said. “We came to listen to her, not to you!”

“Thank you. As I said, we were wrong then, and we cannot afford to be wrong now, because the person who killed Lanie is free. And there is a high probability he will try to do it again.”

“So you’re saying the two attacks were perpetrated by the same man?” James Brody asked, his pen poised on a small notepad.

“I can’t answer that yet, James. It’s part of an official investigation. But it’s something we are considering.”

“Then it’s Hunter Fowler! Why are you protecting him!”